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- [00:56]
A
Hello and welcome to Broadway Radios this week on Broadway for Sunday, August 9, 2026. My name is James Marino, and in the broadcast today, we have Peter, Felicia, and Michael Portentier. Peter is a playwright, journalist and historian with a number of books. Peter's new Day by day desk calendar. A show tune for today, 366 songs to brighten your year is available at finer retailers. Hello, Peter.
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B
Hi, Peter.
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A
I don't know if you know this, but my little girl, Charlotte. Yeah, she is two weeks away from leaving for college, and it's breaking my heart, but, you know, she just said the other day to my wife, mama, I'm a big girl now.
- [01:43]
B
Did she really? Oh, how funny. Yeah, that's the show tune for today because in 1963, Cindy Carroll was on a promotional tour for her new film, and she's the latest guest. Gidget. Well, the time the picture is Gidget Goes to Rome, which is alluded to in Mama, I'm a Big Girl now, which I still don't understand why it was dropped from the film. But it did make it to the CD on a bonus track. Why do I mention this in conjunction with the show and the song? Once I used to fidget because I just sat home. But now I'm just like Gidget and I gotta get to Rome is the lyric. So it's. It's a great fun song. And I really do believe that it was a big mistake to drop it from the film. So, yeah, that's the song for today.
- [02:34]
A
Any scuttlebutt of why they dropped it, I never heard.
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C
I didn't know. But I love that song, too.
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A
I love that song.
- [02:42]
C
That was a big, big mistake.
- [02:44]
B
Yeah.
- [02:44]
A
I didn't realize it wasn't in the film, but I. You know, I bet you I've watched the film. God, how many years ago did it come out? And I probably did not watch it all the way through. So I. I was just like. I loved this show so much in. In the casts that I saw on Broadway.
- [03:07]
C
Well, you can turn to the TV version. I. I'm sure it's in that.
- [03:11]
A
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. That other. That other voice you're hearing is Michael Portantier. Michael's been a theater re. Theater journalist for more than 50 years. He's the founder and editor of Cast Album Reviews.com. he's also a theatrical photographer whose photos have appeared in the New York Times and other publications. And he writes reviews of cabaret shows for NightLifeExchange.com Additionally, Michael is known as a producer and director of shows at 54 below the Laurie Beachman Theater and other venues. Hello, Michael.
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D
Hello.
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A
You guys making it through this oppressive heat and humidity?
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D
Yeah, sure.
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C
Yeah.
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B
You know, time goes so fast, it seems like nothing.
- [03:54]
A
It's a great reason to go see a show.
- [03:56]
C
Well, yeah, I was going to say it's a. Yeah. We spend so much of our time in air conditioned theaters, so we're lucky,
- [04:05]
A
you know, And I, I, I. Is this my bias? Is this my bias? So I've been working on a lot of behind the scenes database and data normalization for Broadway stars. And one of the things that I noticed in the last week or so on Broadway stars is that the New York Times employs tons of movie and television reviewers. I mean, there has got to be a hundred reviews every week for movies and television and maybe one or two a week for theater. Do you think that that's justified?
- [04:53]
B
In a sense it is, because people are interested in television and it's cheaper than going to the theater. It only occurred to me yesterday that for some theater tickets you really could go on a long airline trip, that the price of an airline ticket is substantially less than some tickets to Broadway shows.
- [05:14]
A
So really, Peter, But I've said this before, I've said this before. My wife and I are huge Yankee fans. And it is less expensive for us to fly to Toronto, stay in a hotel and get tickets at the Blue Jays than to go to Yankee Stadium. And, and so in Knicks tickets and Rangers tickets, you know, all the other sports teams, jets tickets and Giants tickets, just Nets tickets, Knicks, I mean, they're all way more expensive than Broadway. So I mean, I appreciate that Broadway is expensive, but in comparison to the other alternative venue, of course not as, as expensive as a movie ticket.
- [06:01]
B
Yeah, but on the other hand, at least you have an alternative with sports because they are on TV again, some are on cable and you have to pay for it. But there's no real way to see theater aside from these occasional national theater. But I mean, for the most part it's not the same. Of course, not seeing a sporting event in a Serena, in a stadium, whatever. Sure, it's a great experience to be there and interact with the fans around you. And for that matter, say I was there on the day when. Sure, all those things are wonderful, you know, but at least there is some sort of alternative and, but rarely, rarely, rarely with theater. So you got to be there and you got to pay the price.
- [06:55]
A
I don't know, Peter, you're the big baseball fan as well as I am. I remember that first time my parents took me to Yankee Stadium and I walked through the tunnel and the grass was so green and the wall was so blue.
- [07:10]
C
And
- [07:12]
A
it's one of my vivid things. I also vividly remember going to see Evita on Broadway when my parents took me.
- [07:23]
C
So nothing, nothing compares to the live experience.
- [07:26]
A
Yeah, the live experience.
- [07:27]
C
Yeah. But Peter's just saying that at least you have that alternative.
- [07:30]
A
Alternative, yeah, yeah, yeah, that's true.
