Bottomless Broadway

Latest Episodes:

Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York) Jun 22, 2026

Show notes

This Is the Place...to hear about our thoughts on Two Strangers! Alas this season has been a bit of a mess for us, so this will also be the season finale of our very short season, though keep an eye on our socials for other content!

Thanks to Simone who posted this very informative and in-depth guide to the show that helped jog our memory!

Funnily enough, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend also has a song called What'll It Be that serves a very similar purpose to Robin's song in this show.

For whatever reason, the song What Did You Say? was left off of the Broadway cast album, so the snippet you hear in this episode comes from the London cast album

Music featured in this episode:

Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York) [Original Broadway Cast Recording]

Apple Music / Spotify / Amazon Music

—

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram @BottomlessBway, our blog at https://bottomlessbway.home.blog, or email us at bottomlessbway@gmail.com! You can also leave feedback in this 30-second survey.

Chess (2025), Part 2 May 21, 2026

Show notes

Sorry for the delay, but we are back to recap the thrilling conclusion of this Cold War musical!

*Note that this was recorded quite some time ago so you'll hear us debating Tony categories for nominations when the actual nominations have already been announced!

To read up more about the specifics of this production (and to check out how other productions differed, check out this website: https://chessthemusical.weebly.com/chess---broadway-2025.html

If you haven't heard the "Hal, it's about cats" clip, do yourself a favor and check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doFcWmt7-J0

The Royal Albert Hall concert production is the classic go-to for a more "traditional take" on the script that Cindy references (you can stream the album as well): https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL71B335941EB1F97C

But Christine's favorite Chess album is the Danish tour cast, which unfortunately isn't on streaming but can also be found on YouTube (you'll also hear snippets of it in this episode for The Deal/No Deal, Talking Chess, and Finale): https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLnWa8YfbsKk39t6jMotioyWxjbZaRz9D2

Music featured in this episode:

CHESS the Musical (2025 Broadway Cast Recording)

⁠Apple Music⁠ / ⁠Spotify⁠ / ⁠Amazon Music⁠

—

Follow us on ⁠Twitter⁠ and ⁠Instagram⁠ @BottomlessBway, our blog at ⁠https://bottomlessbway.home.blog⁠, or email us at bottomlessbway@gmail.com! You can also leave feedback in this ⁠30-second survey⁠.

Chess (2025), Part 1 Apr 15, 2026

Show notes

What a Scene, What a Joy that we're back for a new season, starting off with some Difficult and Dangerous Times as we talk through our feelings on the new Chess revival! As usual, spoilers ahead...

You can find a note from Tim Rice in the 1993 published version of the script, where he seems to have taken a pretty hands-off approach to future versions of the show: https://imgur.com/a/9MpRYxT

For the uninitiated, in the original concept album of Evita, there was a whole side plot about Che developing and selling insecticide. You can hear us talking a bit more about it in our Evita episode!

For a full synopsis of this version of Chess and some choice excerpts from the script, check out this site (which also contains all the key details from just about every major version): https://chessthemusical.weebly.com/chess---broadway-2025.html

And if you don't know the original London version at all and want an approximation of what it was like, check out the video of the Royal Albert Hall concert (and you can also stream the live album made from it): https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL71B335941EB1F97C

Music featured in this episode:

CHESS the Musical (2025 Broadway Cast Recording)

Apple Music / Spotify / Amazon Music

The Lady's Got Potential - Evita (1976 Concept Album)

—

Real Women Have Curves & Buena Vista Social Club Jun 08, 2025

Show notes

It's our last episode coming in hot right before the Tonys and we have a lot to talk about as we wrap up our last two shows we're covering as well as some quick takes about shows we didn't get to! Timestamps included if you're only interested in specific shows, and as usual beware of spoilers.

Note that this was recorded before both cast albums were released so apologies for the inconsistencies where our memories failed us!

Real Women Have Curves: 1:29

Buena Vista Social Club: 51:38

Just in Time: 1:15:26

Boop: 1:22:17

Smash: 1:25:26

The show Cindy mentions in the intro, which played in Portland and is also available as a comedy special on Dropout TV.

An interesting essay from the out of town run of Real Women that touches on some of the issues we had with the show.

Cindy's senior year yearbook quote

An interview where the creators of Buena Vista Social Club talk about bringing it to Broadway and what the album means to them.

Jonathan Groff's Actors on Actors conversation with Nicole Scherzinger where he talks extensively about loving Bobby Darin (the rest of the series is well worth a watch too!)

Music featured in this episode:

Real Women Have Curves: The Musical (Original Broadway Cast Recording)

Apple Music / Spotify

Buena Vista Social Club (Original Broadway Cast Recording)

Apple Music / Spotify

Just in Time - Jonathan Groff

Where I Wanna Be - Jasmine Amy Rogers

Let Me Be Your Star - Bella Coppola

—

Death Becomes Her & Dead Outlaw Jun 05, 2025

Show notes

There’s been a trend emerging in this year’s Broadway musicals, which begs the question: will they be “Alive Forever” or only be around “’Til Death”? In this episode we discuss two shows both involving death and decide whether they make “Something from Nothing” so you can be the judge!

