"History's about to get overthrown..." Divorced, beheaded, LIVE!! It's the final episode of The British Invasion and we're covering the most recent British import to dominated Broadway: SIX. Katie Johantgen (@katiejoyofosho) joins the Breakdown to discuss with Matt all things Tudors, marriage, and pop music! Plus, Matt's final ranking of the covered British shows and an announcement for the next series. DON'T LOSE YOUR HEAD!!
"We are REVOLTING!" It's Loud, it's Quiet, it's Naughty, it's the Smell of Rebellion...it's MATILDA! The musical critics loved and American audiences...didn't really. Fellow podcaster Marc Tumminelli (LITTLE ME) comes on the Breakdown to talk with Matt about the British antidote to ANNIE. The two also talk about the downside of falling in love with a show through a cast recording, having too many ideas, and being mean to children. "When I grow uppppp!"
"Like electricity..." Boys doing Ballet?! What's next, a British musical coming to Broadway and winning 10 Tony Awards? Yes ma''am because this week it's BILLY ELLIOT! Original cast member and one part of the Broadway Husbands Stephen Hanna (BILLY ELLIOT, HELLO DOLLY, ON THE TOWN) visits the Breakdown to discuss with Matt all things dancing, dead mums, and Thatcherism. The two also discuss the weird costume change at Stephen's audition for the show, aging into Daddy-dom, and learn that their pas...
"What have we learned this week...?" Things get pensive and classy get this week with the Tony-winning hit THE HISTORY BOYS. Podcast alum James Crichton (UNKNOWN SOLDIER, ACTORS: ON PROCESS) returns to the Breakdown to discuss with Matt the '06 super-smash. The two also discuss the difference between being "intelligent" and being "clever," the purpose of Broadway Breakdown, and why gaining knowledge is a beautiful thing. Pass it on!
"I don't wanna talk..." Spangles, jumpsuits and long-lost fathers...it's MAMMA MIA, henny! Casting director Kate Lumpkin comes aboard the Breakdown to discuss with Matt the jukebox musical that made ABBA cool again and Meryl Streep an international movie star! The two also discuss the power of being at the right place at the right time, gender norms and the power of owning your sexual past. DOES YOUR MOTHER KNOW???
"Eternal youth is worth a little suffering..." It's big, it's bold, it's BACK! The British Invasion comes to a crashing halt with the landing of the Desmond Mansion, bankrupting a billion dollar production company and causing multiple leading ladies to claw at Andrew Lloyd Webber's throat. That's right...it's SUNSET BOULEVARD. Friend of the Pod Justin Mendoza (BOOK OF MORMON, WICKED) comes back to the Breakdown to discuss with Matt all things belting, turbans, and dead monkeys. The two also disc...
"Did you hear the story of the Johnstone twins...?" It ran for over 20 years on the West End...and for 2 on Broadway. It's about class, murder, and...Marilyn Monroe? Just roll with it! Fellow podcaster Kyle Marshall (PUTTING IT TOGETHER) joins the Breakdown to talk about the British sensation that barely made a blip across the pond. The two also discuss overusing similes, avoiding your fate, and the double edged sword of adults playing children. SHOES ON THE TABLE!!
"Let your mind start a journey to a strange new world..." It's the longest running Broadway production. The ultimate "Mask4Mask" musical. The show that's kept classic sopranos employed for over 30 years. It's PHANTOM OF THE OPERA! That's right: the most enduring Andrew Lloyd Webber musical is here to be discussed and debated. Long-time friend Sofia Christensen joins the Breakdown to talk with Matt about reliving trauma, fangirling over Meg and Carlotta, and why it's best not to ask questions. SI...
"Do you hear the people sing?" C'est le gros chien: LES MISÉRABLES! Aka LES MIZ! The epic 3 hour pop-opera is given the epic Breakdown treatment with the grand return of our dearly loved Sutton Lee Seymour(@suttonleeseymour)!! Matt and Sutton get Parisian as they discuss the worldwide phenomenon and its impact on theatre kids everywhere. The two also discuss ruining your life over carbs, that time Matt sang in a recording of the show, and how LES MIZ uses repeated melodies correctly. BRING IT HO...
"The sun has got his hat on!" It's the revival NO ONE saw coming! Yes, we're talking about the smash musical comedy ME AND MY GIRL! Fellow Broadway podcasters Kristina Miller-Weston and Bobby Traversa (MY FAVORITE FLOP) come on the Breakdown to discuss the 30's West End musical that found a second, richer life in the 1980's and went up against some major heavyweights! The three also discuss the weird romances in British aristocracy, the trickiness of doing a star vehicle, and why this extremely ...