- [07:33]
C
As far as the cost thing, this gives me a. An excuse to trot out a statistic I've been holding on to for a while. I didn't know when to mention it, but I assume this is true. I mean, I didn't research it, but it sounds correct. The producers of Fiddler on the Roof, the original production, earned a $1,574 return on every dollar they invested in 1964. The smallest unit back then was $1,000. So if you bought in at the entry level, like the old fashioned type of Broadway angels who'd invested a couple shows a year almost as a lark, you walked away with over 1.5 million.
- [08:19]
B
Wow.
- [08:20]
C
So nowadays investors are often lucky if they get any portion of their investment back.
- [08:28]
A
Yeah. That is. Broadway is a very risky investment. You have to do it for the love. And it is a lottery ticket. It is not. It's not something you want to put your 401k into. Some Broadway radio updates. Jan Simpson's all the Drama. Driving Miss Daisy, the 1988 winner for the Pulitzer Prize for drama, is out for the general public, so you can check out Jan's series there. It's awesome. The Broadway radio app is available on the Apple App Store and the Google Play for Android. And let us know if you have any feedback, comments, suggestions, things like that.
- [09:12]
B
First, and if you want to feel old. And if you want to feel old, nobody does. But anyway, this is a production now in New Jersey of Driving Miss Daisy with Alison Frazier playing mistakes.
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E
Yes.
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A
Allison Fraser as Hoke.
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C
She's stretching. Oh, but seriously, she'll be wonderful in that.
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B
Oh, yeah.
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A
No, no, I mean, Allison Frazier rocks.
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B
Yeah.
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A
So Michael and Peter got over to the Signature Theater to see Disruption. So, Michael, why don't you get us started on Disruption?
- [09:49]
C
Well, this is a very intriguing new play by Andrew Stein and it's about. It centers on a fellow who is a tremendously rich tech entrepreneur person. And he has a group of friends, three married couples, they've all been friends for years. And he tries to get them involved in this project that he has a new algorithm which is meant to suggest people's lie, to suggest how people should live their lives, you know, which sounds pretty scary. And we don't think of it that way, but part of the point of the play is that that's already happening, even if we don't realize it. You know, we were discussing the other day, have you all had the experience of just talking with someone, you know, a movie or a restaurant or whatever, and then suddenly you see it on your phone? You know, so. No. So does that mean. What does that mean your phone is spying on you? Or does it mean that maybe the algorithm on your phone, which shows you what it thinks you want to see, had previously showed you that restaurant's name and you hadn't even, like so much consciously registered it, but now you. Here you are talking about it. It's really very interesting and potentially very, very scary. So he wants that this main character played by. Let me just get his name absolutely correct. John David Washington, son of Denzel Washington. He wants to get all these other people involved.
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B
And
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C
they are Emma Kiku, Irene, Sofia, Lucio, Jason, Ralph Conrad, Rick Amora, Elizabeth Stanley and Joe Tippett. And then Shonette, Renee Wilson. And then one of them plays his assistant. But the rest of them are. There's just this group of friends and then there's the leader who's sort of almost has a Mephistophelian feel about him, although you're not supposed to, you know, I'm sure he doesn't think so. Yeah, so he plays Nick, the, the entrepreneur. And Emma Kiku plays Raven, his. His business partner. But all of the other people I mentioned are, are. They are the three married couples. And they all have issues. One of them, one couple is really obsessing as to whether or not they should buy a brownstone in Brooklyn. I mean, these are all first world problems, obviously. Another couple is wondering whether they should have a baby or not. And the third couple is having marital problems and they're wondering if they should have a divorce. So the question is, you know, while they're deciding whether to buy into this algorithm financially, it's being used on them, you know, just to see, like, what they think of it and maybe without even them realizing it. So it, it is really interesting. I'm not sure of the. I don't, I'm not sure it's the best title. I would have just called it Algorithm. The reason it's called Disruption is because this guy, Nick the entrepreneur. Entrepreneur, says it, it. It's meant to disrupt your lives. But I don't know. To me, that word has a very negative connotation. So maybe it's truth in advertising without even realizing it. I don't know. I. I thought the title was. Was very odd, but whatever. Maybe I'll meet Andrew Stein someday and ask him why he called it that. I had a very interesting opportunity, rare opportunity. I was at the West Bank Cafe one night and two of the actors were there. Irene Sofio Lucio and Jason Ralph, who play one of the couples. They're the couple who are obsessing as to whether or not they want to buy the brownstone. And I said to them, I said, I really found the play very intriguing. But one thing that wasn't clear to me is, so this algorithm can suggest all it wants, but ultimately, you know, we have our own free will to decide, don't we? And I don't want to speak for him, but Jason said something to the effect of, yes, but the point is, what is your own free will made up of? It's made up of, you know, things you've read, things you've seen. It might be made up partly of ads that you've read. You know, we can't, we can't be sure about that. And it's all kind of, it's all kind of mixed together. So I think that that was a very valuable point that he made, and I think one should bear that in mind when seeing this play.
- [15:20]
A
It's. Disruption is a term that seems to be very much used in Silicon Valley and the technical space all the time. People are proud to disruptors. They're changing the way that this happens.
