People make movies and then musicals of those movies and some are not great. But some are transcendently good.
T-shirts and tote-bags and more at the Original Cast Store!
Join us on PATREON to get our patrons-only podcast The Original Cast at the Movies? This month we've got Kenny Neal (Starlight Express, et al.) and Joanna McKee talking about a musical adaptation of The Phantom of the Opera that has to be seen to be believed (and even then maybe not): Phantom of the Paradise (1974).
I give you this guitar but only if you solemnly promise never to bring it to a party without being asked.
Join us on PATREON to get our patrons-only podcast The Original Cast at the Movies? This month we've got Sophie Schulman (Funny Girl) and Stephen Spotswood (Once More with Feeling) talking about the greatest(?) movie musical ever: Singin' in the Rain (1952).
Is it possible to mathematically determine whether or not a Broadway show is a flop?
Yes, it is.
We did it.
Yay!
Join us on PATREON to get our patrons-only podcast The Original Cast at the Movies? This month we've got Sophie Schulman (Funny Girl) and Stephen Spotswood (Once More with Feeling) talking about the greatest(?) movie musical ever: Singin' in the Rain (1952).
Did you know there were other kinds of music besides original cast recordings? Me neither.
Also, we talk about Cats.
Join us on PATREON to get our patrons-only podcast The Original Cast at the Movies? This month we've got Sophie Schulman (Funny Girl) and Stephen Spotswood (Once More with Feeling) talking about the greatest(?) movie musical ever: Singin' in the Rain (1952).
A snippet from my conversation with composer/lyricist Adam Gwon (Scotland, PA, Ordinary Days) about the advantages and disadvantages of different kinds of theatre.
Join us on PATREON to get our patrons-only podcast The Original Cast at the Movies? This month we've got Robbie Rozelle (Mame) talking about the D.A. Pennebaker documentary about the making of the Company original cast album, accurately entitled: Original Cast Album: Company (1971).__Patreon • Twitter • Facebook
Here's a silly one to kick-off 2020. The title says it all. Well, not ALL. If it said it ALL then you wouldn't need the 9-minute episode, you'd just need the title.
Go to http://bit.ly/
Join us on PATREON to get our patrons-only podcast The Original Cast at the Movies? This month we've got Robbie Rozelle (Mame) talking about the D.A. Pennebaker documentary about the making of the Company original cast album, accurately entitled: Original Cast Album: Company (1971).
Have you seen Love Letters? You should see Love Letters. It's a play. And a perfectly cromulent one.
THE ORIGINAL CAST MERCH NOW AVAILABLE AT TEE PUBLIC
Join us on PATREON to get our patrons-only podcast The Original Cast at the Movies? This month it's Chris Klimek (It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman) and Farrell Parker (A Chorus Line) talking about the greatest movie Prince ever made: Purple Rain (1984)!
Courtney worked with Susan Stroman. So we talk about Susan Stroman. A lot! With that good Courtney/Patrick energy!
THE ORIGINAL CAST MERCH NOW AVAILABLE AT TEE PUBLIC
Join us on PATREON to get our patrons-only podcast The Original Cast at the Movies? This month it's Chris Klimek (It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman) and Farrell Parker (A Chorus Line) talking about the greatest movie Prince ever made: Purple Rain (1984)!
Did I ever tell you about the time I co-produced a production of Grease! and it turned out we didn't have the rights?
By the way, the The Simpsons episode I reference is "Jaws Wired Shut" (s13e09).
Join us on PATREON to get our patrons-only podcast The Original Cast at the Movies? The latest episode has Caroline Dubberly (Hedwig and the Angry Inch) and Kari Ginsburg (Gypsy, et al.) weighing the merits of everyone's favorite mockumentary about a small-town theatre company and their musical about the history of the small town in which they live that may or may not think dreams are stupid. It's Waiting for Guffman (1996)!
Doug and I do a lot of great musical theatre back-and-forth but really you just need to read this line from Dorothy Rodgers (wife to Richard, mother to Mary) New York Times obituary: "Mrs. Rodgers founded Repairs Inc., an agency that hired craftsmen to repair broken objects, in 1935 and was its head until 1941. In 1945 she patented the Jonny Mop, which was sold by Johnson & Johnson. It was one of several inventions. In 1958 she created the Basically Yours dress pattern for McCall's, and in 1972 she patented the Turn and Learn storybooks, sold by the Ideal Toy Company."
Seriously!
Join us on PATREON to get our patrons-only podcast The Original Cast at the Movies? The latest episode has Caroline Dubberly (Hedwig and the Angry Inch) and Kari Ginsburg (Gypsy, et al.) weighing the merits of everyone's favorite mockumentary about a small-town theatre company and their musical about the history of the small town in which they live that may or may not think dreams are stupid. It's Waiting for Guffman (1996)!
