So Much Stuff to Sing

We wrap up our miniseries on "I Wish" songs with "Waiting for Life" from Once on This Island by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty. Topics include whether being made into a tree is a good thing, The Little Mermaid, and whether Ahrens and Flaherty were the right fit for this source material.

DW: This episdoe contains mentions of racism, sexual assault, and self-harm. Listener discretion is advised.

All clips are from the 1990 Original Broadway Cast Recording of Once on This Island featuring LaChanze and are protected by the Fair Use guidelines of Section 107 of the Copyright Act for criticism and commentary. All rights reserved to the copyright owners.

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And we're back again with another "I Want" song, but we're still in the 1970s. This time we're tackling The Wiz and it's end-of-show I want song, "Home." Topics include Stephanie Mills, Diana Ross, and why the 80s really, really sucked. 

Editor's Note: Yes, this episode sounds different. New computers, new set-ups, etc. We're still ironing out the kinks. Also, the original cast album is cuirrently out of print and not widely available for streaming, so, if you're the rights holder, fix that, please.

All clips are from the 1975 Original Broadway Cast Recording of The Wiz featuring Stephanie Mills as Dorothy and are protected by the Fair Use guidelines of Section 107 of the Copyright Act for criticism and commentary. All rights reserved to the copyright owners.

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We're just getting started with I Want songs, and we're tackling another classic. This time, from 1972's Pippin, we're talking about "Corner of the Sky." We talk Stephen Schwartz, Bob Fosse, and where cats and children fit. Strap in.

All clips are from the 1972 Original Broadway Cast Recording of Pippin featuring John Rubinstein as Pippin and are protected by the Fair Use guidelines of Section 107 of the Copyright Act for criticism and commentary. All rights reserved to the copyright owners.

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We're back! We're starting our 5th year a little late, but as opinionated as ever! We're looking at "I want" songs here in 2024, and we're starting with one of the most famous and beloved examples: "Wouldn't It Be Loverly" from Lerner & Loewe's Golden Age classic My Fair Lady. But is it beloved by your intrepid hosts? Only one way to find out...  

All clips are from the 1956 Original Broadway Cast Recording of My Fair Lady featuring Julie Andrews as Eliza Doolittle and are protected by the Fair Use guidelines of Section 107 of the Copyright Act for criticism and commentary. All rights reserved to the copyright owners.

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Oh, it's a jolly holiday season here at So Much Stuff to Sing! This year, we're looking at one of the all-time great film musicals, Walt Disney's Mary Poppins. With songs written by Richard and Robert Sherman, and featuring seminal performances by Dick van Dyke, David Tomlinson, Glynnis Johns, and (in her film debut!) Julie Andrews, the film is both a landmark of cinema and a timeless masterpiece.

But what about its deeply anti-capitalist message? We'll get into that -- and more -- on this bonus-sized end of year episode.

Programming note: we'll be on holiday ourselves until the middle of January. Have a very Mary (get it?) Christmas, a Happy New Year, and a wonderful holiday season!

All clips are from the 1964 film Mary Poppins and are protected by the Fair Use guidelines of Section 107 of the Copyright Act for criticism and commentary. All rights reserved to the copyright owners.

To round out our off-Broadway miniseries, Shannon and Erik take a look at "Beautiful" from the online hit Heathers: The Musical, and don't always like what they see. Are they just the wrong audience, or is this the wrong adaptation?

All clips are from 2014's Heathers: The Musical (World Premiere Cast Recording) featuring Barrett Wilbert Weed are used in accordance with the Fair Use Exemption for criticism and commentary.

PLEASE NOTE: In addition to discussions of sensitive topics such as gun violence, sexual assault, suicide, and eating disorders, this episode also includes clips from the show with language that some may find offensive.  

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From one queer, cult, off-Broadway hit to the next, it's time for Stephen Trask and John Cameron Mitchell's Hedwig and the Angry Inch and what is arguably its thesis song: "The Origin of Love" Shannon is escited because of Eddie Izzard, and Erik is excited because of Plato.

All clips are from 1999's Hedwig and the Angry Inch: Original Cast Album featuring John Cameron Mitchell are used in accordance with the Fair Use Exemption for criticism and commentary.

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Happy Halloween, everyone! By sheer coicidence, our Off-Broadway miniseries timed up with spooky seaon, creating a wonderful synchronicity whereby our episde about "Science Fiction Double Feature" from The Rocky Horror Show is coming out just before Halloween. Wait...did you not know that Rocky Horror was a smash London and L.A. musical before becoming a movie? Well, grab a seat in the back row and listen...

All clips are from 1975's The Rocky Horror Picture Show: The Original Soundtrack featuring Richard O'Brien are used in accordance with the Fair Use Exemption for criticism and commentary.

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We're back -- a little late -- but we come bearing a new miniseries! This time, we're heading off-Broadway to explore the wide range of shows and songs that fall under that collective banner.

We start with one of the either best -- or least -- well-known musicals of all time, depending on which co-host you ask. Yes, it's 1960's The Fantasticks which ran off-Broadway for over four decades, becoming the longest running musical in the world. What do we think it was able to accomplish that feat, and what do we think of the show's most famous number, "Try to Remember?" Listenn to find out!

All clips are from 1960's The Fantasticks Original Off-Off-Broadway Cast Album featuring Jerry Orbach are used in accordance with the Fair Use Exemption for criticism and commentary.