- [15:37]
C
Oh, okay.
- [15:38]
A
And to some extent, you know, we hear this a lot very often in the Broadway sphere where people say, oh, we're, we're, we're going to get a different Broadway audience here. We're gonna, you know, we're gonna get people, young people and people of color to buy Broadway tickets. And, you know, so far, you know, with few exceptions, it, it, it's not been sustainable. It has happened to some extent. But disruption as a term, I wonder if, if the, if the author is really heavily involved in, in the startup and Silicon Valley culture. So, Peter, what did you think of disruption?
- [16:29]
B
Pretty much what Michael felt. There's no question we're making a deal with the devil when we deal with all this technology. In the Animal Farm, one character says, women, you can't live with them and you can't live without them. He makes it sound like he's the one who invented that phrase. And of course, he has not. But nevertheless, we can now use the word technology there. Boy, would any of us give up our iPhones or our access to any of this? So as a result, we have to take the good with the bad, the bad with the good, and leave it at that. So that's what makes the play intriguing to me. But it is interesting to see a play that says, you know, we can make decisions for you that are better for you and we know better than you do. And it's all on an emotional level. I mean, especially should a couple have a baby? I mean, really, should they buy this brownstone? Good Lord, you know, we have so many people giving our opinions. Well, if you ask me, you know. Well, now we have someone who's telling us rather than asking. So. So as a result, you know, I was intrigued by the first act very, very much. I thought there was a little dip at the beginning of the second, but it did redeem itself as time went on. So I was very glad to have seen disruption.
- [17:43]
C
I should mention really arresting. Set and costume design by Zoe Hurwitz. And not only set design, but just the way the whole theater is set up. In this case, this theater at
- [18:01]
B
Signature.
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C
Signature. Sorry. I've been so many places, like.
- [18:05]
B
I know, right, I understand.
- [18:06]
C
And actually, I've been there twice recently, so I was like. Did I go there twice? Yeah, me too. In this case, the audience, the playing setup is that the playing area is in the middle and the audience is split into two sections facing each other. But not only that, there's a. I guess what you would call the proscenium is this sort of oblong shaped thing. It's mostly rectangular, but rounded at the edges. So I guess you'd call that oblong. That we're all looking through at the actors and the audience on the other side. And it creates this really kind of striking mirror image. You feel like you're looking at. You feel like the. I had to keep looking.
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B
Yeah, Linda did too, when I sat down. Yes.
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C
And in fact, Linda and Peter were sitting opposite me. I don't know if you saw me.
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B
I didn't.
- [19:01]
C
Yeah, yeah. So. And that's interesting. Although I. Maybe that might have been more appropriate for another play because I don't think one of these themes is necess of this play is necessarily. Well, these people could be you like is. Is in Cabaret. But I guess. Well, I mean, that's true of every play.
- [19:24]
B
Right?
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C
I mean, every play is universal and we could be. We could be those characters in disruption as well. So anyway, either way. Bravo. Brava to Zoe Hurwitz for her scenic costume design, also direction by Hirsch Ellis.
- [19:44]
A
All right, so disruption has been extended a week through October 4, 2026. It is playing at the Romulus Linney Courtyard Theater at the Pershing Square Signature Center. So I guess the Signature center is never going to really sponsor F1 drivers because you couldn't get that patch on there. That's too long of a. The Romulus Lenny Courtyard Theater at the Pershing Square Signature Center. It's a small font on the patch there, unless they come up with some really clever acronym. So we'll have a link to that in the show notes. Peter, you were in Hackettstown, New Jersey, to see Closer Than Ever, but did you bring us a special guest or did you meet a special guest there?
- [20:36]
B
We both went out together. Richard Malpy Jr. Who indeed as the lyricist and Closer Than Never, as well as Starting Here, Starting now and About Time, the more recent review, but also did a number of Broadway musicals. Well, some were meant for Broadway, but he told some interesting stories and that's what I want to relate. My favorite was when he said, I wish I had Stephen Sondheim's Rhyming Dictionary, because he seems to come up with rhymes that aren't in mine. And he also brought up something that I have thought about for years. Mama, please take our advice. We aren't the Lunts, I'm not Fanny Brice, Mama, please buy us, etc. The point is, if Fanny Bryce was named with Fanny Cantor, Fancy Fanny Jolson, it wouldn't have worked. You know, that's smarter to be lucky than it's lucky to be smart, said another Stephen in another show. So. But it's really true that it somehow seems, especially if you look at the rhymes in Weeknd in the country, that so many of the words rhyme and they just fall into place so wonderfully. Yes, we all wish we had Stephen Sondheim's Rhyming Dictionary and his mind as well. I had, of course, to ask the famous question, what comes first? The music and the lyrics. And he brought up something that I've never heard before. He said, usually I go first, and what happens is when I go first, I am so displeased with the fact that my meter is da da da da da da da da da da. So anyway, I say to David, here's the lyric, but do whatever you want with it. Give me a melody and I'll take it from there. So David is inspired by the lyric to write a melody which does not conform to the lyrics at all.
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F
At all.
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B
At all.
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F
At all.
