Bottomless Broadway

Latest Episodes:

2023 Tony Predictions Jun 10, 2023

Show notes

As usual for our final episode this season, we’re diving into the Tony Awards! We try to predict all 26 categories, while also giving our picks for what we would choose to award, and we get a chance to discuss plays and revivals which we don’t cover in our regular season episodes. So hit play and we’ll tell you who to watch out for on Sunday night!

Because this is a long episode, there are chapter markers for you to use (assuming your podcast player supports them).

Since the time of recording, a few more sites have come out with their Tony predictions, including Time Out New York and the New York Times survey of Tony voters (turns out they’re able to poll about a fifth of the voters!).

The designer that Cindy was talking about in regards to the & Juliet costumes was Vivienne Westwood, whose style can be seen in this TikTok video.

To get a sense of the infamous “doors” tap number from Some Like It Hot, check out this video, which also shows some of the tech going on behind the scenes.

Sean Hayes is actually a classically trained pianist, and you can check out a sample of him playing Rhapsody in Blue at a Ham4Ham.

Music/audio featured in this episode:

The Ballad of Sweeney Todd from Sweeney Todd
Light from New York, New York
Since U Been Gone from & Juliet
Welcome to Pondicherry Zoo from Life of Pi
Vamp! from Some Like It Hot
Corn (Reprise) from Shucked
This Is Not Over Yet from Parade
Better from Kimberly Akimbo
A scene from Leopoldstadt (featuring Brandon Uranowitz)
It Takes Two from Into the Woods
I'm Fine by Self Esteem for Prima Facie
Camelot from Camelot
This Time from Kimberly Akimbo

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.

A Beautiful Noise, The Neil Diamond Musical Jun 07, 2023

Show notes

Hello Again, as we’re back with our last regular episode of the season, on A Beautiful Noise! But this won’t be a Song Sung Blue, so crack open some Red Red Wine and Play Me, as we talk through the latest entry in the list of bio jukebox musicals.

Despite poor reviews from the critics, this show has been able to do quite well in the grosses, as you can see for yourself.

We both loved the Bohemian Rhapsody movie, written by the same book writer as A Beautiful Noise.

If you’ve managed to never have seen Shrek, this is how Christine was first introduced to I’m a Believer.

Two of our favorite actors in this season’s shows, Robyn Hurder and Clyde Alves, are actually married in real life!

Crunchy Granola Suite was such a revelation that it was also used in the Bob Fosse-choreographed revue Dancin'. And you can compare that to the award-winning choreography by Steven Hoggett, as performed on the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade.

Turns out, the Dodgers leaving Brooklyn really did have a profound impact on Neil Diamond.

Music featured in this episode:

A Beautiful Noise, The Neil Diamond Musical (Original Broadway Cast Recording)

Apple Music / Spotify / Amazon Music

—

Shucked Jun 01, 2023

Show notes

This week, our episode features a show with a mix of corn puns bouncing off the Walls. Maybe Love is what you'll feel about that, or maybe you'll think it's just Bad, but it's OK because if you don't like it, Somebody Will. Some come join these two Friends as we talk through Shucked!

Shucked has had a bit of a winding road to Broadway, but you can read all about it here. Additionally, they've taken a bit of a different approach to marketing and sales, as described by producer Mike Bosner in Deadline. Most notable in their ads were the fake pull quotes, like this one.

If you're not sure what Cindy's referring to regarding (now-)King Charles and architecture, here's A Brief History of King Charles’s Vendetta Against Modern Architecture.

Maizy's arrival in Tampa seems to be reminiscent of another girl's arrival in a new town. Which is funny because that girl also had a corn-related song.

You can watch the choreography for Best Man Wins from the performance on the Today Show.

Never watched an episode of Hee Haw? This Youtube channel is on a mission to make sure they're all within reach.

Music featured in this episode:

Shucked (Original Broadway Cast Recording)

Apple Music / Spotify / Amazon Music

—

New York, New York May 18, 2023

Show notes

If you're One of the Smart Ones, you might know that Music, Money, Love are the three things you need for Happy Endings, or so New York, New York the musical tries to tell us. So join us in this episode as we shed some Light on the show and its multitude of characters that try to make it here!

Cindy had the chance to attend the BCEFA Easter Bonnet Competition this year, and you can check out some highlights (including the Bad Cinderella bonnet that she mentions).

If you've followed along with the Hamildrops, you might recognize one of the songs in this show.