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We finish our miniseries on 11 o'clock numbers with one of the defining shows and numbers of Broadway's current era: "She Used to Be Mine" from Waitress. The discussion gievs us a chance to talk pop versus Broadway, how Sara Bareilles conquered Broadway, and proper theater etiquette.

CW for discussions of domestic violence, abuse, and murder.

All clips are from the 2019 video "Shoshana Bean Sings 'She Used to Be Mine' from WAITRESS" from Broadway.com's YouTube channel are used in accordance with the Fair Use Exemption for criticism and commentary.

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And now for something truly and genuinely completely different. Tony Kushner and Jeanine Tesori's Caroline, or Change first premiered on Broadway in 2004, and while the show wasn't a success either at the box office or the Tonys, it made an impact. Another recent Broadway production similarly failed to enflame the ticket-buying public, but it helped cement the show as something of a modern classic. Today, we discuss the musical's 11 o'clock number "Lot's Wife" to try to understand why.

All clips are from 2021's Caroline, or Change The New Broadway Cast Recording featuring Sharon D. Clarke as Caroline and are used in accordance with the Fair Use Exemption for criticism and commentary.

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Another 11 o'clock number, please! This time, we're talking 1950's Guys & Dolls, Frank Loesser, and Nicely-Nicely Johnson -- yes, it's time for everyone's favorite gangster revival number, "Sit Down, You're Rocking the Boat." 

All clips are from 1992's Guys and Dolls: The New Broadway Cast Recording featuring Walter Bobbie as Nicely-Nicely Johnson and are used in accordance with the Fair Use Exemption for criticism and commentary.

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We're back and starting a brand new miniseries. This time, we're looking at the so-called "eleven o'clock number" in a vairety of its permutations. First up, we have an archetypal example of the genre -- "Fifty Percent" from 1978's Ballroom. Trust us, you may now know the show, but you need to know the song.

All clips are from 1999's My Favorite Broadway: The Leading Ladies featuring Dorothy Loudon and are used in accordance with the Fair Use Exemption for criticism and commentary.

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Our final title song is also our most recent. We're back to Michael R. Jackson's A Strange Loop, which has opened -- and closed -- on Broadway since we last discussed it, but not without winning the Best Musical Tony. 

All clips are from 2022's A Strange Loop: Original Broadway Cast Recording featuring Jaquel Spivey as Usher and are used in accordance with the Fair Use Exemption for criticism and commentary.

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Another title song, and this time it's a title song that opens the show and sets up the rest of the show. We're talking about In the Heights again, exploring how Lin-Manuel Miranda uses its opening number to set up both the main characters and most of the plotlines that we need to know.

All clips are from 2021's  In the Heights: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack featuring Anthony Ramos as Usnavi and are used in accordance with the Fair Use Exemption for criticism and commentary.

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Follow the show on Twitter: @somuchstuffpod

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We're continuing with our title songs miniseries, and we're back with Kander and Ebb for the first time in a while. This time, we're talking about "Kiss of the Spider Woman," and Shannon makes a shocking confession about this song. 

All clips are from 1993's Kiss of the Spider Woman: The Musical - Original Cast Recording featuring Chita Rivera as Aurora and are used in accordance with the Fair Use Exemption for criticism and commentary.

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We're back with a new miniseries! We're tackling title songs over the course of the next four episodes, and we're starting with the one that you're probably thinking of already. We're back to Rodgers & Hammerstein, but we're starting with their first show together. It's the beginning of the Golden Age of musicals, and the moment everything changed for the art form: it's time for 1943's Oklahoma!.

All clips are from soundtrack to the 1955 film version of Oklahoma! featuring Gordon MacRae as Curly, Shirley Jones as Laurey, and the ensembles and are used in accordance with the Fair Use Exemption for criticism and commentary.

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It's the end of our annual Sondheim birthday celebration, and our last murder ballad. This episode, we're back with Assassins looking at "The Ballad of Guiteau." Charles Guiteau is a thorny historical figure, but Erik and Shannon do their best to try to make some sense of him, his song, and this entire show.

All clips are from Assassins: The 2022 Off-Broadway Cast Recording featuring Ethan Slater as The Balladeer and Will Swenson as Charles Guiteau and are used in accordance with the Fair Use Exemption for criticism and commentary.

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We're continuing our Sondheim birthday miniseries, this time focusing on his murder ballads, and we're moving on to a show that is dominated by murder ballads -- 1991's Assassins. Join us as we look at "The Ballad of Booth"and try to pick apart both this extremely rich song and the show's message. 

Audio note: It was raining when we recorded this episode, and you will occasionally hear the rain striking Shannon's air conditioner. We hope it won't distract too much from your enjoyment of the episode.

All clips are from the 1991 Original Off-Broadway Cast Recording of Assassins featuring Patrick Cassidy as The Balladeer and Victor Garber as John Wilkes Booth and are used in accordance with the Fair Use Exemption for criticism and commentary.

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To quote Shannon, "Murder! Murder! Murder!" 

Yes, we're carrying on with this year's Sondheim theme of murder ballads, and we're carrying on with Sweeney Todd. This episode, we discuss the sort of duet, but not really, "My Friends." 

All clips are from the 2002 production of Sweeney Todd in Concert featuring George Hearne as Sweeney Todd and Patti Lupone as Mrs. Lovett and are used in accordance with the Fair Use Exemption for criticism and commentary.

Buy the DVD on Amazon!

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Follow the show on Twitter: @somuchstuffpod

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Email the show: somuchstufftosing@gmail.com