Nicole Hertvik from the incomparable DC Metro Theatre Arts interviews Patrick and Michelle Polera about their new show What She Said which can be seen this Friday at the Kennedy Center's Page-to-Stage Festival.
WHAT SHE SAID performance details here.
Join us on PATREON to get our patrons-only podcast The Original Cast at the Movies? August's episode has Married super-cool duo Lee Liebeskind (Spring Awakening) and Megan Reichelt (The Scarlet Pimpernel) join Patrick and his super-cool ladywife Kelley to talk about The Muppet Movie (1979) the super-coolest movie of all time. Seriously, it's so good you guys.
Heather is a costume designer. So we talked a lot about designing and designers and notes and all that good stuff.
Have you checked out our PATREON? You haven't? Then how are you going to listen to our patrons-only podcast The Original Cast at the Movies? July's episode has James Finley (The Life) and Charlene V. Smith (Man of La Mancha 1968) talking about the 2007 film Once which is the basis for the 2013 Broadway musical Once. Funny how that works.
Robbie is the A&R Director and in-house designer for Grammy-winning record label Broadway Records. So he has a lot to say about design. Patrick wrote a book about visual literacy. So he has a lot to say about design. Here's some of what they said together.
This episode was recorded at Broadway Records. Go to BroadwayRecords.com to view and shop from their extensive catalog of cast albums, solo albums, and live recordings.
Have you checked out our PATREON? You haven't? Then how are you going to listen to our patrons-only podcast The Original Cast at the Movies? July's episode has James Finley (The Life) and Charlene V. Smith (Man of La Mancha 1968) talking about the 2007 film Once which is the basis for the 2013 Broadway musical Once. Funny how that works.
Good morning, Mr. & Mrs. America and all the ships at sea. FLASH! Journalist Chris Klimek thinks Superman CHEATED!
Featured recordings: Superman: The Movie - Original Sound Track (1979) • Dragnet - Music from the Motion Picture Soundtrack (1987)
Have you checked out our PATREON? You haven't? Then how are you going to listen to our patrons-only podcast The Original Cast at the Movies? June's episode features Eliza Berkon (Godspell 1973) and Sophie Schulman (Funny Girl) discussing the Spice Girls' feature film Spice World (1997) just in time for summer!
Laura Esti Miller and Patrick talk about seeing the same show 20 years later.
Featured recordings: Miss Saigon - Original London Cast Recording (1989)
Have you checked out our PATREON? You haven't? Then how are you going to listen to our patrons-only podcast The Original Cast at the Movies? June's episode features Eliza Berkon (Godspell 1973) and Sophie Schulman (Funny Girl) discussing the Spice Girls' feature film Spice World (1997) just in time for summer!
Anyone who has spent time with myself and Courtney knows that we can talk. And we like to talk about American musical theatre and debate about knows more. (Spoiler alert: I do.)
Ready to put the work in artwork? Check out friend of the podcast Danielle Mohlman’s online interactive series Crafting Your Artistic Handbook. By the end of this six-week class, you’ll have: a set of rituals geared toward ongoing artistic growth, an accountability process designed to help you reach your goals, and a sustainable documentation method designed to grow and change as you do. Register and learn more at bit.ly/originalcastfriend. Use the code ORIGINAL at checkout for 20% off.
Have you checked out our PATREON? You haven't? Then how are you going to listen to our patrons-only podcast The Original Cast at the Movies? May's episode features Eric Messner (The Who's Tommy) and Emily Zickler (Sweeney Todd, et al.) discussing The Monkees' feature film Head (1968) written by Jack Nicholson. Any more details would make no sense.
Did you know that Jonathan Larson wrote a musical version of George Orwell's 1984? Neither did Patrick. But Robyn did.
Featured recordings: The Jonathan Larson Project - Original Cast (2019)
Have you checked out our PATREON? You haven't? Then how are you going to listen to our patrons-only podcast The Original Cast at the Movies? April's episode has perennial favorites Kari Ginsburg (Gypsy, et al.) and Roddy Flynn (Anyone Can Whistle, et al.) talking Yentl (1983), Barbara Streisand's epic story about a woman pretending to be a man so she can study the Talmud and sing alone in the woods with candles.
Get tickets for Tinker Bell by Patrick Flynn now playing at First Stage Milwaukee!!
In a digital age where people are being cast based on their social media following and shows are transferring to Broadway after trending and building their audience online, it's time you learned from leading experts how to effectively promote yourself and your show. At Promote U! you'll get practical, hands-on advice from leading experts on a range of topics, including Creating Your Branding Toolkit, How to Use Social Media to Gain Loyal Fans, Creating a Website That Tells & Sells Your Story, and more! The Original Cast fans can use the code ORIGINAL19 to get your ticket to Promote U for $297 (reg. $597)!
