Peter Filichia, James Marino, and Michael Portantiere talk about Galas @ Little Island, Sober Songs @ Theater Row, Karaoke With Broadway Stars, Sweet Charity (movie), and House of McQueen at The Mansion at Hudson Yards
House of McQueen Photos by Thomas Hedges
“This Week on Broadway” has been coming to you every week since 2009. It is the longest-running running Broadway and theatrical podcast with hundreds of shows giving thousands of reviews and interviews.
Subscribe to BroadwayRadio in Apple Podcasts by CLICKING HERE.
Support BroadwayRadio on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/broadwayradio
Patreon listeners get This Week on Broadway first, on Sunday afternoon before it is released to the general public on Sunday evening.
Peter Filichia | [email protected] | Facebook
PETER FILICHIA is a playwright, journalist, and historian with a number of books. Peter’s new day-by-day desk calendar – A SHOW TUNE FOR TODAY – 366 Songs to Brighten Your Year – is available at finer retailers! Peter also has columns at Masterworks Broadway, Broadway Select, and many other places.
Showtune for Today: Sept 14 We Got It! from Over Here!
Lena Hall performing The Star-Spangled Banner, and sang all the verses
A Broadway star surprises baseball fans with more verses of the National Anthem | Sports Illustrated
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXx83WzAsco
Michael Portantiere | [email protected] | Facebook
MICHAEL PORTANTIERE is a theater reviewer and essayist. He is the founder and editor of CastAlbumReviews.com. He is also a theatrical photographer whose photos have appeared in The New York Times and other major publications. You can see his photography work at FollowSpotPhoto.com.
James Marino | [email protected] | Facebook
BroadwayStars
Note: This week we had listeners join us while recording. These listeners are Patreon members who support BroadwayRadio. If you would like to join us in the future, become a supporter at Patreon.com/BroadwayRadio.
BroadwayRadio listener A Lifetime in Performance: Steve Bell’s Journey Through Stage and Scores by Maria Williams
Patreon Exclusive: MickeyJo Theatre explains the ALW, Jamie Lloyd feud
London Evita delays transfer to Broadway until 2027? Will Rachel Zegler come along?
All the Drama: “Street Scene”, 1929 Winner, Pulitzer Prize for Drama
Kristin Chenoweth Faces Fan Blowback for Charlie Kirk Post
Will this affect ticket sales at The Queen of Versailles
October 8, 2025 previews, with a November 9, 2025 Opening Night
MP: FEBRUARY 25, 2018 PODCAST REVIEW OF CHESS AT KENNEDY CENTER:
With Raul Esparza, Ramin Karimloo, Karen Olivo, Ruthie Ann Miles, Bryce Pinkham
This Week on Broadway for February 25, 2018: Chess at The Kennedy Center
BROADWAY ADVERTISING & MARKETING in Brief (BroadwayBriefing)
“5 Broadway advertising executives get honest with Broadway News” by Broadway News’ Ruthie Fierberg – “While seated at the Algonquin Hotel’s Algonquin Roundtable, Liz Furze, chief executive officer of AKA NYC; Callie Goff, managing director and chief creative officer of SpotCo; Jeremy Kraus, managing partner of Situation; Ilene Rosen, founder of RPM; and Matt Upshaw, chief executive officer of Serino Coyne shared their expert perspectives on advertising in the biz.
MP: Galas @ Little Island, through September 28, 2025
By: Charles Ludlam
Directed by: Eric Ting
Additional Music Selections by: Anthony Roth Costanzo
When playwright Charles Ludlam invented the iconic opera singer at the center of his ridiculous comedy Galas, he likely never imagined a real prima donna in the role. With Anthony Roth Costanzo taking the stage in Eric Ting’s new production, the dream Ludlam never dreamed comes true. As the titular Maria Magdalena Galas (rhymes with Callas), Costanzo embodies extravagance, camp, and diva, but – with his famous countertenor shimmering between the moments of absurdity – opens his heart and lays bare to us both the beauty and the pain pumping through the veins of any great artist.
Cast: Anthony Roth Costanzo, Carmelita Tropicana, Mary Testa, Caleb Eberhardt, Erin Markey, Patricia Black, Samora la Perdida, Austin Durant, Jeremy Rafal
The New York Times
He’s Stepping Into the Heels of Maria Callas By Joshua Barone
At Little Island, the countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo is starring, and singing, in Charles Ludlam’s “Galas,” a love letter to Callas.
Talkin’Broadway (from 2019)
Everett Quinton
Interview by Michael Portantiere
[Galas runs June 13-28, 2019, at the Theatre at St. John’s.]
Sober Songs Press Photos by Shawn Salley
PF: Sober Songs @ Theater Row, through September 28, 2025
SOBER SONGS is a darkly comedic musical that follows six young adults in recovery at a local AA meeting founded by the gruff but loving “Cap.” Blending biting humor, emotional ballads, and sharp dialogue, the show evolves from light and charming to deeply emotional, offering a raw, character-driven, and emotionally authentic look at addiction, love, identity, and the complicated, messy road to sobriety. With heart, heartbreak, and cathartic honesty, Sober Songs offers a deeply human—and at times hilarious—glimpse into recovery culture.
Sober Songs Press Photos by Shawn Salley
MP: KARAOKE WITH BROADWAY STARS – Harry Whelchel
https://singwiththestars.com
Mondays at 7:30 PM, Baby Grand LES — 187 Orchard St, NYC
Friday, 9/12 on Aura on East 47th St.: Singers included Mia Gentile (KINKY BOOTS); host was Dillon Klena (Derek’s brother, replaced him in JAGGED LITTLE PILL); lots of pop songs but also “Suddenly Seymour,” “A Whole New World,” title song from “Phantom of the Opera,” etc.
PF + MP: Info / Preview — Saturday Church @ NYTW last night opens tomorrow (preview)
James Ijames (his surname is pronounced “imes”)
Ashley Steves — Special Episode: James Ijames on ‘Fat Ham,’ Shakespeare, Softness, and Rewriting Endings
MP: Michael rewatched Sweet Charity (movie)
House of McQueen Photos by Thomas Hedges
PF: House of McQueen at The Mansion at Hudson Yards, through September 28, 2025
House of McQueen is a sexy, flamboyant, irreverent, and poignant theatrical portrait of fashion icon Alexander McQueen. Starring Luke Newton (Netflix’s Bridgerton) and Emily Skinner (Broadway: Side Show), with an extraordinary cast, the production fuses fashion show, play, and rock concert into an immersive theatrical experience.
Written by award-winning playwright Darrah Cloud and directed by Sam Helfrich, House of McQueen explores McQueen’s early days, the rise of his legendary fashion house, and his deeply human relationships with family and muses. A decade in the making, this production is presented in collaboration with Gary James McQueen—Lee’s nephew and Creative Director—and Executive Producer Rick Lazes. The experience also includes a curated display of archival Alexander McQueen designs.
The Mansion at Hudson Yards, 508 W 37th St (Google)
Mastergate by Larry Gelbart
Classic Stage Company (CSC) (Jill Rafson, Producing Artistic Director) is excited to announce complete casting for The Baker’s Wife, featuring a book by Tony Award winner Joseph Stein (Fiddler on the Roof), music & lyrics by Oscar, Grammy, and Tony Award winner Stephen Schwartz (Wicked, The Queen of Versailles), based on the film La Femme du Boulanger by Marcel Pagnol and Jean Giono, and direction by Gordon Greenberg (The Heart of Rock and Roll).
Joining the previously announced Scott Bakula as Aimable Castagnet and Ariana DeBose as Genvieve are Savannah Lee Birdsong (Little Shop of Horrors), Arnie Burton (Machinal), Tony Award nominee Robert Cuccioli (Jekyll & Hyde), Alma Cuervo (On Your Feet), Tony Award nominee Kevin Del Aguila (Some Like It Hot), Bill English (Days of Wine and Roses), Zachary Freier-Harrison (Off-Broadway Debut), Samantha Marisol Gershman (Water For Elephants), Nathan Lee Graham (“Mid-Century Modern”), Tony Award nominee Judy Kuhn (Fun Home), Kelly Lester (Cabaret at The Old Globe), Sally Murphy (The Minutes), Manu Narayan (Company), Mason Olshavsky (Off-Broadway Debut), Kevin William Paul (The Outsiders), Will Roland (Dear Evan Hansen), and Hailey Thomas (Little Shop of Horrors).
Opening CSC’s 2025-2026 Season, The Baker’s Wife is a legendary musical written in 1976 that has never received a full-scale production in New York City. The Baker’s Wife will run from October 23 – December 14, 2025 at CSC’s Lynn F. Angelson Theater (136 East 13th Street), with an opening night set for November 11, 2025.
Many, many musical performers start out by playing multiple roles in a show, and then, when they rise through the ranks, eventually play one character.
But in the ‘80s, when this performer appeared in three Broadway musicals, he did it the other way around: one role in the first musical, four in the second, and seven in the third.
Who is this performer, and what were the musicals?
Michael’s Musical Moments
Music Opener: “Dat’s Love” performed by Dorothy Dandridge and Marilyn Horne from CARMEN JONES film (1954):
Music Closer: Gregg Baker and cast in “Stand Up and Fight” from 1991 London production of CARMEN JONES
Support BroadwayRadio on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/broadwayradio
Patreon listeners get “This Week on Broadway” on Sunday afternoon before it is released to the general public on Sunday evening.
Email addresses: See above in bios
BroadwayRadio Phone / Voicemail: +1-888-285-4666
BroadwayRadio: Facebook | Instagram
Patreon | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | iHeart Radio | TuneIn | Pandora | YouTube Music
…and anywhere that you can listen to finer podcasts.
