The Gospel of Musical Theatre

We fixed everything in the real world so all women are happy and powerful. Just kidding... but we ARE talking about The Barbie Movie! We’re so excited to be joined by Arwen Myers, executive director of the podcast, musicals aficionado – and the person Barbie was made for – to talk about Greta Gerwig's blockbuster 2023 summer hit. Is it a musical? We think it is.   We talk about: "Pink" – An almost Broadway-level opening number that establishes the all-pink world of Barbieland before everything goes haywire. "Push" – A very specific in-joke for a very specific generation of kids, and a cathartic moment for anybody who’s ever experienced mansplaining. "The Monologue" – America Ferrera’s iconic speech about the impossible contradictions inherent in being a woman in the 21st century. It's the film’s articulation of Gospel. How is this monologue good news? "I’m Just Ken" – The film’s most obvious musical moment – and one of the greatest production numbers of the 21st century. How do we feel about the fact that Ryan Gosling steals every scene he’s in? "What Was I Made For?" – Billie Eilish’s Oscar-winning ballad, Barbie’s eleven o’clock number, and perhaps the most pregnant question the film asks. Is Barbie a prophet? A savior? You’ll hear Lizzo, Matchbox Twenty, America Ferrera, Ryan Gosling and Billy Eilish from the film’s 2023 soundtrack. Continue the conversation with us on Instagram @gospelofmt!

Band Geeks of the world, unite! We’re taking a fizzy summer tour through some of our favorite movie musicals – and what better way to observe the Fourth of July weekend in the USA than with one of the most patriotic and Americana-obsessed musicals of all time, the 1962 film version of Meredith Willson’s 1957 Broadway musical The Music Man!   We talk about: "Rock Island" – One of the most impressive opening numbers in any musical, a laser-quick intro to the economics and social mores of early 20th-century America. "Iowa Stubborn" – The people of River City basically tell us what assholes they are. Is this song about whiteness, small town life, or the human condition? "Trouble" – Harold Hill’s infamous patter song. It’s like a hellfire-and-brimstone sermon, in the tradition of Jonathan Edwards and the great preachers of the Great Awakening. "Sincere" – The role that barbershop music plays in The Music Man... and in American nostalgia for a "simpler time." "The Wells Fargo Wagon" – What's the deal with Winthrop? You’ll hear: Robert Preston, Barbara Cook and the cast of the 1957 Broadway cast – because we love Shirley Jones, but there's only one Marian the Librarian.   Continue the conversation with us on Instagram @gospelofmt!

Papa, can you hear me? It's the last episode of our Season of Babs, and we're going out strong! That's right: today we look at Barbra Streisand's magnum opus, the 1982 film Yentl – which she both directed and starred in.   We talk about: Prayer & Texts:  What it means to study sacred texts, and the critical differences between traditionally-Christian and traditionally-Jewish ways of understanding scripture. Sexuality & Gender:  Is Yentl transphobic, or is it ahead of its time? Leadership & Power:  Finally, a woman at the helm of a major Hollywood film! What does Barbra’s experience directing and starring in Yentl tell us about leadership and power? Boats:  Barbra loves a ferry. What is it about boats, water, and crossing over that so compels her? How does it tie into the immigrant story and the American Dream?   You’ll hear: – Barbra singing “Where Is It Written,” “No Wonder,” “Several Sins A Day” (cut from the final film) and “A Piece of Sky”.   Continue the conversation with us on Instagram and The Platform Formerly Known as Twitter (@gospelofmt).

