I loved putting together the last three Scene to Song episodes. They cover such a range of musical theater topics, from Sondheim’s 1980s musicals to the evolution of how musicals tackle marriage to the future of musicals in podcast form. I hope you’ll listen to them soon if you haven’t already and learn more about each guest below.
We’re only one month away from Scene to Song’s five-year anniversary, and we’re going to have a party! Well, another live webcast similar to the season finale shows. I’ll be inviting guests from all five seasons back to chat musical theater and Scene to Song episodes, and you’ll have the opportunity to send questions, thoughts, and feelings either in writing or by calling in. I haven’t settled on the date yet, but it will be on or around the official anniversary of June 25.
And if you are not yet subscribed to these emails and want to be, subscribe here:
— Shoshana
Recent Episodes
Episode 91: Stephen Sondheim’s Obsession with Moments and Dreams in His 1980s Musicals
In this episode, podcaster Kyle Marshall discusses composer/lyricist Stephen Sondheim’s obsession with moments and dreams in his 1980s musicals through four songs: “Merrily We Roll Along”, “Move On”, “Moments in the Woods”, and "Everybody’s Got the Right." We also talk about the song "Better" from David Lindsay-Abaire and Jeanine Tesori's 2021 musical Kimberly Akimbo.
Music played in this episode:
“Merrily We Roll Along” from Merrily We Roll Along
“Move On” from Sunday in the Park with George
“Moments in the Woods” from Into the Woods
"Everybody’s Got the Right" from Assassins
"Better" from Kimberly Akimbo
Episode 92: Marriage in Musical Theater
In this episode, professor Ashley Pribyl discusses marriage in musical theater, focusing on Stephen Sondheim and George Furth's 1970 musical Company, as well as how marriage was portrayed leading up to Company in musicals such as Allegro and I Do! I Do! We also talk about the song "Marry Me a Little" from Company.
Music played in this episode:
"The Honeymoon is Over" from I Do! I Do!
"Overture" from Company
"Marry Me a Little" from Company
Episode 93: Podcast Musicals
In this episode, voice actor and comedian Dominic Frisby discusses podcast musicals, from 36 Questions and Anthem Homunculus to concept albums and Hamilton. We also talk about the song "Kisses on a Postcard" from Terence Frisby, Martin Wheatley, Gordon Clyde, and Dominic Frisby's 2022 podcast musical Kisses on a Postcard.
Music played in this episode:
"The End of Love" from Anthem Homunculus
"Hear Me Out" from 36 Questions
"Kisses on a Postcard" from Kisses on a Postcard
Meet the Guests!
Kyle Marshall grew up in a small town in Canada. He went to university for an English degree and then spent the rest of his life not doing anything with that. Currently he hosts a couple of podcasts, assists a non-profit in supporting independent filmmakers, and loves spending time with his niece and nephew.
Hometown: Rocky Mountain House (yes, that's a real place)
Current Town: Calgary
What are you Working on Right Now: Hosting two podcasts (Putting It Together, Kyle and Dave vs The Machine), finishing a novel, and writing a short film
What do you have coming up: Turning 40 and trying not to freak out about it
Book, TV, film, or Theater Recommendation: There's a film from 1945 called Hangover Square about a composer who goes mad when he hears a certain tone. It's great. It's free on YouTube and everyone should watch it.
Where can we find you online/social media: I'm @thekylemarshall on Twitter and Instagram.
Dr. Ashley Pribyl currently works as a Professor of Humanities at Florida SouthWestern State College. She received her PhD in Musicology from Washington University in St. Louis, where she was a Harvey Fellow in American Studies and a Graduate Fellow at the Center for the Humanities. Her dissertation, titled “Sociocultural and Antagonistic Collaboration in the Harold Prince-Stephen Sondheim Musicals, 1970-1979,” analyzed the politics of Stephen Sondheim’s musicals through a prism of collaboration. Pribyl’s current book project, Fifty Years of Company: Exploring Marriage, Gender, and Sexuality through an American Musical, 1970-2020, has received funding from the Society for American Music and the New York Public Library. Dr. Pribyl has taught at the University of Texas, Washington University in St. Louis, and Arizona State University.
What are you Working on Right Now: I am currently working on my book, Fifty Years of Company: Exploring Marriage, Gender, and Sexuality through an American Musical.
What do you have coming up: I have an article that is related to my book coming out later this year in the journal Studies in Musical Theatre titled " ‘When You’ve Got Friends Like Mine’: Company as Tragedy and the Queer Potentiality of Friendship".
Book, TV, film, or Theater Recommendation: My life obsession is Formula 1 car racing, and even if sports aren't your thing, I recommend Netflix's docuseries about the sport, Drive to Survive. It's full of the kind of interpersonal drama that most of us who love theatre are very familiar with.
Where can we find you online/social media: Twitter: Pribbleprabble Instagram: Pribylprabble I'm not fancy enough for any of the others except Reddit and Tumblr, but those are private :)
Dominic Frisby is a voice actor and comedian from London, who also dabbles as a financial writer.
Hometown: London
Current Town: London
What are you Working on Right Now: A new book about gold
What do you have coming up: Edinburgh Fringe is my next big thing
Book, TV, Film, or Theater Recommendation: The Shadowpunk Revolution
Where can we find you online/social media: https://dominicfrisby.com/
Musical of the Month
Carrie by Michael Gore, Dean Pitchford, and Lawrence D. Cohen
Carrie opened on Broadway on May 12, 1988, and, as many know, it then closed on May 15th after only 16 previews and 5 performances. I saw Carrie in 2012, when New York City’s MCC Theater brought it back in a revised version. I wasn’t sure if it would be as intense and scary as the original one seemed to have been, but sure enough this new production gave me nightmares. That last scene is just a bit much for someone who doesn’t like horror.
But I was still so glad I got to see this infamous musical, and I devoured the podcast Out for Blood, which chronicles the entire history of the Carrie, complete with cast and creative team interviews. The podcast also explores why this musical touched as many people as it did and why, for someone like me, you can enjoy it even though you never want to sit through that last scene again. One of the podcast hosts, Chris Adams, has written a book based on the material from the podcast, Out For Blood: A Cultural History of Carrie the Musical, which is out in July.
Podcast guest Jason K. Purdy and I talked about Carrie in episode 46 on Horror in Musical Theater. We also did a deep dive into the song “And Eve Was Weak” from Carrie for the “Why is this so good?” section. What a thrilling and disturbing song and theatrical scene.
Also in May…
May 2: Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s Sunday in the Park with George opens on Broadway (1984) and Caroline, or Change opens on Broadway (2004). Listen to a discussion of the song “Move On” from Sunday… in episode 63 on Latinx Stories and Bilingualism in Musical Theater and a discussion on Caroline, or Change in episode 22 on Representations of Judaism in Musical Theater.
May 3: Happy Birthday, Howard Ashman, Frank Loesser's The Most Happy Fella opened on Broadway (1956), and The Fantasticks opens Off-Broadway (1960). Celebrate his work by listening to episode 76 on The Musicals of Alan Menken and Howard Ashman.
May 11: Happy Birthday, Irving Berlin (1888)! And George Abbott, Robert Russell, John Kander, and Fred Ebb’s Flora the Red Menace (1965) opens on Broadway. Listen to a discussion of the song “A Quiet Thing” from Flora the Red Menace in episode 61 on The Musicals of Cy Coleman.
May 14: Stephen Schwartz and Nina Faso’s Working (with various composers/lyricists) opens on Broadway (1978). Listen to discussions of Micki Grant’s song “Cleanin’ Women” from Working in episode 9 on The Female Gaze in Musical Theater and in episode 71 on Black Women in Musical Theater History.
May 17: Happy Birthday, composer/lyricist Bob Merrill (1921) and Stephen Schwartz's Godspell opens Off-Broadway. Celebrate by listening to episode 80 on Jule Styne, Bob Merrill, and Isobel Lennart's Funny Girl and episode 89 on The Musicals of Stephen Schwartz.
