The Gospel of Musical Theatre

3.4 Company!

We're moving into the great Sondheim musicals of the 70s & 80s, starting with the groundbreaking Company (1970) – and its perennial questions about gender, sexuality, monogamy, and the changing nature of marriage & human relationships.
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We talk about:
- "New morality” in the works of John A.T. Robinson, Harvey Cox, and how it is explored in the work of Sondheim
- Loneliness. The isolation & verticalization of urban life in the 1960s and 70s.
- Inertia. Bobby’s questions about human relationships—sexual, romantic, platonic—and the deep ambivalence he represents
- Gender. Attempts to update Company—often by changing gender roles
- The Ladies. The women of Company – especially Joanne and her great number “The Ladies Who Lunch”
- Marriage. The changing nature of marriage and commitment – in society and in the church
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You’ll Hear:
- “Company,” “The Little Things You Do Together,” “Sorry-Grateful”, “Getting Married Today,” “The Ladies Who Lunch” and “Being Alive” from the Original Broadway Production on the 1970 cast album
- “Marry Me A Little” sung by Raul Esparza from the 2006 Broadway Revival Album.
- “Happily Ever After” sung by Craig Lucas on the 1986 album “A Collector’s Sondheim”
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Never miss an episode! Sign up for our email list to get updates when new episodes are released, info about upcoming special events, and more.
________________________________
Check out some of our all-time favorites!
Phantom of the Opera
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
Jesus Christ Superstar!
Schmigadoon! (Season 1 / Season 2)
West Side Story!
Yentl!
Frozen!
Barbie!
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Continue the conversation with us on Instagram (@gospelofmt).
 

3.3 A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum & Anyone Can Whistle!

It's TWO musicals by Stephen Sondheim – a hit & a flop!
We're chatting about A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1962) and Anyone Can Whistle (1965)— which lead to an unexpected conversation about comedy, farce... and miracles.
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We Talk About:
Sondheim’s love of obscure source material – how many musicals do you know that are based on the plays of an ancient Roman?
Opening numbers—especially Forum’s famous "Comedy Tonight"—and Jerome Robbins’ legacy
What to do with sexual jokes that haven’t aged well ("Everybody Ought to Have a Maid", anyone?)
A theology of comedy: what do we learn about God through laughter?
Sondheim’s wrestling with his own sexuality in songs like “Anyone Can Whistle” – and his romance with Lee Remick, who introduced the song on Broadway
The social upheaval of the mid-1960s and the sweetness of human connection – what French theologian Jean-Pierre de Caussade calls "the sacrament of the present moment"
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You’ll Hear:
"Comedy Tonight," "Free," and "Pretty Little Picture," sung by Zero Mostel, Bryan Davies, and Preshy Marker from the Original Broadway Cast Recording of A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to the Forum
"Everybody Ought to Have A Maid," sung by David Burns, Zero Mostel, Jack Gilford and John Carradine from the Original Broadway Cast Recording
The Cookie Speech, "Everybody Says Don’t," and "With So Little To Be Sure Of," sung by Bernadette Peters and Scott Bakula on the 1995 Carnegie Hall Concert Recording of Anyone Can Whistle
"Anyone Can Whistle," sung by Lee Remick on the Original Broadway Cast Recording – as well as a “demo” version sung by Sondheim himself (available as a bonus track on the Original Broadway Cast Recording)
________________________________
Never miss an episode! Sign up for our email list to get updates when new episodes are released, info about upcoming special events, and more.
________________________________
Check out some of our all-time favorites!
Phantom of the Opera
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
Jesus Christ Superstar!
Schmigadoon! (Season 1 / Season 2)
West Side Story!
Yentl!
Frozen!
Barbie!
________________________________
Continue the conversation with us on Instagram (@gospelofmt).
 

3.2 Gypsy!

We're starting 2022 right and continuing our discussion of the musicals of the great Stephen Sondheim! Today, we're talking about the iconic Gypsy (1959), Sondheim’s early collaboration with Jule Styne.
 
*We apologize for the audio quality in today's episode - we had some technical difficulties with Nathan's mic!
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We talk about:
The diva phenomenon, domineering mothers, and queer men’s mommy issues.
Cultural & religious shifts in sexual norms in the 20th century.
The agency of women, the use of women’s bodies for entertainment, and questions of morality & ethics around characters like Mama Rose and Gypsy Rose Lee.
The "death of vaudeville" as a way of thinking about any institution balancing old traditions with a changing world (can you say 21st century Christianity?)
The power of bodies and how sex work is an image of the Kingdom of God.
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You’ll hear:
The Overture and "Rose’s Turn" from the 2003 Broadway Revival Cast with Bernadette Peters.
"Some People," "Small World," "Everything’s Coming Up Roses" and "Rose’s Turn" as sung by Ethel Merman & Jack Klugman on the Original Broadway Cast Album from 1959.
Bernadette Peters, Julia McKenzie, Ruthie Henshall as well as (!) Judi Dench, David Kernan, Lea Salonga, Maria Friedman, Michael Ball & Millicent Martin singing "You Gotta Get A Gimmick" from the 1998 Concert Album, Hey Mr. Producer!
________________________________
Never miss an episode! Sign up for our email list to get updates when new episodes are released, info about upcoming special events, and more.
________________________________
Check out some of our all-time favorites!
Phantom of the Opera
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
Jesus Christ Superstar!
Schmigadoon! (Season 1 / Season 2)
West Side Story!
Yentl!
Frozen!
Barbie!
________________________________
Continue the conversation with us on Instagram (@gospelofmt).
 
 

BONUS: Steven Spielburg’s West Side Story!

That's right... We're not done with West Side Story! Today in this very special bonus episode, we're talking about the 2021 Steven Spielberg adaptation.
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We talk about:
- Spielberg. Spielberg’s style and the political & sociological context that he and screenwriter Tony Kushner bring to the original material
- Religion. Shifts in religious imagery from 1961 to 2021 - and how the film shifts the setting of the story's religious/liturgical moments
- Awareness. How the film raises the stakes of Tony & Maria’s love by paying deeper attention to the political & racial context of the late 50s
- The Immigrant Experience. A deeper and more nuanced take on Maria & Anita and the ways they navigate white society
- Rita Moreno. Valentina, the new character created by Kushner and Spielberg - and what it means to have Rita Moreno’s presence in the film
- Midrash. The phenomenon of midrash in the Jewish exegetical tradition and how this film riffs on the complications & tensions inherent in the original material
- Mary. The theological question of whether it’s true that when “love comes on so strong, there is no right or wrong” – and Maria as a (literal!) Marian figure
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You’ll hear tracks from the 2021 Film Soundtrack:
- David Alvarez and the Sharks singing “La Borinquena”.
- Gustavo Dudamel leading players from the New York and LA Philharmonics in “Mambo” from the Dance at the Gym
- Ansel Elgorty and Rachel Zegler singing “One Hand, One Heart”
- Rachel Zegler, Ana Isabelle, Ilda Mason, Annelise Cepero, Jamila Velazquez, Andrea Burns, Tanairi Sade Vazquez & Yassmin Alers singing “I Feel Pretty”
- Ariana DeBose and Rachel Zegler singing “A Boy Like That/I Have A Love”
- Rita Moreno singing “Somewhere”
________________________________
Never miss an episode! Sign up for our email list to get updates when new episodes are released, info about upcoming special events, and more.
________________________________
Check out some of our all-time favorites!
Phantom of the Opera
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
Jesus Christ Superstar!
Schmigadoon! (Season 1 / Season 2)
West Side Story!
Yentl!
Frozen!
Barbie!
________________________________
Continue the conversation with us on Instagram (@gospelofmt).
 