Is it a musical? Is it a $6MM home movie? A contemporary Purim spiel? This is a weird movie, you guys. The evergreen story of A Star Is Born has attracted legendary performers like Judy Garland, Barbra Streisand, and Lady Gaga. Today, Peter and Nathan focus on the 1976 film version with Barbra and Kris Kristofferson in the context of Gaga and Garland.    We talk about: The Backstory:  Dorothy Parker, Moss Hart, David O. Selznick, Joan Didion, and all the geniuses who should have made a better movie. The Crowd:  1970s, rock-and-roll culture and the phenomenon of contemporary celebrity culture. Is this idolatry in the way that Hebrew Scripture warn against? The Addiction:  Does addiction help contemporary people understand ancient theological ideas like sin and shame? The Money:  Why does Hollywood keep spoon-feeding us stories about self-destructive men and the women around them? Why do we keep paying money to see them? The Music:  Ephemeral moments of artistic, intellectual, and spiritual connection found between two artists. How well does the Oscar-winning "Evergreen" capture this phenomenon? You’ll hear: Kris Kristofferson and Barbra on the 1976 film soundtrack singing "Watch Closely Now," "The Woman in the Moon," and (of course) the 1976-Oscar-Winning classic, "Evergreen."   Continue the conversation with us on Instagram and The Platform Formerly Known as Twitter (@gospelofmt).

It may not be a musical, but it sure is close... It's The Way We Were! It’s 1973. Watergate has happened. Barbra Streisand, Robert Redford, Arthur Laurents, and Sidney Pollack get together to re-create the weepy romcom in the non-musical—but musical-theatre-adjacent!—classic The Way We Were.   We talk about: The Conflict: Streisand & Laurents versus Pollack & Redford, and some of the behind-the-scenes drama that led to the creation of this classic. The Song: Marvin Hamlisch’s classic song that put the film on the map. The Laughter: What does it mean to sing, "so it’s the laughter we will remember?" Laughter emerges as a marker of class & race in this film. How does that marker intersect with the misty, watercolor nature of memory – and the danger of nostalgia? The People & the Principles: the film’s central conflict between personal relationships and principles, and how that conflict maps (and doesn't) onto religious systems. Is Christianity about people, or is it about principles? You’ll hear: Barbra singing the film’s title song from the 1973 film soundtrack, and an excerpt from the 1998 episode of Sex in the City, Episode 18 (“Ex in the City”).   Continue the conversation with us on Instagram and The Platform Formerly Known as Twitter (@gospelofmt).

Peter and Nathan watched this movie so you don't have to! It's time for a deep cut... We’re talking about the 1970 film version of Alan Jay Lerner and Burton Lane’s very strange musical, On A Clear Day You Can See Forever – a show about a psychiatrist with terrible boundaries.   We talk about: ESP: Is there a meaningful distinction between extrasensory perception and Christian conceptions of spirituality and prayer? Reincarnation: We talk about the case of Bridey Murphy, the 19th-century Irishwoman who was purportedly reincarnated as a 20th century American housewife. What are we supposed to believe about the afterlife? Grief: So many conversations about the afterlife happen in the context of death & grief. Does profound grief open us up to alternate conceptions of the universe in a way that can be helpful – or is that simply our emotions talking? Clothes: Always the clothes. The Cecil Beaton gowns! The turbans! Be still, our hearts! You’ll hear: Yves Montand, Barbra Streisand and the cast of the film singing "Come Back To Me," "Love With All The Trimmings" and "On A Clear Day You Can See Forever" as well as the Peddlers’ version of the film’s title song.   Continue the conversation with us on Instagram and The Platform Formerly Known as Twitter (@gospelofmt).

She's still glowin', she's still crowin,' she's still goin' strong... That's right: we're continuing our deep dive into the great Barbra Streisand with a look at the mid-60s Broadway classic, Jerry Herman’s Hello Dolly!   We talk about: Discernment: Dolly is a woman on a journey out of grief – and is looking for her sign. What kind of a theology of discernment does the show depend on? Gender: We take a close look at Horace’s song about marriage, “It Takes A Woman” and dig a little bit underneath the surface of the show’s fun to pull apart the class and economics of male-female relationships. Clothes: So much of Hello Dolly is about the clothes – the actual costumes the actors are wearing, and the show’s deeper fixation on the performative nature of class, gender and race. Restaurants: What does it mean that Dolly comes back home where she belongs? Is this the show’s resurrection moment? Moments: Falling in love, Kairos time, moments of divinity and resurrection and where they find us – in church, in the theatre, in the eyes of a beloved.   You’ll hear: The 1969 film soundtrack: La Streisand, Walter Matthau, Michael Crawford, Louis Armstrong and the full cast singing “Just Leave Everything To Me,” “It Takes a Woman,” “Ribbons Down My Back,” “Put On Your Sunday Clothes,” “Elegance,” “Before the Parade Passes By,” “It Only Takes a Moment” and, of course, “Hello, Dolly!”   Continue the conversation with us on Instagram and The Platform Formerly Known as Twitter (@gospelofmt).

Isn’t it "people who DON'T need people are the luckiest people in the world?" Today we look at the role that made Barbara Streisand's early career: the role of Fanny Brice in Jule Styne & Bob Merrill’s 1964 musical Funny Girl and the 1968 film directed by William Wyler.   We talk about: The Greatest Star: The phenomenon of the original Fanny Brice, how Barbra got involved in the project, and where the line between ego, strength, and vanity lies. The Audience: The sacred relationship between performer and audience and Barbra’s theory of audience (or—in a religious context—a congregation) as a truth barometer. The Patriarchy: Nick Arnstein & Fanny Brice's relationship, Barbra & her male collaborators, the creep factor of "You are Woman," and the dangerous myth of romantic love (attention straight people: beware writing your own vows!) The Parade: Is "Don’t Rain on My Parade" a feminist anthem? The People: What’s the theology of people who need people? Is this just a hymn to extroversion, or does it channel Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s theology of ubuntu?   You’ll hear: – The 1968 Film Soundtrack: "I’m the Greatest Star," Omar Shariff and Barbra singing "You Are Woman, I am Man," "My Man," "Don’t Rain on My Parade" and—of course—"People."   Continue the conversation with us on Instagram and The Platform Formerly Known as Twitter (@gospelofmt).  

Everybody said don't, but we're doing it anyway... It's the Gospel According to Babs! It's the queerest thing we've ever done. This season, we're focusing on the musical (and musical-adjacent) films of one of the greats – Barbra Streisand: GOAT queer diva, filmmaker, actor, and singer, who just released her autobiography My Name is Barbra.   We talk about: – The Method: Barbra’s early training in the method developed by Konstantin Stanislavski and his students in the early decades of the 20th century – and the theology of human experience it depends on. – The Albums: Streisand as an interpreter of the American Songbook, and the ways in which her acting training influences her recording career. – The power of thought as Barbra’s autobiography (and discography!) expresses it. Do thoughts really transcend matter? – Keep a performance fresh – how to stay in the moment when the moment needs to be repeated over and over. – Streisand as prophet and priest. How does an artist bring a prophetic voice to society?   You’ll hear: – Mostly Barbra! “Putting it Together” from the Broadway Album (1985), “Everybody Says Don’t” from Back to Broadway (1993) and “Guilty” (with Barry Gibbs!) from 1980.   Continue the conversation with us on Instagram and The Platform Formerly Known as Twitter (@gospelofmt).

Schmigadoon is back on Apple TV! The second season takes us in a slightly different direction, and today we explore the theology of the musicals being lovingly spoofed by "Schmicago" and wonder what it means that "every day can be a happy beginning." (By the way... if you missed our episode on Schmigadoon Season 1, you can listen here, or wherever you get your podcasts!)   We talk about: – The power of parables, and how stories can (and can’t) transform us. – The theology of the Broadway musicals of the 60s & 70s, steeped in sex & nihilism, and how Schmicago navigates – and ultimately rejects – that theology. – We explore the show’s ending, and what kind of theology is implicit in the final number.   You’ll hear:  Cecily Strong, Keegan-Michael Key, Kristen Chenoweth, Alan Cumming, Tituss Burgess, Dove Cameron, Aaron Tveit and the cast of Schmigadoon Season 2.   Continue the conversation with Peter (@pgeinvan) and Nathan (@nathan_lerud) on Twitter, and follow the Gospel of Musical Theatre on Instagram or Twitter @gospelofmt.