BROADWAY NATION

This is the second half of my recent conversation with Tony Award-winning composer, lyricist, arranger, and music producer MARC SHAIMAN about his new, New York Times bestselling book, NEVER MIND THE HAPPY.

During his five-decade career, Marc has found enormous success in nearly every aspect of show business, but in this episode, we focus on his
experiences on Broadway, including CATCH ME IF YOU CAN, CHARLIE AND
THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY and, most especially, the behind-the-scenes history and development of his smash-hit musical HAIRSPRAY.

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This episode is made possible in part by the generous support of our Patron Club Members, including our newest patron, PAULA & STEVE REYNOLDS.

If you are a fan of Broadway Nation, I invite you to become a PATRON! For as little as $7.00 a month, you can receive exclusive access to never-before-heard, unedited versions of many of the discussions that I have with my guests — in fact, I often record nearly twice as much conversation as ends up in the edited versions. 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.

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During the 1930s Broadway was severely impacted by the economic disaster of the "Great Depression". However, somehow out of all that hardship and struggle came an extraordinary period of artistic achievement and spectacular continuing development for the Broadway Musical. The inventors of these shows included several new and defining masters of the musical, as well as many of the bright lights of the 1920’s, who now achieved their full wattage in the 1930’s. Among these were Dietz & Schwartz., Lindsay & Crouse, Cole Porter, Rodgers & Hart, The Gershwins, and George "Mr" Abbott.
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My guest today on Broadway Nation is the Tony Award-winning composer, lyricist, arranger, and music producer, MARC SHAIMAN, who has found spectacular success in nearly every aspect of the entertainment industry, including film, television, and theater, but is probably best known to fans of this podcast as the composer and co-lyricist of the Broadway smash hit musical HAIRSPRAY.

Marc joins us today to tell us about his star-studded new book, NEVER MIND THE HAPPY, which recently became a New York Times bestseller.

In this candid, hilarious, and at times quite moving memoir, Shaiman looks back over five decades of his amazing career. I found this to be a delightful conversation filled with behind-the-scenes stories and impromptu musical punctuations that I suspect you will not soon forget!

Become A PATRON of Broadway Nation!

This episode is made possible in part by the generous support of our Patron Club Members, including our newest patron, Arnold Hirshon.

If you are a fan of Broadway Nation, I invite you to become a PATRON! For as little as $7.00 a month, you can receive exclusive access to never-before-heard, unedited versions of many of the discussions that I have with my guests — in fact, I often record nearly twice as much conversation as ends up in the edited versions. 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 click on this link:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://broadwaynationpodcast.supercast.tech/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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My guest this week is Barry Joseph, the author of the recent book, Matching
Minds with Sondheim.

Since his death,  there have been so many books about Stephen Sondheim and various aspects of his life and his career, including an amazing number of really terrific books, and I have had the honor of having many of the authors of those books as guests on this podcast. And Barry Joseph’s book is right up there with the best of them, but it is also a completely unique and original way of looking at Sondheim.

As Barry describes it, Matching Minds with Sondheim is “an exploration into the barely understood, hardly known, side-aspect of who Steven Sondheim was when he was not writing lyrics and composing music. Puzzles and games were a side hobby of his that he had a passion for throughout his life
— from when he was very young until he passed away. And throughout those many decades, through parlor games, board games, treasure hunts, word puzzles, mechanical puzzles and video games, his passion, interest and creativity was expressed in a whole other way than we get to see when it's on the stage.”

The book also serves as a sort of “alternate biography” of Sondheim and explores how his life, Broadway career, and gaming hobby were intricately
intertwined.

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This is the fourth and final episode in which Albert Evans and I go in search
of the 1934 smash-hit musical The Great Waltz, one of the longest-running
shows of the 1930s.

The goal of this occasional series of podcasts, In Search of Lost Broadway, is to try to rediscover big hit Broadway musicals from the past, which today are almost entirely unknown to us and forgotten.

This week, we explore several high-profile reincarnations of The Great Waltz in the 1960s and 70s, all of which stem from a heavily revised version, with new lyrics by the team Robert Wright and George Forrest, that was first produced by impresario Irwin Lester at his Los Angeles Civic Light Opera company in 1949 and then was revived and revised in 1953 and 1965.

The highly acclaimed 1965 version was announced several times for Broadway but never materialized there. It did, however, open in London in 1970, where it became a major hit, running more than 600 performances.

Then, in 1972, in the wake of the massive success of The Sound of Music film, The Great Waltz became a major motion picture starring Horst Buchholz and Mary Costa, again with new lyrics by Wright & Forrest.

Finally, we discuss the Walt Disney TV-movie version of the Johann Strauss story, titled The Waltz King, which aired on The Wonderful World of
Disney in 1963.

If you missed the previous episodes in the series, you may want
to catch up with those before listening to this one.

Become A PATRON of Broadway Nation!

This episode is made possible in part by the generous support of our Patron Club Members, including our newest patron, Ann Drourr.

If you are a fan of Broadway Nation, I invite you to become a PATRON! For as little as $7.00 a month, you can receive exclusive access to never-before-heard, unedited versions of many of the discussions that I have with my guests — in fact, I often record nearly twice as much conversation as ends up in the edited versions. 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 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