Podcast Summary: "Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! How To Do Everything – Broadway Musicals and Best In Show"

Date: November 12, 2025
Host: Peter Sagal
Producers: Ian and Mike
Featured Guests: Ann-Margret (via impressionist/voice), Jordan Litzy, Crystal Murray

Episode Overview

This lively episode of "How To Do Everything" (a segment from "Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!") dives into the enchanting worlds of Broadway musicals, marathon performances, and competitive dog grooming. The team uncovers a quirky mystery in a classic musical, interviews a Broadway star who ran a marathon and performed on the same day, and enlists a professional dog handler to answer a surprisingly tricky grooming question.

Key Topics & Discussions

1. A Musical Misheard: The "Bye Bye Birdie" Mystery

• [00:42 – 03:39]

  • Ian recounts playing "Bye Bye Birdie" for his daughter, noticing she kept singing "Bye bye bur he."

  • They listen back and discover Ann-Margret does seem to sing "bur he" instead of "Birdie" throughout the song.

  • In a delightfully surreal move, the team "calls" Ann-Margret (voice impression by Crystal Murray).

    Ann-Margret: "It's just my quirk. That's just the way I hear it." ([03:00])

  • No one had ever questioned Ann-Margret about this before, making this both a mystery and its solution in one segment.

  • Memorable moment:

    Mike: "We’ve uncovered and solved all in one conversation." ([03:15])

2. Marathon Man on Broadway: Interview with Jordan Litzy

• [03:52 – 09:03]

  • Jordan Litzy, currently performing as Fiyero in Wicked, shares his experience of finishing the New York City Marathon and heading straight to do two Broadway performances.

    Jordan: "I ran the New York City Marathon and then I proceeded to perform Fiyero in Wicked on Broadway. Twice." ([04:08])

  • Physical Challenges:

    • Explains the difficulty of dancing, climbing statues, and jumping onstage immediately after a marathon.

    • Details two tough moments: kneeling for a long song, and a high-impact rope swing.

      Jordan: "Kneeling and singing for five, six minutes... then having to try and stand up after you’ve been kneeling for so long is always a gut check." ([05:24])

      Jordan: "I think even the guards were watching me come in and hoping and praying that I was going to be just fine. And fortunately, it worked out just fine." ([06:41])

  • Second Performance:

    • Discusses the draining effect of Sunday matinees post-marathon, but finds "one of the best shows I've had in weeks." ([08:41])
    • Jokes he might need to run a marathon before every double performance.

  • Humorous exchange:

    Mike: "So if you visualize you now when you've shaved your chest, shoulders, abs, does it look like you're wearing a flesh-colored sweater?" ([14:00])

3. How To Shave Your Chest (Inspired by Broadway Bodies)

• [12:35 – 18:39]

  • Listener Jacob wants to know how far he should extend chest shaving to show off his physique without blending into arm or shoulder hair.

  • Crystal Murray, professional dog handler and poodle groomer, gives expert advice using show dog grooming analogies.

    • Reveals that poodle hair styling is a carefully considered mix of blade lengths and contouring for best effect.

      Crystal: "If you really want to see... the sculpting, chiseling, contours... you'd want a really short blade... With the poodles, we can clipper them at different lengths so you get that different effect." ([17:38])

    • She suggests "shadowing" body hair to enhance muscle definition, much like competitive grooming.

      Crystal: "You can almost create some shadowing or whatever." ([18:34])

  • Explains poodle grooming terms: bracelets, hip rosettes, top knots, pack, and tail pom-poms.

    Crystal: "Those little balls are called their bracelets. The ones that they have over their hips are called their hip rosettes. The body we usually call a pack, and then they literally have a top knot." ([16:26])

• Lighthearted brainstorming:

  • Should people just get themselves groomed at pet spas?

  • Stage grooming is as tense as backstage at Westminster.

    Crystal: "It's nerve wracking because if you screw up, it's like you have no one to blame but yourself." ([19:14])

4. Backstage at the Westminster Dog Show

• [15:16 – 19:44]
  • Crystal reveals the competitive and high-stress atmosphere at major dog shows, like Westminster.
  • Groomers gossip about each other's work backstage—"Did you see that topknot!" ([19:34])

5. Reflections & Closing Banter

• [19:56 – 21:08]

  • The hosts marvel at how much accidental Broadway content filled the episode—from Ann-Margret to Wicked to hairy bodies (and the musical Hair).

  • Ian muses on marathon recovery:

    Ian: "Maybe the best way to recover from a marathon is to dance for three hours, take a short break, and then dance for another three hours." ([20:20])

  • The episode closes with good humor and self-aware silliness:

    Mike: "Dance like people have paid hundreds of dollars to come see you dance." ([20:32]) Ian: "What if we listen back to all the great Broadway songs and it turns out every D is an H?" ([20:54])

Notable Quotes

• Ann-Margret (impression):
  • “It’s just my quirk. That’s just the way I hear it.” ([03:00])
• Jordan Litzy:
  • “I ran the New York City Marathon and then I proceeded to perform Fiyero in Wicked on Broadway. Twice.” ([04:08])
  • “Kneeling and singing for five, six minutes... then having to try and stand up after you’ve been kneeling for so long is always a gut check.” ([05:24])
• Crystal Murray:
  • "If you really want to see... the sculpting, chiseling, contours... you'd want a really short blade... With the poodles, we can clipper them at different lengths so you get that different effect." ([17:38])
  • "Those little balls are called their bracelets." ([16:26])
  • "It's nerve wracking because if you screw up, it's like you have no one to blame but yourself." ([19:14])

Episode Takeaways

• Sometimes, the quirkiest mysteries lie in plain sight—like a subtle lyric change in a classic song.
• Broadway performers endure incredible demands, both physically and mentally, with marathon runners taking it to a new level.
• Body grooming advice can take surprising inspiration from championship poodle grooming.
• The worlds of show dogs and Broadway have one thing in common: everyone backstage is anxious and everyone is judging.
• The best recovery from a marathon? For some, it's jumping right on stage under Broadway’s bright lights.

For questions, mysteries, or conundrums you want solved, email the How To Do Everything team at howtopr.org.