Jim and Tomic's Musical Theatre Happy Hour

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Prepare ye-selves for our next musical, Stephen Schwartz and John-Michael Tebelak’s ‘Godspell!’ This week Jimi and Tommy debate whether this is a show about religion or community, marvel over the creative freedom allowed when producing it and try and decide which are their favourite (of the MANY) cast recordings.

Godspell (The New Broadway Cast)

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SHOW NOTES

Tweet us your ideas!

Stephen Schwartz’s service to his fans is fantastic. Check out the forums on his website to see some of his interaction. The Godspell stuff is particularly interesting!

Godspell is yet another ‘70s-New-York-Centric-Movie-Musical, have a look at a young Victor Garber leading the flock with some fascinating choreography to ‘All For The Best.’

In complete contrast, have a look at the trailer for the 2011 Broadway revival of Godspell complete with onstage water and trampolines!

We want to hear about your thoughts on the religious side of Godspell, particularly if you’re not of the Christian faith - but Christians don’t worry, we want to hear from you too! Come say hi on Reddit!

A LYRICAL QUIZ QUESTION

In the song ‘Beautiful City’ from Godspell lies the title of our next musical. What could it be?

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Jimi and Tommy take a trip round the Natural History Museum with their favourite fab foursome - The FourBs - as they discuss their musical ‘Now. Here. This.’ They contemplate the importance of subtlety in cast recordings, high school moments that made them hot and queer representation in musical theatre for their weekly socio-political fix.

Now. Here. This. (Original Cast Recording)

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SHOW NOTES

What’s your name for the ‘FourBs’ - Susan Blackwell, Jeff Bowen, Heidi Blickenstaff, Hunter Bell? Tell us on Twitter!

Check out ToS If you haven’t already, and you’re a musical theatre nerd, go check out the FourBs’ first work ‘[title of show]’. Those guys sure do love their punctuated titles…

Neofuturists Interested in experimental fringe theatre? Have a peek at the stuff that The Neo-Futurists are getting up to!

Dazzle camouflage Let musical theatre and Jeff Bowen guide you into a whole new world of education with what the hell Dazzle Camouflage actually is.Hey podcast fans, what makes you hot? Let us know over on our subreddit!

Necessary ‘Now. Here. This.’ watching is the gang’s Kickstarter documentary - you can watch it here!

Surprise! We got to interview the gorgeous and glorious cast of ‘Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812’ while they were recording their original Broadway cast recording (due next month!) - have a look at us speaking to Denée Benton here!

A PHILOSOPHICAL QUIZ QUESTION

What musical features Socrates, Jean-Paul Sartre and L. Ron Hubbard in its cast?

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The heat is most definitely on in the podcast this week as Jimi and Tommy discuss Boublil and Schonberg’s controversial ‘Miss Saigon.’ The guys discuss the problem of Asian diversity onstage, how much the author’s intent qualifies the tone of a musical and the effect of covering songs outside the context of the show!

Miss Saigon: The Definitive Live Recording

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SHOW NOTES

There’s lots to discuss this episode so head straight on over to Reddit to join in the conversation. While you’re there why not check out the chat on some of our previous episodes too?

If you haven’t seen the show before, it’s well worth checking out the 25th Anniversary recording to get a good idea of the story and some of the staging, plus some outstanding performances!

Have a look at some of the shocking statistics about Asian casting on Broadway. We’re looking at you Aladdin!

It’s crazy to think that Lea Salonga was just 17 when she auditioned to play Kim. Have a look at her callback auditionwhere she sings ‘Sun and Moon’ with the writers.

There are so many amazing recordings from places outside of Broadway and the West End. Since we’re celebrating Asian actors this episode, let’s enjoy more of Hong Kwang-Ho who plays Thuy in 25th Anniversary recording. His voice is breathtaking! Here he is singing Jekyll and Hyde, which was huge in Korea and Phantom of the Opera where he was one of the youngest to be cast in the role. What are some of your favourites? Let us know!

Sorry but Jimi will take any excuse to feature Liza’s Losing My Mind cover...

Have a read of this article by playwright David Henry Hwang to hear his take on the Asian casting issues in theatre.

A CARTOON QUIZ QUESTION

We’ve got an audio clip for our next quiz question! If you can work out the identity of the cartoon being described, it’ll lead you towards the title of our next show! 

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Come and meet those dancing feet, we’re taking you to everyone’s favourite ‘avenue’: 42nd Street! Don your tap shoes and triple-time step your way into the Great Depression as Jimi and tommy (feat. a noisy cricket) discuss the tragic nature of the show’s opening night, debate the nature of dance breaks and the success of contemporary awakenings of classic musical comedies.

