Broadway Bound: The Musicals That Never Came to Broadway

A Broadway-bound musical based on The Merry Wives of Windsor. Music by the writers of The Red Clay Ramblers. A major star. A theater already booked. What could possibly stop Lone Star Love from reaching Broadway? Randy Quaid, for starters. This week, we unpack one of the most spectacular collapses in modern musical theater history and discover how a show can survive bad reviews, bad luck, and bad decisions—but not necessarily bad behavior. If you like what we are doing DONATE HERE Fair use is a legal doctrine that promotes freedom of expression by permitting the unlicensed use of copyright-protected works in certain circumstances. Section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976 provides the statutory framework for determining whether something is a fair use and identifies certain types of uses—such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research—as examples of activities that qualify as fair use. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Anthony Newley spent his career trying to convince audiences he was a genius. Sometimes they agreed. Then came Chaplin. This week, we tell the story of a musical that paired one of entertainment's biggest personalities with one of history's biggest icons. The problem? There wasn't enough room on the marquee for both of them. It's a tale of ego, ambition, artistry, and a man who desperately wanted to prove he was more than yesterday's star. If you like what we are doing DONATE HERE Fair use is a legal doctrine that promotes freedom of expression by permitting the unlicensed use of copyright-protected works in certain circumstances. Section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976 provides the statutory framework for determining whether something is a fair use and identifies certain types of uses—such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research—as examples of activities that qualify as fair use. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For decades, Ginger Rogers made difficult things look effortless. Then she tried Broadway. This week, we examine The Pink Jungle, a musical that arrived at exactly the wrong moment for one of Hollywood's most beloved stars. Beneath the sequins and backstage drama lies a surprisingly human story about aging, relevance, and what happens when a legend can't see the forest through the trees. If you like what we are doing DONATE HERE Fair use is a legal doctrine that promotes freedom of expression by permitting the unlicensed use of copyright-protected works in certain circumstances. Section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976 provides the statutory framework for determining whether something is a fair use and identifies certain types of uses—such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research—as examples of activities that qualify as fair use. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Barbara Cook is one of the greatest voices Broadway has ever produced. Which makes Halloween one of the strangest chapters in her story. This week, we explore a musical about witches, ghosts, and suburban eccentrics—but more importantly, an artist standing at a crossroads. Because sometimes a flop isn't the end of a career. Sometimes it's intermission before Act Two. If you like what we are doing DONATE HERE Fair use is a legal doctrine that promotes freedom of expression by permitting the unlicensed use of copyright-protected works in certain circumstances. Section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976 provides the statutory framework for determining whether something is a fair use and identifies certain types of uses—such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research—as examples of activities that qualify as fair use. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Somewhere in America, a producer once looked at Watergate and said, "You know what this scandal needs? A kick line." This week, we follow Gene Barry through not one but two Broadway-bound curiosities: Spotlight and Watergate. The real story isn't politics. It's about Broadway's eternal belief that absolutely anything can become a musical. Sometimes that belief gives us Hamilton. Sometimes it gives us this. If you like what we are doing DONATE HERE Fair use is a legal doctrine that promotes freedom of expression by permitting the unlicensed use of copyright-protected works in certain circumstances. Section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976 provides the statutory framework for determining whether something is a fair use and identifies certain types of uses—such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research—as examples of activities that qualify as fair use. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices