BROADWAY NATION

Latest Episodes:

Episode 146: Julian Eltinge — America's First Drag Superstar, part 1 Jul 11, 2024

Show notes

My guest on this episode is Andrew L. Erdman, who is the author of the new book: Beautiful — The Story of Julian Eltinge, America's Greatest Female Impersonator.

In the late 19th and early 20th Century — long before the fierce television Drag stars of today — a specific style of drag performance known as Female Impersonation was wildly popular on stage and screen — in America and around the world.

And no female impersonator was more famous, successful, or highly regarded than Julian Eltinge.

Although barely remembered today, in his time, Eltinge was on a par with Al Jolson, Eddie Cantor, and Fanny Brice, and was so popular and renowned that he even had a Broadway theater named after him! That theater still exists, and you can still go there and see Julian Eltinge — but you will have to listen to the episode(s) to find out where and how.

Author Andrew Erdman has immersed himself in this remarkable era of show biz history; his previous book was the equally fascinating Queen of Vaudeville: The Story of Eva Tanquay

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Special Encore Episode: SONDHEIM AND ME Jun 27, 2024

Show notes

This special encore episode of Broadway Nation was first released in the fall of 2022.

My guest is PAUL SALSINI, who many listeners will remember as the founder and original editor of The Sondheim Review, the first and only quarterly magazine ever devoted to a living musical theater composer.

Paul passed away earlier this month, at the age of 88, so I thought this was a very appropriate time to revisit this fascinating conversation.

Paul launched the magazine in 1994, and over the following ten years, Paul exchanged notes, letters, faxes and phone calls with Stephen Sondheim — who it was clear was reading every word of every issue of the magazine — and Sondheim often had corrections and comments, or as he called them, “emendations.” On a few occasions these notes and phone calls included “vigorous objections” to what Paul had included the magazine, but overall Sondheim was wonderfully supportive and helpful.

In his book SONDHEIM AND ME, Paul chronicles his unlikely relationship with Sondheim during an eventful period that included the New York premieres of Passion and Saturday Night, the Kennedy Center’s Sondheim Celebration, Broadway revivals of six of Sondheim’s major works, and the decade long development of the musical that would eventually be called Road Show.

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Episode 145: "Still Goin' Strong" — 60 Years of HELLO DOLLY! Jun 20, 2024

Show notes

My guest this week is award-winning entertainer Richard Skipper, who joins me to talk about his new show, Still Going Strong—A Celebration of 60 Years of Hello Dolly!, which he will be bringing to various venues on several continents over the next few months, starting with Crazy Coqs in London on August 5th.

As you will hear, it was Richard’s friendship with Carol Channing that inspired him to begin chronicling the history of Hello Dolly!, and over the past fifteen years, Richard Skipper has interviewed more than 1,000 participants of various productions of the show. That this discussion follows on the heels of the Bette Midler series of podcasts is a happy quirk of serendipity!

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Episode 144: One More For The Road — The Theater of Bette Midler, part 3 Jun 13, 2024

Show notes

Today I am excited to share with you the third and final segment of my conversation with author Kevin Winkler regarding his new book, On Bette Midler: An Opinionated Guide.

In this engaging book, Kevin focuses on all aspects of Bette Midler’s career — on stage, recordings, film, and television. But in this conversation, again we focus primarily on her work as a theater artist. If you missed the other two episodes in this series, you may want to listen to those before jumping into this one.

For more than twenty years, Kevin was a curator, archivist, and administrator at the New York Public Library, and prior to that, he was a professional dancer on Broadway. His previous books include the award-winning Big Deal: Bob Fosse and Dance in the American Musical, and Everything is Choreography: The Musical Theatre of Tommy Tune.

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Episode 143: Bette On The Half Shell: The Theatre of Bette Midler, part 2 Jun 06, 2024

Show notes

On today’s episode author Kevin Winkler returns for the second part of our discussion of his fascinating new book, On Bette Midler — An Opinionated Guide.

If you missed part one of this conversation, you may want to catch up with that before listening to this one.

In that episode, Kevin and I touched on Bette’s childhood, explored her early years in the off-off-Broadway experimental and very campy Gay theater scene, detailed her unusual rise to at least demi-stardom at the Continental Baths, her debut on Broadway in Fiddler On The Roof, and her Tony Award wining concert at the Palace Theater which set the stage for the first of what Kevin calls her Broadway musicals of her own devising: Bette Midler’s Clams On The Halfshell Revue, conceived and staged by Broadway director/choreographer Joe Layton, and the shows that followed.

For more than twenty years Kevin Winkler was a curator, archivist, and administrator at the New York Public Library, and prior to that, he was a professional dancer. His previous books include the award-winning Big Deal: Bob Fosse and Dance in the American Musical in 2018, and Everything is Choreography: The Musical Theatre of Tommy Tune. Kevin and I discussed that terrific book on several episodes of Broadway Nation back at the beginning of 2022.

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Episode 142: The Theater of Bette Midler May 27, 2024

Show notes

This week I am excited to welcome author Kevin Winkler back to Broadway Nation to discuss his new book, On Bette Midler: An Opinionated Guide.

This engaging book is a critical analysis of every aspect of Bette Midler’s career on stage, recordings, film, and television, but in this conversation, we focus primarily on her work as a theater artist. To date, Midler’s long career has been bookended by her appearances in two classic Broadway musicals, Fiddler On The Roof and Hello, Dolly! In between, she invented her distinctive brand of musical theater—“musicals of her own devising,” as Kevin calls them.

