"The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" is responsible for Mark Zuckerberg. Don't believe me? Listen as accomplished actor, director and video wizard Matt Polson and I wander around in nerd culture for a while, discussing this seminal musical. More than any show before or since, "Spelling Bee" demonstrated the unique attractions of live theater: with intense audience interaction and ad-libs aplenty, every performance was truly unique and you never knew what would unfold on any given night.

In this penultimate episode of season 1 of this podcast, Matt shares behind-the-scenes remembrances of how this show challenged him as an actor and makes the case that, in terms of audience response, this may be one of the best musicals ever.

There is plenty of video of the original cast of "Spelling Bee" that you can see at ChasingPhantom.net. Please drop me a line at [email protected] with comments, questions and suggestions.

Once again, the joy of this podcast for me is getting schooled on stuff I don't know about. In talking about "Bring in 'da Noise, Bring in 'da Funk," Dr. Julinda Lewis introduces me to a flurry of tap dance masters from the past that were influences on young Savion Glover. Glover first broke into the public consciousness in "The Tap Dance Kid," but with "Bring in 'da Noise," he solidified his standing as one of the most accomplished dancer / choreographers in Broadway's history. And he was only 22!

It's particularly timely to talk about "Bring in 'da Noise" this year because of the most recent Oscars awards. A still-young Jeffrey Wright was one of the stars of "Noise" and the show was developed and directed by George Wolfe. Wright was nominated for an Oscar this year for "American Fiction" and Wolfe was the producer/director of "Rustin" that garnered a nom for Colman Domingo (and that also featured Wright).

You will definitely want to check out my website, ChasingPhantom.net, for video of two of the tap masters that Julinda mentions, Peg Leg Bates and Sandman Sims. And please drop me a line at [email protected] with comments, questions and suggestions.

Before the iconic picture of Marilyn Monroe with her white dress billowing over a subway grate obliterated any other reference point, "The Seven Year Itch" was a long-running Broadway show. In fact, it was the longest running show of the 1950s and cemented the star power of the actor Tom Ewell who is not regularly remembered today (even though he would later star in the American premiere of "Waiting for Godot").

Just those facts alone make talking about this show interesting. Add in that my guest is psychologist / old movie superfan Jesse Rabinowitz, PhD, who calls "Itch" the "anti-Blue Velvet" and you have all the ingredients for a fascinating -- and occasionally spicy -- conversation about yet another "classic" that perhaps should be relegated to the dust bin of theatrical history.

Please be sure and check out my website, ChasingPhantom.net, for bonus material, links to videos, and additional facts and figures related to Broadway's longest running shows.  And please drop me a line at [email protected] -- I'd love to hear from you!

Leapin' Lizards, what is going on here? Chasing Phantom has been methodically working through the list of 1,000+ performances on Broadway from the bottom up but, this week, we take a radical leap into the higher realms of theater success with an exploration of the much-heralded, often-rejiggered, musically-rich smash that is "Annie."

And I know no one better to dig into the history and lore of this Broadway classic than "Annie" superfan, Holly Timberline. Given that she was a working musical theater actress when we met, it wasn't long into our relationship that I found out about her deep-seated, abiding love of this orphan-palooza. After we were married and had children of our own, "Annie" quickly became part of our family lexicon. The kids sand "It's the Hard Knock Life" when they were happy, "Castle on a Cloud" from "Les Mis" when they were sad.

Not only does Holly know a lot of early days "Annie" facts that only real fans know, she went to the original production multiple times when she was a teenager so saw different actors in various roles and met many of the youngsters playing orphans. We both relate our experiences seeing subsequent revivals and the most recent touring production that is currently appearing in cities across the country.

Be sure and check out the Chasing Phantom website for links to supplemental videos and other content related to this all-time favorite show. And please email [email protected] with questions, comments, complaints or suggestions for future episodes!

If you're reading this, I expect either you or someone you know has been in a production of "Guys and Dolls." There are so many reasons this show is a classic, from the colorful supporting characters to the silly romantic misadventures to the unbelievably catchy songs. The show has been revived 5 times but the 1992 production really set the template for how to successfully dust off a classic and breathe new life into it. It also was haled as a savior of American musicals at the time and proved the first of 3 key steps in the elevation of Nathan Lane from steady Broadway regular to superstar.

There's no one better suited to analyze the arrival of this singular hit back in 1992 than Phil Crosby, the executive director of Richmond Triangle Players. This is Phil's fourth appearance on the pod and, as per usual, he supplements his first-hand knowledge of the production with behind-the-scenes background on several of the key players in the show. Listen to hear why Phil considers this show "practically perfect."

And more than ever, you are going to want to check out our website, ChasingPhantom.net, for links to two priceless resources: 1) a two-hour opening night special covering "Guys and Dolls" highly-anticipated first official performance on Broadway and 2) the YouTube copy of the DVD "Guys and Dolls: Off The Record," the behind-the-scenes look at the recording of the production's cast album. Check it out!

It's both a relief and a delight when a show that premiered on Broadway more than 50 years ago isn't a challenge or a slog to get through. "Butterflies Are Free" is a play about a young blind man out on his own for the first time but, thanks to its breezy good humor, is also a fun and satisfying romantic comedy. For an older show, it has a wonderfully progressive non-ableist message but, instead of clobbering the audience with it, it lets some fairly realistic characters convey the lessons in a believable way. And as a nice bonus, all of the leads in the movie version are fabulous so you can enjoy this story anytime, oh like maybe on Valentine's Day!

Speaking of fabulous, my guest for the episode is Matt Bloch, an accomplished actor who played the lead character in "Butterflies" back in 2010. Just a college student at the time, he had the challenge of playing a person with a visual disability as one of his first professional gigs. Matt has a lot of insightful and fun things to say about the production he was in and about a more recent show he just appeared in that also prompts interesting thoughts about the portrayal of characters with disabilities on stage.

It's a great conversation that you're going to love! And if you like it, check out my website, ChasingPhantom.net, for previous episodes and more clips and commentary! Also, write me at [email protected] with questions, comments, or concerns, OR if you'd like to be a guest talking about one of Broadway's longest running productions. See you back here in two weeks!

We start off 2024 with an old show that has surprising relevance today because of a very recent -- and somewhat confounding -- revival. "Plaza Suite" first premiered back in Neil Simon's imperial period when his shows were selling out before people even knew what they were about. Three vignettes that share a setting -- the same suite at the Plaza Hotel in NYC -- and a jaded view of American coupledom. It's a lot of dark stuff...when it's not downright uncomfortable.

Rich Griset once again joins the podcast to try to figure out what about this show might compel Matthew Broderick and Sara Jessica Parker to commit to it. It seems one motivation was clearly financial: the production ended up making nearly $30 million on Broadway. Is it just star power that is bringing people in or something more about this very (VERY) dated material? Listen to get our thoughts.

Also, please check out the recently updated website, ChasingPhantom.net, to review the movement of your favorite shows on the big list of Broadway's longest running productions. And see you back here in two weeks!

What a perfect way to end the year in quintessential Broadway fashion! For this episode I'm talking about "Fosse," the 1999 musical dance revue that featured what may be considered the "greatest hits" of choreographer Bob Fosse's career. The show was a smash hit at the turn of the century and was one of several dance-centric shows (e.g., Contact) that were drawing audiences at the time.

And I couldn't be more excited to be talking about Fosse with someone who has danced Fosse routines and studied Fosse techniques at Broadway Dance Center, the dancer / choreographer Kayla Xavier. She edifies me on a number of technical aspects of Fosse's style as we dig into the depiction of his singular talent as featured in this show.

As mentioned, a full broadcast version of "Fosse" is available on YouTube. After you listen to this conversation, I'd recommend checking it out -- it's worth a rewatch.

And of course, please check out previous episodes of the podcast and other write-ups related to Broadway's longest running shows at my website, Chasing Phantom. 

For the first of several Neil Simon creations that this series will consider, we start off with one that may be a "meh" to listen to but is still fun to talk about if only for the speculation about what could have possibly motivated to keep this show running for 3 years.

"They're Playing Our Song" is a fictionalization of the relationship between composer Marvin Hamlisch and the lyricist Carole Bayer Sager. Apologies to those who may love this show but it just doesn't hold up to modern scrutiny. And luckily I've invited a first-class scrutinizer to talk to about the show: Rich Griset, freelance writer and theater critic extraordinaire.

With this episode, Chasing Phantom inaugurates an intermittent series on shows that haven't technically made it over the 1,000 performance mark but are on the fast track to getting there.

SIX was the answer to Broadway fans' pent up demand when the theater world emerged from the pandemic and it's still packing theaters in NYC as well as in houses across the country thanks to its first national tour. While only at 850+ performances at this recording, there's no reason to think that it'll cross the 1,000 performance threshold early next year and start shooting up the longest running shows list.

Given that SIX is a fan-driven show / phenomenon,  we brought on a Chasing Phantom fan on to talk about the show, Kathy Kreutzer. Not only is she a long-time fan of theater, she has many insightful and articulate things to say about it. Is SIX theater or a glorified concert? How close does the show get to the historical facts, and does it really matter. We dig into those questions and more, interspersed as always with some choice sonic nuggets from the production. Enjoy!

Find out more about "SIX" at ChasingPhantom.net.