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...

Lights up on our latest episode, about Lin-Manuel Miranda and Quiara Alegría Hudes' joyous musical IN THE HEIGHTS. Join Michael and Anika as they track the show back from movie to Broadway to off-Broadway to workshop to college to Lin-Manuel Miranda's childhood neighborhood, and discuss what of the groundbreaking show is based on fact and what is fiction. We'll also debate our complicated feelings about the show's happy (?) ending and debut a brand new podcast segment! Grab a cafe con leche...

Put on your Sunday clothes and polish up those silver trays, because IN THE SPOTLIGHT is diving into Hello, Dolly! Join Michael and Anika as they talk about the show's surprisingly ancient inspirations and complex road to Broadway - including which parts of the score might not actually be composed by the great Jerry Herman. Come for the insights into one of Broadway's greatest shows, stay for how often we confuse the names Ernestina and Ermengarde. Press play - it only takes a moment!

Ready to ride on the wheels of a dream? On this episode, Michael and Anika dive into the celebrated late 90's spectacle that looms large in the Broadway imagination. Widely considered to be one of the contemporary classics in the canon, they'll debate the quality of the musical adaptation and whether or not it is the perfect show for this moment in American history...or the worst...

For the launch of Season 2 of In the Spotlight, Michael and Anika dive into CAMELOT, the fondly remembered Lerner & Loewe chestnut which debuted on Broadway in 1960. Though the show’s cast album topped the charts for over 60 weeks and has since become affiliated with the Kennedy administration, the development of the show was far from the perfection to which King Arthur strived. From one of musical theatre’s horniest songs to the truly bizarre original title, this may just be the Holy...

Dive into the results from the Championship of Movie Musical March Madness! Michael and Anika bring you the results live and on YouTube, full of their predictions, insights, color commentary, quips, and some fun musical movie memes. Movie Musical March Madness is here!!!

Dive into the results from the Final Four of Movie Musical March Madness! Michael and Anika bring you the results live and on YouTube, full of their predictions, insights, color commentary, quips, and some fun musical movie memes. Movie Musical March Madness is here!!!

Dive into the results from the Elite Eight of Movie Musical March Madness! Michael and Anika bring you the results live and on YouTube, full of their predictions, insights, color commentary, quips, and some fun musical movie memes. Movie Musical March Madness is here!!!

Dive into the results from the Stage Left divisions of Movie Musical March Madness! Michael and Anika bring you the results live and on YouTube, full of their predictions, insights, color commentary, quips, and some fun musical movie memes. Movie Musical March Madness is here!!!

Join Michael & Anika as they deep dive into the creation of the new musical PASSING THROUGH and the process of “Putting It Together” with writers Brett Ryback & Eric Ulloa. Come along as they take you on a journey that starts with Andrew Forsthoefel's trek across America and ends with the musical's world premiere production at Goodspeed's Terris Theatre in Summer 2019, which is currently streaming on Goodspeed on Demand until April 4th. Tickets are available now at goodspeed.org!

Dive into the results from the Stage Left divisions of Movie Musical March Madness! Michael and Anika bring you the results live and on YouTube, full of their predictions, insights, color commentary, quips, and some fun musical movie memes. Movie Musical March Madness is here!!!

Dive into the results from the Stage Left divisions of Movie Musical March Madness! Michael and Anika bring you the results live and on YouTube, full of their predictions, insights, color commentary, quips, and some fun musical movie memes. Movie Musical March Madness is here!!!

Dive into the results from the Stage Right divisions of Movie Musical March Madness! Michael and Anika bring you the results live and on YouTube, full of their predictions, insights, color commentary, quips, and some fun musical movie memes. Movie Musical March Madness is here!!!

We're back with MOVIE MUSICAL MARCH MADNESS! Voting begins March 16th and Anika and Michael will be LIVE on YouTube on March 17th at 1pmEST with the first results and armchair punditry. And in case you can't join us live, the results shows will appear in the podcast feed afterwards.

In this one of a kind episode, join Michael and Anika as they recap the first season of IN THE SPOTLIGHT, dish on some of their favorite parts of the season, and reveal how they choose musicals to put in the spotlight! Curious about what will be featured in the second season? Well there may be a few clues in the episode as well...so start your new year right with IN THE SPOTLIGHT!

