This episode finds out how The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee developed from an off-off-off-Broadway improv show to the beloved, hilarious and quirky Broadway hit. Through conversations with the show's conceiver, actors, producer, and iconic director James Lapine, we'll find out how the show survived a condemned East Village theater, found its footing at Barrington Stage, and then captured the hearts of New York audiences off-Broadway at Second Stage before making it to Broadway at Circle in the Square. This season is sponsored by TodayTix. To get $15 off your first purchase, download the app or visit TodayTix.com and use the promo code "BACKSTORY". Follow us on Twitter @bwaybackstory and go to TodayTix.com/BroadwayBackstory for more info. 

Episode 5: The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

Broadway Backstory is a documentary style podcast from TodayTix and Theater People that explores how a show develops from an idea to a full Broadway production. We get the behind the scenes story directly from the people who lived it - the conceivers, actors, directors, and producers. Season two will feature stories from Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton, Kinky Boots, The Light in the Piazza, Bring It On, Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812, Come From Away, and Bonnie & Clyde. Some shows are gone too soon, others seem like they’ll last forever — either way, it all started with an idea.

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Happy Holidays! We're checking in to say thanks for helping to make season 2 such a great success and to let you know when to expect the final two episodes of the season!

Season 2 Update!

FINALLY! With no further ado, we bring you the backstory of THE MOST requested show for us to cover: 2011's Bonnie & Clyde.  In this episode, we'll find out how the show developed from an ambitious recording project at Atlantic Records to a Broadway musical adored by audiences, but not by critics. Interviewees include Jeremy Jordan, Laura Osnes, director Jeff Calhoun, composer Frank Wildhorn, lyricist Don Black, book writer Ivan Menchell, producer Van Dean, and La Jolla Playhouse artistic director Christoper Ashley.

Episode 12: Bonnie & Clyde

"Helene is a slut, Anatole is hot, Marya is old-school, Sonya is good, Natasha is young, and Andre isn't here..." We're OBSESSED with Natasha, Pierre, & The Great Comet of 1812! Through conversations with the show's writer & composer, Dave Malloy, director Rachel Chavkin, producers, set designer and actors, we'll find out how the show developed from 70 pages of War and Peace to the most Tony nominated show of the 2017 season (and all the growing pains in between).

Episode 11: Natasha, Pierre, & The Great Comet of 1812

Annnnnnnnd, we're back! Season two brings you eight brand new episodes that find out how some of your favorite shows developed from an idea to a full Broadway production. Our first two episodes drop on Tuesday, September 19th and will cover Hamilton. We take a fresh look at the show and offer some never-before heard insight into how the show developed from a vacation beach read to an international phenomenon earning more Tony nominations than any other show in history. Through exclusive interviews with Lin-Manuel Miranda, director Tommy Kail, orchestrator Alex Lacamoire, The Public Theater's Oskar Eustis, actors Phillipa Soo & Renee Elise Goldsberry, and more, you'll rediscover Hamilton and learn new information about how the show got made.         

Season 2 Trailer

Through conversations with the show's writers, producers, director and stars, we'll find out how Next To Normal developed from a college project, to a 10-minute musical, to a NYMF favorite, and then found its footing off-Broadway and out of town before becoming the beloved Pulitzer Prize-winning hit. 

Episode 5: The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

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