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B
At all. But what it does is come up with a melody that then Richard goes back and fits his lyrics into what the new melody is. So I've never heard a team work that way. But he says that happens quite a bit. That it really does. The Hackerstown audience was very enthusiastic, which is nice because I was a little worried that it's a suburban place. This, by the way, is still, I believe, a factory that makes M and Ms. Snickers and Mars. They've been out there for a long time. I think they're still there, I really do. So anyway. But it's certainly a bedroom community. And while Centenary Stage has been there for well over three decades and until recently had a wonderful young performance workshop, though I'm told the kids haven't turned out since COVID The fact is this is a suburban audience and certainly closer than ever is full of urban references and the people are very urban and the situations are very urban. Especially when there's a song about three friends and what happens to three friends over the course of time? That's a very urban situation that we hear about that. And I was surprised that they really responded as well as they did, but they were listening and they were getting all the jokes and was really quite wonderful. So. And I guess the song One of the Good Guys is something that does resonate in suburbia because it's about a guy who's never cheated on his wife, but, oh, does he have lust in his heart? You know that there was a time when he almost did it, but he's one of the good guys. That's not what he does. And he's going to be as nice as he possibly can. So really interesting to hear stories about shows that didn't work out from Richard Malby Love Match, which gave us the wonderful song I Hear Bells as well as I think I want to remember today, which you both are starting now. That's why, in fact there's the lyric Albert might have you grown? Because it was about Queen Victoria and she was talking about Prince Albert. So anyway, so he was talking about the fact that they were trying out in Phoenix, Arizona. Phoenix, Arizona. But the feeling was that Phoenix was now going to be like Boston to New York. It was going to be Phoenix to Los Angeles, that it would be a pre LA tryout and they would go there and they were supposed to go to Detroit afterwards, but things weren't working out. And Richard said he knew that the situation was dire when he said to his book Writer. Well, we just got a lot of suggestions about what to do. Which ones resonated with you and he said, I'm not doing any of them. He said, you're not doing any of them? Why? He said, I don't need this. I have a rich wife. I don't need to write a show. So that's when they knew that it wasn't going to work out. So, yeah, lots of, lots of wonderful stories. I guarantee you that if you have any time to spend with Richard Malby, it's going to be time well spent. And it's wonderful how quick he can be because he is in his octogenarian years and you'd never know it if you were hearing him, him or even looking at him. He looks good.
- [25:28]
A
All right, so Malpea and Charger is closer than ever at Centenary Stage. We have a link to that in the show notes. They do have a 2pm this afternoon, but it might be too late for anybody to get to it. But it wraps up today at 2:00pm August 9th.
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G
So,
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A
Michael, we teased last week that you were going way down Hadestown. So tell us about it.
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C
Yes, just a few hours after the podcast, I saw it at the AMC Empire 25 on 42nd Street. And good news. I just googled and yes, it's still playing in select movie theaters across North America. It has been extended and extended again. It is tremendously sexful because successful given, you know, relative to its budget and its aspirations. I guess I don't think anyone expected, you know, this to be a big hit. But it, but on, on its own level, it really, really is. It's. And it's not surprising because it's so well done in terms of everything, the production, the camera angles, the quality of the sound, the presentation. It's so wonderful to have the leads, original leads back. As I mentioned last week that all of the leads are from Broadway, the ensemble and other people are from England because this was filmed in London or not filmed. I keep using that word. I guess it's just only natural it was motion captured in, in London where most of of the video versions of Broadway musicals that we see happen because they are so much more amenable to that in terms of the union rules. And as I did mention again last week, and we'll keep mentioning, I think something, something really, really, really should be done about that in this country. We, we've been talking about keeping down ticket prices, which is crisis point, but also a kind of a separate issue. Kind of a separate issue. Though it's still Finances is. Yes. How, how can deals be made so that more Broadway shows can be captured in video with their original casts in a way that is financially viable? So I don't, I don't know. You would think if it hasn't happened by now, maybe it's not going to happen, but be hopeful. We'll see. In the meantime, Hadestown is a stellar example of how well it can be done. It was so great to see all those people in close up, you know, often, and just to see them again. Reeve Carney, Eva Noblezada, Patrick Page, of course, my neighbor, Madrada Shields. And it. Oh, I was interested and thank you for telling me, James, because I had not heard that Patrick Page had to use a cane for much of the, of the show because he had injured himself, unfortunately, right before they were going to start shooting and they did not want to replace him. And fortunately he was, he still was quite mobile except for the cane. And it did, as I agree with you, James, it sort of added to the character because he's supposed to be broken in a way, right? Emotionally broken. Yeah. So all of that, I have nothing negative to say about the video capture of Hadestown, the musical. It's a huge success. I'm glad it's a huge success and maybe its success will spur what I was talking about and maybe possibly get, have, you know, call a meeting of the union members and the producers and everyone and Actors Equity to see if they could just say, all right, fine, we'll take across the board, you know, cuts, and we will not charge exorbitant amounts in the beginning. And then in return, you know, we could take residual points. If, if something is successful, then we, you know, then, then we'll, we'll be paid out. But if it's not successful, then at least we'll still have a record, a professional, a professionally shot record of these shows that we might not get otherwise. Because not everything is made into a movie anymore. And even when things are made into a movie, a movie, a Hollywood movie is a different animal anyway, so I hope that wasn't too long winded. But that's my report on Hadestan.
