Chasing Phantom – Details, episodes & analysis

Happy April Fool's Day! Sure, "The Music Man" included some incredible songs, featured one of the most career-defining performances in Broadway history, and captured a unique clash of squeaky-clean Midwestern living with the machinations of a cynical con-man. But it also has what I would call the only April Fool's style prank at the core of its plot: Prof. Howard Hill's "Think Method" leading a whole town to believe they could simply think their way into musical proficiency.

When it comes to proficiency in musical history, there are few people I'd rather talk to than "Dr. Broadway," Kristin Stultz Pressley, Ph.D., who is literally writing the book on Golden Age musicals. "The Music Man" is arguably the shiniest of those celebrated stalwarts as it's been produced on stages from elementary schools to colleges, by regional and community theater companies around the country for decades. 

If you've been involved in theater in any way, you've seen, worked on or been in "The Music Man."

I'm sure you'll love this in-depth conversation thanks to Dr. Broadway's extensive knowledge and lively way of translating history into digestible info. Speaking of info, please check out my website, ChasingPhantom.net, for more of that stuff, plus a bunch of relevant video clips.

Who could have known that this near-forgotten play from the 1940s would be so relevant in the 2020s?

The title is from the Bible, a verse in the Song of Solomon that actually references a turtledove, not the shelled amphibian: "The time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land." Playwright John Van Druten of "I Am A Camera" fame, turned it into a Broadway comedy that was one of the few shows opening during World War II that captured and reflected life during wartime.

"The Voice of the Turtle" may have become infamous for the movie version that starred Ronald Reagan and sanitized its themes around sexual autonomy. But this story about a single actress who doesn't want to fall in love is actually a relatively ground-breaking play. My guest, as is often the case when obscure plays are featured, is Jordan Schildcrout, Ph.D., author of "In the Long Run: A Cultural History of Broadway's Hit Plays," and we go pretty deep in this discussion, one of the geekiest and therefore, fun for me, conversations I've had in a long time!

Our chat includes short digressions like a review of the life of Virginia-born Margaret Sullavan (who some may know thanks to the TV movie "Haywire" written by her daughter), the surprising amount of attention given the cast having only 3 people, and the key symbolic role of the show's set. Enjoy!

And please check out my website, ChasingPhantom.net, for more info, video clips, and access to previous episodes.

In approaching "Oh! Calcutta!" today, it's hard not to react with a "What! Really?!?" This is a show, that between the original production and its revival, had more than 7,200 performances on Broadway. Really?

Full of nudity and bawdy - but also mostly bad - comedy, the popularity of this show is truly dumbfounding. And when dealing with something I have trouble understanding, I often turn to my very wise friend, Dr. Jesse Rabinowitz, for insight and a reality check.

Dr. J provides that and more in this very fun episode explicating a very odd show.

And after listening to it, you'll want to visit my website, ChasingPhantom.net, where I've added a new section with more info on some of my podcast guests that includes a *special offer* from author and historian Jordan Schildcrout. Check it out!

Happy Halloween! We have the perfect show to dig into for spooky season - mostly because it's downright scary how bad this musical is! 

Frank Wildhorn's "Jekyll & Hyde" is a musical that, if there was a just theater god, would be forever relegated to the dustbin of Broadway history. There are many musicals I don't like but this is one I actively despise, partially for its innate flaws but also for its utter failure to achieve anything close to what it was aspiring for.

Despite this - or maybe because of it - this podcast episode is delightful! It gave me the opportunity to catch up with classic literature maven and host of the podcast "Didn't Read It," Grace Todd, to get extremely snarky about all that is wrong with "J&H." We touch on everything from its complete abnegation of the original story to the lackluster and lazy staging of the Broadway production. And even after more than 30 minutes of criticism, we really only scratched the surface.

By all means, please just listen to this episode and DON'T, for the love of god, spend any of your precious time watching this musical or listening to its music. You'll only encourage the man behind it, the notorious Frank Wildhorn, to do more violence to the good name of musical theater. If you do have time to spare, check out the podcast Grace and I did together called "Convince Me I Care." It's a lot more fun than Jekyll or Hyde!

And of course as always, head to ChasingPhantom.net for more information about this show and others I've covered in the past, as well as video clips related to each production. And check back in 2 weeks for more of the best of BOO-roadway!

It's one of the most famous and beloved titles in musical theater. Because of its iconic mismatched lovers storyline and nostalgia evocation of the 1950s, "Grease" has been performed in high schools, colleges and regional theaters across the country for decades. The movie version with Travolta and Newton-John was the highest grossing movie musical of all time when it came out.