 

3.1 West Side Story! (Sondheim Season Premiere)

It's time!! We're beginning our long-awaited exploration of the musicals of the great Stephen Sondheim (1930-2021), who died recently at the age of 91.
We're starting with one of Sondheim’s early collaborations: the 1957 classic West Side Story, which saw Sondheim working as lyricist alongside composer Leonard Bernstein.
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We talk about:
- Sondheim. The death of Sondheim and his emerging status as a guru/wisdom teacher in the “church” of musical theatre – a reputation famously sent-up by the song “God”
- Race in America. The origins of West Side Story (1957) in the racial & religious tensions between Jewish & Catholic immigrants in New York City’s East Side at the turn of the 20th century, and how race in America had shifted by the 50s
- Longing. "Something’s Coming," "The Jet Song," and the two dueling religious systems in West Side Story: group belonging vs. love, and the desire for a conversion experience
- Love. The show’s classic love songs—"Tonight," "Maria," and "Somewhere"—with their theological ideas about the full embodiment of sexual desire, and the power (and lure) of forbidden love
- Blame. West Side Story’s social agenda, explored in "Gee, Officer Krupke" and "America," and the tension between whether we hold society or individuals responsible for violence
- The Ending. Whether the show ends in tragedy or hope – the challenge of redemptive violence and the promise of Maria as the priest of her community
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You’ll hear:
- The company of the 2010 revue Sondheim on Sondheim (including the great Barbara Cook, Vanessa L. Williams, Leslie Kritzer, Erin Mackey, Tom Wopat, Norm Lewis, Euan Morton, and Matthew Scott), singing the song “God”
- Isaac Cole Powell singing "Something’s Coming" (available to watch here)
- Larry Kert & Carol Lawrence singing "Tonight," "Somewhere" and "I Feel Pretty" from the original 1957 Broadway Cast Recording.
- Max Goberman, Eddie Roll, Grover Dale and the company of the original Broadway cast singing "Gee, Officer Krupke"
- Carol Lawrence, Carmen Gutierrez, Marilyn Cooper and Elizabeth Taylor singing "I Feel Pretty" from the Original Broadway Cast recording.
________________________________
Never miss an episode! Sign up for our email list to get updates when new episodes are released, info about upcoming special events, and more.
________________________________
Check out some of our all-time favorites!
Phantom of the Opera
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
Jesus Christ Superstar!
Schmigadoon! (Season 1 / Season 2)
West Side Story!
Yentl!
Frozen!
Barbie!
________________________________
Continue the conversation with us on Instagram (@gospelofmt).

BONUS: Schmigadoon – Season 1!

In this very special bonus episode, we turn to the contemporary masterpiece (ahem) Schmigadoon! - Apple TV's 2021 spoof/homage to the great musicals of yore. 
 
UPDATE: This episode has been endorsed by show creator Cinco Paul, because we're really very famous.
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We talk about:
- Mormons: The show’s creators, Cinco Paul & Ken Daurio, and their origins in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
- Marriage: The "marriage trope" – does the show uphold it or undermine it (or both)?
- Metamorphosis: The song "This Is How We Change" and its inherent questions about transformation. How does musical theatre change - and how do we? 
- Musical Fandom: The MANY spoofs & Easter eggs found in this love letter to the world of musical theatre
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You’ll hear:
- The company of Schmigadoon! singing the title number, "Schmigadoon," "Corn Puddin’" and "This Is How We Change"
- Cecily Strong, Cassandra Consiglio & Alex Barima singing "Va-Gi-Na"
- Jane Krakowski singing "I Always, Always, Never Get My Man"
________________________________
Never miss an episode! Sign up for our email list to get updates when new episodes are released, info about upcoming special events, and more.
________________________________
Check out some of our all-time favorites!
Phantom of the Opera
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
Jesus Christ Superstar!
Schmigadoon! (Season 1 / Season 2)
West Side Story!
Yentl!
Frozen!
Barbie!
________________________________
Continue the conversation with us on Instagram (@gospelofmt).

2.4 Paint Your Wagon!

It's the last installment of our Lerner & Loewe deep dive, and it's kind of a downer. But an interesting one: Paint Your Wagon, the quintessential expression of loneliness and the challenge of connection.
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We talk about:
Changes: The differences between the 1951 Broadway musical and the 1969 film – and how things had changed in the real world from 1951 & 1969
Polyamory: The sexual & gender politics of Ben, Pardner & Elisa's relationship in the film
Manliness: The vision of American masculinity embodied in the Western myth and the songs "Wandrin’ Star," "Another Autumn," and "I Talk to the Trees"
Dynamics: The theological, economic, and social dynamics of connection & completion given voice in songs like “They Call the Wind Maria,” and the dynamics embodied in the questions they raise.
Wistfulness: Whether shows from another era—like My Fair Lady, Paint Your Wagon, Gigi—help us identify with their creators & original audiences, or whether they romanticize & perpetuate a false narrative about the past
Our Verdict: Our speculative take on the psychology of Lerner & Lowe based on the characters they create
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You’ll hear:
James Barton singing “Wandrin’ Star” from the 1951 Broadway Cast recording
Justin Guarini singing “Another Autumn” and Nathan Hackman singing “They Call the Wind Maria” from the 2015 Encores! Cast recording
Tony Bavaar singing “I Talk to the Trees” from the 1951 Broadway Cast recording
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Continue the conversation with Peter (@pgeinvan) and Nathan (@nathan_lerud) on Twitter, and follow us on Instagram or Twitter @gospelofmt!
________________________________
Never miss an episode! Sign up for our email list to get updates when new episodes are released, info about upcoming special events, and more.
________________________________
Check out some of our all-time favorites!
Phantom of the Opera
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
Jesus Christ Superstar!
Schmigadoon! (Season 1 / Season 2)
West Side Story!
Yentl!
Frozen!
Barbie!
________________________________
Continue the conversation with us on Instagram (@gospelofmt).

2.3 Camelot & Gigi!

We're talking about two of Lerner & Loewe's most problematic and legendary (wait for it...) shows - the 1958 film Gigi and the 1960 Broadway musical Camelot!
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We talk about:
- Pedophilia: Gigi’s origin in the short stories of the French writer Colette (1873-1953) and the film's lurking pedophilia
- Feminism (and Lack Thereof): The nature of women’s roles (in 19th-century Paris, 1950s America, and today), and the development of cultural norms around gender, marriage and sexuality.
- The Marriage Fantasy: Traditional marriage and the degree to which Christianity has upheld and supported it – and how both Gigi and Camelot explore conventions around heterosexual marriage.
- Threesomes: The relationship between Camelot's Arthur, Guinevere and Lancelot as an echo of Higgins, Eliza and Pickering's relationship in My Fair Lady.
- JFK: How Camelot relates to the Kennedy presidency and 1960s America
- Power and Corruption: The show's central theological questions: can there be power that is wielded for good - and is the realization of the Beloved Community possible in this life?
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You’ll hear:
- Maurice Chevalier singing “Thank Heaven For Little Girls” from the 1958 Gigi film soundtrack.
- Richard Burton singing the title song and Julie Andrews &Richard Burton singing "What Do the Simple Folk Do?" from the 1960 Broadway Cast Recording of Camelot
- Our Lady Julie Andrews singing “The Lusty Month of May” from the 1960 Camelot Broadway Cast Recording
________________________________
Never miss an episode! Sign up for our email list to get updates when new episodes are released, info about upcoming special events, and more.
________________________________
Check out some of our all-time favorites!
Phantom of the Opera
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
Jesus Christ Superstar!
Schmigadoon! (Season 1 / Season 2)
West Side Story!
Yentl!
Frozen!
Barbie!
________________________________
Continue the conversation with us on Instagram (@gospelofmt).