This Might Be Niche

This episode is a love letter to the one, the only, the 6-time Tony-winning icon herself: Miss Audra McDonald. We may be making that 7 this June... who knows?

That’s right — an entire episode devoted to the queen- or currently, the Mama- of Broadway. We get into the roles, the vocals, the gowns, the gravitas, and the moments that moved our little theater kid hearts.

Plus: we’re heading into a little hiatus, but fear not — This Might Be Niche will be back this summer with more notes, deep dives, and possibly too many opinions. Until then, enjoy this Audra appreciation fest and keep it niche.

This week we dive into Redwood, the musical that gave us queen Idina Menzel in full belting, boot-stomping, soul-baring glory — and, well… not much else that worked.

Listeners, we recorded this before the show announced its closing, so consider this episode a heartfelt (and mildly chaotic) tribute. There was direction by the visionary Tina Landau. There were trees. There was Idina Menzel singing upside down from those trees. And there were many notes.

We break it all down, with love and some gentle questioning— and then we wrap things up with our favorite segment: Kvetching from Our Seats.

RIP to a Broadway fever dream. Long live our queen.

Mama’s talkin’ loud, and she's  also singing high. We’re breaking down the Gypsy revival (or according to the marquee: "Audra: Gypsy") starring the legend herself, Audra McDonald, with Danny Burstein, Joy Woods, and Jordan Tyson rounding out this powerhouse cast.

We get into the big questions: Where does Audra’s Rose land in the canon of titanic performances? We dive into the mythology around Gypsy itself, why it looms so large, and how this revival adds a new chapter. As always, we’ve got thoughts. Honestly... more story about the stripping.

Come for the hot takes, stay for the kvetching. You know how it goes.

"Mr. DeMille, I’m ready for my close-up”—and wow, were we close. Scott & Alana sat front row at the Jamie Lloyd-directed SUNSET BLVD. revival, where everything is moody, monochrome, and meta as all hell. This week on This Might Be Niche, we break down this bold production (recently nominated for 7 Tonys) and the chaotic glamour of it all. We also collect our jaws from the floor after seeing featured alternate Mandy Gonzalez, who gave a performance so incredible we may have briefly blacked out. Come for the Norma Desmond of it all, stay for the opinions and unfiltered front-row feelings.

This week on This Might Be Niche, we’re marching straight into the history of Jason Robert Brown’s Parade — from its original Broadway run and the cult fandom that kept it alive, through it's Broadway revival starring Ben Platt and Micaela Diamond and subsequent 2025 national tour. We unpack how this dark, complicated, gorgeous show became a full-blown theater kid obsession and why it still hits so hard today. We wax poetic about Carolee Carmello. You bring the tissues, we'll bring the opinions. Join the conversation on Instagram @thismightbenichepod.

This week, This Might Be Niche sets sail with the one and only Jinkx Monsoon! From her legendary run on Drag Race to her originating Broadway role in Pirates! The Penzance Musical (opening late April), we celebrate our Queen Of All Queens. We're deep diving on the drag royalty taking the Great White Way, the queens who’ve done it before, the ones we’re manifesting, and how drag and theater are, at their core, doing the same kind of magic. Let's get into it.

Mirror, Mirror on the wall… what is this movie? This week on This Might Be Niche, we dive into the discourse around Disney's recently released 2025 Snow White. From Rachel Zegler’s chaotic press tour to Gal Gadot’s campy queen non-singing —and yes, the fully CGI dwarves—we unpack the controversy, the casting, and the cursed vibes of Disney’s latest live-action gamble. Listener, exactly how woke is it? Discuss. 

Just in time for The Last 5 Years opening (for the first time!) on Broadway, Scott & Alana take a journey through this cult favorite's history in this episode ofThis Might Be Niche. They talk about the 2002 Off-Broadway recording that every millennial theater kid has listened to 1000 times with Sherie Rene Scott (the best to ever do it) and Norbert Leo Butz (the best there ever was). They compare iterations across time including the 2013 Off-Broadway revival with Adam Kantor and Betsy Wolfe, and the 2014 movie with Jeremy Jordan and Anna Kendrick. They share notes and predictions for this new Broadway production with Nick Jonas and Adrienne Warren, and I'll tell you listener... our hosts are skeptical. This episode is for the real ones. 

Listener, are you familiar with the musical stylings of Robbie Williams? Yea, neither are most Americans, despite him being one of the UK's most all-time famous and decorated pop stars. When the musical biopic about his life, Better Man, dropped on streaming, This Might Be Niche took a crack at it. Welp, we hated this movie a lot (why though is the lead character played by a CGI chimpanzee with no explanation? help?). But it did get the wheels turning about which biopics we love, and who else we'd like to see have their life story memorialized - mostly the pop divas, of course. Do we think Millie Bobby Brown be successful in her pursuit to play Britney Spears in the upcoming Jon Chu-directed biopic? Is that what we want, America? Join us on Instagram @thismightbeniche, let's discuss. 

Calling all Ivys and Karens—it’s Smash time, baby! In honor of the new Smash musical beginning previews on Broadway, This Might Be Niche is diving headfirst into the famously chaotic first season of the TV show that started it all. Scott & Alana unpack the Broadway-stacked cast (Megan Hilty reigning supreme, Debra Messing and her scarves, Brian D'Arcy James being an Eeyore, Leslie Odom Jr. before he was Aaron Burr, sir) and all the very notorious drama—both behind the scenes and in front of them. Also - paging Katherine McPhee, we have some notes. Get ready for a nostalgia trip, because this really was a time, y’all.