Scene to Song

In this episode, writer/theater critic Jose Solis discusses Latinx characters in musical theater, from Evita to Miss You Like Hell to Manuel vs. the Statue of Liberty (although leaving out West Side Story and In the Heights because they are talked about enough). We also talk about the song "America" from West Side Story.

In this episode, dramaturg and writer Anika Chapin discusses Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman's musical Assassins. We also talk about the song "Another National Anthem" from Assassins.

In this episode, teacher and singer Nicholas Harbison discusses the lesser-known musicals of Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty: Lucky Stiff, My Favorite Year, A Man of No Importance, Dessa Rose, and The Glorious Ones. We also talk about the song "We Dance" from their 1990 musical Once on This Island.

In this episode, writer EllaRose Chary discusses the formation of white and white Jewish identity in America, as well as the racial history of America, constructed through musical theater. We also talk about the song "The Night that Goldman Spoke at Union Square" from the 1997 musical Ragtime.

In this episode, director and Royal Family Productions artistic associate Mark Falconer discusses the musicals of Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt, from The Fantasticks to Philemon and Grover's Corners. We also talk about the song "I Said It, and I'm Glad" from Comden and Green and Styne's 1961 musical Subways are for Sleeping.

In this episode, nurse and musician BethAnn Freed Cohen discusses representations of Judaism in musical theater. We also talk about the song "Alone, and yet Alive" from The Mikado.

In this episode, producer and writer Sean Williams discusses David Yazbek's use of genre and tropes in his score to The Band's Visit. We also talk about the song "Answer Me" from The Band's Visit.

In this episode, composer, lyricist, writer, and orchestrator James Ballard discusses orchestrations and creating a sound world of a musical. We also talk about the song "Dust and Ashes"from the recent Dave Malloy musical, Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812.

In this episode, writer John Verderber discusses political musicals and the difference between those that are dated and those that last. We also talk about Stephen Sondheim's song "Someone in a Tree" from his 1976 musical Pacific Overtures. 

In this episode, composer, soprano, and musical director Erin Hoerchler discuss the women of Rodgers and Hammerstein and the echoes of those characters today. We also talk about the song "It Ain't Necessarily So" from Porgy and Bess by George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin, particularly the 1968 Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald version.