Another episode, another Elphaba! This time, we're looking at Shoshana Bean, who was an Elphaba early on before leaving Broadway for over a decade and then finally returning to a string of well-received roles, even if she still hasn't found The One. Here she is singing one of the songs that brough her back, "Stars and the Moon" by Jason Robert Brow…

New miniseries time! This time, we're taking a slightly different approach, focusing on a set of linked performers instead of a set of linked songs. Specifically, we're looking at some of the women who've played the original Green Girl, Elphaba from Wicked. First up is Stephanie J. Block who arguably was the original Elphaba, just not on Broadway. …

Once again, we find ourselves back at Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812, the show that we just can't escape, nor would we wish to. This time, we're finishing our miniseries on Second Act Openers with the excellent "Letters," where Dave Malloy crams so much content into only 6 minutes that we're almost left a little speechless. Almost. Al…

What a weird pair of episodes to talk about together, eh? To wrap up (most of) our discussion of series 6, we're delving into "The Girl Who Waited" by Tom McRae and "The Wedding of River Song" by none other than Steven Q. Moffat. On to series 7, eh?!By Erik Stadnik and Kyle Anderson

Newsies! Yes, at long last, we are talking about one of the most beloved musicals ever to starts as a failed Disney movie. With music by Alan Menken and lyrics by Jack Feldman, Newsies could easily have just been a misbegotten offshoot of the Disney Renaissance, but it experienced a rebirth of its own, hitting Broadway in 2012. Join us as we talk a…

Comedy is a subjective thing. Some things you once found funny might not hold up a decade later, especially if the person who wrote them turned out to be a bigot and the primary guest star proving himself to be a twat. Anyway, unrelated, this month we're talking about The Lodger and Closing Time, both written by Gareth Roberts with special guest st…

We're back with another second act opener! This one combines impressive spectacle, plot recap, and a flexible yet catchy tune to ease the audience back into a world of high romance and melodrama. Join us as we discuss "Masquerade" from The Phantom of the Opera and how it does what it does very, very well. All clips are from the 1987 London Cast Alb…

We reach the midpoint of Series 6, with the very weird pair of highly plot-relevant episodes, "A Good Man Goes to War" and "Let's Kill Hitler," both by Steven Moffat. What works, what doesn't, what is pure mess and what is great characterization? River Song, Melody Pond, Mels, and Lorna Bucket...what names! Don't Colonel Runaway too soon.…

As we begin our second hundred episodes, it's only fitting that we turn our attention to second-act openers. These songs often have to return the audience to the world of the show quickly and recast the spell the first act had woven. So, how do you do that? One answer is to give them a song and dance for the ages: this week we talk about "Who's Got…

We conclude our 100th episode spectacular with 5 more songs that make us love the American musical. As a reminder, please email or message us with the 5 songs you would choose so we can make a Spotify playlist to share with everyone! STOP READING to avoid getting spoiled for what's on this episode. All clips are from, in order, Follies: New Broadwa…

Yes, there are now 100 episodes of Shannon in New York City and Erik in Prague discussing the American Musical. To celebrate, we decided to each compile a list of 5 songs that, for us, represent what makes the musical the wonderful art form it is. The musical can do things that nothing else -- no other art form -- can do, and we think these songs i…

This month, Kyle and Erik get contentious surrounding the Matthew Graham two-parter "The Rebel Flesh/The Almost People," which introduced the concept of Gangers into the series six silliness. One of your intrepid hosts thinks it's a very bad story and the other thinks it's pretty okay. Arguments aplenty!…

We come to the conclusion of our miniseries of anthems, and we've saved one of the best for last. We're talking "I Am What I Am" from La Cage aux Folles, with music and lyrics by Jerry Herman, which became an anthem for LGBTQ Pride almost as soon as it was first sung in 1983. All clips are from 2016's Trailblazer Honors events featuring Ginger Minj…

This month, Kyle and Erik discuss the two episodes written by acclaimed novelist/author/showrunner Neil Gaiman. Arguably the biggest guest writer ever to write for the series, Gaiman's stories---"The Doctor's Wife" from series 6 and "Nightmare in Silver" from series 7---have an interesting history, and a diametrically opposed fan reaction at the ti…

From the hard work and determination of show business to the let it all hang out and just be spirirt of the hippie movement, our anthem series continues with "Aquarius" from Hair. Written by James Rado, Gerome Ragni, and Galt MacDermot, "Aquarius" become synonymous with the hippie movement with an assist from The Fifth Dimension. Be prepared for lo…

Anthem number two! This time, we're looking at an anthem for this business we call show: "There's No Business Like Show Business," written by Irving Berling for 1946's Annie Get Your Gun. While that's still a popular show, the song has definitely broken free and is now widely recognized as perhaps the definitive song about the ups and downs of a li…

Can Steven Moffat follow up a tremendous two-part finale, and a brilliant Christmas special, with a satisfying premiere? If you ask Kyle and Erik...sort of? It's time for Series 6, and that's a whole thing.By Erik Stadnik and Kyle Anderson

Time for a new miniseries! This time, we're looking at songs originally from Broadway shows that found a greater life outside of them as anthems. Anthems of movements, times, places, industries -- Broadway has given us many anthems over the years. Arguably one of its earliest is one that everyone knows but may not know that it originated in a Broad…

Truly the culmination of the most ambitious series of Doctor Who yet, Kyle and Erik look at Steven Moffat's tremendous two-part finale, "The Pandorica Opens" and "The Big Bang." Might it be his crowing achievement, even with so many other episodes to love?By Erik Stadnik and Kyle Anderson

Well, it's that time again -- time to say goodbye to Sondheim for another year. But we're going out with a wide-ranging and multi-faceted discussion of all things Merrily We Roll Along centered around one of the only purely happy songs in the show: "It's a Hit." All clips are from 1982's Merrily We Roll Along: Original Broadway Cast Recording featu…

For the first time in over 4 years and 90 episodes (!), we return to Merrily We Roll Along, Sondheim's greatest flop and now one of the biggest hits on Broadway. We'll looking at Merrily for our next two episodes, actually, since it has multiple songs that fit this miniseries quite nicely. First up, we have the Act 1 closing number, "Now You Know."…

We're continuing our miniseries on Sondheim's conversation songs. This episode, we ask a very simple question: can a song simulataneously be about absolutely nothing and abosolutely everything? And we answer it with a resounding, "Yes," -- at least it can if the song is question is "Someone in a Tree" from Pacific Overtures. Join us as we try to pi…

From "Waiting for Life" to "Waiting for the Girls Upstairs" -- it's Sondheim time once again. This year, we're focusing on conversation songs, a sub-genre Sondheim may have himself invented. We begin with the aforementioned octet (!) from 1971's Follies and talk about why this song may be the key to understanding the whole show. All clips are from …

This here is the good stuff! This month Kyle and Erik discuss two series five episodes written by guest writers. "Amy's Choice" by Simon Nye and "Vincent and the Doctor" by Richard Curtis. An actual Oscar nominee writing for Doctor Who! Can you even believe it?!By Erik Stadnik and Kyle Anderson

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…

This month, Erik and Kyle go deep underground, some might even call it Hades itself, to discuss "The Hungry Earth/Cold Blood," the two-part series five story from future showrunner Chris Chibnall. It brings back the Silurians and gives us a remix of Third Doctor story elements before falling on its face trying to do something interesting but failin…

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 k…

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 p…

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... Al…

Happy New Year! This month, Erik and Kyle embark on the first of what they're calling "Getting Whithoused," which is looking at the stories written by Toby Whithouse in the Steven Moffat era. Up first, "The Vampires of Venice" from series 5 and "The God Complex" from series 6.By Erik Stadnik and Kyle Anderson

Hello and happy December, friends. This month, Erik and Kyle are taking a trip to the crash of the Byzantium to discuss what is certainly in the running for best Smith-era Steven Moffat script, "The Time of Angels/Flesh and Stone." The Weeping Angels, River Song, the Crack, it's all here! And no beating around the bush, we pretty much love it.…

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 bot…

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 us…

This month, Erik and Kyle continue the Moffat Years train with his second episode, and indeed the second Eleventh Doctor and Amy episode, "The Beast Below," an episode---to quote Kyle---with a better story than plot.By Erik Stadnik and Kyle Anderson

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 fe…

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 beco…

After a few months of falderal and fiddle-dee-dee, it is finally time for Erik and Kyle to begin the proper journey into the Steven Moffat showrunner era. And boy howdy what a big one to start with. "The Eleveth Hour" may be Moffat's masterpiece, and a taste of things to come. We are EXCITED.By Erik Stadnik and Kyle Anderson