I was very lucky to have the chance to chat with Kurt Peterson who produced Sondheim: A Musical Tribute and was in the original Broadway cast of Follies (1971). Kurt spills some tea on how the first Sondheim tribute came together, talks about his plans for the upcoming 50th anniversary, and what it was like to be in Follies before it was considered a classic of American musical theatre. You can learn more about Kurt and his work at his website: James Williams Productions Dot Com.
Have you checked out our PATREON? You haven't? Then how are you going to listen to our patrons-only podcast The Original Cast at the Movies? April's episode has perennial favorites Kari Ginsburg (Gypsy, et al.) and Roddy Flynn (Anyone Can Whistle, et al.) talking Yentl (1983), Barbara Streisand's epic story about a woman pretending to be a man so she can study the Talmud and sing alone in the woods with candles.
Get tickets for Tinker Bell by Patrick Flynn now playing at First Stage Milwaukee!!
In a digital age where people are being cast based on their social media following and shows are transferring to Broadway after trending and building their audience online, it's time you learned from leading experts how to effectively promote yourself and your show. At Promote U! you'll get practical, hands-on advice from leading experts on a range of topics, including Creating Your Branding Toolkit, How to Use Social Media to Gain Loyal Fans, Creating a Website That Tells & Sells Your Story, and more! The Original Cast fans can use the code ORIGINAL19 to get your ticket to Promote U for $297 (reg. $597)!
Some musicals have title songs and we cover a bunch: good, bad, and in-between.
Featured recordings: Hello, Dolly! - The Original Broadway Cast Recording (1984) • Mame - Original Broadway Cast (1966) • La Cage Aux Folles - Original Cast Recording (1983)
LIVE SHOW! Sunday, April 14, 12:00pm at the Flying V Awesome-a-Thon in Bethesda, MD! Our theme this time out is "Musicals Based on Comics!" Go to UnknownPenguin.com/Live for more information.
This episode was recorded at Broadway Records. Go to BroadwayRecords.com to view and shop from their extensive catalog of cast albums, solo albums, and live recordings.
Have you checked out our PATREON? You haven't? Then how are you going to listen to our patrons-only podcast The Original Cast at the Movies? March's episode has Logan Culwell-Block (Little Shop of Horrors 1982) and Kimberly Cooper Schmidt (The Light in the Piazza) talking about The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T (1953), Dr. Suess's movie for everyone who hated piano lessons.
Kimberly and Patrick start out talking about My Fair Lady at Lincoln Center and end up talking about Be More Chill by way of the time Patrick went to an Arctic Monkeys show and Matt Helders wore a Go-Pro.
LIVE SHOW! Sunday, April 14, 12:00pm at the Flying V Awesome-a-Thon in Bethesda, MD! Our theme this time out is "Musicals Based on Comics!" Go to UnknownPenguin.com/Live for more information.
Have you checked out our PATREON? You haven't? Then how are you going to listen to our patrons-only podcast The Original Cast at the Movies? March's episode has Logan Culwell-Block (Little Shop of Horrors 1982) and Kimberly Cooper Schmidt (The Light in the Piazza) talking about The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T (1953), Dr. Suess's movie for everyone who hated piano lessons.
Golden-age musicals are problematic. Even the ones you don't think are problematic are problematic.
Have you checked out our PATREON? You haven't? Then how are you going to listen to our patrons-only podcast The Original Cast at the Movies? February's episode features Lauren Halvorsen (The Wild Party) and Kenny Neal (Starlight Express) talking about Bugsy Malone (1976) which is like the Little Rascals doing GoodFellas to the Xanadu soundtrack.
Before it was a Flaherty/Ahrens/McNally musical, Ragtime was a Miloš Forman movie.
And before that, it was a novel by E.L. Doctorow.
And before that, some of the characters were real people.
And before that, some of those real people were real babies.
We don't go back that far.
Featured recordings: Ragtime - Original Broadway Cast Recording (1997)
Have you checked out our PATREON? You haven't? Then how are you going to listen to our patrons-only podcast The Original Cast at the Movies? February's episode features Lauren Halvorsen (The Wild Party) and Kenny Neal (Starlight Express) talking about Bugsy Malone (1976) which is like the Little Rascals doing GoodFellas to the Xanadu soundtrack.
Patrick is a guest this week on the wonderful Broadway Baby Podcast talking about Chess (shocker). Here's a snippet of the episode to whet your appetite.
The full episode is available HERE.
Enjoy!
Have you checked out our PATREON? You haven't? Then how are you going to listen to our patrons-only podcast The Original Cast at the Movies? January's episode features Beth Amman (Wicked) and Don Mike Mendoza (Hot Mikado ; Do I Hear a Waltz? 1965) talking about the Disney/Rodgers & Hammerstein TV event starring Whitney Houston and Brandy: Cinderella (1997).