Can you feel a brand new episode?! Ease on down the road with Anika and Michael as they make their way through THE WIZ - the super soulful musical which debuted almost 50 years ago on Broadway and is finally returning this season after a successful national tour. So don't bring us no bad news - listen now!

There IS no cure like travel! Hop on board the SS American along with Michael and Anika as they dive into ANYTHING GOES - the tuneful musical comedy from Cole Porter. Hear about the unique creation story, and the endless revisions that the show has gone through in its 90 year history.

To celebrate Valentine's Day - KNOW THE SHOW is diving into ONCE ON THIS ISLAND the tragic, but joyful love story of Ti Moune. Mama definitely provides for great discussion as Michael and Anika debate the moral of the story and chat about the origins of this beloved musical theatre folk tale.

We're opening doors on our 4th season with MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG! Michael and Anika explore how this show went from biggest flop of all-time to the hottest ticket on Broadway!

As a special holiday treat, dive into the Christmas confection that is SHE LOVES ME. Anika & Michael discuss it's hidden gem status, and why a lot of critics call it a "near perfect musical"!

Dive on in to the heartwarming juggernaut COME FROM AWAY! Michael and Anika look into how this original musical went from unlikely seed of an idea to a sensation that took the world by storm. So get ready to have a screech-in, kiss a fish, and fall in love with a small town called Gander.

It's October - and KNOW THE SHOW is celebrating by getting a little spooky and honoring the MLB playoffs by diving into DAMN YANKEES, probably the most successful sports musical ever written! (And for those of you who don't follow sports ball...baseball's playoffs happen in October). With it's Faustian bargain, and time capsule approach to musical comedy, even if you aren't familiar with this gem, you're bound to fall for "Shoeless Joe from Hannibal, Mo", and agree that "whatever Lola...

What do you get when you combine a Jacques LeCoq trained artist and one of the largest corporations the world has ever known? Surprisingly the single most successful piece of entertainment all-time! Michael and Anika dive into the international sensation that is the Broadway adaptation of THE LION KING. From concept to stage, hear insights from the creative journey that brought the iconic Disney animated film to life and how Disney Theatrical Productions hasn't quite managed to capture the...

Step right into the romantic and horny world of the musical adaptation of 'The Bridges of Madison County' as Michael and Anika deep dive into this modern gem. They'll discuss the raw emotions on display through Jason Robert Brown's powerful score, the rich layers of character that Marsha Norman brings to the table as book writer, and why this show didn't have a successful initial run on Broadway despite the magical chemistry of Kelli O'Hara and Steven Pasquale. Join us as we dive headfirst...

Someone ought to open up a window! It is hot as hell in this episode of KNOW THE SHOW as Anika and Michael dive into 1776, the original revolutionary war musical. A groundbreaking show in its time, they discuss how the show might be difficult for audiences today, and how wrong it gets a lot of the history of the continental congress.

After a tepid reception to its initial opening, no one expected this Kander & Ebb musical to be the longest running American musical on Broadway! Grab your fishnets and bowler hats to learn about CHICAGO's unlikely journey to musical theatre infamy, and how it semented Bob Fosse's legacy in the canon - albeit without the orgy that he staged during "Razzle Dazzle"...

Don't rain on our parade as we dive into the much beloved FUNNY GIRL, the troubled musical that catapulted Barbra Streisand to superstar status with its premiere at the Winter Garden in 1964. Anika and Michael debate whether FUNNY GIRL is actually a well written show and if the song "People" belongs in the show or not - you'll be surprised at the famous Broadway Director/Choreographer who wanted it cut from the script during his brief stint helming the project.

That's the Bechdel Funeral Home baby! When FUN HOME landed at Circle in the Square in 2015, it ushered in a new era of the Broadway musical. With its unconventional storyline and structure, Lisa Kron and Jeanine Tesori redefined what the commerial theatre could be. Join your favorite musical nerds as they dive in to the brilliance of FUN HOME, its unlikely path to the Great White Way, and how it changed the Broadway landscape.

He's here! THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA! As the longest running Broadway musical is about to play its final performance this spring, Anika and Michael felt it was the perfect Valentine's Day episode to celebrate Andrew Lloyd Webber's magnum opus.

It's a helluva town! Join Michael and Anika (and Gabey, Chip, and Ozzie) for a 24 hour shore leave in the city that never sleeps! They'll dive into how the ballet "Fancy Free" became the inspiration for these young dynamic creators, and debate whether this show is a relic of its time, or an underrated gem. And stick around for one of the most surprising Favorite Things choices Anika has ever made!

Michael and Anika are the nicest kids in town as they dive into the big, fat, musical comedy hit that is HAIRSPRAY. The show danced it's way into audience's hearts with it's joke a minute wit and a score full of bops (no skips swear to god). From the story of how this juggernaut made it from John Waters' imagination to the Main Stem and Michael & Anika discussing whether or not the beat should be stopped, this episode may just be crowned Miss Teenage Hairspray.

We're back! Anika may be a Mother, and Michael may be...well nothing much as changed in his life...but KNOW THE SHOW is back! And thrilled to be putting the glorious A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC in the spotlight. With an incandescent score by Stephen Sondheim and an immaculate book by Hugh Wheeler, join your favorite musical theatre nerd team as they deep dive into this masterpiece.

Michael and Anika announce the Sweet 16 matchups for the 2022 Musical March Madness contest! Voting is open now in our Instagram story @knowtheshowpod

As the second season of IN THE SPOTLIGHT comes to a close, Anika and Michael share some of their favorite musical theatre-adjacent Christmas things and let spill some very exciting news...

In the first ever LIVE episode of the show, Michael & Anika JETÉ (see what we did there) into the American classic WEST SIDE STORY, which first premiered over 60 years ago. From its origins as Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet to the upcoming remake that is about to be released, this episode will absolutely get you ready for The Rumble.

While exploring mental health isn't completely foreign to Broadway musicals, when NEXT TO NORMAL premiered it was a game changer of how musical theatre could explore complex emotional topics. Join Anika and Michael as they analyze this Pulitzer Prize winning show and it's wild journey to legendary status.

At 78 years old, Oklahoma!, is lookin fine. Rodgers and Hammerstein's first musical together blew onto the scene in 1943 and redefined American Musical Theater forever. The deceptively simple story hides layers of complexity that have yielded rich interpretations ever since (and terrible high school productions, much to the chagrin of many a musical theater lover.) Michael and Anika dive into the darkness in the sunny text, the question of insiders and outsiders in American communities (and...

Midnight... not a sound from the pavement... except a pack of unitard-clad dancing felines in yak-hair wigs. Yes, for this episode we are taking a look at the most famous show ever written about a pack of cats who are auditioning to die: the Jellicle musical itself, CATS. Every part of this show, from its source material by a titanic poet known mostly for his dark musings on the futility of life, to its fraught development process, to its eventual mega-hit status, is unlikely. We'll discuss...

Someone tell the story... of the brilliant, dark, fascinating ASSASSINS. Join Michael and Anika for this mega-episode about the one-of-a-kind Sondheim and Weidman musical that has divided critics and audiences, exposed the dark loopholes of the American dream, and only become more "shmelevant" (don't worry, we'll explain) since its 1990 debut. From the addition of 'Something Just Broke', to the odd and interesting roles of the Proprietor and Balladeer, to how the show might have pleased...