- [30:51]
F
I started Ornod in 2013 and we make bike apparel. The best part of Shopify for me is our ability to run the business as essentially non technical people. We're able to admin everything on the back end, front end, and sell things online easily. If Shopify were a bike accessory, I think it would actually be the bicycle. It's the thing that you do the thing on. We run the business on Shopify. Start your free trial on shopify.com.
- [31:20]
A
out of the mouth of babes. Well, I'm going to show business, Michael. Show business.
- [31:28]
C
So
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A
as you turn on a camera, there's, there's three letters, S, a G. That has nothing to do with Broadway.
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C
Well, then that's. Those people can be in the meeting as well.
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A
You know, this is why Hadestown was filmed in London, right?
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B
Sure.
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C
But isn't that, I mean, doesn't anyone look at that and say, well, if they can do it
- [31:58]
A
for the end of time, people have tried to do what you're saying. My God. I think Ken Davenport dreams of it every night when he puts his head on a pillow.
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C
Yes, he is big into that, isn't he?
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A
What's interesting to me is that there's a trailer of Hadestown, the movie on Apple tv. You can pre purchase it on Apple TV so that you can get it when it is officially released. It's not, as far as I can tell. There's no streamer announced for. There's no streamer announced for streaming Apple tv, but you can purchase it for download, so.
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C
Oh, interesting.
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A
Yeah, yeah. So what does Rob Johnson say here? The boot had him gliding and stalking the stage. Made it, made the We Dance part of Epic 3. So much more emotional.
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C
Yeah, well, he knows the show more than I do, but yeah.
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A
All right, so Hadestown, the movie, as Michael said, seems to be ongoing at theaters around the nation. And also I'm going to put a link to the Apple TV trailer in the show notes so you can get that. Some huge, huge news that was buried this week in the heat and humidity of New York City said Shuffle along, he's going to have a reunion concert at Lincoln center. And I don't want to hear from anybody that we didn't let you know ahead of time. So it is September 27th. Michael, tell us more about this September
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C
27th all star reunion of to give the full title, Shuffle along or the Making of the musical sensation of 1921. And all that followed. This was the show that was on Broadway, produced by Scott Rudin. And then it seemed to be snake bit because let's see, first of all. Well, first of all, one of the major stars was Audra McDonald and she from the beginning had an out in her contract because she was going to do to London to do. What was it? Concerts?
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G
Lady.
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A
Was it Lady?
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F
Lady.
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C
Lady. Thank you, thank you. Yes. Lady, Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill.
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A
Yeah, yeah.
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C
So surprisingly to me, Scott Rudin had agreed that about, I think, two or three months into the run of shuffle along, Audrey McDonald would leave for a while to go do that show in London. But anyway, he did agree to it. But then what happened is she got pregnant and then that was, I guess, a bridge too far for him because she would not be coming back at all. And so he closed the show. And people, you know, read things different ways. People said, oh, how horrible that he closed the show because she got pregnant. I mean, that's one way to look at was the show was. I believe it. I remember it received mixed reviews, but there was a lot of incredible stuff in it with an amazing cast. I remember we had Billy Porter as a guest on our podcast leading up to that show. And as I mentioned, I think I mentioned Brian Stokes Mitchell and everyone else. Wonderful involved in it. So anyway, it is now going to be done again. And where is the Lincoln Center?
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A
27th of September. What else are you looking for?
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C
Yeah, I'm looking. None of that is in this article that I pulled up, other than the date. Oh, well, here it is. I'm sorry. Okay. One night only in a special concert staging. They're calling it at Lincoln Center's Rose Theater. For those of you who haven't been at the Rose Theater, it's actually not technically Lincoln Center. It's Jazz at Lincoln center, which is up in Columbus Circle in what used to be called the Time Warner Building, and it's now called the Deutsche bank building.
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A
Deutsche Bank, Yep.
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C
But it's a beautiful theater. Very, very beautiful. Newish. Newish, but designed along very traditional lines. So if you haven't seen anything there, this might be your opportunity. It's, you know, probably the last time we will see this version of Shuffle Along, I'm guessing.
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B
Yeah.
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A
So funny.
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B
Go ahead, James.
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A
I. I was just going to say that it's so funny you brought up Billy Porter's interview. Because I was going to bring that up as well. Because if you go back and listen to the Billy Porter interview with us before the open, I asked him a direct question about Scott Rudin and he begged off. He begged off on that question. So, Peter, what were you going to say?
- [37:47]
B
Well, it might be better here, ironically enough, because there may not be as much emphasis on the fact that the divorces, cheating, all that kind of stuff that the characters did. There's a very interesting story involved with Shuffle along, the original production way back when in 1921. And that is the fact that that was a stage manager, I think. No, box office manager. That's what it was. And he took the money from ticket sales because he had heard a horse was a sure thing.