In the season finale of IN THE SPOTLIGHT, we take a ride aboard SHOW BOAT. The 1927 Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II epic arose out of a sea of operettas and revues to be the first true musical - or was it? We look at the show's fascinating history and complicated legacy, dive into how "Bill" went from being a comedy number in another show to a devastating torch song with only a few tweaks, and celebrate the show that just keeps rollin' along almost a century after it changed theater...

In 1967 it was the Age of Aquarius on Broadway with the arrival the "American Tribal Love-Rock Musical" HAIR. The trippy, bold, messy, occasionally-naked show by James Rado, Gerome Ragni, and Galt MacDermot had started life at the Public Theater, the first show to do so, and its unconventional journey from the streets and parks of New York City to the Public to Broadway befits the deeply unconventional show itself. We'll take a look at the show's unique history, its distinctive structure, and...

It was a loverly day when My Fair Lady opened on Broadway in 1956, and it quickly became a smash hit and beloved classic. Writing team Lerner and Loewe succeeded where others had failed and turned George Bernard Shaw's play Pygmalion into a musical - and what a musical! We'll look at the show's complex pre-history and thorny rehearsal days, and dive into the question of whether the show is a romance, or sexist, or both. Find one enormous chair and settle in for our latest episode!

In a very spooky Halloween episode, we're headed to Skid Row as we explore LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS! We'll dive into the cult-classic movie that inspired Off-Broadway smash, how it catapulted its authors, Alan Menken and Howard Ashman, into musical stardom, and confront how the show expertly entertains audiences and pulls at their heart-strings. So, lift up your head, wipe off that mascara and most importantly remember...DON'T FEED THE PLANTS!

For the fifteenth episode of IN THE SPOTLIGHT we had our first-ever 'Listeners Choose’ contest, and the winner was clear... the groundbreaking 1975 musical A CHORUS LINE. Michael and Anika dive into the Pulitzer Prize-winning piece about the lives of Broadway dancers, directed and choreographed by theatrical legend Michael Bennett. We examine the show's Rashomon-like origin story (or stories) and complicated history, as well as the show's brilliant and unusual structure. Ready to listen?...

When Tevye the Milkman daidle-deedle-daidled onto Broadway in 1964, he was almost instantly a hit. Fiddler on the Roof, with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and book by Joseph Stein, wasn't the first adaptation of Sholem Aleichem's 'Tevye and His Daughters' stories, but it was by far the most successful. We'll look at the history of the show's source material, its road to Broadway, the criticisms of its portrayal of Jewish life, and discuss what makes this miracle of miracles...

RENT burst onto the scene in 1996, and Broadway was never the same. The visceral rock adaptation of Puccini's La Boheme changed musical theatre both inside and out and created far more than 525,600 superfans. We'll dive into the show's downtown roots, discuss what Jonathan Larson's tragic death meant for the show's development, and examine what the show's success wrought (namely lawsuits). Won't you light our candles and join us for a little Vie Boheme?

From an 87-seat off-Broadway theatre redesigned to be an immersive Russian bistro, to a specially-built tent, to a Tony-winning regional theatre, to a transformed Broadway theatre, 'Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812' had one of the most unconventional journeys to the Great White Way. An adaptation of a section of Tolstoy's War and Peace, Dave Malloy's 2016 musical sounds like little else. We'll discuss the show's unusual production and contemporary sensibility to its delightful...

And we are telling you... the next episode of IN THE SPOTLIGHT is about DREAMGIRLS! The 1981 backstage musical that profiled a (quasi) fictional girl group called the Dreams as they shoot to stardom was a hit then, and it has only grown more beloved. We'll talk about the show's music-infused structure, the complicated inspiration behind the story, where the show fits in the question of representation on Broadway and Michael Bennett’s cinematic original staging. If you want to know more about...

We got anything but trouble when we're talking about THE MUSIC MAN, the Meredith Willson classic whose intricate musical structure and forms laid the groundwork for so many works to follow and firmly established his place as a Broadway “one-hit wonder.” We'll discuss what makes the show so brilliant, dive into the gorgeous 'My White Knight,' and reveal our least favorite tablework theory about the show (hint: it's about Winthrop's parentage.) Whether you're a fan of the show or a newbie, this...