Broadway Breakdown – Birthday Breakdown: Answering Your Questions
Host: Matt Koplik
Date: March 27, 2025
Overview
This special solo episode of Broadway Breakdown is a Q&A celebration for host Matt Koplik’s 35th birthday. Instead of his usual deep-dives or guest conversations, Matt answers a wide array of listener questions submitted via Discord and Instagram. The discussion covers vivid tales from adjudicating and teaching at the Florida State Thespian Festival, hot takes on Broadway history, current shows, Tony Award predictions, behind-the-scenes podcasting, and Matt’s trademark irreverent, opinionated, and passionate commentary on all things theater.
Main Segments & Timestamps
- Introduction & Podcast Housekeeping — 00:19
- Tampa/Florida State Thespian Festival Recap — 07:46
- Listener Q&A — Broadway, Pop Culture, and Favorites — 25:30
- Industry Deep Dives & Tony Talk — 52:10
- Podcasting, Criticism, and Personal Reflections — 1:37:10
- Final Rapid-fire Questions — 2:10:40
Detailed Breakdown
Introduction & Podcast Housekeeping (00:19)
- Matt opens by celebrating his 35th birthday (“Happy birthday to me… The Bobby Year, or the Carrie Bradshaw Season 4 of Sex and the City year, depending on what your sign is.”)
- Reflects on podcast’s aim to become part of the official Broadway League press list.
- Shares a glowing listener review:
“All jokes aside, this podcast is a masterpiece in thoughtful, intelligent and entertaining discussion of all things Broadway. I cannot recommend it enough.” – Broadway Lawyer (06:45)
- Housekeeping about Discord community and question submissions.
Tampa Recap (07:46)
Florida State Thespian Festival
- Matt shares a colorful, in-depth recounting of adjudicating and teaching workshops in Tampa (“It’s like the Jimmy Awards but set in Florida. And it’s actually, like, 15, 20 years older than the Jimmy’s. And it’s like Bring It On but for high school theater.”)
- Notable colleagues present: Jen Colella, Ashley Brown, Lauren Molina, Wesley Taylor, Nick Searle, Michael Kushner, and Chelsea Turbin.
- Adjudicated musical theater solos, contrasting monologues, and showcase performances; taught workshops on scene study and musical analysis.
- Advice to young performers:
“You only have so much time to show us different facets of yourself and not just of yourself, but of your character. So you don’t want to play just one thing for three minutes straight.” (19:42)
- Scene study lessons: Importance of purposeful physicality, slow down, work with your partner, be specific with movement, and let the action inform your acting.
- Musical analysis: Students compared and contrasted key musicals from Oklahoma! to Sweeney Todd, Newsies, and Ride the Cyclone.
- Ride the Cyclone’s cult popularity among teens: “I saw so many girls sing The Ballad of Jane Doe… It’s huge now.” (32:40)
Q: Favorite Tampa moment?
“They asked me to sing with them as well as Michael Kushner and Chelsea Turbin… the mashup of ‘Dead Mom’ from Beetlejuice with ‘Since U Been Gone’…not gonna lie, it kind of slayed.” (34:55)
Listener Q&A — Broadway, Pop Culture, and Favorites (25:30–52:00)
Q: Favorite White Lotus Scene?
- “The Chloe-Chelsea scene by the pool, I thought was like, chef’s kiss.” (36:33)
Q: Favorite pop diva?
- “Ultimately, it just keeps coming back to Kelly Clarkson…her voice has never sounded better. She’s got her revenge body, and yeah, she’s my pop diva.” (37:50)
Q: Dream roles this season?
- “I think the role I’m best suited for is Darren Criss’s role in Maybe Happy Ending… Also, Louise in Gypsy has always been a role I’ve wanted to try.” (38:35)
Q: Underappreciated Golden Age musicals?
- “Carnival is a really beautiful score and it’s a good musical that’s really hard to do well. Similar to Carousel… you kind of have to lean in to the darkness.” (40:05)
Q: Play ‘Yours Truly’ – what’s next?
- “The plan is…Maddy and I would like to have a production of the second half of this calendar year…realistically…maybe like a 6 to 8 week run somewhere in New York.” (42:10)
Q: Tony Award Category "No Skips" Years
- “2017 and 2005 are the two years of this century anyway that I think are the strongest… In the last 35 years, those are the three best ones.” (44:40)
Q: Most-wanted cast recordings?
- “I wish Kristin Chenoweth in The Apple Tree got a cast recording…would also love a professional recording of the licensed version of Smile.” (46:10)
Industry Deep Dives & Tony Talk (52:10–1:37:10)
Q: Favorite album/cast artwork?
- Names 1994 Carousel, Patti LuPone’s Anything Goes, Wicked, Light in the Piazza, Follies, Jelly’s Last Jam, Secret Garden, and Kiss of the Spider Woman. (52:15)
Q: Directors — Highs and Lows
- Favorite director: “I love George C. Wolfe…But I don’t like his work on this Gypsy.”
- Not a fan: “I am not a fan of Lear DeBessonet… her approach worked solidly for Into the Woods though.” (56:20)
Q: Best and worst Broadway houses
- “I love the Vivian Beaumont…Least favorite: the Lunt-Fontanne. Horrible sight lines, ugly as sin…” (58:15)
Q: Out-of-Pocket Tony Predictions
- “I think Old Friends could sneak in as a Best Musical nominee, and I think Lea Salonga could be a formidable Featured Actress nominee.” (1:01:00)
Q: Tony categories to add
- “I would add wig design…also music direction, and casting. I know the Oscars are going to be doing that.” (1:02:20)
Q: Hottest, coldest, and most lukewarm theater takes
- “Hottest take: I think there’s not a single Broadway show that’s worth $500…most lukewarm: Sometimes the Tony Awards get it right, sometimes they get it wrong.” (1:03:08)
Q: Top 10 Favorite Musicals
- “Number 1 is Carousel; Fun Home, Sweeney Todd, A Little Night Music, Les Mis, A Chorus Line, Caroline or Change, Light in the Piazza, Gypsy, Little Shop of Horrors. Maybe? Ask me again in a couple of days.” (1:07:30)
Q: Ideal day with theater?
- “Two-show day is lovely…doing maybe like brunch at 11, being done by 1…early show…luxuriating over to dinner…” (1:09:05)
Q: Best use of simple technical theater?
- “Small House of Uncle Thomas from The King and I has some gorgeous imagery from simple effects…falling snowflakes on strings is gorgeous…” (1:10:30)
Q: Fourth wall breaks you love or hate
- “All the asides to the audience in Fleabag…when season two makes it clear what they mean, that blew my mind.” (1:11:10)
- “Hate when Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and Spamalot overuse it.”
Q: Children in theater — best/worst
- “Sydney Lucas in Fun Home, Millie Shapiro in Matilda, good. I have yet to see a Winthrop that hasn’t bugged the living shit out of me.” (1:13:15)
Q: Revivals you crave
- “Would love Carnival or Smile back. I think A Year With Frog and Toad is delightful.” (1:15:14)
Podcasting, Criticism, and Personal Reflections (1:37:10–2:10:40)
Q: Advice for new Broadway podcasters
- “If you’ve decided on a release schedule, stick to it as long as you can…be open to change…do the research…invest in good audio…” (2:12:00)
Q: How honest is too honest in a review?
“Don’t lie about anything that you saw…do not lie to your listeners. If you’re afraid of ruffling feathers, maybe doing public reviews isn’t for you.” (2:13:47)
Q: Experience with press tickets
- “It has been mostly positive. There is one press team that has been really bad about getting back to me about stuff, and it’s incredibly frustrating.” (2:23:35)
Q: What is the biggest misconception of you as a creator?
“People have this misconception of me that I am elitist. I’m not. Am I judgmental? Sure, but I don’t approach things from an ‘I’m better than you’ perspective.” (2:01:40)
Notable quote on theater legacy:
“Nothing is ever really a finished product in theater, ever. Even when a show has opened on Broadway, it eventually will evolve over time as times change and its legacy changes.” (2:04:20)
Final Rapid-Fire Questions & Fun Anecdotes (2:10:40–end)
- Time travel to see one show? — “Opening night of Promises, Promises in 1968. Critics said Broadway is shifting in a new direction… I would have liked to experience that.” (2:30:10)
- Dream miscast concert lineup: — “Brandon Victor Dixon doing ‘No One Else’ from Great Comet…Audra do ‘Stars’ from Les Mis…Carmen Cusack doing ‘Heaven on Their Minds’.” (2:41:10)
- Biggest rat seen in NYC: — “Probably like one that, if it was on a scale, was maybe 3 and a half pounds.” (2:26:50)
- Most opinion that’d make theater world hate you? — “We have so many talented people…and sometimes there’s a lack of imagination in casting. I don’t think anyone in theater should be a go-to.” (2:40:15)
- Favorite actress-in-a-musical Tony lineup ever: — “2000… Heather Headley (Aida), Marin Mazzie (Kiss Me, Kate), Rebecca Luker (The Music Man), Toni Collette (The Wild Party), Audra McDonald (Marie Christine).” (2:36:35)
Memorable Quotes & Moments
- “Buy yourself time. If you have something to do, let it take three times as long as you expect it to. It gives you action to do, and you aren’t thinking ahead…” (scene study, 22:40)
- “Hamilton is a great piece. I’m not sure if I think it deserves the international hype that it’s gotten. But also, I can’t tell you what work of art does.” (On Hamilton’s legacy, 2:56:55)
- “I despised the 2018 Carousel, and I solely blame the direction for that. As well as everything else, but it all stems from direction.” (2:25:15)
- “I don’t think there’s a single Broadway show that’s worth $500. I don’t think there’s a single Broadway show that’s worth $350.” (1:03:09)
Episode Takeaways
- Matt’s birthday Q&A is as personal, rambunctious, and candid as the podcast’s reputation suggests. He mixes perceptive, teacherly advice with opinionated rants, pop culture diversions, and behind-the-scenes anecdotes, making this an episode both for superfans and newcomers.
- If there’s a through-line, it’s Matt’s passionate plea to engage with theater—honestly, critically, and with an open mind.
- For aspiring podcasters, critics, performers, or fans: Don’t be afraid of your opinions, do the homework, and cherish the community.
- Smile and Carnival deserve their revivals. Christopher Fitzgerald, Paul Alexander Nolan, and Sally Murphy deserve more Tonys.
- $500 Broadway tickets? Don’t get him started.
- Birthday wish: “I want my show to get taken to Broadway.”
For More
- Join the Discord community (check episode description; contact Matt on Instagram if the link is broken).
- Next up: Early Tony predictions episode with Richie and Jeff from The Half Hour Podcast, and a new mini-series announcement.
End of summary.