- [38:23]
C
Oh, right.
- [38:23]
B
Well, you know, what happened, you know, it was not a sure thing at all. And as a result, Shuffle along is now utterly penniless. And how it managed to survive that setback among dozens of others, believe me. I mean, the idea that this was a black show back in 1921 and it didn't play in a conventional Broadway theater, it was up in the 60s near Central Park West. So doing the best it can, it really. A lot of miracles that happened to make Shuffle along happen. But unfortunately, what was really stressed was the personal lives of these people. And I don't know about you, but when I see a memoir or even a biography of anybody that I'm interested in, I always go to about chapter six, seven or eight, because that's when they start talking about show business. And I'm really not interested if they had an unhappy childhood or who their teenage crush was. So as a result, I'm much more interested in the business part. So that was my take on it. And the point is, what you're going to get at this concert is indeed the songs, which are great songs, always have been, always will be.
- [39:27]
C
James, did you want to specifically quote what Billy said when you asked him?
- [39:31]
A
No, no, I want people to go back in the archive and listen.
- [39:34]
B
That's right.
- [39:35]
C
All right, well, you're going to put the link in.
- [39:39]
A
That would be an excellent idea. Yeah, I will do that. Yes. Yeah, I will do that.
- [39:43]
C
I think it's worth it.
- [39:47]
A
So you're a good man, Michael Portantier. Oh, thank you, Good man. Oh, and also this week we had news that your good man Charlie Brown is coming back for encores. Michael, tell us about that.
- [40:01]
C
Well, one of the most interesting. Interesting of several interesting things about this production is that it seems they are going to be doing the original version by Clark Gessner, not the revised version with all of the additions by Andrew Lippa. And I, I don't know, I guess that surprises me because Encores has a relationship with him. They, they, they did at least one of his shows, right? They did the Wild Party Years. I don't know, I would have just thought that they would have done that version, which also included. I personally do not like any of the editions, but it did provide a springboard to stardom for Kristen Chenoweth because the song My New Philosophy, which she sang in the role of Sally, Really? Really. I mean, to me, that that's what really sprung her to stardom and more specifically the review she got from Ben Brantley for that performance.
- [41:12]
A
Yeah, the love letter. The public love letter.
- [41:15]
B
Oh yeah, yeah.
- [41:15]
C
It really was star making truly. And of course the interesting thing there is that Sally is not in the original version of for whatever reason. There's a much more minor character of Patty in the original. And not Peppermint Patty, just regular Patty as we used to call her, Regular Patty. So I guess that's going to remain the same. Although that role has. Casting for that role has not yet been announced nor has the role of Schroeder. But we will have David Hyde Pierce as Charlie Brown and Danielle Brooks as Lucy and Ayo Edebiri as Snoopy. So we're going to be have a female Snoopy, which also to me sounds like not a great idea, but we'll see. You know, I try to be open minded and obviously age, age is not an issue. And the casting, you know, I mean, maybe the, the, the, the perspective was well, you know, their characters are supposed to be like around what, seven, five, six, seven years old, maybe a little older. And they, you know, I mean the, the youngest people who played them on Broadway have been in their, the youngest have been in there and, and off Broadway, excuse me, have been in their early 20s. So if you're going to be, you know, that far off, you might as well go to the other extreme and have far older people play these, play these characters.
- [42:50]
B
David Hyde Pierce does have the right face with Charlie Brown.
- [42:54]
C
Absolutely. Someone wrote that he'll be the first one who gets the hair right.
- [43:05]
B
I wish that this show were massaged in a very different way. I think the opening number should be called you're a blockhead Charlie Brown. Because those kids have never said anything good about him. Never. I don't understand why they're all saying he's a good man then. Yes, it does end with if you weren't so wishy washy. But still what I would like to see happen, after all, musicals basically are optimistic. We certainly have plenty of exceptions. Anybody can list those. But by and large musicals are optimistic. I would like to see Charlie Brown, unlike the comic strip, come through with a broken clock is right twice a day hit that wins the game and then everybody sings. You're a good man, Charlie Brown. That's what I would like to see happen in it. And needless to say, you'll find this in musical makeovers. If you buy the book on February 4th or any dates thereafter for that
- [43:51]
A
matter, it's only there on that one
- [43:54]
B
day,
- [43:59]
A
You know, I can't stand it.
- [44:03]
C
I think I may have mentioned this before, but are either or both of you aware that there is a more or less full length animated film version of the musical? You're a good man, Charlie Brown.
- [44:17]
B
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
- [44:19]
C
I don't know how I missed it all those years. Only became aware of it like maybe two or three years ago. And it's really. I think it's quite good.
- [44:29]
B
I've never watched it.
- [44:30]
C
Yeah, I'm gonna, you know, I'm gonna send a link and we can put it in the show notes.
- [44:35]
A
We. We should send it over to Bryant park to see if they can include it in their movies next year.
- [44:41]
C
Why not?
- [44:42]
G
Sure.
- [44:43]
A
Speaking of that, Michael, what's coming up on Monday, August 10th, which is tomorrow?
