Chasing Phantom

It is spoooky season, the perfect time of year to consider "Deathtrap." The popular post-modern murder thriller ran for 4 years on Broadway but, even more impressive, continues to get regularly produced all over the country 50 years after its debut.

I hadn't seen "Deathtrap" on stage until last year and I was honestly surprised what a rollicking good time it was. Expecting something old and creaky - oh, say like "Night Must Fall" - I was instead treated to a twisty tale that had me second-guessing my assumptions until the end. Oh, and it was super funny as well.

The Richmond-area staging of "Deathtrap" also marked the further assertion of Nathan Whitmer as an actor to watch in central Virginia. He was a highlight of "Murder on the Orient Express" last season and also garnered a RTCC award nomination (one of many to come, I expect) for his starring supporting turn in "Safety."

Nathan is thoughtful and insightful about this show, specifically, and acting and directing in general. I had a great to talking to him and I know you'll have an even better time listening to him.

Please check out my website ChasingPhantom.net for more information and great video clips related to "Deathtrap." You'll be glad you did!

We love Dolly. Everybody loves Dolly - it is, after all, the law. But that doesn't mean that everything she touched in her glorious life turned to gold. Exhibit A would be the movie version of "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas." The musical used a provocative setting to tell some heartfelt stories about the women that worked there and turned a spotlight on soulless media opportunists, hypocritical politicians, and, perhaps inadvertently, the weird fascination / fear dichotomy in the American approach to sex.

The movie, well, did not. Sure, you still have self-important media moralist Melvin P. Thorpe disrupting the operations of the Chicken Ranch until it is forced to shut down, but the complex, grown-up take on some of the show's relationships --particularly between the whorehouse madam Mona and Sheriff Ed Earl -- are completely missing.

Originally from Richmond, VA, Susann Fletcher made her Broadway debut in "Whorehouse," about halfway through the run and maintains relationships with many of the key folks who brought "Whorehouse" to life. She has a fleet of stories and even more great opinions on the show and why this show has kinda been done dirty by history.

"The Producers" was and is such a bountiful subject for conversation that Jason Marks and I couldn't stop talking about it. Here is a short-ish episode of bonus material that expands on a few of the topics we talked about in the previous episode. 

And hey, don't miss out on the Richmond Theatre Community Circle awards event happening in just a few weeks! The famous (infamous?) theater prom happens on Sunday, October 25th at 7pm. Go to the calendar of the Virginia Rep website for tickets; here's a direct link!

And of course, please check out my website at ChasingPhantom.net.

There are ongoing conversations about how the most successful shows on Broadway have a certain "mid-brow" appeal. Sophisticated high-brow "arty" shows by folks like Sondheim are adored by some but don't get as many butts in seats. And that "low-brow" shows like, say, "The SpongeBob SquarePants Musical" can draw some folks but that people don't usually want to spend a lot of money to see a Saturday morning cartoon on stage.

Some shows have been able to finesse that dichotomy by dressing up "low-brow" humor in fancy clothes and also by being extremely funny. "The Book of Mormon" is the longest-running example but, before that, there was "The Producers." It's a LOT of very broad humor but it's also men in tuxedos and women in ball gowns.

"The Producers" holds a special place in Broadway history because of winning the most Tony Awards handed out on one night to a production (12). A successful revival of the show just closed in London. All of this makes it a fantastic show to talk about in the second episode of the season.

And Jason Marks is a fantastic person to talk to about this show, having played the bombastic Max Bialystock twice in professional productions and also having a composer's wisdom when it comes to breaking down the appeal of the show.

Here is a link to the "Vanity Fair" article about the troubled development of the original movie "The Producers."

As always, please check out ChasingPhantom.net for more information and links to pertinent video clips.

"Chasing Phantom" is easing into its 4th season by easing down the road to "The Wiz!" Another show that host David Timberline has not seen live - shame on me! - but thanks to the podcast, has grown to appreciate and become eager to see on stage. 

Leading me into the depths of "The Wiz" lore is Jerold Solomon, a veteran of Broadway who has directed the show and also played "The Wiz" himself for a 2019 Virginia Repertory Theatre production. Jerold talks about his abiding love for the movie and the translation of his disappointment at not being cast as the Lion into an "outrageous as they'll let me be" performance at the title character.

Jerold recently starred in a brand new musical developed in Richmond that he co-wrote called "Gabriel." He also regularly lights up social media with his funny and insightful dialogues with himself. Check him out as "oldskurv" on Instagram or Facebook. You might also want to check out these pictures of Andre DeShields in his original costume in the Broadway show and the screen shots of the remembrance DeShields wrote about the show's development.