As usual, spoilers ahead!

Death Becomes Her: 1:00

Dead Outlaw: 57:54

—

We definitely weren’t the only ones to notice the “dead body character” trend, and there’s a whole award from MemesOnBway about it.

A lot of Christine’s impression of what Death Becomes Her would be like came from Sabrina Carpenter’s Taste music video, which also pays homage to the movie.

The infamous staircase fall is accomplished by former gymnast Warren Yang, and you can also watch more about how it was put together with all the design elements: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7Vxm_x2_Qo

Despite being on Broadway, Dead Outlaw is still set to release on Audible on October 2, so you can take a listen to it then!

Elmer did indeed travel further as a dead body than he did alive, as Wikipedia helpfully shows.

Music featured in this episode:

Death Becomes Her (Original Broadway Cast Recording)

Dead Outlaw (Original Broadway Cast Recording) [Part 1]

The Whole Being Dead Thing - Beetlejuice

—

Operation Mincemeat, Part 2 May 12, 2025

Show notes

Did we do it? We're back to wrap up our recap on Operation Mincemeat and give some already-obsolete Tony predictions.

If you haven't already, take a listen to Part 1 first: Apple Podcasts / Spotify

If you want to take a listen to the podcast that started it all, here's the episode that Natasha Hodgson drew inspiration from, on the Stuff You Should Know podcast: Apple Podcasts / Spotify

And you can hear about how they originally put the show together on Variety's Stagecraft podcast

Are you a mincefluencer? Turns out they've been up to a lot of investigating themselves: NYT article

The tomb of William Martins is an actual memorial in Huelva, Spain that you can go visit.

Music featured in this episode:

Too Bad - G-Dragon

Operation Mincemeat: A New Musical (Original Cast Recording)

⁠Apple Music⁠ / ⁠Spotify⁠ / ⁠Amazon Music⁠

—

Operation Mincemeat, Part 1 May 08, 2025

Show notes

Welcome to the first half of our recap of Operation Mincemeat, where we discuss whether this show is "Dead in the Water" or whether it's "Born to Lead"!

Usual spoiler warnings apply

Natasha Hodgson and Jak Malone discuss some of the early stages of the show (including who would play what role) on the Playbill Podcast.

Maybe you were on the email list asking whether or not the show was "too British for Broadway".

Dear Bill has become a new favorite song for many people (some present company excluded), and Jak Malone breaks down what it's like to sing it for an interview with Vulture.

Music featured in this episode:

Operation Mincemeat: A New Musical (Original Cast Recording)

Apple Music / Spotify / Amazon Music

—

Swept Away Apr 20, 2025

Show notes

We're "Nothing Short of Thankful" that we got a chance to see this show during its short run, and we come bearing thoughts on how well it turned out!

As usual, spoilers ahead!

The overall show is primarily based on the Mignonette album by the Avett Brothers (though it brings in quite a few songs from other albums as well). You can also read more here about the event that it was based on.

Remember when Armie Hammer was thought to be a cannibal? Crazy times.

This Rolling Stones article does a great job of explaning the story behind how Swept Away came to be, from conception to its ultimate closing.

If you enjoyed Adrian Blake Enscoe as Little Brother, check out his band Bandits on the Run, who are also currently adapting What's Eating Gilbert Grape into a musical.

Music featured in this episode:

Swept Away (Original Broadway Cast Recording)

Apple Music / Spotify / Amazon Music

Wagon Wheel - Old Crow Medicine Show

—

Maybe Happy Ending Mar 27, 2025

Show notes

Robots that fall in love--is it cute or a sign of our impending doom? Take a listen as we dive into the ups and downs of what it means to have a robot musical right now!

Check out this musical's journey from South Korea to Broadway and how it came to be!

Michael Arden, who directed the show, also did an Ask Me Anything on Reddit that might shed more light onto certain aspects of the show

Those who follow the show closely may be aware that the real diva is HwaBoon, making his Broadway debut...

Music featured in this episode:

Maybe Happy Ending (Original Cast Recording)

Apple Music / Spotify / Amazon Music

—

Sunset Boulevard (2024), Part 2 Mar 05, 2025

Show notes

We're back again to finish out what we started with our coverage on Sunset Boulevard! So take a listen as we dive into a stroll outside, Andrew Lloyd Webber's reuse of melodies, and some Tony chances--is she really the greatest star of all?

Curious about how the now infamous title song works in this production? The New York Times dishes some behind the scenes details. Or you can see a version of it they performed for the Olivier Awards.

Sunset shares a lot of traits with Death Becomes Her (keep an eye out for our episode on that yet to come!), not in the least the inclusion of compact mirrors in their merch.

Never heard of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cricket musical? Take a listen to Tim Rice's podcast where he explains it all.

If you haven't seen Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, you might not get the reference to Swimchan, but it might also contain a couple similarities to Norma Desmond.

Music featured in this episode:

SUNSET BLVD: The Album

⁠Apple Music⁠ / ⁠Spotify⁠ / ⁠Amazon Music⁠

Half a Moment⁠ - Jeeves (1975)

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected