No Juliet...yet!

#74: Me and My Girl with RVA's Bill Snibson, Larry Cook

As has been chronicled extensively on this podcast already, many older Broadway shows do NOT hold up very well over time. The ones that do - your "Guys and Dolls" or "Oklahomas" - still regularly get produced. But "Me and My Girl" is a bit of an anomaly. I personally think it totally holds up at least as well as many of the oft-produced Golden Age musicals, even though it's set in the 1930s. But it hardly ever gets staged these days.  One of central Virginia's long-time stars, Larry Cook, played Bill Snibson, the roguish and rough-and-tumble south Londoner who discovers he's actually an English lord, way back in 1991. Larry and I talk about our mutual admiration for this show and ponder why it isn't popping up on stages still today. In the podcast, I mistakenly say that the show was still running on Broadway when it was produced here in Richmond. However, it was still touring and regional theaters all over the country were having long-running hits with the fun and frivolous romp. Don't you think modern audiences would enjoy the class conscious conflicts spurring the low-stakes tension in this show? I sure do! If you are a Richmond, VA, theater fan, you definitely want to check out my website, ChasingPhantom.net [https://chasingphantom.net/74-me-and-my-girl/], because the post for this show has some classic videos clips from the 1991 staging of "Me and My Girl" at Swift Creek Mill. Check 'em out!

#71: "& Juliet" with national tour star Crystal Kellogg

You may think that a person in the midst of performing a role is too close to it to have insightful things to say about it. That's certainly not the case about Crystal Kellogg who at the time of this conversation was smack-dab in the middle of the national tour for "& Juliet," playing the catalyst to the musical's action, Anne Hathaway. She has many astute things to say among her character's journey amidst this smash hit show.  This show famously utilizes the catalog of megaproducer Max Martin who has a record breaking number of number 1 Billboard hits (29 at the time of this conversation). He's worked with a wide range of artists but the bulk of his hits were performed by boy bands like the Backstreet Boys and female icons like Britney Spears and Pink. What would have happened if Juliet had not killed herself at the end of the Shakespeare story? It's hard to know what the Bard himself would have come up with but book writer David West Read came up with a jaunty romp complete with a girl's trip to Paris and new love interests for all concerned. It's been the toast of Broadway in the post-pandemic era and seems poised to keep climbing the chart of longest-running Broadway hits for years to come. Please check out ChasingPhantom.net [https://chasingphantom.net/71-and-juliet/] for more information and links to fun video clips. Tickets for the national tour of the show available at AndJuliet.com [https://andjulietbroadway.com/tickets/#north-american-tour].

No Juliet...yet!

Just a quick scheduling note to let listeners know that the episode I had suggested (threatened?) might come out today will not actually come out until NEXT week, on Tuesday rather than Wednesday.  In the meantime, be sure and get your tickets for the National Tour of "& Juliet [https://andjulietbroadway.com/tickets/#north-american-tour]" so you know exactly what we're talking about. And you can always go to ChasingPhantom.net [https://chasingphantom.net/] to listen to previous episodes you may have missed!

#72: Arsenic and Old Lace with monster-meister Dr. Jesse Rabinowitz

He is famous for playing the Frankenstein monster and voicing the Grinch but people often forget that Boris Karloff also made a big impact on the stage starting with "Arsenic and Old Lace." Not only did he steal the show as the murderous Jonathan Brewster, he was also a major investor in the Broadway production, meaning he made money on the movie version even though he wasn't able to appear in it. The legacy of Karloff is only one fascinating item of "Arsenic and Old Lace" lore that I explore with my good friend - and a fan of all things related to classic movie monsters - Dr. Jesse Rabinowitz.  In the more than 80 years since "Arsenic" debuted on Broadway, it has remained a favorite play for regional, community and educational theater to produce. It's a favorite because of its dark humor, humor that originally didn't hit for me at all based on the movie adaptation starring Cary Grant. It wasn't until I watched recordings of a staged version that I understood what was funny about the show. The social / historical commentary of the play probably goes right over the head of most folks (it did for me!) which is another reason to have conversations with erudite people like Jesse. Check out ChasingPhantom.net [https://chasingphantom.net/72-arsenic-and-old-lace/] for more information and links to relevant video clips.

#61: Evita, exploring diva energy with the divine Melissa Chase

Don't cry for me, Chasing Phantom fans! I have brought back yet another one of your favorite guests, the diva-tastic Melissa Chase, host of the lifestyle television show, "Showcase [https://www.wric.com/showcase/]." We discuss the diva-centric "Evita," a show solidly in Ms. Chase's wheelhouse thanks to her love of all things Andrew Lloyd Webber. Don't expect a lot of dissecting of historical accuracy here; I mean, we gloss by that so quickly I even mispronounce Argentina and "Argentinia" in the episode! What we do dig into, though, is the musical legacy of this show, one that has always involved an explicit connection to popular music. From its beginning as a concept album, pop stars and rock musicians have played important roles in the development and success of this show. And, of course, we can't help but spend a fair amount of time discussing Madonna's intense interest in this show and her commitment to appearing in the movie adaptation. Melissa has a fresh perspective that I loved talking through. Please check out my website, ChasingPhantom.net [https://chasingphantom.net/61-evita/], for more information and links to related video clips.