BROADWAY NATION

This is the third part of my conversation with author Margaret Hall, whose captivating book is titled Gemignani – Life And Lessons From Broadway And Beyond. If you missed the first two parts, you may want to catch up on those episodes before listening to this one. As the title suggests, Margaret’s book is a biography of Paul Gemignani, who served as the Music Director for more than 40 Broadway musicals, including the 3 shows that are the focus of this episode.  The first two are Sweeney Todd and Merrily We Roll Along, and Gemignani’s contribution to these musicals and his close working relationship with Stephen Sondheim and Hal Prince have been widely acknowledged but never to the level of detail and insight that Margaret brings to them. However, Gemignani’s enormous contribution to the development of Dreamgirls and his close collaboration with that show’s director and creator, Michael Bennett, have been closely guarded secrets for decades and were revealed for the first time in Margaret’s book. You will hear the reasons for all of this mystery and subterfuge later in the episode.  We also focus briefly on Paul's work on the Broadway musical EVITA and his interactions with Andrew Lloyd Webber and Patti LuPone. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is the second part of my conversation with author Barry Kester whose fascinating new book is titled: Round In Circles — The Story of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s CAROUSEL. Last week we focused on the three people most responsible for the creation of CAROUSEL — Oscar Hammerstein, Richard Rodgers, and the dynamic producer Theresa Helburn, whose vision and obsession it was to turn Ferenc Molnar’s play Liliom into a musical.   This week Barry takes us behind the scenes of CAROUSEL’s rehearsal period and it’s rocky out-of-town tryout including its very first performance in New Haven where the show ran more than four hours long! Along the way we have the opportunity to focus on the other key members of Carousel’s creative team — choreographer Agnes De Mille, director Rouben Mamoulian, dance arranger Trude Rittmann, and orchestrator Don Walker — all of whom were crucial in helping Rodgers & Hammerstein turn what could have been a disaster into one of the landmark musicals of the “Golden Age of Broadway.”  If you missed part one you may want to catch up with that episode before listening to this one. This episode is made possible in part through the generous support of Patron Club Members: Roger Kloresse, Elizabeth Troxler and Chris Moad.  Thank you all! How to become A PATRON of Broadway Nation! If you are a fan of Broadway Nation, I invite you to become a PATRON! For a just $7.00 a month you can receive exclusive access to never-before-heard, unedited versions of many of the discussion that I have with my guests — in fact I often record nearly twice as much conversation as ends up in the edited versions. And you will also have access to additional in-depth conversations with my frequent co-host Albert Evans that have not been featured on the podcast. And all patrons receive special “on-air” shout-outs and acknowledgement of your vital support of this podcast. And If you are very enthusiastic about Broadway Nation there are additional PATRON levels that come with even more benefits. If you would like to support the work of Broadway Nation and receive these exclusive member benefits, please just click on this link: ⁠https://broadwaynationpodcast.supercast.tech/⁠ Thank you in advance for your support! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My guest on Broadway Nation this week is Barry Kester, author of the fascinating new book: Round In Circles — The Story of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s CAROUSEL. I thought I knew a lot about Carousel — and in fact Albert Evans and I have previously devoted several previous episodes to that show and its truly groundbreaking innovations. However, we both found this book to be filled with new information, new discoveries, and new insights.    Based on his exemplary research, Barry Kester takes us deep inside Rodgers & Hammerstein’s creative process as they endeavor to transform Ferenc Molnar’s dark, fantastical play, Liliom, into their second Broadway musical collaboration, which they know will be compared to their first show, Oklahoma!, which had become the most successful Broadway Musical of all time and was still going strong! So, they consciously set out to do something very different.   At the center of this story is a dynamic woman, producer Theresa Helborn, who was the inspiring, driving force behind the show. In fact, without Helborn there would have been no Carousel or Oklahoma! This is the first of three episodes in which Barry will share with us not only these fascinating stories but also his own unlikely and surprising tale of how he came to write this book. Become A PATRON of Broadway Nation! If you are a fan ofBroadway Nation, I invite you to become a PATRON! For a just $7.00 a month you can receive exclusive access to never-before-heard, unedited versions of many of the discussion that I have with my guests — in fact I often record nearly twice as much conversation as ends up in the edited versions. And you will also have access to additional in-depth conversations with my frequent co-host Albert Evans that have not been featured on the podcast. And all patrons receive special “on-air” shout-outs and acknowledgment of your vital support of this podcast. And if you are very enthusiastic about Broadway Nation, there are additional PATRON levels that come with even more benefits. If you would like to support the work of Broadway Nation and receive these exclusive member benefits, please just click on this link: ⁠https://broadwaynationpodcast.supercast.tech/⁠ Thank you in advance for your support! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I am very pleased to share with you part one of my recent conversation with authors Paige Allan and Stacy Wolf about their fascinating new book, Feminist Approaches to Musical Theater. Paige Allen is a writer, researcher, and storyteller. She holds a Masters degree in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies from the Oxford University of and an BA in English from Princeton University, USA. Stacy Wolf is Professor of Theater and American Studies at Princeton University and is the author of the acclaimed books Changed for Good: A Feminist History of the Broadway Musical and A Problem Like Maria: Gender and Sexuality in the American Musical. Long-time listeners will remember Stacy from Episodes 44 and 45 of Broadway Nation, in which we talked about her book Beyond Broadway: The Pleasure and Promise of Musical Theatre Across America. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices