BROADWAY NATION
A lively and opinionated cultural history of the Broadway Musical that tells the extraordinary story of how Immigrants, Jews, Queers, African-Americans and other outcasts invented the Broadway Musical, and how they changed America in the process.In Season One, host David Armstrong traces the evolution of American Musical Theater from its birth at the dawn of the 20th Century, through its mid-century “Golden Age”, and right up to its current 21st Century renaissance; and also explore how musicals have reflected and shaped our world -- especially in regard to race, gender, sexual orientation, and equality.
IN SEARCH OF LOST BROADWAY — THE GREAT WALTZ
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Encore Episode: MY FIRST SONDHEIM
This episode was recorded in 2021 just five days after it was announced that Stephen Sondheim had died and as it happened my friend, colleague and frequent co-host and contributor to Broadway Nation, Albert Evans, was spending the Thanksgiving weekend with me, and so we were together when this news began to break and during the incredible reaction and response this loss over the days that followed.
The coverage of Sondheim’s life and legacy in both traditional and social media had been phenomenal including four full pages in the NY Times, extended tributes on TV, radio and ot...
HOW A SONDHEIM REJECTION INSPIRED A BROADWAY NOVEL!
My guest this week is DAN ELISH, author of a new novel called KING OF BROADWAY. As you will hear, the plot of this novel was inspired by a real life interaction that Dan had with the legendary Broadway songwriter Stephen Sondheim.
While the majority of authors I interview on Broadway Nation are historians or scholars who have created non-fiction works about the history of the Broadway musical, every once in a while it is my great pleasure to feature a fiction writer who has taken what I call a "novel approach" to Broadway.
These ha...
QUEER MUSICALS 3 — FUN HOME, THE PROM, & JAGGED LITTLE PILL
This is the third and final part of my conversation with author Rob Schneider, who returns to tell us more about his new book, Queer Musicals — Boy Meets Boy to Jagged Little Pill. On this episode, Fun Home, The Prom, and Jagged Little Pill.
Robert W. Schneider is a historian, director, producer, author, educator, and podcast host, and the Artistic Director of the J2 Spotlight Musical Theater Company in New York. And since working as an original programming producer at 54 Below, Rob has directed and produced over 100 concerts for the venue. His first book, 50 Key Stage Musicals, wa...
Queer Musicals 2 — Falsettos, Hedwig, Bare, & Kinky Boots
This is the second part of my conversation with author Rob Schneider, who returns to tell us more about his new book, Queer Musicals — Boy Meets Boy to Jagged Little Pill. On this episode, Falsettos, Hedwig And the Angry Inch, BARE, and Kinky Boots.
Robert W. Schneider is a historian, director, producer, author, educator, and podcast host, and the Artistic Director of the J2 Spotlight Musical Theater Company in New York. And since working as an original programming producer at 54 Below, Rob has directed and produced over 100 concerts for the venue. His first book, 50 Key Stage Musicals, wa...
QUEER MUSICALS — From Boy Meets Boy to Jagged Little Pill
On this episode my guest is Rob Schneider, who returns to the podcast to talk about his new book, Queer Musicals — Boy Meets Boy to Jagged Little Pill.
Robert W. Schneider is a historian, director, producer, author, educator, and podcast host, and the Artistic Director of the J2 Spotlight Musical Theater Company in New York. And since working as an original programming producer at 54 Below, Rob has directed and produced over 100 concerts for the venue. His first book, 50 Key Stage Musicals, was published in 2022.
On this first episode in this series, we discuss the musicals Boy...
20 YEARS of THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE
Amazingly, this year marks the 20th Anniversary of the Broadway musical The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.
In 2005, after an incredibly short development period, opened first off-Broadway at Second Stage Theater, and quickly moved to Circle in the Square Theatre on Broadway. It was nominated for six Tony Awards and won two, including “Best Book of a Musical,” and the show would go on to run for 1,136 performances and be produced around the world.
In celebration of that anniversary, two new productions will open this fall. Off-Broadway at New World Stages, performances are scheduled to b...
Lorenz Hart & The Queer Artists Who Invented Broadway!
To a great extent the Broadway Musical has been a queer creation -- and for more than 125 years the musical theater world has been filled with brilliant and creative LGBTQ people, including many in the highest positions of power and influence. In this episode David Armstrong shares the fascinating stories Broadway's defining queer choreographers Robert Alton & Jack Cole, the legendary gay songwriters Noel Coward and Larry Hart, directors Monty Wooley and Moss Hart, and prolific bookwriter Herbert Fields, who is without doubt one of the most significant and least known inventors of the Broadway Musical!