42nd Street (Original Broadway Cast Recording)

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SHOW NOTES

Turns out Pinky and Perky are British! For all you non-Brits out there here’s a taste of the singer-songwriter pigs’ TV show.

If that sold you, you can get the VHS of the Chattanooga Choo Choo number here!

If you fancy yourself some black and white realness, check out the Hollywood classic 42nd Street movie!

Old Hollywood trailers are a beautiful thing, check out the (massively misogynistic) 42nd Street trailer from 1933.

Did you know classic Hollywood actors made mistakes too? Just look and see! God damn!

If you haven’t got one of the greatest musical theatre resources ever (Broadway: The American Musical by the way) then fix that right now!

What do you think about the nature of dance breaks? Come tell us on Reddit!

One of Jimi’s favourite Tony openings ever is 2001, with this fantastic turn from 42nd Street!

If you want some more Tony opening fun have a look at the train wreck of 2009…

Have a look at this xkcd comic as we tease apart the nature of reviving classic musicals.

A CONFRONTATIONAL QUIZ QUESTION

There are three musicals (that we know of) with songs in them titled “The Confrontation.” One of them is our musical next week.Which one?

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Come with us as we spend a weekend in the country listening relentlessly to Sondheim’s ‘A Little Night Music.’ We ponder why Sondheim wrote the show in the first place, try to work out why ‘Send in the Clowns’ is his most popular song of all time and make a plea for a renaissance of Broadway Cast Recordings.

A Little Night Music (Revival Broadway Cast Recording)

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SHOW NOTES

If you’ve not got the musical theatre equivalent of Moses’ tablets from Mt. Siani- then what are you playing at? Finishing The…and Look I Made A…

We couldn’t talk about Elaine Stritch’s Broadway finale without giving her some mad props. Here’s a marvellous glimpse of her in the show as Madame Armfeldt (with a smidge of Bernadette thrown in for good measure!)

Our pal Mo Brady from The Ensemblist podcast (check ‘em out!) is very well acquainted with ‘A Little Night Music’ - go see what we mean!

Wondering what we’re talking about with Liza Minnelli and Ethel Merman? Please inform your local nightclubs of the existence of both of these.

Jimi owes a lot of his musical theatre knowledge to The Simpsons. This was his introduction to ‘A Little Night Music.’

If you haven’t seen ‘Hey! Mr Producer’ yet then fix that right now! If you have, let’s all reminisce over this beautiful moment with Andrew Lloyd Webber and Stephen Sondheim together (featuring the world’s most awkward handshake/hug!)

What do you think of all of the many millions of adaptations of ‘Send In The Clowns’, like Barbra Streisand’s here. Let us know what you think about musical theatre songs being popularised over on Reddit!

Let’s have one final nod to the glorious Elaine Stritch, you may not be ‘still here’ with us in person, but your musical certainly will be forevermore!

A WELSH QUIZ QUESTION

Catherine Zeta-Jones made her Broadway debut in the 2009 revival of ‘A Little Night Music,’ BUT this was far from her theatrical stage debut. In fact, she got her big break in a West End production of our next musical. What is it?

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Put on your your finest fur and hop in your star vehicle (an Isotta-Fraschini, naturally) as we drive down Andrew Lloyd Webber's Sunset Boulevard! Jimi and Tommy chat about film noir, lazy rhymes, and Patti LuPone's Andrew Lloyd Webber memorial pool. 

Sunset Boulevard (American Premiere Recording)

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SHOW NOTES

Check out this smokey, vintage trailer for the original movie version of Sunset Boulevard.

Much to Tommy's chagrin, we've talked Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals a few times before on the podcast. Check out our coverage of Phantom and Cats.

Yes, Tommy has an obsession with Murder, She Wrote. No, it's not a problem…

And today on Jim and Tomic's Video Game Happy Hour, it's the point-and-click classic Grim Fandango.

Want to relive the whole newspaper-reading, floor lamp-heaving moments for yourself? Check out Patti LuPone's Memoir.

Or, for a quick look into the fiasco (and discussion of the ALW memorial pool) check out this New York Times article.

Jimi's favorite: Elaine Page singing With one Look. …take a look at it…get it?

A BREATHY QUIZ QUESTION…

One of the songs in the original production of this show was specifically written to accommodate the leading lady's tiny lungs. Interestingly, this is not the first time a song has been written to accommodate this actress. What show is it?