"All these DOORS!" It's a gut-busting, pants-dropping, door-slamming night at the theatre! It has violence! It has alcohol! It has SARDINES! We're talking about the all-time classic farce NOISES OFF! Breakdown Friend Adam Elsberry (@adamels) returns to discuss with Matt the joys of British comedy, censorship on the London stage, and the kitty cat joke that's almost too risque for television. Join in the fun!!!!
"Jellicles can and Jellicles do." You know it, you hate it, you love it, you secretly know at least two songs from it...it's CATS! Good friend and Sastress Amanda Lee Hawkins (@imamandahawkins) comes on the Breakdown to explore with Matt this feline fever dream that somehow ran for decades around the world. The two also discuss how horniness overrides most emotions, the song in CATS that no one expected to cry at, and the time Matt shouted Kerry Butler's age at BEETLEJUICE. TOUCH ME!!!!!!
"What's On?" If we're talking British imports, then we gotta talk about the West End's ultimate incubator for Broadway transfers: The Royal National Theatre!! Specifically, 4 BIG, IMPORTANT, SEXY PLAYS from the National. Breakdown Regular Ali Gordon (@msalicenutting) helps Matt tackle the first National play to come to Broadway(ROSENCRANTZ & GUILDENSTERN ARE DEAD), the first to become a sensation (EQUUS), one of the many unjustly overshadowed(THE PILLOWMAN), and the epic spectacle that made ...
"What's new, Buenos Aires?" Things are HEATING UP with the Andrew Lloyd Webber/Tim Rice Belt-A-Thon...EVITA! Even though the sung through "rock opera" is the team's follow up to their controversial SUPERSTAR, EVITA truly marks the team's arrival on the theatre scene...and their invasion of Broadway. Guest and Patti Lupone impressionist Jonathan Hoover (@inappropriatepatti ) joins Matt to discuss their favorite actresses who've played the fascist First Lady of Argentina Eva Peron, when Andrew Llo...
"Please Sir, I want some more..." Welcome to the NEWEST series on Broadway Breakdown: The British Invasion, covering imports from the West End to our beloved Broadway! First up: OLIVER! Exclamation Point! The British Wave didn't start with this adaptation from the Charles Dickens novel, but it sure got its momentum from it. Guest Margaret Hall (GEMIGNANI) comes on to discuss with Matt the dark family entertainment plus its infamous sequel DODGER, the debate of whether the movie is better than th...
"Look at it, LOOK AT IT!" Guest/Alum of the Pod Jimmy Larkin (@letshearitforthechoice) closes out the Sondheim Series with ROAD SHOW(aka BOUNCE, aka WISE GUYS)! The two discuss why it took almost 20 years for the show to make it to NYC, lawsuits, and why writing a musical about incest may NOT be a great idea Plus! Matt reveals his official ranking of all the Sondheim musicals AND an announcement on the subject of the next series. BET YOUR LITTLE, TITTY BOY!
IN THE HEIGHTS came out in theaters this week! What did Matt think? More importantly what did our resident movie musical critic, Matt's Mom, think?! Can a light entertainment be deep? Is it possible to have TOO many good ideas? And how are we all misusing hyperboles? FIND OUT!
"Brek-kek-kek-kek!" Stephen Sondheim, Susan Stroman, and Nathan Lane...how could it lose? Well, we're gonna find out EXACTLY how. Breakdown Legend Ali Gordon comes aboard the River Styx to discuss with Matt the last new Sondheim score to hit Broadway...THE FROGS! And Ali is our Frogs expert because the bitch has actually SEEN the damn show! What a treat! The two discuss their time at theatre camp, meeting Nathan Lane at the stage door, and whether a show that makes fart jokes has the right to tr...
"Everybody's got the right to be happy..." It took 13 years... but it got to Broadway and won some Tonys, to boot! That's right. We're talking ASSASSINS! This week, Matt is joined by musical artist Erin Markey to discuss the political-LSD-vaudeville and all the hang ups that go with it. The two also discuss Erin's experience performing as Squeaky Fromme at City Center, the importance of wigs, and why Matt is much more basic than originally thought. WE ARE UNWORTHY OF THIS EPISODE!
"This is nice, isn't it...?" Special guest Kevin Metzger-Timson (MT Trivia, Tara Rubin Casting) joins Matt to discuss the first fully formed musical Sondheim wrote: SATURDAY NIGHT! Despite being his first, it took almost 50 years to come to New York and even then...never got to Broadway. Matt and Kevin converse over the early mistakes of Sondheim, the insanely stacked cast of the show's NY premiere and SATURDAY NIGHT'S connection to an Oscar-winning actress that Matt has a signed movie poster fr...
BONUS EPISODE! On a very special Breakdown, Matt sits with triple threat and beautiful soul Natascia Diaz (EVERY LITTLE STEP, SEUSSICAL, CAROUSEL) and oooohhhh is it WONDERFUL! During their conversation, Natascia discusses the difficulties and pay off of playing Fosca in PASSION, Matt talks about the time he yelled at someone in public about CAROUSEL and what it means to have a legacy. We TOLD you it was SPECIAL!
"So much happiness..." If Stephen Sondheim wrote for Taylor Swift...it would turn out to be PASSION. That's right! It's here! The last Tony-winning Sondheim musical in the series. Matt is joined by his dear friend Nur Pratama to discuss all things love, sex and sickness with this sexy Sondheim chamber opera. Together, Nur and Matt discuss what it means to be loved, getting booed on stage, and being too hot to know any better. Let's get EMO y'all!!!
"And I know things now..." Before SHREK, there was INTO THE WOODS! That's right, we've come to the classic fairy tale Sondheim musical that every high school in America has performed at one point in the last 30 years. But even though it's Sondheim's most produced musical, is it his best? Matt and guest Kevin Zak (CLINTON, WAITRESS) dive into all things witches, giants and beans and discuss the show's road to Broadway, its movie version and why the original production ruined everything. I WISH!
"GOD, I am so HOT." It's SUNDAY on a Thursday! We're talking all things SUNDAY IN THE PARK with our Resident GEORGE expert Emily Maltby (EVITA, ANASTASIA)!!! YESSSSS, Emily has returned to discuss even further her favorite musical in the Sondheim canon. Emily and Matt discuss secrets storylines, being immortalized and why Kim Cattrall would've been a great asset to the show. MOVE OOOOOOOOONNNN!!!
"Hey, Old Friend..." From the highest of highs to the lowest of lows...here go with MERRILY! The big Broadway flop that almost made Sondheim quit the business, gave Liz Callaway her debut, and despite running for 16 performances has continued to survive and become beloved in its own right. Guest Jane Bruce (JAGGED LITTLE PILL) comes on to discuss re-written material, what "selling out" means, and why sweatshirts were the original Broadway production's downfall. HERE'S TO US!!!
"Attend the tale..." Ooooooooohhhh it's the BIG ONE!! Broadway music director Justin Mendoza (BOOK OF MORMON, WICKED) discusses with Matt just about every element of this grand ol' cannibalistic musical/opera including stupid lovers, sociopathic actresses and what SWEENEY TODD has in common with LES MIS. God, that's GOOD!
"Have some tea, My Lord..." 1976, Broadway met Kabuki with PACIFIC OVERTURES, and Sondheim fans have been arguing over it ever since. Guest Sam Simahk (MY FAIR LADY, THE KIND AND I, CAROUSEL) chats with Matt about the historical Sondheim musical's virtues and shortcomings, as well as diversity in musicals, Japanese history and telling your story. Next!!!
"RAISINS!!" The Sondheim Streak continues with one of the songwriter's biggest hits: A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC! Podcast alum Charlotte Maltby (THE SOUND OF MUSIC) returns to discuss all things delightful about the one Sondheim musical even your grandmother will love! Plus Matt and Charlotte get into how NIGHT MUSIC spawned Sondheim's biggest pop hit, Matt's personal connection to the original Broadway company, and what teen movie Matt thinks you should watch if you've been cast in NIGHT MUSIC. Hi Ho ...
"I'm just a Broadway Baby" The Golden Age of Sondheim keeps going with the existential showbiz fever dream that is FOLLIES! Peter Koplik (aka MATT'S DAD) makes his Breakdown debut to discuss his longtime love for the musical. Plus the two discuss FOLLIES' connections to The Glass Menagerie, Fellini, and PADDINGTON 2! You'll love it, and we're not just being kiiiiiind!
"I'd like to propose a toast..." A LITTLE SONDHEIM MUSIC gets conceptual with the marital musical COMPANY! Yes, we're finally entering the TRUE Sondheim era!! And who better to discuss the landmark musical than a member of the most recent Broadway production, Britney Coleman (SUNSET BOULEVARD, TOOTSIE, BEAUTIFUL)!!! Britney and Matt discuss the complex music, Bobby's sexuality, and the joys of being vapid. You'l loooooooooooooooooooooooove iiiiiiiiiiiiiit!!!!
