What The Musical

Content Warning: mentions of rape & kidnap. We Gotta Make It Through the Winter, so let's swing through Seven Brides for Seven Brothers! We talk winning and losing in social dance, Steven King novel-style plots, and vitamin-deficient decision-making. PLUS: will we see JLM in NYC? Theme music by Cullen Vance. Original London cast album: Amazon | iTunes | Spotify

What Kind of Girl is She? The kind that does an episode on [title of show], of course! We talk the value in creativity, early internet phenoms, and proposing with musical numbers. PLUS: we're still hoping for a voicemail cameo from JLM. Theme music by Cullen Vance. Original Broadway cast album: Amazon | iTunes | Spotify  Watch: Susan Blackwell's Youtube channel, Side by Side by Susan Blackwell.

Be A Lion and pounce on this episode about The Wiz! We talk storytelling through genre, otherism in reviews, and casting teenagers. PLUS: a check-in on our favorite magic man, JLM. Theme music by Cullen Vance. Original cast album: Amazon | iTunes 1978 movie album: Spotify

Moments of Happiness have arrived in the new year with our episode on Cats! We talk cat nip as plot device, audience consent, and defending a musical more than we could have anticipated. PLUS: Happy Birthday, JLM. Theme music by Cullen Vance. Original Broadway cast: Amazon | iTunes | Spotify

All I Ask of You is a deep breath before diving into The Phantom of the Opera! We talk bad optics, ear-wormy repetition, and the worst stage mom ever. PLUS: one of the only sighs of relief we can breathe is that JLM is not in Phantom. Theme music by Cullen Vance. Original London cast recording: Amazon | iTunes | Spotify Norm Lewis & Sierra Boggess perform The Music of the Night and The Phantom of the Opera. Your Fave is Problematic: Ep. 79. The Phantom of the Opera

And I Am Telling You it's time for Dreamgirls! We talk powerhouse female leads, non-jukebox Mowtown, and Jennifer Holliday being right. PLUS: Jimmy may fall, but JLM would make him triumphant. Theme music by Cullen Vance. Original Broadway cast album: Amazon | iTunes | Spotify Dreamgirls in Concert album: Amazon | iTunes | Spotify Watch: Jennifer Holliday's Tony Awards performance of "And I Am Telling You" Read: Passing by Nella Larsen

Strange Magic is at play--it's time to roll on into Xanadu! We talk the dangers of roller skates, Chelsey's Charles Isherwood impression, and acrostic poems. PLUS: we advocate for our favorite muse, JLM. Theme music by Cullen Vance. Original Broadway cast album: Amazon | iTunes | Spotify

Ya Never Know what will happen when we dive into Little Shop of Horrors! We talk the rules of mushroom foraging, life when you're endearingly pathetic, and a suggestion for a climate activist angle on the show. PLUS: why has nobody cast JLM as Audrey II? WHY??? Content Warning: brief mention of domestic abuse. Theme music by Cullen Vance. Original cast album: Amazon | iTunes | Spotify

Do You Wanna Hang? Let's jump into Be More Chill! We welcome special guest Montana to talk catchy lyrics, teenage reality, and the dangers of Mountain Dew. Plus: we'd upgrade to a JLM-voiced Squip any day. Theme music by Cullen Vance. Check out his new album, Cullen, Vol. 1, out now! Be More Chill original cast album: Amazon | iTunes | Spotify Be More Chill Broadway cast album: Amazon | iTunes | Spotify Watch the 2019 Tony Awards parody of "Michael in the Bathroom."