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Hallo kinder! We’re going further than we’ve ever gone before for our thirtieth birthday, back to pre-war Germany and Brecht and Weill’s “The Threepenny Opera.” We learn the differences between Verfremdungseffekt and Gesamtkunstwerk, talk about how torturous times can create form-changing art and reflect on how Brechtian theatre exists today.

The Threepenny Opera – 1954 New York Cast Blitzstein Adaptation

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SHOW NOTES

If you’ve only ever listened to the OBC, why not try something new and listen to the RIAS Berlin Symphony Orchestra recording starring Ute Lemper? It’s Jimi’s all time favourite.

Don’t tell Brecht, but you should REALLY listen to ‘Tristan und Isolde’ by Wagner if you haven’t. It’s pretty darn life changing.

After that, continue you on your operatic journey and check out our musical theatre pal Patti LuPone in Brecht and Weill’s ‘The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny’ and then buy the DVD.

Here’s the queen of cabaret, Lotte Lenya, singing one of Jimi’s all-time favourite musical theatre numbers - ‘Pirate Jenny.’ Then have a swatch at Ute Lemper, her contemporary counterpart, doing the same in German. But if you want something completely different, check out Amanda Palmer taking her NSFW take on it! Which do you prefer?

Why was Bob Dylan aroused? It’s a question we ask ourselves every day. Check out this article to find a bit about why!

We’ve not heard from ‘Forbidden Broadway’ in a while, check out their inadvertent pastiche of ‘The Threepenny Opera’ in their ‘Spring Awakening’ spoof!

A SMASHING QUESTION

Which musical caused the events of this quote to occur:“From the outside, I’m sure it sounded like all hell had broken loose in my dressing room, which in fact it had. I was hysterical … I took to batting practice in my dressing room with a floor lamp. I swung at everything in sight — mirrors, wig stands, makeup, wardrobe, furniture, everything. Then I heaved a lamp out the second-floor window.”

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We got no trouble here just pure unadulterated love for Meredith Willson’s one-hit-wonder “The Music Man!” We bask in the brilliance of the book, music and lyrics of this show, discuss the disparity between Broadway and West End successes and weigh up historical accuracy versus inclusivity.

The Music Man (Original Broadway Cast)

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SHOW NOTES

Interested in finding out a bit more about Meredith Willson? Check out this article about the man behind “The Music Man.”

Tommy is a master of mockery, go check out his pastiche of “Ya Got Trouble” and the 2003 Disney televised movie.

Does anyone have this elusive Meredith Willson interview record? Let us know!

Any excuse to post a vid of the queen herself, Patti LuPone singing “Ya Got Trouble” on SiriusXM.

Jimi was first exposed to The Music Man the same way he was exposed to most American culture - through The Simpsons.Then subsequently in everyone’s favourite camp extravaganza, BBC’s “Over the Rainbow.”

We’ve plugged it before, and we’ll plug it again. If you’re interested in scholarly reading about musical theatre, check out Warren Hoffman’s “The Great White Way.”

Surprise! Tommy is representin’ at BroadwayCon in NYC this weekend. Who’s all going? Come say hi!

A QUESTION THAT’S BLOWIN’ IN THE WIND

Bob Dylan became aroused straightaway by the raw intensity of the songs in this musical. What musical was it?            

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Jimi and Tommy go back to their roots and return to see just how much the Hamilton phenomenon has affected the world and discuss the release of ‘The Hamilton Mixtape!’ The pair chat about the contentious relationship between theatre and politics, exposing the musical theatre world to new music and question Hamilton’s potential successes worldwide.

The Hamilton Mixtape

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SHOW NOTES

Want a brief taster of how much Hamilton took over in 2016? Check out this Playbill article!

As with the OBC, genius.com has got you covered with understanding just how nuanced and incredible this mixtape is! Go, devour, learn!

Speaking of demos, check out Raul Esparza giving us a taste of 'The Flag Song' from Sondheim's Assassins. Very topical. Very very.

Check out the video that blasted Watsky onto the pop sphere. How can any human being go that fast? I dunno. I’m jealous.

Wanna see “An Open Letter” straight from the horse’s mouth? Have a swatch of this vid of Lin and friends giving their rendition on the Hamilton stage!

And a final congratulations to Andrew McDermott for winning the Overtures quiz with an impeccable 100% score!

A QUESTION FOR A HAPPY DAY

The movie version of this musical is one of Ron Howard’s only singing roles. Which musical?

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This is the summary for our overtures quiz!

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