Episodes
Monday Sep 25, 2017
4. Pal Joey
Monday Sep 25, 2017
Monday Sep 25, 2017
This week we discuss 1940's Pal Joey with music by Richard Rodgers and lyrics by Lorenz Hart, book by John O'Hara, based on a series of short stories he published in the New Yorker, directed by George Abbott (the Hal Prince of his day).
We discuss the songwriting team of Rodgers and Hart, the most popular hit-writers of the 1930s, in their most well remembered show, and one of their last before Rodgers replaced Hart with Hammerstein. We've got more clips than ever this week, with three from Pal Joey and three others from earlier in Rodgers and Hart's career (including some songs you probably know!). If you ever wondered what Rodgers and Hart sounded like, but not enough to go to the effort yourself, this podcast will be all you need!
Next week is Oklahoma! We'll be talking about the movie version, so feel free to watch it before you listen if you don't know the show or want to refresh your memory.
Monday Sep 18, 2017
3. Porgy and Bess
Monday Sep 18, 2017
Monday Sep 18, 2017
For episode 3, we discuss Porgy and Bess, music by George Gershwin, lyrics by Ira Gershwin and Dubose Heyward, libretto by Dubose Heyward. As usual, no familiarity with the show is required to enjoy the podcast, as we play ample audio clips and the plot isn't unexpected or interesting for you to worry about us spoiling you. Porgy and Bess rides the line between opera and musical, and has been performed as complete opera, complete Broadway musical, and every shade in between. We discuss the show, the Gershwin brothers, and we take a look at how criticism of the show's handling of race has changed in ways you might not expect.
Apologies for Jeremy's worse microphone today and Hannah's audio getting wonky in the last ten minutes. Neither of those problems surface again in future episodes.
Monday Sep 11, 2017
2. Anything Goes
Monday Sep 11, 2017
Monday Sep 11, 2017
For our second episode, we discuss Anything Goes (1934) with music and lyrics by Cole Porter, book by Guy Bolton and P.G. Wodehouse, heavily revised by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. You genuinely don't need to have seen the show to enjoy this episode, as the plot of the musical is entirely irrelevant, and we play a few clips from the songs. If you want to know why the show is good, all you need to do is watch this one four-minute video of the 2011 Tony performance of the title song "Anything Goes," featuring Sutton Foster.
Apologies for the very slight echo, that isn't in subsequent episodes.