I can’t believe how many exciting podcast episodes I am recording for the second half of this season. I don’t want to give away too much, so I’ll just say that there will be explorations of off-Broadway and Broadway musicals, deep dives into composers whose shows we don’t talk about enough, and some philosophizing about musical theater on television.
There will also most definitely be bonus material from these episodes, so if you are interested in hearing more, make sure you are subscribed to the Scene to Song Patreon. Subscribe for as little as $3 a month, and you’ll be supporting the podcast and hearing more musical theater discussion—a win-win!
Thank you to everyone who supports the show in various ways, whether monetarily, by rating and reviewing the show in your podcast app, by recommending the podcast to others, or by listening to the episodes.
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— Shoshana
Musical of the Month
Oliver by Lionel Bart
Lionel Bart’s birthday was August 1st, so it’s the perfect month to celebrate his masterpiece Oliver. Like many children, I fell in love Oliver at a young age. I knew the film adaptation before I ever saw it on stage or performed in a day camp production of it. I remember being captivated by the entire story, but especially by the character of Nancy. Even though she sings about how she will love Bill, her abuser, as long as he needs her, I always saw her as strong. She is strong in the climactic moment when she (SPOILER!) defies Bill and saves Oliver even though she probably knows it could cost her her life. She’s vibrant and warm and brave and, like so many in the show, doesn’t have many options.
Earlier this year, I saw the revival at City Center Encores in New York City, the first time I saw a first class production of this musical. I think anyone can do a great production of Oliver, it’s that well written, but I very much enjoyed seeing Broadway-level actors sink their teeth into this material. “As Long As He Needs Me,” “It’s a Fine Life,” and “Reviewing the Situation” are all complex songs. I even love Bill Sykes’s song “My Name,” though I know some disagree and wonder what it’s doing at the beginning of the second act, but as I say in Scene to Song episode 73: Evil Characters in Musical Theater, I think it’s a wonderful villain song—no backstory, just in the moment of the character’s anger.
Now that I’ve seen the professional production, I’d love to see it at a school again.
Also in August…
August 1: Happy Birthday, librettist Michael Stewart (1929), Director/choreographer/ actor/dancer Geoffrey Holder (1930), and Composer/lyricist/bookwriter Lionel Bart (1930)! What a day! Celebrate by listening to a discussion on the character Bill Sykes from Lionel Bart’s Oliver in episode 73 on Evil Characters in Musical Theater and a discussion of Michael Stewart’s musicals with Jerry Herman—Hello, Dolly! and Mack and Mabel—in episode 34 on The Musicals of Jerry Herman.
August 9: Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's Jesus Christ Superstar opens in London (1972). Celebrate by listening to episode 55 on The Musicals of Andrew Lloyd Webber.
August 12: Happy Birthday, director/choreographer/dancer/actor Michael Kidd (1919)! Celebrate his work by listening to episode 75 on Marvin Hamlisch, David Zippel, and Neil Simon’s The Goodbye Girl, which he directed.
August 14: Happy Birthday, lyricist Lee Adams (1924) and bookwriter Thomas Meehan! Celebrate both Adams’s and Meehan’s work by listening to episode 56 on Adaptations of Comics in Musical Theater, as well as episode 79 on Marc Shaiman, Scott Wittman, Mark O’Donnell, and Thomas Meehan’s Hairspray.
August 15: Hairspray opens on Broadway (2002). Listen to episode 79 on Marc Shaiman, Scott Wittman, Mark O’Donnell, and Thomas Meehan’s Hairspray.
August 20: The Mikado opens on Broadway (1885). Listen to a discussion of the song the song "Alone, and yet Alive" from The Mikado in episode 22 on Representations of Judaism in Musical Theater.
August 21: Happy Birthday, lyricist Carolyn Leigh (1929) and Jerry Herman and Harvey Fierstein’s La Cage aux Folles opens on Broadway (1983) ! Celebrate Leigh’s work by listening to episode 61 on The Musicals of Cy Coleman and La Cage by listening to episode 34 on The Musicals of Jerry Herman.
August 25: Happy Birthday, composer Leonard Bernstein! Celebrate by listening to a discussion of his song “America” with lyricist Stephen Sondheim in episode 27 on Latinx Characters in Musical Theater.
August 31: Happy Birthday, lyricist/librettist Alan Jay Lerner (1918)! Celebrate his work by listening to episode 15 on The Musical My Fair Lady.
Find more musical theater history for August at musicals101.com.
New Musicals!
While Scene to Song mainly looks at musicals already part of the canon, I definitely want to highlight new musicals and musicals in development.
The Fitzgeralds of St. Paul by Christie Baugher
Former podcast guest Christie Baugher (episode 9: The Female Gaze in Musical Theater) just won a Jonathan Larson grant, and her musical The Fitzgeralds of St. Paul will be presented in concert on Saturday, September 9 at 3 PM at Adelphi University on Long Island as part of the Larson Legacy series, and will be live-streamed as well. I’m looking forward to seeing this musical.
Creative Team: Book, Music and Lyrics by Christie Baugher
Synopsis: The Fitzgeralds of St. Paul is a two-person, one act full-length chamber musical about F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, celebrated literary figures of the Jazz Age. Part memory play, part gin-soaked vaudeville, The Fitzgeralds of St. Paul is a fictionalized, hyper-theatrical imagining of an infamous marriage – an evening in which two tragic, larger-than-life icons of a bygone era finally get to tell their story.
Development History Highlights: The Fitzgeralds of St. Paul was presented in part at the 2023 ASCAP Musical Theatre Workshop (Stephen Schwartz, Artistic Director) in Los Angeles. It was an official selection of the 2020 Pacific Playwrights Festival at South Coast Repertory and was presented at Joe's Pub at the Public Theater in 2019.
Listen to the Music and Get More Info!
Something Wonderful
Some additional recommendations for August:
Podcast: I am back on Kyle Marshall's fantastic podcast Putting It Together, the podcast that goes through Stephen Sondheim's entire body of work show by show, song by song. He's in the Sunday in the Park with George season and asked me to talk about the song "Move On," which was so daunting because this song is a lot of people's favorite song... but it's not mine (I like it! It's just not my favorite). Sunday in the Park… is my favorite Sondheim show, but it's a tough show to crack, and "Move On" is a deceptively difficult song to talk about. I was grateful for this opportunity to dig deep into this song and talk about this show.
Theater: Pompeii Rising In Concert. Former podcast guest Andi Lee Carter co-wrote this new musical with Henco Espag and Briana Harris. It’s in person on August 30th at 7pm at NYC’s Judson Memorial Church, and livestream tickets are also available.
Hosted by writer Shoshana Greenberg, Scene to Song brings on a guest to talk about a musical, musical theater writer, or a topic or trend in musical theater. The theme music is by Julia Meinwald.
You can write to scenetosong@gmail.com with a comment or question about an episode or about musical theater, or if you’d like to be a podcast guest. Follow on Instagram at @ScenetoSong, on Twitter at @SceneSong, and on Facebook at “Scene to Song with Shoshana Greenberg Podcast.” Support the podcast on Patreon.
Shoshana Greenberg is a lyricist, librettist, singer, and theater journalist. Her musicals include Days of Rage with Hyeyoung Kim and Lightning Man with Jeffrey Dennis Smith. She has also written the opera “The Community” with Kevin Cummines. Her songs have been heard at venues from Lincoln Center to the Duplex, where she performed her one-woman show Not Coming Back. She’s written for American Theatre Magazine, is a contributing editor for the publication Musical Theater Today, and created and hosts the musical theater podcast Scene to Song. She holds an M.F.A. from the Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program at NYU and a B.A. from Barnard College.