...
COME FROM AWAY — The Most Produced Play of the Year, part 2
This is the second part of this Encore Episode from 2021 featuring a conversation with Irene Sankoff & David Hein — the dynamic writing team and married couple that created the international smash hit musical Come From Away which recently topped American Theatre magazine's list of the most produced plays in America in 2025/26.
On the previous episode Irene and David related how they got hooked on musicals, and how they went from their first show based on a true story — My Mother’s Lesbian Jewish Wiccan Wedding — to deciding to create a musical based on the real life events that happened...
The Most Produced Play in America: COME FROM AWAY
My guests today are Irene Sankoff & David Hein – the dynamic writing team and married couple that created the giant international smash hit musical Come From Away.
Five productions of Come From Away have recently reopened around the world: Broadway, Toronto, London, Sydney and on tour across America. A live filmed version of the show is also streaming on Apple TV+.
Irene and David won the 2019 Olivier Award and were nominated for the 2018 Grammy Award and the 2017 Tony Award for their book and score for Come From Away, with the show itself winning the 2019 Olivier Award for Best...
GOING HOLLYWOOD — THE OXFORD GUIDES TO FILM MUSICALS
On this special video and audio episode of Broadway Nation my guests are Dominic Broomfield—McHugh, editor of The Oxford Guides to Film Musicals, along with the authors of the first three books in this new series: Geoffrey Block (Love Me Tonight), Andrew Buchman (Singin' in the Rain), Hannah Lewis (La La Land).
You can watch the video version on YouTube, Spotify, and the Broadway Podcast Network.
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CHALLENGING SONDHEIM — A conversation with RICHARD SCHOCH, part 5.
This is the fifth and final episode in this series of conversations with RICHARD SCHOCH, author of the acclaimed book, HOW SONDHEIM CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE.
This week Richard and I discuss two of Stephen Sondheim's most challenging musicals, ASSASSINS and PASSION, as well as his final show HERE WE ARE.
If you missed the first four episodes in this series, you may want to catch up with them before listening to this one.
Richard Schoch is a Professor of Drama at Queen’s University Belfast in Northern Ireland. He is the author of...
Eubie Blake & the Black Artists Who Invented Broadway
The 1920s brought the second great era of musicals that were written by, staged by, and starring Black theater artists to Broadway. In this episode I profile these brilliant creators and stars including Eubie Blake & Noble Sissle, Flournoy Miller & Aurbry Lyles, Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, and their musicals -- Shuffle Along, Runnin' Wild, Blackbirds of 1929, Hot Chocolates and more. It also includes a brief history of that great African American/Irish American co-creation, Tap Dancing.
And featuring music by The Paragon Ragtime Orchestra -- for more music from this era, check out their terrific Black Manhattan series of...
Bert Williams & the Black Artists Who Invented Broadway
African American theater artists played a significantly larger role in the creation of the Broadway Musical than is generally acknowledged — including an entire decade of nearly forgotten hit shows and songs! In this episode, we will rediscover the early history of Black Broadway and the amazingly multi-talented men and women whose legacy still inspires Broadway today!
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SONDHEIM GIVES US MORE TO SEE, — A Conversation with RICHARD SCHOCH, part 4.
My guest again this week is RICHARD SCHOCH, author of the much-acclaimed recent book, HOW SONDHEIM CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE.
This week, we explore two of Sondheim’s most brilliant works, Sunday In the Park with George and Into the Woods.
If you missed the first three episodes in this series, you may want to catch up with them before listening to this one.
Richard Schoch is a Professor of Drama at Queen’s University Belfast in Northern Ireland. He is the author of eight books, both popular and academic, on topics ranging from...
SONDHEIM MAKES HISTORY, a conversation with author Richard Schoch, part 3
My guest again this week is RICHARD SCHOCH, author of the much-acclaimed recent book, HOW SONDHEIM CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE.
In the first two episodes of this series, Richard took us deep inside the inner workings and underlying meanings of Gypsy, Company, Follies, and A Little Night Music, and the fascinating characters who inhabit them.
This week, we explore two of Sondheim’s most challenging and brilliant works, Pacific Overtures and Sweeney Todd —The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.
If you missed the first episode in this series, you may want to catch up w...
PodSwap! DAVID ARMSTRONG on THE WRONG CAT DIED podcast.
