The Roundtable with Robert Bannon

Before Margaritaville became an empire, before Parrot Heads became a culture, and before Jimmy Buffett became one of music’s most beloved icons, there was a group of musicians helping create a sound — and a lifestyle — unlike anything else.

On this episode of The Roundtable with Robert Bannon, filmmaker John H. Cunningham joins Robert to talk about his new feature documentary, Occupational Hazard: The First Coral Reefers, an intimate, funny, and revealing look at the wild early years of Jimmy Buffett and the original Coral Reefer Band.

Set against the colorful backdrop of 1970s and early-'80s Key West, Occupational Hazard digs into the musicians, friendships, studio sessions, touring adventures, and sometimes chaotic lifestyle that helped shape Buffett's unmistakable sound. Through rare and never-before-seen archival footage and candid interviews with the people who were actually there, the film tells the origin story behind the phenomenon that would eventually become Margaritaville.

And there are some serious names along for the ride. Academy Award winner Jeff Bridges narrates, while the documentary features voices including Kenny Chesney, Mac McAnally, songwriter Keith Sykes, original Coral Reefers, producers, tour personnel, and others who witnessed those formative years firsthand.

Cunningham has a personal connection to this story, too. He first saw Buffett and the Coral Reefers perform in 1977 and moved to Key West the following year. Today, he's a filmmaker and USA TODAY bestselling author of the 12-book Buck Reilly Adventure Series. What began as an effort to capture part of the Coral Reefers' history ultimately grew into a feature documentary preserving stories from an era — and from people — that Cunningham knew couldn't be allowed to disappear.

Robert and John talk about discovering the stories behind the songs, the beautiful chaos of those early touring years, Buffett's relationship with the musicians who helped build his sound, the magic of Key West, and why Jimmy Buffett's legacy goes much deeper than margaritas, beaches, and flip-flops.

Occupational Hazard: The First Coral Reefers is in its theatrical run now, with a U.S. and Canadian digital release planned for November.

As Buffett told his friends near the end of his life: "Keep the party going."

Occupational Hazard shows us where that party began.

For more info, go to RobertBannon.com and follow Robert on IG @RobertMBannon.

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Broadway powerhouse Julia Murney is back at the Cape Playhouse — and this time, she’s ringing the bell at one of musical theatre’s funniest competitions!

On this episode of The Roundtable with Robert Bannon, Julia joins Robert to talk about starring as Rona Lisa Peretti in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, now playing at the historic Cape Playhouse in Dennis, Massachusetts through September 19. The Tony Award-winning musical features music and lyrics by William Finn, a book by Rachel Sheinkin and additional material by Jay Reiss. This new Cape production is directed by Broadway favorite Claybourne Elder and choreographed by Jeffrey Gugliotti.

Julia leads a terrific company that includes Tatianna Córdoba, Raymond J. Lee, Evan Tyrone Martin, Viveca Chow, Khadija E. Sankoh, Cody Jamison Strand, Joel Waggoner and Alex Wyse. And if you know Spelling Bee, you know the audience is part of the fun — volunteers enter the competition alongside the cast, making every performance just a little unpredictable.

For Julia, the Cape Playhouse is familiar territory. She previously took on one of musical theatre’s great roles there, Mama Rose in Gypsy. This time around, she gets to trade Rose’s ambition for Rona Lisa Peretti’s spelling lists, trophies and memories of her own championship glory.

Of course, Julia’s career goes far beyond the Cape. Broadway audiences know her as Elphaba in Wicked and from Lennon, while her acclaimed performance as Queenie in Andrew Lippa’s The Wild Party earned her a Drama Desk nomination. Her stage credits also include Between the Lines, Falling, Time and Again, A Little Night Music, Ragtime and Evita, along with television appearances including Sex and the City and the Law & Order universe.

Robert and Julia talk about returning to the Cape, finding the comedy and heart inside Spelling Bee, working with Claybourne Elder and this wildly talented company, and the incredible career that has made Julia Murney one of Broadway’s most distinctive voices.

Because beneath all the hilarious words, awkward adolescents and dreaded DING!, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee remains a show about something we all understand: wanting to belong, wanting to win — and figuring out that sometimes losing isn't the end of the world.

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee plays the Cape Playhouse through September 19, 2026.

Tickets & Show Information — The Cape Playhouse

For more info, go to RobertBannon.com and follow Robert on IG @RobertMBannon.

#TheRoundtable #RobertBannon #JuliaMurney #SpellingBee #The25thAnnualPutnamCountySpellingBee #CapePlayhouse #Broadway #Wicked #TheWildParty #MusicalTheatre #ClaybourneElder #BroadwayWorld

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What happens when three strangers head into the woods looking for an escape—and find connection, loneliness, laughter, and a little Britney Spears instead?

