The Gospel of Musical Theatre

What better way to celebrate summer than with a frozen cocktail of Disney Princess mania? It’s 2013’s Frozen, beloved by aspiring Elsas and Annas, reviled by parents and caretakers who threaten to lose it if they hear “Let it Go” one more time (trigger warning: you’ll hear it in this episode).

You’ll also hear:

• Love is an Open Door: a catchy romance ballad that sets up deeper questions about true love – both in the Disney tradition and in a contemporary society where women and men are navigating complicated and often contradictory relationship patterns.

You’ll hear Idina Menzel, Kristen Bell, Santino Fontana, Josh Gad and the rest of the cast from the 2013 soundtrack recording.

Continue the conversation with us on Instagram (@gospelofmt).

“A bit of madness is key to give us new colors to see.”

Today, we continue our Summer Movie Happy Hour Fizzy Summer Tour... thing... as we talk about 2016’s contemporary take on the classic film musicals of the 1940s, 50s and 60s: LaLa Land.

2016 feels like a La La Land ago. How does this film hold up almost a decade later?

We talk about:

• "Another Day of Sun" – A great opening number that sets up the world of LaLa Land (literally Los Angeles – but in the context of the election that took place in 2016, the year this film was released, what else might LaLa Land mean?)

You’ll hear Emma Stone, John Legend, and Ryan Gosling singing the Pasek/Patel score from the 2016 film soundtrack.

Continue the conversation with us on Instagram (@gospelofmt).

We fixed everything in the real world so all women are happy and powerful.

Just kidding... but we ARE talking about The Barbie Movie! We’re so excited to be joined by Arwen Myers, executive director of the podcast, musicals aficionado – and the person Barbie was made for – to talk about Greta Gerwig's blockbuster 2023 summer hit. Is it a musical? We think it is.

We talk about:

• "Pink" – An almost Broadway-level opening number that establishes the all-pink world of Barbieland before everything goes haywire.

You’ll hear Lizzo, Matchbox Twenty, America Ferrera, Ryan Gosling and Billy Eilish from the film’s 2023 soundtrack. Continue the conversation with us on Instagram @gospelofmt!

Band Geeks of the world, unite!

We’re taking a fizzy summer tour through some of our favorite movie musicals – and what better way to observe the Fourth of July weekend in the USA than with one of the most patriotic and Americana-obsessed musicals of all time, the 1962 film version of Meredith Willson’s 1957 Broadway musical The Music Man!

We talk about:

• "Rock Island" – One of the most impressive opening numbers in any musical, a laser-quick intro to the economics and social mores of early 20th-century America.

You’ll hear:

Robert Preston, Barbara Cook and the cast of the 1957 Broadway cast – because we love Shirley Jones, but there's only one Marian the Librarian.

Continue the conversation with us on Instagram @gospelofmt!

Papa, can you hear me?

It's the last episode of our Season of Babs, and we're going out strong! That's right: today we look at Barbra Streisand's magnum opus, the 1982 film Yentl – which she both directed and starred in.

We talk about:

• Prayer & Texts:  What it means to study sacred texts, and the critical differences between traditionally-Christian and traditionally-Jewish ways of understanding scripture.

You’ll hear:

– Barbra singing “Where Is It Written,” “No Wonder,” “Several Sins A Day” (cut from the final film) and “A Piece of Sky”.

Continue the conversation with us on Instagram and The Platform Formerly Known as Twitter (@gospelofmt).

Is it a musical? Is it a $6MM home movie? A contemporary Purim spiel? This is a weird movie, you guys.

The evergreen story of A Star Is Born has attracted legendary performers like Judy Garland, Barbra Streisand, and Lady Gaga. Today, Peter and Nathan focus on the 1976 film version with Barbra and Kris Kristofferson in the context of Gaga and Garland. 

We talk about:

• The Backstory:  Dorothy Parker, Moss Hart, David O. Selznick, Joan Didion, and all the geniuses who should have made a better movie.

You’ll hear:

• Kris Kristofferson and Barbra on the 1976 film soundtrack singing "Watch Closely Now," "The Woman in the Moon," and (of course) the 1976-Oscar-Winning classic, "Evergreen."

Continue the conversation with us on Instagram and The Platform Formerly Known as Twitter (@gospelofmt).

It may not be a musical, but it sure is close... It's The Way We Were!

It’s 1973. Watergate has happened. Barbra Streisand, Robert Redford, Arthur Laurents, and Sidney Pollack get together to re-create the weepy romcom in the non-musical—but musical-theatre-adjacent!—classic The Way We Were.

We talk about:

• The Conflict: Streisand & Laurents versus Pollack & Redford, and some of the behind-the-scenes drama that led to the creation of this classic.

You’ll hear:

• Barbra singing the film’s title song from the 1973 film soundtrack, and an excerpt from the 1998 episode of Sex in the City, Episode 18 (“Ex in the City”).

Continue the conversation with us on Instagram and The Platform Formerly Known as Twitter (@gospelofmt).

Peter and Nathan watched this movie so you don't have to!

It's time for a deep cut... We’re talking about the 1970 film version of Alan Jay Lerner and Burton Lane’s very strange musical, On A Clear Day You Can See Forever – a show about a psychiatrist with terrible boundaries.

We talk about:

• ESP: Is there a meaningful distinction between extrasensory perception and Christian conceptions of spirituality and prayer?

You’ll hear:

Yves Montand, Barbra Streisand and the cast of the film singing "Come Back To Me," "Love With All The Trimmings" and "On A Clear Day You Can See Forever" as well as the Peddlers’ version of the film’s title song.

Continue the conversation with us on Instagram and The Platform Formerly Known as Twitter (@gospelofmt).

She's still glowin', she's still crowin,' she's still goin' strong...

That's right: we're continuing our deep dive into the great Barbra Streisand with a look at the mid-60s Broadway classic, Jerry Herman’s Hello Dolly!

We talk about:

• Discernment: Dolly is a woman on a journey out of grief – and is looking for her sign. What kind of a theology of discernment does the show depend on?

You’ll hear:

The 1969 film soundtrack: La Streisand, Walter Matthau, Michael Crawford, Louis Armstrong and the full cast singing “Just Leave Everything To Me,” “It Takes a Woman,” “Ribbons Down My Back,” “Put On Your Sunday Clothes,” “Elegance,” “Before the Parade Passes By,” “It Only Takes a Moment” and, of course, “Hello, Dolly!”

Continue the conversation with us on Instagram and The Platform Formerly Known as Twitter (@gospelofmt).

Isn’t it "people who DON'T need people are the luckiest people in the world?"

Today we look at the role that made Barbara Streisand's early career: the role of Fanny Brice in Jule Styne & Bob Merrill’s 1964 musical Funny Girl and the 1968 film directed by William Wyler.

We talk about:

• The Greatest Star: The phenomenon of the original Fanny Brice, how Barbra got involved in the project, and where the line between ego, strength, and vanity lies.

You’ll hear:

– The 1968 Film Soundtrack: "I’m the Greatest Star," Omar Shariff and Barbra singing "You Are Woman, I am Man," "My Man," "Don’t Rain on My Parade" and—of course—"People."

Continue the conversation with us on Instagram and The Platform Formerly Known as Twitter (@gospelofmt).