- [44:49]
C
I. I used to go to the movies in Bryant park all the time. They used to be run by hbo, and it just seemed like they would pick like a lot of things that I wanted to see, including a lot of classics like King Kong and the wizard of Oz and Auntie Mame in recent years. I forget who runs it now. Not so, not so much. Much more recent films for the most part, part. But I did notice two in. In the current lineup. The last one of the summer is Shakespeare in Love. And let's see, that's not for September 14th. Oh, you've got it.
- [45:33]
A
Great.
- [45:33]
C
Yeah, Great, great, great. Yeah, that I. I definitely have on my calendar. And then someone pointed out to me that tomorrow they're showing Catch Me if youf can can. And I have never seen the movie, only the musical. So I'm looking forward to it as a great opportunity. And if you've never seen a movie in the park, you know, if all things go well, it can be a very, very pleasant experience if it's. If the weather's right and if you don't happen to have obnoxious people right around you, which. And if you do, you know, it's easier to move maybe. And they have a really nice setup. Now. The old setup used to be like a. A traditional, you know, thin movie screen and then speakers and then the, the projection from the, the back of the park, like over where the library is. The, the screen is always set up like, more like over the, the sixth Avenue side. But now they have this. I think that they have this, like. It looks like a huge inflatable screen. I mean, it's an inflatable object that has a screen on the front of it. And anyway, I saw Moonstruck there a couple of weeks ago. I mentioned I saw a telecast of Tosca the Opera from the arena Divarona there. And the sound system and the film setup are both excellent, so I highly recommend it. The Lawn opens at 5. For those who want to get the best seats possible. You know, you bring blankets or I, I think they want you to bring those low chairs if you have them. If, if you have a higher chair, they don't want you to sit right in the lawn. You, you do have to be on the side. And the movie starts when it. At 8, at 8pm when it's, you know, starts to get dark. So, yeah, catch me if you can. I'm looking forward to it.
- [47:42]
A
I've loved every Bryant park movie that I've gone to, but it seems like they've never been able to recapture the magic in the bottle of the wizard of Oz. Oh, that was amazing.
- [47:55]
C
Well, and also, that was supposedly where the sing along sound and music started spontaneously, you know, because people felt, I guess people felt, well, we're outdoors, it's okay to sing along. And you know, I don't know if Mary Rogers or I don't know if she was Tate was there.
- [48:16]
A
Yeah. I don't know if you went to Les Mis at Radio City this week, but there was a lot of singing along indoors.
- [48:23]
C
Oh, yeah, I would imagine. Yes. Yeah. Including by Patti LuPone, apparently.
- [48:30]
A
Apparently. All right, so that wraps it up for this week. Before we get on to our brain teaser and our musical moments, I'd like to remind you that you can subscribe to these broadcasts by going to the front page of broadwayradio.com, there's a subscribe link. That way, each and every time there's a new episode of this week on Broadway, it'd be automatically downloaded to Apple Podcasts for you. Of course, you don't have to listen to us in Apple Podcasts as many ways to get us. One way is the Broadway Radio app, which is available on iOS and Android. Again, if you have any feedback or problems or suggestions, things like that, just email me, let me know what you're thinking of. Contact information for Peter, for Michael, and for me can be found in the show notes@broadwayradio.com as well as links to some of the things we've talked about today. So, Peter, do you have an answer to last week's Brain teaser?
- [49:23]
B
This performer was nominated for Tony and Lost in a Broadway debut before becoming a household name. One year later, another performer was also nominated for a Tony and also Lost for the second time, but would become an even bigger household name. Before the end of this decade. One year after that, the two performers joined forces to do a show together. Well, I'm talking about Carol Burnett, who was nominated for Once Upon a Mattress in 1960. Julie Andrews was nominated for Camelot in 1961 after having been nominated in My Fair lady in 1957. And they teamed to do the show on TV. Yes, but it still qualifies as a show. Julie and Carol at Carnegie hall in 1962. Tony Janicki was first, followed by Stephen Sokoloff, Sean Logan, Lee Korn, Alan Bruce Barnett, Pat Payne, Ingrid Gammerman, Juliet Green and Brigadou. This week's questions. Both musicals were based on novels that became films. Each musical closed without raving Broadway. One on the east coast, one on the West. Each title has four words in it, and the final two words are identical. What are the two musicals?
- [50:32]
A
If you are not Michael Portentier and you have an answer for this, email us@trivia rodrigo.com in fact, Michael didn't follow the rules. He did not email trivia, so he does not win.
- [50:48]
B
Oh, some people. Yeah, just send me because they know my email address.
- [50:53]
A
Yeah, yeah.
- [50:54]
C
But thank God I didn't. That would have ruined everything.
- [50:57]
A
Well, you ruined it anyway because it might have been one that I got, you know.
- [51:02]
C
Oh, well, I'm sorry. Apologize.
- [51:04]
B
Angered Gammerman and Fred Abramowicz and Brigadude always email me separately. Separately on my account.
- [51:11]
A
Yeah. So email us at trivia if you don't know Peter's other email addressesroadwayradio.com and we'll let you know if you're on the right track. So, Michael, what do we have in this week's musical moments?