One of the highlights of the show was a construction site dance number, that resolves to look like a familiar picture in the end.

If you've never been to the Whispering Gallery at Grand Central, you can try it out for yourself.

This score contains 13 songs of pre-existing material, as nicely outlined by Playbill (it was ultimately determined not eligible for a score Tony).

Since the cast album hasn't come out yet, the music used in this episode were sourced from promotional materials put out by the show, as well as recordings of the existing songs:

Cheering for Me Now (Colton Ryan and OBC)
I'm One of the Smart Ones (Liza Minnelli)
Gold (Lin-Manuel Miranda)
Wine and Peaches (John Reardon)
I Love Music (John Kander and Fred Ebb)
My Own Music (OBC)
A Simple Thing Like That (John Kander and Fred Ebb)
Can You Hear Me (Lin-Manuel Miranda and Colton Ryan)
Marry Me (Jason Alexander)
Sorry I Asked (Liza Minnelli)
Music, Money, Love (Colton Ryan)
New York, New York (Anna Uzele)
But the World Goes 'Round (Anna Uzele)

Or, if you want an Apple Music playlist of the songs on streaming, you can listen to that here.

—

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.

KPOP May 03, 2023

Show notes

This week, we Bow Down to KPOP. While it was far from Perfect, it’s definitely not a Waste of Time, so join us as we discuss which parts make it a Super Star in our eyes! (And our apologies to all Korean speakers out there for our failure to pronounce the Korean titles.)

We recorded this episode pre-Tony nominations, so a huge congratulations to everyone involved for their 3 nominations in Score, Choreography, and Costumes!

Listen to the original version of Blast Off, interspersed with news reports about the North Korean rockets.

For a detailed account of the original off-Broadway version, check out the review from Lighting & Sound America.

On Broadway, KPOP had a notoriously short run, which prompted this postmortem from the LA Times, discussing what the reason could've been. Or for another article charting the lifespan of the show, check out this one from American Theatre.

The last Broadway show to contain a significant amount of non-English text was probably the 2009 revival of West Side Story, where some of the songs were translated into Spanish.

And take a look at Helen Park's SoundCloud for demos, earlier versions (with the off-Broadway cast), and cut songs!

Music featured in this episode:

From the Original Broadway Cast of KPOP

Apple Music / Spotify / Amazon Music

As of time of posting, only 5 songs from the Broadway production have officially been released on streaming (This is My Korea, Bow Down, Perfect, Amerika, and Super Star). The other music clips in this episode are linked below:

Gin and Tonic (OBC)
Han Guk Nom (Korean Man) [OBC]
Still I Love You (Helen Park)
Wind Up Doll (Ashley Park)
Bung Uh Ree Sae (Mute Bird) [Helen Park]
Kpopsicle (Max Vernon)
Blast Off (OBC)
Phoenix (OBC)

—

Some Like It Hot Apr 19, 2023

Show notes

With the weather in NYC warming up, some like it hot and hot is what we've got for you, with this episode talking about the new stage musical of Some Like It Hot! So what are you thirsty for? Grab a drink and join us as we try to vamp our way through some of the finer details of the plot.

The ending to the original Marilyn Monroe movie is quite iconic and fairly different from this musical. Let us know if you've seen both and which one you prefer!

Read about how Let's Be Bad ended up in the musical, and now that Smash has more concrete plans to come to Broadway, how do you think this song will be used?

If you're not familiar with Adrianna Hicks, check out her performance as Catherine of Aragon in Six.

Another episode, another round of us talking about New York Times critic Jesse Green and his review for this show, but read it for yourself and see if you agree!

Music featured in this episode:

Some Like It Hot (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.

Bad Cinderella Apr 05, 2023

Show notes

It hasn’t been so long since the newest iteration of Cinderella started playing on Broadway, and we’re here to bring our thoughts on this reimagining where Beauty Is Our Duty, but also Beauty Has a Price. Were the critics unfair to the show? Let us know your thoughts!

Christine was a bit congested when recording this episode, so apologies for the dip in quality!

How intoxicated are you allowed to be while watching Bad Cinderella, in comparison to other social events? This TikTok has all the answers.

Apparently, the Hot Nuts song is a thing.

If you want to hear Andrew Lloyd Webber’s origin story as told by Tim Rice, check out his podcast (also, can anyone tell us what Get Onto My Cloud even means??)

