Musicals Taught Me Everything I Know

This week we chat with Reindert Toia about which of life's lessons can be learned from the almost-always-controversially-cast-musical - The King and I!

"The New York Times drama critic Brooks Atkinson wrote: "This time Messrs. Rodgers and Hammerstein are not breaking any fresh trails, but they are accomplished artists of song and words in the theater, and The King and I is a beautiful and lovable musical play."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_King_and_I

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9L_lilJKQQ

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_King_and_I_(1956_film)

https://broadwaymusicalhome.com/shows/kingandi.htm

https://stageagent.com/shows/musical/836/the-king-and-i

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0049408/

http://www.guidetomusicaltheatre.com/shows_k/king_and_i.htm

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Our theme song and interstitial music all by the one and only Benedict Braxton Smith.

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This week we talk with Joshua Moore & Lawson from the upcoming production of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory at Phoenix Ensemble about which of life's lessons can be learned from this chocolate confection of a musical!

BOOK TICKETS TO THE SHOW: https://phoenixensemble.com.au/portfolio-items/charlie-and-the-chocolate-factory/

Don’t expect a sugar rush from “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” the new musical that opened at the Lunt-Fontanne Theater on Sunday. This latest adaptation of Roald Dahl’s winningly sinister children’s story from 1964 is — thank heaven — no sweeter than the two film adaptations it inspired, starring Gene Wilder (1971) and Johnny Depp (2005).

Then again, this big but tentative show — which features a book by David Greig and songs by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman — doesn’t burst with flavor of any kind, at least not during its exposition-crammed first act. Only in its second half does the show acquire a distinct taste, and it definitely isn’t confectionary. - By Ben Brantley

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_and_the_Chocolate_Factory_(musical)

https://www.mtishows.com.au/charlie-and-the-chocolate-factory

http://charliethemusicalshop.com.au/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_and_the_Chocolate_Factory

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roald_Dahl

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Greig_(dramatist)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marc_Shaiman

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Wittman

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Our theme song and interstitial music all by the one and only Benedict Braxton Smith.

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This week we chat with Melissa Crabtree all the way from Chicago! About what life lessons there are to be learned from the gun-toting comedy - Annie Get Your Gun!

You can find more from melissa and her adorable stationery at www.anactorplans.com

John Chapman of the Daily News declared that the production had "good lyrics and tunes by Irving Berlin...[and] the razzle-dazzle atmosphere of a big-time show" but pronounced Merman the best part of the show, stating "She is a better comedienne than she ever was before", stating that "Annie is a good, standard, lavish, big musical and I'm sure it will be a huge success--but it isn't the greatest show in the world".[51] Louis Kronenberger of PM stated that the show was 'in many ways routine", but greatly praised Merman's performance, opining, "For me, Annie is mainly Miss Merman's show, though the rest of it is competent enough of its kind...Irving Berlin's score is musically not exciting--of the real songs, only one or two are tuneful".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annie_Get_Your_Gun_(musical)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annie_Get_Your_Gun_(film)

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0042200/

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/annie_get_your_gun

https://broadwaymusicalhome.com/shows/anniegetyourgun.htm

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Visit our home on the web thatsnotcanon.com

Our theme song and interstitial music all by the one and only Benedict Braxton Smith.

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In this episode, we chat to James Shaw of That's Classic Entertainment about which of life's truths can be learned from Jerry Springer the Opera!

You can find more from James and his compatriots at https://www.facebook.com/thatsclassicau/, and you can find his podcast here: https://podfollow.com/1534285490

"The BBC is bracing itself for further criticism after it screened Jerry Springer - The Opera on Saturday.

Hundreds of Christian protesters rallied outside BBC buildings before and during the broadcast on BBC Two.

At least 45,000 people contacted the BBC about the show, mainly to complain about swearing and religious themes.

The BBC denied reports that any bosses were in hiding after abusive phone calls, but said unpleasant calls had been received and reported to police.

Director general Mark Thompson defended the decision to screen the programme.

Mr Thompson, himself a practising Christian, said he believed there was nothing blasphemous in the production and was going out after the watershed with "very, very clear" warnings about strong language."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Springer:_The_Opera

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Thomas_(musician)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stewart_Lee

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Springer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzxUs6P7Vcs

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Visit our home on the web thatsnotcanon.com

Our theme song and interstitial music all by the one and only Benedict Braxton Smith.

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This week we chat with Grace Clarke about which of life's truths can be learned from the musical that is all-Cher, all-the-time - the Cher Show!

"Choosing to recreate the spirit of the television variety shows that Sonny and Cher — and then Cher sans Sonny — headlined in the ‘70s is a choice that lands as flat as the jokes in Broadway’s latest jukebox bio, “The Cher Show.” Its attempt to celebrate the resilience of its “bad-ass” star and her half-century career of highs and lows rarely rises above that TV series’ taste for cliches, corn and cheese. Despite an icon with attitude, an armful of pop tunes and a can-do cast, the script never quite finds a satisfying style — or a genuine heart — as a winning stage musical. As Cher might say: Broadway’s a bitch.

You know a show’s in trouble when the moments that elicit the biggest applause of the night don’t even feature its title character. There’s a mini-fashion show featuring over-the-top outfits by original Cher designer Bob Mackie — who created the costumes for the musical — that’s a stunner of shameless excess. There’s also a dazzling number choreographed by Christopher Gattelli featuring a knockout dancer (Ashley Blair Fitzgerald) representing “The Dark Lady” of one of Cher’s songs."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cher_Show_(musical)

https://thechershowbroadway.com/

https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/the-cher-show-518460

https://www.broadway.com/shows/cher-show/cast/

https://www.facebook.com/TheCherShow/

https://broadwaymusicalhome.com/shows/cher-show.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_Elice

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cher

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephanie_J._Block

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Got_You_Babe

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Beat_Goes_On_(Sonny_%26_Cher_song)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gypsys,_Tramps_and_Thieves

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaska_Thunderfuck

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adore_Delano

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chad_Michaels

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In this episode, we chat with Mike Zarate about which of life's lessons can be learned from Boubil and Schonberg's second opus - Miss Saigon!

"THERE may never have been a musical that made more people angry before its Broadway debut than "Miss Saigon."

Here is a show with something for everyone to resent -- in principle, at least. Its imported stars, the English actor Jonathan Pryce and the Filipino actress Lea Salonga, are playing roles that neglected Asian-American performers feel are rightfully theirs. Its top ticket price of $100 is a new Broadway high, sprung by an English producer, if you please, on a recession-straitened American public. More incendiary still is the musical's content. A loose adaptation of "Madama Butterfly" transplanted to the Vietnam War by French authors, the "Les Miserables" team of Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schonberg, "Miss Saigon" insists on revisiting the most calamitous and morally dubious military adventure in American history and, through an unfortunate accident of timing, arrives in New York even as the jingoistic celebrations of a successful American war are going full blast.

So take your rage with you to the Broadway Theater, where "Miss Saigon" opened last night, and hold on tight. Then see just how long you can cling to the anger when confronted by the work itself. For all that seems galling about "Miss Saigon" -- and for all that is indeed simplistic, derivative and, at odd instances, laughable about it -- this musical is a gripping entertainment of the old school (specifically, the Rodgers and Hammerstein East-meets-West school of "South Pacific" and "The King and I"). Among other pleasures, it offers lush melodies, spectacular performances by Mr. Pryce, Miss Salonga and the American actor Hinton Battle, and a good cry. Nor are its achievements divorced from its traumatic subject, as cynics might suspect. Without imparting one fresh or daring thought about the Vietnam War, the show still manages to plunge the audience back into the quagmire of a generation ago, stirring up feelings of anguish and rage that run even deeper than the controversies that attended "Miss Saigon" before its curtain went up." - By Frank Rich

https://www.nytimes.com/1991/04/12/theater/review-theater-miss-saigon-arrives-from-the-old-school.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miss_Saigon

https://stageagent.com/shows/musical/1590/miss-saigon

https://www.mtishows.com.au/miss-saigon

https://broadwaymusicalhome.com/shows/misssaigon.htm

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6162808/

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/17/theater/the-battle-of-miss-saigon-yellowface-art-and-opportunity.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claude-Michel_Sch%C3%B6nberg

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alain_Boublil

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/musicals-taught-me-everything-i-know.

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This week we chat with Stacie Hobbs about which of life's truths can be learned from the all-pink, all-feminist musical - Legally Blonde!

Ben Brantley, reviewing the musical in The New York Times, wrote that the show was a "high-energy, empty-calories, and expensive-looking hymn to the glories of girlishness"; he praised Laura Bell Bundy saying, "she sings and dances flawlessly, and she delivers silly lines as if she meant them."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legally_Blonde_(musical)

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1125194/

https://www.mtishows.com.au/legally-blonde-the-musical

https://stageagent.com/shows/musical/711/legally-blonde

https://www.broadwayworld.com/shows/cast.php?showid=5556

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laurence_O%27Keefe_(composer)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nell_Benjamin

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heather_Hach

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legally_Blonde

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laura_Bell_Bundy

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_Borle

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legally_Blonde:_The_Musical_%E2%80%93_The_Search_for_Elle_Woods

Like us on Facebook! Follow us on Twitter! Support us on Patreon!

Email us: [email protected]

Visit our home on the web thatsnotcanon.com

Our theme song and interstitial music all by the one and only Benedict Braxton Smith.

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/musicals-taught-me-everything-i-know.

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Your hosts are all going to pitch you their ideas for an original Christmas musical extravaganza! This episode is a bit chaotic so grab your eggnog and yell at us as we yall at each other!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deck_the_Halls_(2006_film)

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0790604/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Princess_Switch

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8954732/

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11199410/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knives_Out

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8946378/

http://thrillingadventurehour.com/

Like us on Facebook! Follow us on Twitter! Support us on Patreon!

Email us: [email protected]

Visit our home on the web thatsnotcanon.com

Our theme song and interstitial music all by the one and only Benedict Braxton Smith.

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/musicals-taught-me-everything-i-know.

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This week we celebrate Hunnakah with Rex J Ablett and chat about all of the lessons we can learn from the Jewish masterpiece - Fiddler on the Roof!

"Miracle of miracles, indeed: Just when you think you know a classic musical backwards and forwards, along comes director Bartlett Sher to prove otherwise. Just as with his seminal 2008 staging of "South Pacific" (and his less successful, but still laudable version of "The King and I" from earlier this year), Sher's take on "Fiddler on the Roof" feels at once bracingly modern and gloriously old school."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiddler_on_the_Roof

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiddler_on_the_Roof_(film)

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067093/

https://www.mtishows.com.au/fiddler-on-the-roof

https://www.mtishows.com.au/fiddler-on-the-roof-jr

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/fiddler_on_the_roof

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sholem_Aleichem

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish

Like us on Facebook! Follow us on Twitter! Support us on Patreon!

Email us: [email protected]

Visit our home on the web thatsnotcanon.com

Our theme song and interstitial music all by the one and only Benedict Braxton Smith.

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/musicals-taught-me-everything-i-know.

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"It's ironic that Forum delivered such a show-stopping standard in the first five minutes since it has been confirmed by composer-lyricist Stephen Sondheim that his show's songs were meant to give audiences a respite from laughing, as had songs in the theatre of Plautus. While Sondheim is repeatedly critical of Forum's score in his book of annotated lyrics, Finishing the Hat, it has considerable charm, most notably Everybody Ought to Have a Maid, a paean to feminine domestic help, replete with built-in encores."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Funny_Thing_Happened_on_the_Way_to_the_Forum

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Funny_Thing_Happened_on_the_Way_to_the_Forum_(film)

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0060438/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pseudolus

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burt_Shevelove

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_Gelbart

https://www.mtishows.com.au/a-funny-thing-happened-on-the-way-to-the-forum

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/funny_thing_happened_on_the_way_to_the_forum

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zero_Mostel

Like us on Facebook! Follow us on Twitter! Support us on Patreon!

Email us: [email protected]

Visit our home on the web thatsnotcanon.com

Our theme song and interstitial music all by the one and only Benedict Braxton Smith.

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/musicals-taught-me-everything-i-know.

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/musicals-taught-me-everything-i-know.

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