“Some people might say CATS is a ripoff of A Chorus Line. I don’t want to go that far but it’s remarkably similar. I think it’s sort of a doppelganger of A Chorus Line.” In this episode, host Mike Abrams welcomes David Armstrong, a fellow Broadway Podcast Network host and author of the newly published book Broadway Nation.'They delve into the rich history of Broadway musicals, highlighting the significant influences and connections, including how the iconic musical CATS ties into this history. Armstrong shares fascinating insights about the evolution of Broadway from his podcast and University...
In Search of Lost Broadway: RIO RITA
Never fear! Richard Schoch will return soon for the third and fourth segments of our conversation regarding his recent book, How Sondheim Can Change Your Life.
In the meantime, I am excited to share with you the first of what I anticipate will become an occasional new series, which I am calling IN SEARCH OF LOST BROADWAY. And in this episode, my guest ALBERT EVANS and I will try to rediscover the hit 1927 musical RIO RITA.
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This episode is made possible in part through the generous support...
SONDHEIM'S "MOMENTS OF TRUTH" — A Conversation with RICHARD SCHOCH, part 2.
My guest again this week is Richard Schoch, author of the much-acclaimed book, How Sondheim Can Change Your Life.
Last week, Richard took us deep inside the inner workings of both Gypsy and Company. In this episode, through his insightful analysis of the musicals Follies and A Little Night Music, and the fascinating characters who inhabit them, Schoch illuminates Sondheim’s incredible genius for plumbing the depths of human experience.
If you missed the first episode in this series, you may want to catch up with it before embarking on this one.
BROADWAY NATION BOOK LAUNCH CELEBRATION!
Join author David Armstrong for a lively conversation hosted by Alan Seales of The Theatre Podcast celebrating the release of Armstrong's new book, Broadway Nation—How Immigrant, Jewish, Queer and Black Artists Invented the Broadway Musical. With co-host Michelle Simone Miller host of the podcast Mentors On the Mic. At this virtual book launch party you will have the opportunity to meet David Armstrong and hear the inside story of the creation of his first book. You will also have a chance to participate in an exclusive Q&A; and compete with other Broadway fans in a MUSICAL THEATER TR...
"BETTER LIVING THROUGH SONDHEIM" with author RICHARD SCHOCH
After a brief summer break, I am thrilled to be back with an all-new episode of Broadway Nation!
My guest this week is RICHARD SCHOCH, author of the recent and much-acclaimed book, HOW SONDHEIM CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE.
Just when you thought there might be nothing left to say about the musicals of Stephen Sondheim, Schoch's engaging book opens up a new treasure trove of fascinating analysis and insight.
Richard Schoch, is a Professor of Drama at Queen’s University Belfast in Northern Ireland, and is the author of eight books, both popular an...
An Update on Broadway Nation!
A quick update on what's going on with Broadway Nation podcast!
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CRAZY FOR NOSTALGIA! — BROADWAY'S NOSTALGIA CRAZE OF THE 1970s, Part 2.
In this episode I continue my review of Broadway’s Nostalgia Craze of the 1970s and beyond.
Many of the musicals that emerged in the late 60s and very early 70s were also influenced by the incipient Nostalgia Craze, even if overall their shows were decidedly modern. HAIR, Jesus Christ Superstar, Godspell, Two Gentlemen of Verona, Applause all included musical sequences that recalled the Vaudeville era and Silver Age of Broadway. So nostalgia was in the air, and then No, No, Nanette sent it into the stratosphere!
And all of this was before the nostalgia craze...
BROADWAY'S NOSTALGIA CRAZE OF THE 1970s, part 1
In this episode Albert Evans and I explore the origins of Broadway’s “Nostalgia Craze of the 1970s” — where it came from, and what artistic, social and cultural forces came together to spark this unlikely phenomenon.
We trace its origins in the counterculture youth rebellion of the 1960s, the rediscovery of films from the 1930s and 40s on television, and the popularization of gay camp culture via the off-off Broadway mega hit DAMES AT SEA. All of this would lead to the triumphant 1971 Broadway revival of NO, NO, NANETTE — the Vincent Youmans/Irving Ceasar/Otto Harbach musical comedy that...
THE QUEER PIONEERS OF BROADWAY MUSICAL STAGING
This episode is adapted from a section of my new upcoming book, Broadway Nation — How Immigrant, Jewish, Queer, and Black Artists Invented the Broadway Musical, which will be released on July 24 (and can be preordered now everywhere books are sold.)
In 1919, two gifted young Queer theater artists — Hassard Short and John Murray Anderson —both made their Broadway directing debuts and quickly established themselves as significant forces in the development of the Broadway musical. Even though their names and their work are seldom remembered or acknowledged today, In my view they are, without a doubt, two of the princi...
The Show Goes On, Broadway Hirings, Firings, and Replacements, part 2.
This week’s episode of Broadway Nation is the second half of my conversation with author Ron Fassler, whose latest book is titled The Show Goes On — Broadway Hirings, Firings, and Replacements.
Among the outstanding Broadway performers and creatives who are at the center Ron’s fascinating stories include Abe Burrows, Bernadette Peters, Chita Rivera, Comden & Green, Cynthia Erivo, Fantasia, Frank Loesser, Gower Champion, Harold Prince, Howard Keel, Iva Withers, Jane Russell, Jeff Conaway, Jerry Orbach, Jerry Zaks, Jo Swerling, John Cullum, John Kander & Fred Ebb, John Travolta, LaChanze, Leonard Bernstein, Leroy Anderson, Lewis J. Stadlin, Michael Bennet...
THE SHOW GOES ON — BROADWAY HIRINGS, FIRINGS, AND REPLACEMENTS, part 1
My guest is author Ron Fassler, whose latest book is titled The Show Goes On — Broadway Hirings, Firings, and Replacements, a fascinating collection of insider theater stories that range from as far back as the 1930s and go right up to today.
The performers and creatives referenced in this episode include Andrea McArdle, Ann Miller, Anne Bancroft, Barbra Streisand, Cameron MacIntosh, Carol Burnett, David Merrick, Dorothy Louden, Hal Lindon, Harold Prince, Helen Gallagher, Jerry Zaks, John Cullum, Lauren Bacall, Lea Michelle, Louis Jordan, Mary Martin, Michelle Lee, Mimi Hines, Pearl Bailey, Shirley Maclaine, Sutton Foster and more!
...In Memory of CHARLES STROUSE
I, along with the rest of the musical theater world, was saddened to learn that composer CHARLES STROUSE, one of the last of the great creators from the Golden Age of Broadway had passed away last week at the age of 96.
Of course, Strouse and his three Tony Award-winning “Best Musicals": Bye Bye Birdie, Applause, and Annie — have been discussed frequently on this podcast. So over the weekend, I dug deep into the archives of Broadway Nation and newly adapted a section of my upcoming book regarding the musical Golden Boy and wove it all together to crea...
Happy Birthday Broadway Nation!
It's hard for me to believe that I launched this podcast exactly five years ago this week, and even harder for me to comprehend that, to date, more than 279,000 people, from nearly every country in the world, have listened to at least one, and in many cases all, of the 175 episodes!
So, today it seemed fitting to rerelease the episode that started it all — the very first episode of Broadway Nation: George M. Cohan and the Immigrants Who Invented Broadway.
As you will hear, at the time, we were still trying to figure out exactly ho...
THE OTHER GERSHWIN, part 3, with MICHAEL OWEN
This is the third and final segment of my conversation with Michael Owen, author of the recent book, Ira Gershwin — A Life in Words.
On this episode, Michael and I focus on the period of Ira Gershwin’s career following the death of his brother George, during which he had success on Broadway and in Hollywood with composers such as Kurt Weill, Jerome Kern, Arthur Schwartz, and Harold Arlen, and shows and movies such as Lady In the Dark, The Barkleys Of Broadway, and A Star Is Born,
If you missed the first two parts in th...
The Other Gershwin, part 2, with author Michael Owen
This is the second episode of my three-part conversation with author, historian, researcher, and archivist, Michael Owen, whose recent book, Ira Gershwin — A Life in Words, is the first full-length biography devoted to that outstanding artist who penned the words for many of the greatest songs of the 20th Century.
If you missed part one, you may want to catch up with that before listening to this one.
Michael Owen is also the author of Go Slow — The Life of Jule London and the editor of The Gershwins Abroad.
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Episode 173: THE OTHER GERSHWIN — with MICHAEL OWEN, author of IRA GERSHWIN — A LIFE IN WORDS
My guest today is Michael Owen, whose recent book Ira Gershwin—A Life in Words is the first full-length biography devoted to the other Gershwin. In this book, Owen at last brings Ira Gershwin out from behind the long shadow cast by his younger and more famous brother, George.
Drawing on extensive archival research, Owen often uses Ira’s own words to create a captivating portrait of a shy and retiring artist who, nevertheless, penned the words for many of the greatest songs of the twentieth century.
Michael Owen is a...
Encore Episode: Razzle Dazzle: A Brief History of Lighting Design, part 2.