May 18: Happy Birthday, Meredith Willson (1902)! Celebrate by listening to episode 8 on Meredith Willson’s The Music Man.
May 23: Eubie Blake, Noble Sissle, F.E. Miller, and Aubrey Lyles's Shuffle Along opens on Broadway (1921). Listen to episode 87 on Eubie Blake, Noble Sissle, Flournoy Miller, and Aubrey Lyles’s Shuffle Along and a discussion of the song “Memories of You” in episode 74 on Black History of British Musical Theater.
May 24: Jerome Lawrence, Robert Edwin Lee, and Jerry Herman’s Mame opens on Broadway (1966). Listen to a discussion on Mame in episode 34 on The Musicals of Jerry Herman.
May 26: Happy Birthday, Al Jolson (1886)! Celebrate by listening to a discussion of his film The Jazz Singer in episode 24 on The Formation of White/White Jewish Identity in America and the Racial History of America Constructed through Musical Theater.
May 28: Rodgers & Hammerstein's Me and Juliet opens on Broadway (1953). Listen to a discussion on Me and Juliet in episode 65 on Artist Characters in Musical Theater.
May 30: Happy Birthday, Fiddler on the Roof librettist Joseph Stein (1912)! Celebrate him by listening to episode 28 on Bock and Harnick’s Musicals Fiddler on the Roof and The Rothschilds.
Find more musical theater history for May 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 Sweet Hereafter
I was fortunate to see former podcast guest Daniel Mate’s musical The Sweet Hereafter at the Polyphone Festival in Philadelphia last month, and I hope more people get to see it in further productions.
Creative Team: Book, Music, and Lyrics by Daniel Mate
Synopsis: Adapted from Russell Banks’ acclaimed novel, The Sweet Hereafter tells the story of a small mountain town grappling with emotional devastation after losing many of its children in a horrible school bus accident. The musical takes place in four acts, each narrated by a different character: Dolores Driscoll, the gregarious bus driver; Billy Ansel, a bereaved father; Mitchell Stephens, a big-city lawyer with a chip on his shoulder; and Nichole Burnell, a 15-year-old girl who is paralyzed in the crash. Through this multi-prismic narrative approach, the show explores the themes of loss, hope, honesty, courage, community, and the possibility of redemption in the face of tragedy.
Development History Highlights: 2023 Polyphone Festival at Philadelphia’s University of the Arts.
Watch a video from The Sweet Hereafter.
Something Wonderful
Some additional recommendations for May:
Article: “Alan Menken talks adaptations of ‘Aladdin’ and ‘The Little Mermaid’” in The Washington Post. Many folks, including me, are eagerly anticipating live-action The Little Mermaid on May 26th. Composer Menken talks about that film and more.
Article: “The Christines take their final bow: How 6 leading ladies helped make ‘Phantom’ a Broadway phenomenon” in The Washington Post.
Obituary: “Megan Terry, Feminist Playwright and Rock Musical Innovator, Dies at 90” in The New York Times. Megan Terry, an Obie Award winner, a founding member of the Open Theater group and a prolific feminist playwright who wrote and directed a rock musical on the New York stage that predated Hair, died on April 12 at a hospital in Omaha. She was 90. Viet Rock was believed to be the first American stage work to address the Vietnam War.
Article: “Itamar Moses: Every Day He Writes the Book” in American Theatre. A playwright who finds writing musicals both impossible and irresistible, he has a new adaptation of An American Tail opening at Children’s Theatre Company. I spoke to Moses in December 2019 in Park Slope, Brooklyn, and then again in March 2023 about his work on An American Tail and The Band’s Visit, as well as the difference between playwriting and book writing, getting his start in musicals with Nobody Loves You, working with the late composer/lyricist Michael Friedman on the musical Fortress of Solitude, and whether he’ll ever write his own lyrics.
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.