This week we chat with Patrick Aiken about which of life's truths can be learned from the propaganda-parody musical - Reefer Madness! "Viewed through eyes blurred by no substance stronger than cough syrup, the film is still mildly diverting, with its censorious, bespectacled narrator and its scenes showing wholesome high-school students transformed into monsters by a single puff. It even has a weird, sort of Expressionist power in its mad, jerky party scenes. But its humor, especially for head-m...
Dec 03, 2020•47 min•Season 1Ep. 169
This week we chat with Kevin Werner about which life lessons can be learned from the gender-bending, rock musical - Hedwig and the Angry Inch! Like us on Facebook ! Follow us on Twitter ! Support us on Patreon ! Email us: musicalstaughtmepodcast@gmail.com Visit our home on the web thatsnotcanon.com Our theme song and interstitial music all by the one and only Benedict Braxton Smith. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/musicals-taught-me-everything-i-know . Support this show http://suppo...
Nov 26, 2020•1 hr•Season 1Ep. 168
This week we chat with Merilee E about which life lessons can be learned from the story of a story musical - Finding Neverland! As with many a Broadway musical these days, “Finding Neverland” — which features a book by James Graham and sticky soft-pop power ballads by Gary Barlow and Eliot Kennedy — is based on a popular film. That would be the 2004 biopic about the playwright J. M. Barrie, the creator of Peter Pan, which starred Johnny Depp and for which Mr. Weinstein was an executive producer....
Nov 19, 2020•55 min
This week we chat with Astin Astin Hammermeister about which of life's truths can be learned from the thoroughly modern musical - Thoroughly Modern MIllie! "It will require a strong stomach for overtly racist tropes and tired sexual stereotypes, though; not to mention a penchant for the kind of paint-by-numbers songs that are forgotten before they even reach the resolving chords. There are things to like in the show, but there is so much else that is flat-out offensive, and it takes a brave comp...
Nov 12, 2020•45 min
This week we chat with Kieran Davey about what life truths can be learned from the "historical", fourth-wall-breaking, show within a show - Gutenberg! The Musical! Gutenberg! The Musical!” is, in a word, zany! zany! zany! Two-character biotuner, in the guise of a backer’s audition, is as thin as a pfannkuchen — pancake, to you — but actors Christopher Fitzgerald and Jeremy Shamos pull off the yuks with aplomb. Theatergoers who don’t relish shucked corn mixed with slices of ham may be advised to ...
Nov 05, 2020•39 min
This week we chat with Alex Woodward about which of life's truths can be found in the 2019 musical - & Juliet! "From “Wicked” to “Waitress,” female empowerment has been a boon for musical theater. But where those shows veered between sincerely earnest and earnestly sincere, “& Juliet ” gleefully goes for broke putting gender on the agenda as it yokes pop milestones from the likes of Britney Spears , Katy Perry and Celine Dion to a girl-power revamp of “Romeo and Juliet.” The hyperactive ...
Oct 29, 2020•39 min
In this episode, we chat with Shannon Foley about what lessons can be learned from the sea-faring comic opera - HMS Pinafore. The Era wrote: Seldom indeed have we been in the company of a more joyous audience. ... [Gilbert and Sullivan] have on previous occasions been productive of such legitimate amusement, such novel forms of drollery, such original wit, and unexpected whimsicality, that nothing was more natural than for the audience to anticipate an evening of thorough enjoyment. The expectat...
Oct 22, 2020•30 min
This week we chat with Naomi Mole about what lessons can be learned from the political commentary musical - Call Me Madam! "But for every joke that falls flat, there's a terrific song, including the charming "It's a Lovely Day Today," the beautiful ballad "Marrying for Love," the toe-tapping "The Hostess with the Mostes' On the Ball," and the show's unqualified masterpiece of counterpoint, "You're Just in Love," the last guaranteed to send you out of the theater on a high. The numbers are beauti...
Oct 15, 2020•36 min
This week we chat with Timothy Winn about the Spanish play turned musical - Bernarda Alba. Ben Brantley , reviewing for The New York Times , wrote, "This latest offering from the prolific Mr. LaChiusa, often feels wan and weary...The music, though superbly orchestrated (by Michael Starobin) and played, goes places that singers used to hard-sell Broadway pizazz cannot follow. The punctuating yelps; the wavering sustained notes in minor keys; the labyrinthine interior musical paths; the eruptions ...
Oct 08, 2020•40 min
This week we chat with Brad Chapman about the Australian cult classic turned musical - Priscilla, Queen of the Desert! Reviews for the Toronto production include praise for the costumes from the Globe and Mail : "The costumes designed by Tim Chappel and Lizzy Gardiner, the same team that won an Oscar for the movie, are a fabulous mix of Village People meet Tim Burton culminating in, at the curtain call, a whole crass menagerie of dragged-up koalas and 'roos." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prisci...
Oct 01, 2020•46 min
This week we chat with Beck ho about the Tony Award Winning Musical - The Band's Visit! The New York Times said it was "one of the most ravishing musicals you will ever be seduced by," and also "a Broadway rarity seldom found these days outside of the canon of Stephen Sondheim : an honest-to-God musical for grown-ups." It also praised the adaptation for the bigger stage, due to an "impeccably coordinated creative team." Deadline also gave the musical a positive review. The review's only criticis...
Sep 24, 2020•50 min
This episode we chat with singer-sensation Asabi Goodman about the super soul musical reimagining of the Wiard of Oz - The Wiz! In his review of the 1984 revival, Frank Rich wrote: "What made The Wiz surprisingly moving the first time around was that its creators found a connection between Baum's Kansas fantasy and the pride of urban black Americans. When Glinda, the good witch, musically instructed Dorothy to 'believe in herself,' she seemed to be delivering a broader inspirational message. The...
Sep 17, 2020•56 min•Season 1Ep. 158
In this episode we chat we Laura Fois about the the Australian written and produced musical-turned film - Ladies in Black! ArtsHub indicated that "a comedy of mid-20th century manners, Ladies in Black is a paean to an optimistic future – the future of an uncomplicated gender equality and seamless multiculturalism. But Finn’s canny lyricism transports the play from its late 50s context to a subtle but salient comment on social issues of today." FURTHER READING: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ladie...
Sep 10, 2020•50 min
In this episode we chat with Hayley Marsh about one of the very first musical teatre song cycles - December Songs! FURTHER READING: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/December_Songs https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maury_Yeston https://open.spotify.com/artist/0RSFYUQQWpZg5bOne6OuzD http://www.mauryyeston.com/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winterreise Like us on Facebook ! Follow us on Twitter ! Support us on Patreon ! Email us: musicalstaughtmepodcast@gmail.com Visit our home on the web thatsnotcanon.co...
Sep 03, 2020•54 min
This week we are chatting with Taylor Davidson about one of the biggest new musicals of the last year - Six According to Rachel Weinberg of Broadway World , " Six carries out [a] joyful and anachronistic takedown of the patriarchy" through the performances of a "brilliant" cast and a book and score with an inventive and sensational compositional method. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six_(musical) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_wives_of_King_Henry_VIII https://sixthemusical.fandom.com/wiki...
Aug 27, 2020•45 min
In this episode we chat with Elizabeth Best about the New York 4 hander musical - Ordinary Days "If life really were more like a musical, you’d be contented if that life percolated as vibrantly as does “Ordinary Days,” Adam Gwon’s sweet, fleet and tender survey of four youngish New Yorkers, fighting through the emotional noise and dramatic traffic to arrive at a clearer sense of who they are and what they want to be." - https://www.washingtonpost.com Further Reading: https://en.wikipedia.org/wik...
Aug 20, 2020•42 min
In this episode we chat with Tim Dashwood about the 1950's music based musical - Memphis! Joe Dziemianowicz of the New York Daily News gave the show three and a half out of five stars and said, "It's nice to know a new musical can actually surprise you! Though it starts on a familiar note and sparks deja vu at other points, Memphis eventually finds its own voice and beat, and wins you over with its sheer enthusiasm and exuberant performances." Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9l_CAHZ_...
Aug 13, 2020•43 min
This week we chat with film maker Charnstar Anderson about which of life's truths can be gleaned from the science fiction (and definitely NOT a concept album) musical - War of the Worlds! Like us on Facebook ! Follow us on Twitter ! Support us on Patreon ! Email us: musicalstaughtmepodcast@gmail.com Visit our home on the web thatsnotcanonproductions.com Our theme song and interstitial music all by the one and only Benedict Braxton Smith. Find out more about him at www.benedictbraxtonsmith.com Su...
Aug 10, 2020•52 min
This week we are chatting with Vivien Wood about one of the biggest musicals of all time that is named after an ocean - South Pacific! The New York Herald Tribune wrote: The new and much-heralded musical, South Pacific , is a show of rare enchantment. It is novel in texture and treatment, rich in dramatic substance, and eloquent in song, a musical play to be cherished. Under Logan's superb direction, the action shifts with constant fluency. ... [He] has kept the book cumulatively arresting and t...
Aug 06, 2020•52 min
This week we chat with Carly Quinn about on of the original bible-based musical - Godspell! The original book has been stuffed fruitcake-full of gags about contemporary figures and current trends. An abbreviated list would include Heidi Klum and Donald Trump, Steve Jobs and Lindsay Lohan, and even the inventor of the Shake Weight, whoever he or she may be. There are jokes about Facebook, naturally, and Occupy Wall Street, inevitably. (“Wicked” too: I guess even that megahit musical, also featuri...
Jul 30, 2020•39 min
Like us on Facebook ! Follow us on Twitter ! Support us on Patreon ! Email us: musicalstaughtmepodcast@gmail.com Visit our home on the web thatsnotcanonproductions.com Our theme song and interstitial music all by the one and only Benedict Braxton Smith. Find out more about him at www.benedictbraxtonsmith.com Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/musicals-taught-me-everything-i-know . Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/musicals-taught-me-everything-i-know . Hosted on Acast. See a...
Jul 27, 2020•1 hr 8 min
This week we chat with Matt Young about which of life's truths can be gleaned from the movie-obsessed, Kander and Ebb written, Chita Rivera vehicle - Kiss of the Spider Woman! In his review of the Broadway production for The New York Times , Frank Rich wrote that the musical "does not meet all the high goals it borrows from Manuel Puig's novel. When it falls short, it pushes into pretentious overdrive (a "Morphine Tango", if you please) and turns the serious business of police-state torture into...
Jul 23, 2020•1 hr 10 min
This week we chat with Emma-June Curik about which of life's truths can be gleaned from the dance-revolution musical - Footloose! "There have certainly been worse musicals on Broadway than ''Footloose,'' the $6.5 million adaptation of the hit 1984 movie that starred Kevin Bacon. Yet it's hard to think of one so totally unaffecting. The music in the show is loud, for sure, with a propulsive beat designed to set toes tapping and fingers snapping. The score is peppered with flashy dance tunes from ...
Jul 16, 2020•54 min
This week Kristen, Miranda, and Zane will chat with Isaac Tibbs about which of life's truths can be gleaned from the little horror-musical that could: Evil Dead! the Musical! - FURTHER READING - Wiki IMDb iTunes Spotify Website - CELEBRITY SHOUTOUTS - Sam Raimi , Bruce Campbell , Ryan Ward Like us on Facebook ! Follow us on Twitter ! Support us on Patreon ! Email us: musicalstaughtmepodcast@gmail.com Visit our home on the web thatsnotcanonproductions.com Our theme song and interstitial music all...
Jul 13, 2020•1 hr 20 min
Miranda & KB's have engineered another Musical Gameshow! So play along at home, or just listen along as your hosts test each other! https://www.playbill.com/article/which-era-of-broadway-should-you-live-in Like us on Facebook ! Follow us on Twitter ! Support us on Patreon ! Email us: musicalstaughtmepodcast@gmail.com Visit our home on the web thatsnotcanonproductions.com Our theme song and interstitial music all by the one and only Benedict Braxton Smith. Find out more about him at www.bened...
Jul 09, 2020•39 min
This week we chat with Matthew Hannibal Butler about which of life's truths can be gleaned from the Kennedy-favourite musical - Camelot! "A 1993 review in The New York Times commented that the musical "has grown in stature over the years, primarily because of its superb score ... [which] combined a lyrical simplicity with a lush romanticism, beautifully captured in numbers like 'I Loved You Once in Silence' and 'If Ever I Would Leave You.' These ballads sung by Guenevere and Lancelot are among t...
Jul 02, 2020•47 min
This week we chat with Josh Mulheran who is currently performing in the Australian Tour of Jersey Boys about which of life's truths can be gleaned from the biography musical the started it all - Jersey Boys! BOOK TICKETS TO SEE THE TOUR - QPAC , jerseyboys.com.au - FURTHER READING - Wiki - Musical , Film , The Four Seasons , Frankie Valli , Bob Gaudio IMDb iTunes Spotify Like us on Facebook ! Follow us on Twitter ! Support us on Patreon ! Email us: musicalstaughtmepodcast@gmail.com Visit our hom...
Jun 29, 2020•1 hr 29 min
This week we chat with Eloise Dundas-Taylor about which of life's truths can be gleaned from the classic swashbuckling musical film - The Court Jester! Time Out says, “ Spasmodically effective spoof of Robin Hood-style adventures, with Kaye as the former circus clown joining up with a band of outlaws to overcome a tyrannical usurper king. Whether it's really watchable depends on what you feel about the charmless Kaye, whose vehicle this is from start to finish.” - FURTHER READING - https://en.wi...
Jun 25, 2020•59 min
This week we chat with Matthew Caffoe of Mashed Theatre about which of life's truths can be gleaned from Berthold Brecht’s many-times-adapted classic musical/opera - The Threepenny Opera! According to critic and musicologist Hans Keller, the work is "the weightiest possible lowbrow opera for highbrows and the most full-blooded highbrow musical for lowbrows". The Weill authority Stephen Hinton notes that "generic ambiguity is a key to the work’s enduring success", and points out the work's delibe...
Jun 18, 2020•1 hr 3 min
This week we chat amongst ourselves about which of life's truths can be gleaned from the ship-board musical - Anything Goes! “If you try to imagine a grown-up Annie, of the musical by that name, you might easily find her to be a lot like Reno Sweeney, the lead character of Cole Porter’s “Anything Goes” — sassy and brassy, big-hearted and big-voiced. And still with red hair. It is no surprise, then, that Andrea McArdle, the original Broadway Annie, who won a 1977 Tony nomination for her performan...
Jun 15, 2020•57 min