For more than twenty years Kevin Winkler was a curator, archivist, and administrator at the New York Public Library, and prior to that, he was a professional dancer. His previous books include the award-winning Big Deal: Bob Fosse and Dance in the American Musical in 2018, and Everything is Choreography: The Musical Theatre of Tommy Tune. Kevin and I discussed that terrific book on several episodes of Broadway Nation back at the beginning of 2022.

Become a PATRON of Broadway Nation!

This podcast is made possible in part by the generous support of our Patron Club Members, including long time member, ANNE WELSH.

If you would like to support the work of Broadway Nation and receive these exclusive member benefits, please just click on this link:

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Encore Episode: Everything Sondheim: Inside The Creation of the Stephen Sondheim Encyclopedia May 20, 2024

Show notes

In this Encore Episode from 2021, author Rick Pender takes us inside the creation of The Stephen Sondheim Encyclopedia.

Rick Pender is a longtime member and former chair of the American Theater Critics Association. He first began reviewing theater in 1985 for a public radio station he managed at Northern Kentucky University. He later became the theater critic for CityBeat – Cincinnati’s alternative weekly newspaper -- and eventually became its arts and culture editor. He also often contributed articles to The Sondheim Review, a quarterly magazine that I know many of you remember fondly, and for 12 years, from 2004 to 2016, he served as its managing editor. His latest venture, The Stephen Sondheim Encyclopedia, is a 638 page overview of anything and everything related to Sondheim’s work, life and career.

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Episode 141: Exceptional Storytelling Is Possible May 13, 2024

Show notes

My guest again this week is author BEN WEST who returns for the fourth and final segment of our conversation in regard to his exceptional new book The American Musical – Evolution of an Art Form.

As you will hear, in today’s episode, we move into what I call the Modern Era of Broadway from the 1970s right up to today and detail the major changes in the way musicals are made over the last 50 years. Our discussion touches on such shows as Hair, Your Own Thing, Rent, The Wiz, Jelly’s Last Jam, Hamilton, The Band’s Visit, and more!

If you missed the previous episodes in this series you may want to go back and catch on that before listening to this one.

Ben West is a musical theatre artist and historian who created the extensive “Timeline Wall” exhibits for the Museum of Broadway that trace the history of the Broadway stage from 1732 to 2021, spotlighting more than 500 productions and 100 artists. He has worked in various capacities on Broadway, Off-Broadway, and regionally and created and directed Unsung Carolyn Leigh for Lincoln Center’s American Songbook series. He has lectured and spoken at Yale University, University of Michigan, the Dramatists Guild, and the Shubert Organization.

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Episode 140: The "Rigorous Creative Science" of the American Musical May 06, 2024

Show notes

This is the third segment of my conversation with author BEN WEST, regarding his new book:

THE AMERICAN MUSICAL — EVOLUTION OF AN ART FORM.

As you will hear this book is a comprehensive history of the American Musical from its origins in the 19th Century right up to the turn to the 21st Century. Along the way Ben West sheds new light on a myriad of shows, authors, directors, and performers including a host of often-overlooked women and African-American artists.

If you missed the previous episodes in this series you may want to go back and catch on that before listening to this one.

Ben West is a musical theatre artist and historian who created the extensive “Timeline Wall” exhibits for the Museum of Broadway that trace the history of the Broadway stage from 1732 to 2021 and spotlight more than 500 productions and 100 artists. He has worked in various capacities on Broadway, Off-Broadway, and regionally, and created and directed Unsung Carolyn Leigh for Lincoln Center’s American Songbook series. West has lectured and spoken at several institutions including Yale University, University of Michigan, the Dramatists Guild, and the Shubert Organization. He is a recipient of Lincoln Center’s Martin E. Segal Award.

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Episode 139: Birth Of An Art Form — Evolution of the American Musical, part 2. Apr 29, 2024

Show notes

Today’s episode is the second part of my recent conversation with author BEN WEST, regarding his his exceptionally comprehensive new book: THE AMERICAN MUSICAL — EVOLUTION OF AN ART FORM.

This book traces the American Musical’s creative journey from its 19th Century beginnings through its 20th Century maturation, and on to the turn of the 21st century. Along the way, Ben West sheds new light on a myriad of shows, authors, directors, and performers including a host of often-overlooked women and African-American artists.

If you missed the first episode in this series you may want to go back and catch on that before listening to this one.

As our previous episode ended Ben and I were discussing the revue form, especially the annual revues such as the Ziegfeld Follies and Earl Carroll’s Vanities. Today we pick up conversation with some of the other forms of musical theater that Ben explores in Part Two of his book, a section that he titles Birth Of An Art Form.

Ben West is a musical theatre artist and historian who created the extensive “Timeline Wall” exhibits for the Museum of Broadway that trace the history of the Broadway stage from 1732 to 2021 and spotlight more than 500 productions and 100 artists. He has worked in various capacities on Broadway, Off-Broadway, and regionally, and created and directed Unsung Carolyn Leigh for Lincoln Center’s American Songbook series. West has lectured and spoken at several institutions including Yale University, University of Michigan, the Dramatists Guild, and the Shubert Organization. He is a recipient of Lincoln Center’s Martin E. Segal Award.

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