This week we chat with Patrick Aiken about which of life's truths can be learned from the propaganda-parody musical - Reefer Madness!

"Viewed through eyes blurred by no substance stronger than cough syrup, the film is still mildly diverting, with its censorious, bespectacled narrator and its scenes showing wholesome high-school students transformed into monsters by a single puff. It even has a weird, sort of Expressionist power in its mad, jerky party scenes. But its humor, especially for head-movie fans, has always been in its somber, tabloid-style hyperbole."

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

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Murphy_(screenwriter)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reefer_Madness_(2005_film)

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

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

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_J._Gasnier

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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 Kevin Werner about which life lessons can be learned from the gender-bending, rock musical - Hedwig and the Angry Inch!

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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 Merilee E about which life lessons can be learned from the story of a story musical - Finding Neverland!

As with many a Broadway musical these days, “Finding Neverland” — which features a book by James Graham and sticky soft-pop power ballads by Gary Barlow and Eliot Kennedy — is based on a popular film. That would be the 2004 biopic about the playwright J. M. Barrie, the creator of Peter Pan, which starred Johnny Depp and for which Mr. Weinstein was an executive producer.

The stage version of “Finding Neverland” is no replica of the film, though it might have been better if it were. Instead, it heightens the screenplay’s sentimentality, tidy psychologizing and life-affirming messages by thickening their syrup and corn quotients in ways presumably deemed palatable to theatergoing children and their parents. The show brings to mind those supersize sodas sold in movie theaters, which Mayor Michael Bloomberg once quixotically campaigned against.

You can support Merilee's event: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-merilee-get-to-drama-school-in-london

And you can find Merilee on social media @MerileeArtist on Facebook and Instagram

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

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

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

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

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

https://findingneverlandthemusical.com/

https://stageagent.com/shows/musical/8899/finding-neverland

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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 Astin Astin Hammermeister about which of life's truths can be learned from the thoroughly modern musical - Thoroughly Modern MIllie!

"It will require a strong stomach for overtly racist tropes and tired sexual stereotypes, though; not to mention a penchant for the kind of paint-by-numbers songs that are forgotten before they even reach the resolving chords. There are things to like in the show, but there is so much else that is flat-out offensive, and it takes a brave company to even attempt it. The good news is that the Production Company knows exactly where to pour their resources, and they manage to produce an evening’s entertainment nowhere near as disastrous as it could have been." by TIM BYRNE

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

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

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

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

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

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

https://www.mtishows.com.au/thoroughly-modern-millie

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euEtbp3pRGI

https://stageagent.com/shows/musical/1458/thoroughly-modern-millie

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0062362/

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

http://www.guidetomusicaltheatre.com/shows_t/thoroughlymillie.htm

https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-show/10828

http://www.guidetomusicaltheatre.com/shows_c/chrysanthemum.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 chat with Kieran Davey about what life truths can be learned from the "historical", fourth-wall-breaking, show within a show - Gutenberg! The Musical!

Gutenberg! The Musical!” is, in a word, zany! zany! zany! Two-character biotuner, in the guise of a backer’s audition, is as thin as a pfannkuchen — pancake, to you — but actors Christopher Fitzgerald and Jeremy Shamos pull off the yuks with aplomb. Theatergoers who don’t relish shucked corn mixed with slices of ham may be advised to stay away; for those in the mood, though, “Gutenberg! The Musical!” is one hell of a goofy evening. - By Steven Suskin

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XxQdtiPDfQ

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_King_(writer)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Brown_(writer)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gutenberg!_The_Musical!

https://www.gutenbergthemusical.com/

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

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

http://www.playbill.com/article/upright-citizens-brigades-anthony-king-brings-gutenberg-the-musical-to-nymf-com-134320

http://www.gutenbergthemusical.com.au/

https://www.gutenbergstravels.com/

https://www.playbill.com/article/15-plays-and-musicals-that-only-need-2-actors

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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 Alex Woodward about which of life's truths can be found in the 2019 musical - & Juliet!

"From “Wicked” to “Waitress,” female empowerment has been a boon for musical theater. But where those shows veered between sincerely earnest and earnestly sincere, “& Juliet” gleefully goes for broke putting gender on the agenda as it yokes pop milestones from the likes of Britney Spears, Katy Perry and Celine Dion to a girl-power revamp of “Romeo and Juliet.” The hyperactive production is sometimes more enervating than exciting, but doubts are blown out of the water by the lead performances, especially spectacular newcomer Miriam-Teak Lee as Juliet, who doesn’t so much star as set the theater alight."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%26_Juliet

https://www.andjulietthemusical.co.uk/

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

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20uAMAhMnKo

https://www.shaftesburytheatre.com/shows/juliet/

https://www.instagram.com/julietmusical/?hl=en

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

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In this episode, we chat with Shannon Foley about what lessons can be learned from the sea-faring comic opera - HMS Pinafore.

The Era wrote: Seldom indeed have we been in the company of a more joyous audience. ... [Gilbert and Sullivan] have on previous occasions been productive of such legitimate amusement, such novel forms of drollery, such original wit, and unexpected whimsicality, that nothing was more natural than for the audience to anticipate an evening of thorough enjoyment. The expectation was fulfilled completely. Those who believed in the power of Mr Gilbert to tickle the fancy with quaint suggestions and unexpected forms of humour were more than satisfied, and those who appreciate Mr Arthur Sullivan's inexhaustible gift of melody were equally gratified; while that large class of playgoers who are pleased with brilliant dresses and charming stage effects declared themselves delighted. The result, therefore, was "a hit, a palpable hit" ... there were some slight drawbacks [such] as the severe cold that affected Mr. Rutland Barrington [the captain], and almost prevented his singing.

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

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._S._Gilbert

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

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H.M.S._Pinafore

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0490959/

https://www.guidetomusicaltheatre.com/shows_h/hms_pinafore.htm

https://stageagent.com/shows/operetta/387/hms-pinafore

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_D%27Oyly_Carte

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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 chat with Naomi Mole about what lessons can be learned from the political commentary musical - Call Me Madam!

"But for every joke that falls flat, there's a terrific song, including the charming "It's a Lovely Day Today," the beautiful ballad "Marrying for Love," the toe-tapping "The Hostess with the Mostes' On the Ball," and the show's unqualified masterpiece of counterpoint, "You're Just in Love," the last guaranteed to send you out of the theater on a high. The numbers are beautifully sung and gorgeously rendered by the large orchestra using Don Walker's original orchestrations. There are even two musicians performing on ocarinas, which in the show's conceit is the national instrument of Lichtenburg."

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

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

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

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0045592/

http://www.guidetomusicaltheatre.com/shows_c/call_me_madam.htm

https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/call-me-madam-1871

https://stageagent.com/shows/musical/1830/call-me-madam

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Email us: [email protected]

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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 chat with Timothy Winn about the Spanish play turned musical - Bernarda Alba.

Ben Brantley, reviewing for The New York Times, wrote, "This latest offering from the prolific Mr. LaChiusa, often feels wan and weary...The music, though superbly orchestrated (by Michael Starobin) and played, goes places that singers used to hard-sell Broadway pizazz cannot follow. The punctuating yelps; the wavering sustained notes in minor keys; the labyrinthine interior musical paths; the eruptions into antimelodic harshness — these are all more the stuff of mid-20th-century chamber operas than conventional show tunes...The touchingly game performers, who include musical pros like Daphne Rubin-Vega (a haunting presence as the ugly daughter) and Yolande Bavan (as Bernarda's senile mother), inevitably stumble over such challenges."

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

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

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_House_of_Bernarda_Alba_(play)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federico_Garc%C3%ADa_Lorca

https://www.origintheatrical.com.au/work/6669

http://www.classictheatre.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/The-House-of-Bernarda-Alba-Study-Guide.pdf

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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 chat with Brad Chapman about the Australian cult classic turned musical - Priscilla, Queen of the Desert!

Reviews for the Toronto production include praise for the costumes from the Globe and Mail: "The costumes designed by Tim Chappel and Lizzy Gardiner, the same team that won an Oscar for the movie, are a fabulous mix of Village People meet Tim Burton culminating in, at the curtain call, a whole crass menagerie of dragged-up koalas and 'roos."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Priscilla,_Queen_of_the_Desert_(musical)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Adventures_of_Priscilla,_Queen_of_the_Desert

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

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allan_Scott_(Scottish_screenwriter)

https://priscillathemusical.com.au/

https://www.facebook.com/PriscillaAustralia/

https://www.theatricalrights.com/show/priscilla-queen-of-the-desert/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Adventures_of_Priscilla,_Queen_of_the_Desert

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0109045/

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

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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