Lyricist David Zippel is fairly accomplished in other theater projects, notably the recent stage adaptation of Disney’s Hercules which includes a new song, To Be Human

As expected, Jesse Green of the New York Times did indeed hate this show. But the reviews weren't all bad...

Music featured in this episode:

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Cinderella” (Original Album Cast Recording)

Apple Music / Spotify / Amazon Music

Bad Cinderella - Linedy Genao

Apple Music / Spotify / Amazon Music

I Know I Have A Heart (Because You Broke It) - Linedy Genao

Apple Music / Spotify / Amazon Music

Hot Nuts (Get Em from the Peanut Man) - Georgia White

In My Own Little Corner - Julie Andrews

Some Enchanted Evening - Paulo Szot

—

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.

& Juliet Mar 22, 2023

Show notes

Since U Been Gone, there’s a new jukebox musical on Broadway, and one that we think is Stronger than many of the others. So if you need to Break Free from whatever else you’re doing right now, come take a listen to our episode on & Juliet! -- Want to know more about how David West Read put together the show? Check out this interview with BroadwayWorld! Cindy thought the trailer for The Banshees of Inisherin was hilarious, see if you agree. In a season with multiple non-binary performers on Broadway, Justin David Sullivan chose to opt out of Tony consideration due to gendered categories not being inclusive. Hear from costume designer Paloma Young discuss a couple of the costumes from the show. See some of the choreography for yourself in this (slighty modified) ⁠performance of Problem/Can't Feel My Face.⁠ Jesse Green of the New York Times had the most reluctant positive review we’ve ever seen (gift link) Something Rotten had a great social media campaign after losing the Tony for Best Musical. -- Music featured in this episode: & Juliet (Original Broadway Cast Recording) Apple Music / Spotify / Amazon Music Will Power (from Something Rotten) Apple Music / Spotify / Amazon Music Fifteen (from Fearless (Taylor's Version)) ⁠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.

Kimberly Akimbo Mar 08, 2023

Show notes

"This Time" it's the start of a new season so we take a Great Adventure to Kimberly Akimbo, one of the current frontrunners of this year's Tonys! Just watch out for the "Inevitable Turn" into spoiler territory (though it'll be mentioned in the episode), and you can join us back at 1:10:43 if you'd like to tune in for Tony talk and final thoughts.

Hear from David Lindsay-Abaire about how Kimberly Akimbo came to be, both as a play and as a musical: https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Interview-How-Playwright-David-Lindsay-Abaire-Gave-KIMBERLY-AKIMBO-A-Musical-Makeover-20230203

A fantastic song in its own right, Better seems to come from a similar vein as Face Your Fears from Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.

If you’re concerned about check washing, here are some preventative measures: https://www.smartcapitalmind.com/what-is-check-washing.htm

If you haven’t seen the new Puss in Boots movie, Seth in this show is essentially the dog in human form: https://youtu.be/UWAw5NYIYjQ

Music featured in this episode:

Kimberly Akimbo (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.

2022 Tony Predictions Jun 11, 2022

Show notes

We've made it back around to the Tonys again and we're here to give you both our choices and our predictions! So follow along with your ballot and see how much our picks align with yours, or come back after June 12 to see just how wrong we were!

We also have mini reviews for Girl from the North Country and Paradise Square as we didn't cover them in the regular season, so there might be minor spoilers ahead.

MJ sound designer Gareth Owen really succeeded in creating a rock concert, using some new technology on Broadway. And speaking of sound design, take a look back at when mics first graced the Broadway stage.

Watch two Anne Boleyns of Six in conversation from either sides of the Atlantic.

Hear about designing Hangmen's set from Anna Fleische and check out design elements from The Skin of Our Teeth, including a dinosaur and a giant slide. (Errata: Christine mentioned Act 2 as being based on Coney Island, when it actually should've been Atlantic City.)

Listen to Sam Mendes talk about what it was like to take on The Lehman Trilogy (conversation about this specifically starts around 25:00).

Check out our previous episodes for more coverage on this season's musicals!

Music featured in this episode:

We're Live - Mr. Saturday Night
Like a Rolling Stone - Girl From the North Country
Paradise Square - Paradise Square
Beat It - MJ the Musical
Pretty, Pretty Girl - Diana
I Don't Need Your Love (Remix) - Six
Getting Married Today - Company
How? - Flying Over Sunset
Boundaries - A Strange Loop
The Ladies Who Lunch - Company

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected