Interview with Laura Frankos

I chat with Laura Frankos, author of the book, Broadway Revival, a historical, fictional work that has an actor, David W. Greenbaum, go back in time to save George Gershwin from his early, untimely death.

I speak with Kate Navin, Head of Audible Theater. They just celebrated their 5th year anniversary producing works at the Minetta Lane Theatre in Greenwich Village.

I chat with Michael John LaChiusa, the American musical theatre and opera composer, lyricist, and librettist. He is best known for musically esoteric shows such as Hello Again, Marie Christine, and The Wild Party. We talk, primarily, about The Gardens of Anuncia, where he wrote music, lyrics, and book. The show is based on the life of Graciela Daniele, a prolific figure in modern musical theatre. The musical was performed Off-Broadway at the Mitzi E, Newhouse Theatre within Lincoln Center, running from October 19, 2023 until December 31, 2023. The cast included Priscilla Lopez, Eden Espinosa, Mary Testa, and Andréa Burns.

In this episode, I interview Kevin Winkler, the author of On Bette Midler: An Opinionated Guide. Kevin chronicles her career from the New York City Continental Baths through her recording, stage and movie careers.

This week’s podcast episode is a conversation with Susan Dormady Eisenberg, the author of the historical fiction novel, One More Seat at the Round Table. Here’s a description of the book: Jane Conroy, tries to juggle her first theater job and her unexpected passion for a gifted singer in the chorus, Bryce Christmas. Part coming of age novel, part love story, part dish-filled history, One More Seat at the Round Table follows the comic travails of Camelot from its New York rehearsals to its lackluster tryouts in Toronto and Boston to its disappointing New York debut.

The 19th episode in a series on the complete works of Stephen Sondheim. Rick Pender, the author of the The Stephen Sondheim Encyclopedia, is our musical guide. For this episode, we feature the musical Off-Broadway revue, Marry Me a Little. The show is a musical composed of outtakes from Stephen Sondheim's early musicals.

I chat with Robert W. Schneider, an award-winning Director, Producer, Author, Educator, Podcast Host, and Artistic Director of The J2 Spotlight Musical Theater Company, about his new podcast – BROADWAY BOUND: THE MUSICALS THAT NEVER CAME TO BROADWAY. It features musicals that had set their sights on Broadway but missed the mark. The first season is entitled “Hooray for Hollywood” and looks at Broadway Bound musicals based on movies: Arthur, The Baker’s Wife, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Busker Alley, Enter Juliet, Gone with the Wind, The Graduate, The Mambo Kings, Minsky’s, and Paper Moon.

This week I chat with Patrick Pacheco who helped the late Chita Rivera write her autobiography - Chita: A Memoir. Dolores Conchita Figueroa del Rivero – Chita – created some of Broadway’s most iconic roles, including Anita in West Side Story‚ Rosie in Bye Bye Birdie, Velma in Chicago, Aurora in Kiss of the Spider Woman, and Claire in The Visit. Patrick and I talk about these shows and such luminaries as John Kander, Fred Ebb, Bob Fosse, Jerome Robbins, Hal Prince, Judy Garland, Liza Minnelli, Sammy Davis Jr., Gwen Verdon, and more.

I speak with Matt Gould, composer and co-librettist, of the new Broadway musical Lempicka. We chat about the show and his approaching to writing music.

Author Stephen Cole talks about his fictional, time-traveling novel, MARY & ETHEL…and Mikey Who?, which has taken the real-life friendship with Ethel Merman and Mary Martin, tossed them into a blender and come up with a fantasy about a nerdy super-fan.