More bildungsroman! More childhood discovery! More tears! This time, it's Fun Home that's making us cry, based on Alison Bechdel's graphic novel of the same name. The musical is by Jeanine Tesori and Lisa Krohn and won the 2015 Tony for Best Musical and features the absolutely wondrous and devastating song "Ring of Keys." Buckle up!

All clips are from 2014's Fun Home: Original Cast Album featuring Syndey Lucas and are protected by the Fair Use guidelines of Section 107 of the Copyright Act for criticism and commentary. All rights reserved to the copyright owners.

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Who here wants to cry at the innocence and fragility of childhood?! Well, ready or not, here we go, because this episode features "When I Grow Up" from Matilda: The Musical written by Tim Minchin. And it definitely enters then canon of "SMSTS episodes where one or both hosts audibly stifles tears." Enjoy!(?)

All clips are from 2011's Roald Dahl's Matilda: The Musical Original London Cast Recording and are protected by the Fair Use guidelines of Section 107 of the Copyright Act for criticism and commentary. All rights reserved to the copyright owners.

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Merriam-Webster defines a bildungsroman as "a novel about the moral and psychological growth of the main character." Well, we're not talking novels, but musicals --but otherwise, that definition fits nicely for our next mini-series, featuring songs about young people growing up. First up, "13 (Becoming a Man)" the title song and opening number to Jason Robert Brown's anti-triskaidekaphobic work 13. 

All clips are from 2008's 13: Original Broadway Cast Recording featuring Graham Phillips and are protected by the Fair Use guidelines of Section 107 of the Copyright Act for criticism and commentary. All rights reserved to the copyright owners.

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Shannon and Erik (but mostly Shannon) are here to close out our miniseries on comic duets with "You and Me (But Mostly Me)" from The Book of Mormon, written by Matt Parker, Trey Stone, and Bobby Lopez. Erik, meanwhile, details his theory of comic characters and why, for him, a lot of this song falls flat. 

All clips are from 2011's The Book of Mormon: Original Broadway Cast Recording featuring Andrew Rannells amd Josh God and Queen Latifah and are protected by the Fair Use guidelines of Section 107 of the Copyright Act for criticism and commentary. All rights reserved to the copyright owners.

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What if a brilliant comic duet was also incredibly vulgar? Yes, we're talking "Class" from Kander & Ebb's Chicago, and we get into both why it was almost cut from the original production and why it was cut from the 2002 Oscar-winning film. 

All clips are from 2002's Chicago: Music from the Miramax Motion Picture featuring Katherine Zeta-Jones and Queen Latifah and are protected by the Fair Use guidelines of Section 107 of the Copyright Act for criticism and commentary. All rights reserved to the copyright owners.

CONTENT WEARING: Lots of swears in this one. Blame Velma and Mama. Listener discretion advised. 

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We're back again, and just in time for Pride Month (Happy Pride!), we're talking about one of the queerest songs ever to appear in a totally "straight" musical: "Bosom Buddies" from 1966's Mame, with music and lyrics by Jerry Herman. Join us as we talk about Broadway, bitchiness, and Bea.

All clips are from 1966's Mame: Original Broadway Cast Recording featuring Angela Lansbury and Bea Arthur and are protected by the Fair Use guidelines of Section 107 of the Copyright Act for criticism and commentary. All rights reserved to the copyright owners.

N.B. -- This episode appears late due for artistic reasons, not at all because the editor accidentally scheduled it to release in July. Nope, that definitely didn't happen.

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Watch Angela and Bea at the Tonys.

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A few days late, but we hope it's worth the wait: it's new miniseries time! This time, we're looking at comedic duets, and we start with one of the most iconic examples of the genre: "Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better" by Irving Berling from 1946's Annie Get Your Gun. We talk a lot about the show, the song, and why the latter seems destined to outlive the former.

All clips are from 1999's Annie Get Your Gun: The New Broadway Cast Recording featuring Bernadette Peters and Tom Wopat and are protected by the Fair Use guidelines of Section 107 of the Copyright Act for criticism and commentary. All rights reserved to the copyright owners.

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Watch Reba crushing it.

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One final SondheimB-side before we depart. This time, we're looking at a show that's gone by many names, but has failed to make a huge impression under any of them. We're discussing at "Talent" from Road Show, aka Bounce aka Wise Guys. Never heard of it? You're not alone. N.B.: There is a very light swear in the song, at the very end. If you don't want your kids to hear it, just stop when we say goodbye.

All clips are from 2009's Road Show: Original Cast Recording featuring Claybourne Elder and are protected by the Fair Use guidelines of Section 107 of the Copyright Act for criticism and commentary. All rights reserved to the copyright owners.

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We're talking The Frogs, perhaps the ultimate curio in the Sondheim canon. Originally staged at Yale as a side project during Sondheim's golden 70s, the show was eventually brought to Broadway in 2004 -- still the most recent Broadway debut for Sondheim -- by Nathan Lane, who expanded the original version and got Steve to write some new songs. Now a more recognizable work -- though still an off-beat one -- another major production is set for the London stage. But where do Shannon and Erik come down on this most peculiar of Sondheim shows? We discuss "It's Only a Play."

All clips are from 2004's The Frogs: Original Broadway Cast Recording featuring Nathan Lane and Peter Bartlett and are protected by the Fair Use guidelines of Section 107 of the Copyright Act for criticism and commentary. All rights reserved to the copyright owners.

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Moving on with Sondheim B-Sides, we come to his very next show after Forum, namely the complete catastrophe that was Anyone Can Whistle. Co-written with Arthur Laurents, who also directed, the show was a massive flop, but it did give the world Broadway star Angela Lansbury, as well as an incredicle score. In this episode, we look at "With So Little To Be Sure Of," but not how it is in the show, necessarily. Curious? Listen and find out!

All clips are from the 2020 online concert event Take Me to the World: A Sondheim 90th Birthday Celebration featuring Brandon Uranowitz and are protected by the Fair Use guidelines of Section 107 of the Copyright Act for criticism and commentary. All rights reserved to the copyright owners.

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Listen to the SMSTS playlist on Spotify!

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