Canadian-born, Brooklyn-based playwright Stephen Sheffer joins Robert Bannon on The Roundtable to talk about his new play, Lean-To, making its world premiere Off-Broadway at 59E59 Theaters in New York City.

Presented by New Light Theater Project and Pendragon Theatre and directed by Jesse Jou, Lean-To follows an overprepared hiker and a not-so-prepared couple who find themselves sharing a rustic shelter in the woods. As they bond over Britney Spears, shared supplies, and their mutual desire to get away from city life, an unexpected connection begins to form—but something else may be brewing around the campfire.

Part comedy and part tender drama, Lean-To explores loneliness, our need for human connection, and what happens when we leave the noise of everyday life behind.

Stephen tells us how a real night spent in a lean-to during the depths of COVID inspired the play, why forests and wild spaces continue to show up in his writing, and his fascination with what he calls “grounded existentialism.” We also talk about the idea of humans being part of nature rather than separate from it—and why protecting our wild spaces feels especially urgent right now.

Stephen's work has been seen at Ars Nova, Rattlestick Theater, Cherry Lane Theatre, HERE Arts Center, Hartford Stage, The Flea, and more. His plays include SOS, Private Property, the award-winning Back To Mine, The Spark, and IRMPOV SHOW. He's also a screenwriter, performer, teaching artist, and founding member of NYC's long-running Dirty Little Secrets Improv Show.

Lean-To runs September 10–October 10 at 59E59 Theaters for a limited Off-Broadway engagement.

It’s theater, nature, Britney Spears, and a conversation about why—even when we run away from everything—we still need each other.

For more info, go to RobertBannon.com and follow Robert on IG @RobertMBannon.

#TheRoundtable #RobertBannon #StephenSheffer #LeanTo #OffBroadway #59E59 #59E59Theaters #NYCTheater #NYCTheatre #Theater #Theatre #Playwright #NewYorkTheater #NewLightTheaterProject #PendragonTheatre #BroadwayWorld #BroadwayPodcastNetwork #BritneySpears

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Few groups captured the sound, style, and energy of late-’80s and early-’90s pop quite like Exposé. With Jeanette Jurado, Gioia Bruno, and Ann Curless, the groundbreaking trio became one of the defining female groups of the era, blending pop, dance, freestyle, and powerhouse vocals into a sound that helped shape a generation.

Their debut album, Exposure, became a massive success and made Billboard history when Exposé became the first group to score four Top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 from a debut album. What followed was a remarkable run on the charts, millions of records sold, international success, and a catalog that remains part of the soundtrack of an entire era.

Decades later, Jeanette, Gioia, and Ann continue to perform together, bringing that unmistakable Exposé energy to audiences around the country — and proving that their bond, their voices, and their place in pop history have endured.

Now Exposé joins Robert Bannon on The Roundtable to talk about their incredible journey, surviving and evolving in the music business, the legacy they created together, and what it means to still share the stage all these years later.

Exposé performs Saturday, September 19 at 8 PM at Sound Board at MotorCity Casino Hotel in Detroit.

For more info, go to RobertBannon.com and follow Robert on IG @RobertMBannon.

#Expose #TheRoundtable #RobertBannon #PopMusic #Freestyle #DanceMusic #MusicLegends #80sMusic #90sMusic #Detroit #SoundBoardDetroit

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Robert was back to school for his first day, so Adrienne Garzillo jumped into the host seat for a very special Roundtable!

Broadway favorite Jelani Remy is here to talk about the 5th annual NextGen Spotlight, the one-night-only Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS benefit he is directing and hosting at The Green Room 42 on September 17.

Jelani shares what it means to help shine a light on Broadway’s next generation, the importance of mentorship and community in the theater, and why supporting the lifesaving work of Broadway Cares continues to matter.

And, of course, Adrienne and Jelani have plenty of fun along the way!

For more info, go to RobertBannon.com and follow Robert on IG @RobertMBannon.

#TheRoundtable #JelaniRemy #AdrienneGarzillo #BroadwayCares #BCEFA #NextGenSpotlight #Broadway #Theatre

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Myles Erlick has spent his career doing a little bit of everything — Broadway, television, film, dance, and now country music! After starring in Billy Elliot the Musical, The Next Step, and Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story, Myles is stepping into the spotlight as a singer-songwriter with his new album, HANDCRAFTED.

Myles joins Robert on The Roundtable to talk about the new record, finding his sound, making Nashville home, and what inspired this next chapter. We get into the stories behind the songs, working with Dann Huff and David Huff, the journey from acting to recording artist, and why this music feels so personal to him.

It’s a great conversation about growing up in the business, following where your creativity takes you, and introducing the world to a whole new side of Myles Erlick!