Please check out my website, ChasingPhantom.net, for video clips and more information about "The Wiz." 

Summertime is coming to a close and that means your favorite Broadway history podcast, "Chasing Phantom," is back! This season is going to be a doozy as we progress into the highest echelons of Broadway's longest running shows list. Bi-weekly episodes start up again on Wednesday, September 16th. The chase continues...in just a couple days!

Catch up on previous episodes at ChasingPhantom.net and be sure and subscribe so you never miss an episode!

Cool off with a breezy bit of bonus content from the Chasing Phantom live podcast event held in May of 2026. The absolute font of Broadway knowledge Phil Crosby and I continue our conversation about the musical "Mame," spurred on by questions from the lovely Richmond Triangle Players audience.

Be sure and check out the Chasing Phantom website and come back in September for our fabulous 4th season!

The energy of a live show cannot be duplicated but listening to this episode is the next best thing to being in the room where the Chasing Phantom live event happened. Most Valuable Guest and dear friend of the program, Phil Crosby, brings his extensive knowledge of theater history to bear in this lively conversation about "Mame," a show that cemented the vision of a rich, eclectic, cultured, and fabulously entertaining aunt in popular culture.

There's no underplaying the influence and popularity of this story, beyond just the Broadway show. The book by Patrick Dennis was on best seller lists for over two years, the straight play was a big hit on Broadway and the movie version of the straight play also did big box office. The "intellectual property" was such a hot commodity that 39 of the biggest names on Broadway and in Hollywood were considered for the lead in the musical adaptation.

Phil and I cover all of that history plus other amazing stories related to the show in this live event recording. Also featured are complete renditions of two shows from the musical by three exceptional performers, Bianca Bryan, Luke Newsome and Calvin Malone.

You will definitely want to check out ChasingPhantom.net to see the images that we refer to in the episode as well as check out previous episodes. This marks the end of the 3rd Chasing Phantom season but there will be a bonus episode in two weeks and plans are already afoot for a dazzling season 4.

My first guess for Neil Simon’s longest running show on Broadway would have been “The Odd Couple,” maybe followed by “Brighton Beach Memoirs” or “The Sunshine Boys.” But nope – the breezy romantic comedy “Barefoot in the Park” ran for nearly 4 full years. It was an auspicious production for many other reasons as well: it marked director Mike Nichols’ arrival on Broadway and Robert Redford’s departure for bigger fame and fortune on the silver screen.

While a frivolous and frothy confection with characters that barely seem real, “Barefoot” had a special alchemy, giving theater-goers across different spectrums characters they could relate to, root for or against.

No one I know has a more intimate knowledge of “Barefoot” than multi-hyphenate theater pro Jan Guarino, who has directed the show twice over a couple decades. She has the compelling perspective of a true lover of Simon’s work and our conversation covers all aspects of how the show works…and could be one of those rare older shows that continues to be a viable show to produce into the future.

Definitely check out ChasingPhantom.net to see relevant video clips, specifically clips of Elizabeth Ashley in 1964 and then again in 1982. There's also a link to an episode of the short-lived TV show adaptation of "Barefoot in the Park." Very much worth checking out!

As has been chronicled extensively on this podcast already, many older Broadway shows do NOT hold up very well over time. The ones that do - your "Guys and Dolls" or "Oklahomas" - still regularly get produced.

But "Me and My Girl" is a bit of an anomaly. I personally think it totally holds up at least as well as many of the oft-produced Golden Age musicals, even though it's set in the 1930s. But it hardly ever gets staged these days. 

One of central Virginia's long-time stars, Larry Cook, played Bill Snibson, the roguish and rough-and-tumble south Londoner who discovers he's actually an English lord, way back in 1991. Larry and I talk about our mutual admiration for this show and ponder why it isn't popping up on stages still today.

In the podcast, I mistakenly say that the show was still running on Broadway when it was produced here in Richmond. However, it was still touring and regional theaters all over the country were having long-running hits with the fun and frivolous romp. Don't you think modern audiences would enjoy the class conscious conflicts spurring the low-stakes tension in this show? I sure do!

If you are a Richmond, VA, theater fan, you definitely want to check out my website, ChasingPhantom.net, because the post for this show has some classic videos clips from the 1991 staging of "Me and My Girl" at Swift Creek Mill. Check 'em out!