- [51:27]
C
Well, believe it or not, earlier this week I traveled to Maryland to see a movie. Because in Silver Spring, Maryland, which is very close to Washington, D.C. there is a theater called the AFI Silver AFI standing for American Film Institute. And it's a wonderful theater. It's complex, I guess. It has two theaters in it, a very large one and a somewhat smaller one, but they're both state of the art. And they were having a CinemaScope festival festival. And there were so many things I wanted to see there. But, you know, I mean, I. Limited funds, limited time. So I almost went twice. I was planning to go see Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, but then I just couldn't work it out. But I did go this past week to see Guys and dolls in CinemaScope because I had never seen that one one on the big screen, whereas I actually had seen Seven Brides for Seven Brothers on the big screen, once with, in fact, with Jane Powell in the audience, I'll never forget. That was wonderful. But I don't think anyone's left alive from Guys and Dolls, so nobody was there. But it was still a great, great experience to see it and hear it projected in that way and that size. And just some random observations about the movie, which I'm sure many of our listeners have seen it. I have such mixed feelings about it. I think they got so much right as to what they kept from the show. But then there are. I think Joseph L. Mankiewicz wrote the screenplay, and he took what Abe Burrows wrote and expanded it greatly. In some places in particular, he really focused on this Sky Masterson, Sarah Brown relationship and deepened it a lot, which, I mean, it's wonderful in the sense that it gives an opportunity to Marlon Brando and Gene Simmons, both of whom are wonderful actors. But I think it may be imbalanced the movie a little bit, and he overwrote a little too much. Then there are changes in the score, and that's what we'll focus on for the moment. I. You know, when musicals are filmed, often there are changes in the score because they feel that there are certain songs that work on stage, wouldn't necessarily work on film. But also in a more mercenary way, if a song is written specifically for film, then it's eligible for an Academy Award nomination, and people love those. So, let's see. Guys and Dolls has three new songs. Is that right? It has. Instead of Bushel and a Pig Peck, it has a song called Pet Me Papa, which is just awful, very vulgar. And.
- [54:33]
B
And Bushel and a Peck was a hit song. Why they dropped it is beyond me.
- [54:37]
C
Well, not to. Not to belabor this, but they claimed that it was such a big hit in 1950 that if they did it included it in a movie in 1955, it would date the picture.
- [54:50]
G
Good Lord.
- [54:50]
C
And I said, well, by that token, would you cut out Some Enchanted Evening when you made the movie of South Pacific? Yeah. So anyway, whatever. So there's that new song, that replacement. There's a new song called Adelaide that Nathan sings in the voice of Frank Sinatra, which. I like that song. I think that's a good one. But. Oh, and then my time of day is caught and is heard only as background music. Sky mesh as my time of day and I've never been in love before is replaced by a song called A Woman in Love, which is a lovely song, but you know what? It's so generic, whereas the thing I. I love about a woman. Excuse me. The thing I love about I've never Been in love before when you think about it, is that it's true that neither sky nor Sarah have ever been in love before, but for two completely different reasons. He's been sleeping around basic to, to put it frankly, with lots of women and she is the opposite. She's a virgin and she's a Salvation army woman and she's very religious and she's certainly not going to have sex with anyone before she gets married. So I think that was a great thing on Frank Lesser's part that it's lost in the movie. Anyway, having said all that, our two musical moments for today. The opener is from the main title of the film of Guys and Dolls and it's the choral version of A Woman in Love. So you can hear that it is indeed a lovely song, even if somewhat generic. And the closer is the song that it replaced, I've Never Been in Love Before a section of that as sung by Robert Ald Alda, father of Alan Alda from the original Broadway cast recording of Guys and Dolls. So enjoy these and viva Frank Lesser indeed.
- [56:56]
A
All right, so on behalf of Peter, Felicia and Michael Portantier, this is James Marino saying thanks so much for listening to Broadway radios this week on Broadway. Bye bye.
- [57:06]
C
Bye bye.
- [57:10]
G
I've never been in love before now all at once it's you, it's you forevermore I've never been in love before I thought my heart was safe I thought I knew the score but this is wine that's all too strange and strong I'm full of foolish song and out my song must pour so please forgive me this helpless haze I'm in I've really never been in love before.
- [58:23]
D
This summer there are 250 reasons to join T Mobile Girls.
- [58:29]
A
Trip booked and switching to T Mobile
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D
Help make it happen with experience beyond switch and get $100 back plus $650 in value in built in plan benefits. That's $750 in your first year guaranteed.
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A
And honestly, that hundred dollars back, I'm
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C
putting it towards the zipline now.
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D
That's how you do summer.
- [58:52]
A
Exactly.
- [58:53]
C
Exactly. Best switch I ever made.
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D
This is just one reason to join T Mobile this summer. There are 250 reasons. Find yours
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E
Savings based on the value of benefits included with Experience beyond like entertainment and one year of AAA Classic and DashPass on us. Benefits may require activation CPlan. For details get $100 via virtual prepaid MasterCard with eligible ported no cash access and expires in six months. Issued by Sunrise Banks and a member FDIC. Allow eight weeks.