Chasing Phantom

We are hurtling towards the holidays and so, for this episode, I make the case for "The King and I" to be considered among your holiday viewing options. Even though it's a 70+ year show, it's a smart and sophisticated musical with interesting cross-cultural dynamics. And so, of course, I turned to the smart and sophisticated Phil Crosby, most knowledgeable of all humans on the subject of older musicals, to help me explicate and praise this wonderful show.

Phil provides some vital context on Gertrude Lawrence, who originated the role of Anna and who is a Broadway diva...

For this pre-Thanksgiving episode, we hurtle up the list of long-running productions to give everyone something to celebrate and lift our spirits. "Mamma Mia!" may be the longest-running jukebox musical ever to run on Broadway (so far) but it's story transcends that reductive label. As expertly elucidated by Grey Garrett, who won a Best Supporting Actress in a Musical award for her performance as Tanya, this is a show that foregrounds female life experience and friendship in a somewhat revolutionary way for a show created in 1999.

Drawing from the experience of playing Tanya twice, Grey...

On the week after Veteran's Day, my friend Jesse and I dig into "Mister Roberts," a play about sailors during World War II and humble hero who was an example of (mostly) passive resistance to a petty tyrant. When we recorded this episode, I had no idea how appropriate it would be to air during this week. Don't get me wrong - as a 1940s era comedy, it's not a great show by any means. But still, in these times in particular, it does offer some intriguing ideas about what service and leadership look like.

Jesse and...

What could be more terrifying than to think you’re going insane? That basic horror makes “Angel Street” the perfect show to talk about during spooky season. Originally produced in London as “Gas Light” and adapted for the screen (twice) as “Gaslight,” this tale of a husband psychologically abusing his wife in order to access hidden riches was a surprise hit on Broadway in the 1940s. It was so popular, it overcame the monumentally bad timing of opening just days before the Pearl Harbor bombing to ultimately run for more than 3 years.

My guest, Lindsey Zelli, made her debut in t...

When you want to know about a production, there's no better source than talking to someone who was in it. I never thought that would be possible with the original Broadway run of "Annie Get Your Gun" - I mean, it closed in 1949! But Mary Ellen Ashley, who had a marquee role as the Girl in the Lampshade Hat in the show, is still alive and very much kicking. Though only 8 years old when the show opened, she was already a child star, having been in 2 other major productions and even appearing in a promotional film produced by the...

"Torch Song Trilogy" was a ground-breaking production and opened many doors for openly gay artists. It launched the career of Harvey Fierstein who would go on to write and perform in some additionally landmark shows on Broadway. In my hometown, it also was a landmark of sorts for one local actor, Keegan Ferrell. The recent college graduate was slated to be the understudy of the lead role, Arnold Beckoff, but ended up performing the opening weekend of the show due to an illness in the cast.

In our fun conversation, Keegan talks about that experience as well...

We all know that sex sells, but is that the only thing that drove thousands of people to see "Equus" back in the mid-1970s? Listen in on my discussion with McLean Fletcher  as we discuss the explosive intersection of sex, religion and psychology that playwright Peter Schaffer squeezes into this sometimes disturbing tale.

McLean starred in the Cadence Theatre production of the play in 2015 as Jill Mason, one of two characters who spend an extended scene naked on stage. McLean argues that the nudity wasn't really the point but also, in many ways, really was the p...

The chase is back on! Welcome to season 2 of the podcast dedicated to exploring...and sometimes explaining...Broadway's longest running shows!

Today's episode features a true Broadway history whiz: author, dramaturg & professor Jordan Schildcrout has studied long-running plays in more depth than perhaps anyone else on the planet. In his book, "In the Long Run: A Cultural History of Broadway's Hit Plays," Dr. Schildcrout looks at the Broadway landscape over more than 100 years, going deep on the longest running plays in each decade. It's a fascinating and super fun read filled with unexpected facts and...

We're back - better than ever! The second season of "Chasing Phantom" will feature celebrity guests, unexpectedly popular productions, and a cavalcade of trivia, insights and lively conversation about the longest running shows on Broadway. Be sure and check out the first episode where I chat with an author, professor and dramaturg who has written perhaps THE definitive book on long running plays.

That episode drops Sept. 4th and new episodes will follow every other week. Follow on Spotify now so you won't miss a single episode!

And be...

For this very special episode, we welcome Barbra Streisand to "Chasing Phantom" to help us explore a show that was a monster hit in the 1930s. OK, it's more the spirit and definitely the Voice of Babs that highlights this exploration of "Pins and Needles," more than the actual person (though if someone wants to send me a Cease and Desist in such a way that my podcast blows up, I'm not above benefitting from the Streisand Effect!)

"Pins and Needles" foregrounded politics - union politics, no less - in a peppy, funny musical review that had...

"The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" is responsible for Mark Zuckerberg. Don't believe me? Listen as accomplished actor, director and video wizard Matt Polson and I wander around in nerd culture for a while, discussing this seminal musical. More than any show before or since, "Spelling Bee" demonstrated the unique attractions of live theater: with intense audience interaction and ad-libs aplenty, every performance was truly unique and you never knew what would unfold on any given night.

In this penultimate episode of season 1 of this podcast, Matt shares behind-the-scenes remembrances of how this show challenged him...

Once again, the joy of this podcast for me is getting schooled on stuff I don't know about. In talking about "Bring in 'da Noise, Bring in 'da Funk," Dr. Julinda Lewis introduces me to a flurry of tap dance masters from the past that were influences on young Savion Glover. Glover first broke into the public consciousness in "The Tap Dance Kid," but with "Bring in 'da Noise," he solidified his standing as one of the most accomplished dancer / choreographers in Broadway's history. And he was only 22!