This is the second half of this week's Encore presentation of my conversation with Tony-award-winning lighting designer Ken Billington. Last week, Ken received rave reviews for his lighting design of the new Broadway musical SMASH, which amazingly is his 108th Broadway production. So, I thought it was an ideal time to revisit this fascinating conversation about the history of lighting design on Broadway and Ken’s own tremendous contribution to it.
If you missed part one you may want to catch up with that before listening to this one!
Learn mor...
Color and Light — A Brief History of Broadway Lighting Design with Tony Winner Ken Billington
This is a special encore episode of my 2022 interview with Tony-award-winning lighting designer Ken Billington. This past week, Ken received rave reviews for his lighting design of the new Broadway musical SMASH, which amazingly is his 108th Broadway production. So, I thought it was an ideal time to revisit this fascinating conversation about the history of lighting design on Broadway and Ken’s own tremendous contribution to it. This is a two-part conversation and I will be rereleasing both parts this week.
Original Description:
My guest on this episode is Tony Award win...
Travel with Broadway Nation to New York, New York — Your Top Questions Answered
Since announcing last week that Broadway Nation has teamed up with Like Minds Travel to create a series of unique Broadway and Broadway history-related travel experiences specially designed for fans of this podcast, I have been receiving a number of questions, so I thought I createdd this mini bonus episode to answer them.
As you probably know by now, we are kicking off this initiative with a whirlwind weekend in New York City, September 11—15, 2025, filled with Broadway musicals, Broadway theater-makers, and Broadway history.
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Episode 172: THE ART & CRAFT of BROADWAY ORCHESTRATION with 3-Time Tony Winner DOUG BESTERMAN
My guest this week is the three-time Tony award-winning Broadway orchestrator Doug Besterman, whose 31 Broadway musicals include The Producers, Fosse, Thoroughly Modern Millie, and his very first show, the 1991 revival of Damn Yankees, to name only a few.
During this current Broadway season, Besterman will achieve something unheard of in his field: he will have three big musicals — Death Becomes Her, Boop!, and Smash — all running simultaneously on Broadway. Making it even more remarkable, two of those shows began previews on the same night and now open on Broadway in the same week.
Be...
Episode 171: MALTBY & SHIRE, part 2.
This is thee second part of my conversation with author Joshua Rosenblum about his new book CLOSER THAN EVER — THE UNIQUE SIX-DECADE SONGWRITING PARTNERSHIP of RICHARD MALTBY, JR, and DAVID SHIRE.
We dicuss Maltby's work on the musicals Ain't Misbehavin', Fosse, Song And Dance, Miss Saigon, and The Pirate Queen, and the Maltby/Shire shows, Baby, Closer Than Ever, BIG, and Waterfall.
Travel to NYC with David Armstrong and Broadway Nation
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...
The Six-Decade Songwriting Partnership of MALTBY & SHIRE
My guest today is Joshua Rosenblum, author of Closer than Ever — The Unique Six-Decade Songwriting Partnership of Richard Maltby, Jr. and David Shire.
This remarkable new book chronicles the sixty-six-year (and counting) partnership of two of the most gifted songwriters of our time and provides us with full behind-the-scenes accounts of their musicals interspersed with deep-dive analyses of some of their standout individual songs. To tell their story, Rosenblum draws on his extensive experience as a composer, Broadway conductor, music journalist, and professor of musical theater composition at Yale. Maltby and Shire are quoted li...
TRUDE RITMANN & THE WOMEN WHO INVENTED BROADWAY
You may not know Trude Rittmann's name, but you have heard her music. During the "Golden Age of Broadway" (and beyond), she composed music for 33 Broadway musicals, including Carousel, Brigadoon, South Pacific, Fininan’s Rainbow, The King and I, My Fair Lady, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Peter Pan, The Sound of Music, and Camelot.
In this episode, Albert Evans and I tell the story of one of the least known, but most significant, women who invented the musical.
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Episode 169: If They Asked Me I Could Write A Book
On this episode, I have a big announcement, so I asked my buddy, friend, colleague, and Broadway Nation’s favorite co-host and guest host, ALBERT EVANS, to join me today to turn the tables on me and ask me the questions rather than me being the interviewer.
As you may have guessed from the episode title, the announcement is that I have a book coming out called BROADWAY NATION (sound familiar?) and the subtitle will be similar to what you've heard before as well: HOW IMMIGRANT JEWISH, QUEER AND BLACK ARTISTS INVENTED THE BROADWAY MUSICA...
