The Playbill Podcast: A Show on Broadway

Throughout his life, the legendary and groundbreaking playwright August Wilson wrote ten plays chronicling the Black experience, decade by decade, throughout the twentieth century; what has been referred to as The Pittsburgh Cycle. Joe Turner’s Come and Gone takes us to the earliest chapter, 1911, just a few decades removed from the end of slavery, in the middle of the Great Migration, when hundreds of thousands of Black Americans were making their way north.

The play unfolds in a Pittsburgh boarding house run by Seth Holly, played by Cedric the Entertainer, who always seems to have a steady stream of wanderers passing through his doors. His wife, Bertha, played by Taraji P. Henson, keeps the household warm, steady, and welcoming. In their world is Bynum Walker, played by Ruben Santiago-Hudson, and he’s considered a “conjure man” who speaks in riddles and visions, and of a "shiny man" he once encountered on the road, as this man carries the secret of binding people to their purpose, to “their song” as he says.

And then there's Herald Loomis, played by Joshua Boone. Seven years before the time of the play, Loomis was captured by Joe Turner, who is based on a real historical figure -- a white man in Tennessee connected to the governor who would capture Black men off the roads and force them into years of illegal servitude on his chain gang. By the time Loomis escapes, he has lost everything, including his sense of self. He arrives at the boarding house with his young daughter Zonia, desperate to find his wife Martha.

That is the setting of the play, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, and everything that follows is truly must-see theater, thanks to the outrageous cast, the direction from Broadway legend Debbie Allen, Costume Design by Paul Tazewell, and Set design by David Gallo.

In this episode, host Alex Birsh (Playbill COO and SVP) brings on Tony nominee Joshua Boone and Tony winner Ruben Santiago-Hudson, who was nominated for his portrayal of Bynum, to discuss their experience in the play and why this show is so meaningful to them.
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How does a simple Chess rivalry become more than just one person against another? How about...when both players are involved in a love triangle? And the two players are American and Russian, with their nations locked in a Cold War? This is the backdrop of the musical CHESS, the epic tale by Sir Tim Rice and two members of ABBA, Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus.

Originally conceived in the early 1980’s as a world-renowned concept album by Rice, Andersson, and Ulvaeus, it had a successful run in London before it was brought to Broadway in the late 80’s. It was changed quite a bit for its American run, and the newer version of the show only made it through 68 performances on Broadway in 1988.

So many fans over the years have clamored for this show to get a proper Broadway revival, and we finally got it thanks to a new book by Danny Strong, direction by Michael Mayer, and a remarkable cast at the helm: Lea Michelle as Florence, Aaron Tveit as Freddie, and Nicolas Christopher as Anatoly.

In this episode, host Alex Birsh (Playbill's C.O.O. and SVP) brings on a theater friend who suggests the show when someone asks them, "what should I see on Broadway?"

And then he brings on his special guest, one of the stars of the show, Aaron Tveit, and who talks about the challenges and the joys of bringing this production to fans each night.
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Have you ever wished to find yourself IN a musical? That is the fate of boyfriend and girlfriend Josh and Melissa, who get trapped in the town of Schmigadoon, influenced by the Golden Age of musical theatre (and named after the Broadway classic Brigadoon). First performed at The Kennedy Center in 2025, the stage rendition of the streaming series of the same name (on AppleTV+) has just been nominated for a staggering 12 Tony Awards, including Best Musical.

In this episode, host Alex Birsh (Playbill's COO and SVP) brings on a theater friend who suggests the show when someone asks what to see on Broadway.

And then Birsh brings on the two stars of the show, Alex Brightman and Sara Chase, the latter of whom earned her first Tony award nomination for the role. The two of them talk about what it's like to take on characters who are stuck in a musical.

Get ready to cross that bridge and try some corn puddin', as we head to the Nederlander Theatre on 41st Street for Schmigadoon!
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In this episode, we focus not on a particular show but on a remarkable talent who has helped change the landscape of the theatrical world, literally and figuratively: the renowned architect and Tony Award-winning set designer David Rockwell.

It is staggering to unpack all the sets he has designed in the last multiple decades, such as the Rocky Horror revival in 2000, Hairspray, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, The Normal Heart, Kinky Boots, Side Show, On the Twentieth Century, She Loves Me, Falsettos, Kiss Me Kate, the Chess Revival, and he just earned a Tony nomination for his scenic design for the recently-opened play Fallen Angels. It’s his first nomination since he won for Best Scenic Design of a Musical in 2016 for She Loves Me.

But we did first characterize him as an architect, and that is not only how his working life began, but continues to shine within, as he and his firm have had their hands in a remarkable amount of legendary projects in hospitality, like Nobu, The Corner Store, Din Tai Fung, the W Hotel, The Civilian Hotel, and more.

Host Alex Birsh talks with David about some of those career highlights, how he got into this line of work, and what gets his creativity going when he’s faced with a new project.
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What lengths would you go to for the person you loved, and what lengths would the public love you for it? Those are the central themes of the play Dog Day Afternoon, an adaptation of the 1975 movie, itself a dramatization of real-life events that happened in 1972. Adapted for the stage by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Stephen Adly Guirgis, the story centers on two men, Sonny and Sal, and their quest to rob a bank in New York City in the summer of '72.

Played by real-life friends Jon Bernthal and Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Sonny and Sal hold up the bank, but the cast of characters in and around the bank have enough talent to STEAL in their own right, as in the show, thanks to the excellent performances by Jessica Hecht and John Ortiz.

In this episode, host Alex Birsh (Playbill's C.O.O. and SVP) talks to a theatre friend who’s seen the show and suggests it when they’re asked, "What show do you recommend seeing on Broadway?"

And then he brings on his special guest, the Emmy Award-winning powerhouse Jon Bernthal. They talk about the joy he is having bringing this piece to Broadway, welcoming all kinds of audiences into the theater, and the love he has for his native Ojai and creating the Ojai Theater Festival last year.

Lock the doors, count your money, and yell ATTICA as we take you to the August Wilson Theatre on 52nd Street for Dog Day Afternoon.
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