It's particularly timely to talk about "Bring in 'da...

Before the iconic picture of Marilyn Monroe with her white dress billowing over a subway grate obliterated any other reference point, "The Seven Year Itch" was a long-running Broadway show. In fact, it was the longest running show of the 1950s and cemented the star power of the actor Tom Ewell who is not regularly remembered today (even though he would later star in the American premiere of "Waiting for Godot").

Just those facts alone make talking about this show interesting. Add in that my guest is psychologist / old movie superfan Jesse Rabinowitz, PhD, who calls "Itch"...

Leapin' Lizards, what is going on here? Chasing Phantom has been methodically working through the list of 1,000+ performances on Broadway from the bottom up but, this week, we take a radical leap into the higher realms of theater success with an exploration of the much-heralded, often-rejiggered, musically-rich smash that is "Annie."

And I know no one better to dig into the history and lore of this Broadway classic than "Annie" superfan, Holly Timberline. Given that she was a working musical theater actress when we met, it wasn't long into our relationship that I found out about her...

If you're reading this, I expect either you or someone you know has been in a production of "Guys and Dolls." There are so many reasons this show is a classic, from the colorful supporting characters to the silly romantic misadventures to the unbelievably catchy songs. The show has been revived 5 times but the 1992 production really set the template for how to successfully dust off a classic and breathe new life into it. It also was haled as a savior of American musicals at the time and proved the first of 3 key steps in the elevation of Nathan Lane...

It's both a relief and a delight when a show that premiered on Broadway more than 50 years ago isn't a challenge or a slog to get through. "Butterflies Are Free" is a play about a young blind man out on his own for the first time but, thanks to its breezy good humor, is also a fun and satisfying romantic comedy. For an older show, it has a wonderfully progressive non-ableist message but, instead of clobbering the audience with it, it lets some fairly realistic characters convey the lessons in a believable way. And as a nice bonus, all...

We start off 2024 with an old show that has surprising relevance today because of a very recent -- and somewhat confounding -- revival. "Plaza Suite" first premiered back in Neil Simon's imperial period when his shows were selling out before people even knew what they were about. Three vignettes that share a setting -- the same suite at the Plaza Hotel in NYC -- and a jaded view of American coupledom. It's a lot of dark stuff...when it's not downright uncomfortable.

Rich Griset once again joins the podcast to try to figure out what about this...

What a perfect way to end the year in quintessential Broadway fashion! For this episode I'm talking about "Fosse," the 1999 musical dance revue that featured what may be considered the "greatest hits" of choreographer Bob Fosse's career. The show was a smash hit at the turn of the century and was one of several dance-centric shows (e.g., Contact) that were drawing audiences at the time.

And I couldn't be more excited to be talking about Fosse with someone who has danced Fosse routines and studied Fosse techniques at Broadway Dance Center, the dancer / choreographer Kayla Xavier...

For the first of several Neil Simon creations that this series will consider, we start off with one that may be a "meh" to listen to but is still fun to talk about if only for the speculation about what could have possibly motivated to keep this show running for 3 years.

"They're Playing Our Song" is a fictionalization of the relationship between composer Marvin Hamlisch and the lyricist Carole Bayer Sager. Apologies to those who may love this show but it just doesn't hold up to modern scrutiny. And luckily I've invited a first-class scrutinizer to talk...

With this episode, Chasing Phantom inaugurates an intermittent series on shows that haven't technically made it over the 1,000 performance mark but are on the fast track to getting there.

SIX was the answer to Broadway fans' pent up demand when the theater world emerged from the pandemic and it's still packing theaters in NYC as well as in houses across the country thanks to its first national tour. While only at 850+ performances at this recording, there's no reason to think that it'll cross the 1,000 performance threshold early next year and start shooting up the longest running shows...

With this episode, Chasing Phantom inaugurates an intermittent series on shows that haven't technically made it over the 1,000 performance mark but are on the fast track to getting there.

SIX was the answer to Broadway fans' pent up demand when the theater world emerged from the pandemic and it's still packing theaters in NYC as well as in houses across the country thanks to its first national tour. While only at 850+ performances at this recording, there's no reason to think that it'll cross the 1,000 performance threshold early next year and start shooting up the longest running shows...

Look, everyone knows this show was bonkers and, even after running more than 1,000 performances, was possibly the biggest money loser in Broadway's history. It'd be easy to just rag on "Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark" -- and it certainly deserves to be made fun of -- but I wanted to talk a little bit more about why it failed and also, what little sparks of goodness it might have sparked in its wake.

For that kind of conversation, I couldn't bring in an expert -- few people I know saw this show. So I take on the...

Marrying slices of Shakespeare with perhaps Cole Porter's finest score, "Kiss Me Kate" is one of the ultimate old Broadway hits. Fashioned as a response to "Oklahoma" and built with sturdy story beats that have allowed it to be revived as recently as 3 years ago, "Kate" has lore and legend to explicate for days.

So OF COURSE we had to bring back in Phil Crosby, Executive Director of Richmond Triangle Players, for another chat. Not only does Phil have plenty to say about "Kate," he adds related background on why the Barter Theatre is called that and...

"It transformed my life." That's the kind of statement you want from someone talking about a cultural experience. "Don't Bother Me, I Can't Cope" broke all sorts of barriers on Broadway in 1972 but it is not well known today. Even so, its impact is felt in the people it influenced like my guest, Dr. Tawnya Pettiford-Wates, or as she is affectionately known as, Dr. T.

The celebrated playwright, actor, director, and activist saw "Don't Bother Me" when she was in high school and it was a foundational experience, setting her on the path she's followed in her...