Talkback

In this episode, we discuss the theatrical event of the year, Ratatouille: The TikTok Musical!! We review the recent Actor Fund’s concert and celebrate the many online creators who turned the beloved Pixar film into a musical phenomenon. We end the episode by reflecting on what Ratatousical’s success means for the future of musical theater and social media.

Happy New Year! In this episode, we share our respective top 20 of 2020. We celebrate major moments and artifacts in the entertainment industry as well as the trailblazing artists who created them.

We love stage to screen adaptations! We are thrilled to see August Wilson's "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" and Kemp Powers's "One Night in Miami" brought to our small screens during the quarantine. We share how we responded to the adaptations, the performances, and the broader themes of the films. Let's celebrate that two plays by Black playwrights are releasing film adaptations during the same season!

August Wilson's "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" is available for streaming on Netflix. We also recommend watching the documentary about the creation of the film on Netflix as well as purchasing more plays by August Wilson wherever you buy books.

Kemp Powers's "One Night in Miami" will be streaming on Amazon Prime Video starting January 15. His other movie, "Soul" is currently streaming on Disney+.

Rest in Peace Chadwick Boseman, a beacon of theater and cinema.

This week is all about musicals! We discuss movie musicals old and new, including Ryan Murphy’s “The Prom” and Brandy and Whitney Houston’s “Cinderella.” We share the musical theater cast recordings we’ve been listening to recently, then get into a larger conversation about where the form can go when we all return to the theater.

Movie musicals we discussed during this episode include:

The Prom

Roger & Hammerstein’s Cinderella

Musicals we discussed during this episode include:

Octet

In the Green

A Strange Loop

Soft Power

On the Town

You can find listen to your favorite musical theater cast recordings on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Music. You can watch movie musicals on your favorite streaming platforms, including Netflix and Hulu. You can also add BroadwayHD, a streaming service that offers live and live-to-video stage productions from Broadway and beyond, to your Amazon Prime Video subscription to watch musicals filmed live on stage.

We’re back!! In this episode, we reflect on the last nine months of the COVID-19 pandemic (from the protests to #WeSeeYouWhiteAmericanTheater to the Presidential election). And we end the episode by imagining new possibilities for the theater industry and the world.

Below are several organizations that are promoting racial equity in the industry and supporting the theater community during the COVID-19 pandemic. We hope you take the time to familiarize yourself with the work they are doing and offer financial donations if you are able.

Broadway Advocacy Coalition - https://www.bwayadvocacycoalition.org/

Black Theater Coalition - https://blacktheatrecoalition.org/

Black Theater United - https://www.blacktheatreunited.com/

Black Work Broadway - https://blackworkbroadway.com/

#WeSeeYouWAT - https://www.weseeyouwat.com/

Broadway for Racial Justice - https://www.bfrj.org/

Actors Fund Community Covid-19 Emergency Relief - https://actorsfund.org/help-our-entertainment-communiity-covid-19-emergency-relief

This week, we discuss the Netflix documentary, Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness, and what its viral success says about the stories we yearn for in times of crisis. We then discuss what we look for in works of art. Should we value work that helps us escape our reality or work that pushes us to interrogate our society?

Coronavirus has theater professionals quarantined in their homes instead of creating the productions we love, but that can’t stop us from singing their praises as we come together during this challenging time. In episode 6, we discuss the social and economic impacts of the coronavirus and how it is affecting those vulnerable in society. Given theater is already underfunded in this country, we know our community is going to be severely impacted. We take a hopeful and positive approach to talking about the uncertain future of the theater in 2020 and brainstorm ways to support artists and continue the great work as we persevere through this time together.

We pay tribute to the late great Hal Prince and discuss how his work forever changed the American musical theater.

We discuss the Emmy nominated miniseries "Fosse/Verdon." We celebrate Gwen Verdon's contributions to musical theater and grapple with Bob Fosse's complicated legacy.

In episode 3, we discuss the theater's potential and limitations. We contemplate the belief that acting is a self-indulgent line of work that does make a concrete impact. Ultimately, we provide examples of how theater is transferrable to other professions and equips us all with empathy.