No One Else understands Tara's love for this show--it's time for Natasha, Pierre, & The Great Comet of 1812! We talk drinking vodka in your 30s, how to make Russian lit exciting, and discover what happens when Chelsey doesn't prepare. Plus: we might be tired, but JLM never sleeps. Theme music by Cullen Vance. Original cast album: Amazon | iTunes | Spotify Original Broadway cast album: Amazon | iTunes | Spotify

No need to fight Tooth & Nail--it's time for Cambodian Rock Band! We talk the anti-Miss Saigon, teaching an audience to code switch, and why you should skip Hamilton for now. Plus: the gentlest JLM Watch to-date. WTM theme music by Cullen Vance. Featured music for Cambodian Rock Band by Dengue Fever. Dengue Fever music: Amazon | iTunes | Spotify "Jeas Cyclo (Ride Cyclo)" by Yol Aularong: Amazon | iTunes | Spotify Follow Cambodian Rock Band on Twitter: @thecyclos ****** Beverage: One Thousand Tears of a Tarantula Recipe from Le Boutier bar in Cambodia, as published in DRiNK Magazine 35ml Samai rum (or any aged rum) 22.5ml Housemade kaffir-curry syrup* 22.5ml Lime juice 15ml Coconut cream 15ml Benedictine 7.5ml Pineapple juice 1ds Fish sauce Shake and serve in a collins glass. Garnish with house-made pickles. *Kaffir-curry syrup: 1 litre hot water; 4tbsp red curry paste; 6 kaffir lime leaves; 2kg white sugar. Boil all for 20 minutes and fine strain.

All We've Got To Say is that it's time to discuss The Color Purple! We talk plot squiggles, syncretic spirituality, and rage at Steven Spielberg. PLUS: there's always room for JLM at this jazz club. Theme music by Cullen Vance. Original Broadway Cast album: Amazon | iTunes | Spotify Video: 2006 Tony Awards performance by the Broadway revival cast.

See, I'm Smiling--it must be time to discuss The Last Five Years! We talk brooding youth, collaborative artistry, and writers getting dangerously autobiographical. Plus: all we want for our birthdays is JLM on Broadway. Theme music by Cullen Vance. Original Off-Broadway cast album: Amazon | iTunes | Spotify

We had lots to say about How To Succeed... and business! Join us for a bonus interval all about pep talks, Chelsey's Rules for How To Succeed, and baseball metaphors.

Take a long Coffee Break to discuss How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying! We talk Tara's eventual book, scheming spouses, and coffee drinking alliances. Plus: if there's one man who knows how to succeed in breaking our hearts without really trying, it's JLM. Theme music by Cullen Vance. 1995 Broadway Revival album: Amazon | iTunes | Spotify Billy Porter slays at the 2019 Tony Awards.

Presentation, performance, and personality--it's our second of two episodes on The Tony Awards! We talk award show bingo, underrated gems, and make our best guesses on the 2019 winners. PLUS: will Dr. JLM announce a return to the stage? Theme music by Cullen Vance.

Happy Holidays, theatre kids--it's time to unwrap The Tony Awards with this first of two episodes before Broadway's biggest night! We talk about The Big Six, opening numbers to lift your spirits, and terrible choices. Mix Tequila, Opinions, and a little Time; serve chilled. Theme music by Cullen Vance. Check out a playlist of some of our favorite Tony performances!

Tonight at Eight (or whenever you listen), dive into She Loves Me! We talk live broadcasts, mustaches we love to hate, and beating vanilla metaphors into the ground. PLUS: 3k and counting, JLM. 3k AND COUNTING. Theme music by Cullen Vance. 2016 Broadway Revival Cast Album: Amazon | iTunes | Spotify

Wouldn't It Be Loverly to catch up with a new episode? Let's dive into My Fair Lady! We talk code-switching, the Julie Andrews Effect (redux), and emotional Broadway stars. PLUS: JLM Watch is hitting record numbers, and we don't like it. Theme music by Cullen Vance. Original Broadway Cast album: Amazon | iTunes | Spotify

Something Different happens in this episode on The Band's Visit! We talk unexpected crooning, feeling big-ly, and NEA funding. Plus: a whole new kind of Jesse L. Martin watch. Theme music by Cullen Vance. Check him out on Spotify! Original Broadway cast album: Amazon | iTunes | Spotify