For more info, go to RobertBannon.com and follow Robert on IG @RobertMBannon.

#MylesErlick #HANDCRAFTED #CountryMusic #Nashville #WestSideStory #BillyElliot #TheNextStep #TheRoundtable #RobertBannon

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What a life. What a career. And OH, does he have stories!

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What happens when Broadway gets louder, heavier, and a whole lot more punk?

Matt Copley is about to show us!

The Michigan-based recording artist, theatrical producer, and creator behind the viral Broadway Does Punk series is taking the phenomenon from your screen to the stage for the first time ever! Copley has built a massive following by taking songs from shows like Wicked, The Phantom of the Opera, The Greatest Showman and more and completely reinventing them as full-throttle pop-punk and rock anthems. His interpretations have generated more than 16 million Spotify streams and hundreds of thousands of followers.

Now, Broadway Does Punk LIVE hits New York City’s Abrons Arts Center October 2–3 for a limited run featuring a full-band, full-production rock experience. As the show describes it: a stage built like a Broadway musical — and a Broadway musical built like a concert.

Matt joins The Roundtable with Robert Bannon to talk about turning Broadway favorites upside down, building Broadway Does Punk into a viral sensation, his rock roots, taking the project LIVE, and why musical theatre sounds pretty damn good with some distortion behind it!

If you love Broadway AND rock & roll, this one's for you.

For more info, go to RobertBannon.com and follow Robert on IG @RobertMBannon.

#MattCopley #BroadwayDoesPunk #BroadwayPunk #Broadway #MusicalTheatre #PopPunk #RockMusic #TheatreTok #TheRoundtable #RobertBannon

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What the world needs now… is a little more Burt Bacharach!

On this episode of The Roundtable with Robert Bannon, we are celebrating one of the greatest songbooks in American music with John Pagano and Adrian Galante from the acclaimed musical revue Going Bacharach: The Songs of an Icon.

John Pagano has a connection to this music that very few people can claim. For 26 years, he was the featured male vocalist in Burt Bacharach’s touring band, traveling the world and performing alongside the legendary composer. Bacharach became more than a collaborator — he was Pagano’s mentor and friend. John joins us to share memories of the man behind the music and what it means to continue singing these songs today.

Then there is Adrian Galante, the brilliant Australian pianist, clarinetist, arranger and musical director helping introduce Bacharach’s music to a whole new generation. Galante co-created Going Bacharach and created the show’s arrangements and orchestrations, finding fresh ways into classics we have known and loved for decades.

And what songs they are: “Walk On By,” “Alfie,” “I Say a Little Prayer,” “(They Long to Be) Close to You,” “Do You Know the Way to San Jose?,” “A House Is Not a Home,” “That’s What Friends Are For,” “What the World Needs Now Is Love” and so many more.

Going Bacharach brings three powerhouse vocalists together with a five-piece band for a musical journey through Bacharach’s extraordinary career. After acclaimed engagements in New York and Chicago, the show returns Off-Broadway this fall at the Marjorie S. Deane Little Theater, beginning September 9.

We talk about Burt, the stories behind the music, John’s decades performing alongside him, Adrian’s fresh arrangements, and why these songs still sound unlike anything else ever written.

This one is for the music lovers.

For more info, go to RobertBannon.com and follow Robert on IG @RobertMBannon.

#GoingBacharach #BurtBacharach #JohnPagano #AdrianGalante #TheRoundtable #RobertBannon #OffBroadway #BroadwayWorld #Bacharach #WhatTheWorldNeedsNow #WalkOnBy #CloseToYou

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You have definitely seen him on your feed — and now Daniel Coffman is at The Roundtable!

Daniel Coffman has become a social media sensation thanks to his wildly entertaining “Bathroom Broadway” videos, transforming a simple three-panel bathroom mirror into his own personal stage. His singing, dancing, comedy, and unapologetic joy have connected with a massive online audience, with his Instagram following now topping 1.5 million.

Daniel joins Robert to talk about how the videos began, what it feels like when something you created for fun suddenly takes off, and the person behind all of those viral performances. He also opens up about balancing creativity with real life, his work in interiors and home staging, and why authenticity has been such an important part of connecting with his audience.

And his viral success has taken him well beyond the bathroom! Daniel recently brought his unique performance style to Românii au talent — Romania’s Got Talent — where his wonderfully unconventional act caught the judges’ attention.

It’s a fun conversation about Broadway, social media, finding your people, embracing what makes you different, and what can happen when you stop worrying about looking silly and simply have a good time.

Catch Daniel Coffman on The Roundtable with Robert Bannon, available on BroadwayWorld, Broadway Podcast Network, YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio, and more.

For more info, go to RobertBannon.com and follow Robert on IG @RobertMBannon.

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