With all of that history, there seems like maybe not much else could be said about "Grease" but, thanks to my awesome guest, Patti D'Beck, we find plenty to say about it. Before she was an award-winning director and producer for regional theater, Patti was the assistant choreographer for this revival revival, working closely with Broadway legend, Jeff Calhoun. Even though it ran a long time, the revival had less than half the performances of the original production and, some might argue, it's longevity was goosed by the ongoing parade of stars used as replacements in the cast.

Patti and I delve into all of that, including her unique perspective on stars and their different learning styles. Because of her long and varied career, we also can't avoid a quick detour down a tangent about "A Chorus Line." It's a great episode thanks to Patti, clips of the banging tunes from the show don't hurt!

You'll definitely want to check out the clips to appreciate the "over-the-top" aspects of this production. Go to ChasingPhantom.net for those and see what Patti and her husband, David Leong, are up to at GoldenAges.net.

"School of Rock" opened on Broadway just a few years after "Billy Elliot" closed but, even though the shows have some surface-level similarities, it's hard to think of two more different stories. The earlier show was a rough-and-tumble look at a working class young boy's potential escape from his impoverished life; the latter was about adults who act like children and very posh adolescents learning to shed some of their rich-kid stuffiness.

Both shows were handicapped in their long runs because of their reliance on young actors who are wont to age-out of plum roles relatively quickly, as I talk about with my guest Brian Baez.

Brian has an extensive career as a performer but his vocation over the past decade or so has been in the realm of casting. He has worked casting talent for cruise ships for many years and recently opened his own business in the Netherlands that expands that core mission into different creative directions.

Brian and I talk quite a bit about working in "non-traditional venues" like cruise ships and theme parks. His work related to "School of Rock" was at a theme park during the time when the show was being developed from its movie incarnation to the stage version. He has plenty of fun anecdotes from that time and he provides some interesting background on what's involved in that fascinating corner of the live performance world.

Check out my website at ChasingPhantom.net for more information and be sure and follow Baez Theatrical on Instagram to keep up with what Brian is up to!

Fifteen years ago, "Billy Elliot: The Musical" was all the rage on Broadway. It was a show where hot button social issues -- from labor relations to social mobility to questions about gender expression -- mixed with a searing family drama, plus there was a LOT of really great dancing. Tack on a score co-composed by Elton John and there was little doubt this was going to be a hit.

What's curious is that this story seemed to fade from view in the subsequent years, even though ALL of the social issues continue to be compelling components in the current zeitgeist. As I discuss with the fight director for the Broadway production, David Leong, the ongoing challenge of finding young actors who could portray such a demanding role eventually proved too much for the show and continues to hamper efforts to stage the show.

Not to denigrate fight directors AT ALL but it's worth noting that David Leong is SO MUCH more than a fight director. As chair of the theater department at Virginia Commonwealth University, he helped raise the standards and the overall quality of the program to a nationally recognized level of excellence. He is also a savvy entrepreneur who has leveraged his ongoing involvement in the performing arts into several different companies.

This episode spotlights a lesser known job among those needed to make a Broadway production work, a theme that will continue is several of the next episodes.

Be sure and check out my website at ChasingPhantom.net for more information and video clips related to this show, including the full pro-shot of the London production. For more information on the company David Leong and Patti D'Beck started, check out GoldenAges.net.

Welcome to season 3 of "Chasing Phantom!" If this episode is any indication, it's going to be the best season yet. 

At a time when debate about Billy Joel, his music and his legacy, has enjoyed a surge of attention thanks to the HBO documentary, "And So It Goes," that debuted this past summer, I welcome Tony Award nominee and Astaire Award-winning dancer Elizabeth Parkinson to the podcast for a deep dive on the dance-musical "Movin' Out," developed by modern dance genius Twyla Tharp. Our conversation not only covers all sorts of insider information on the development of that show, but also ranges into topics like managing life as an artist, the challenges dancers in particular face, and why being on Broadway doesn't always define success.

This season is going to start out with several people who have been involved in Broadway and Broadway-adjacent productions but maybe not in the ways that first come to mind. As always in this ongoing "Chasing Phantom" adventure, I learn a lot along the way and I hope you will too!

Now is a good time to like, rate, subscribe and do all of those other great podcast-supporting things as we barrel headfirst into a new, exciting season. As always, please reach out to me at davidhintztimberline@gmail.com with questions, comments or recommendations.

And of course, be sure and check my website at ChasingPhantom.net for video clips and more information related to this production. You'll be glad you did, for this show in particular: there is a video on YouTube of an entire "Movin' Out" performance. It's not professionally shot but it gives a great sense of what the show was like. You can find links to it and other interesting videos on my site.

Hey there, Phantom Chasers! I've been a lax podcaster during the languid summer months but I'm prepping some very cool, very fun episodes for September. In the meantime, this is a conversation with my friend Grace Todd, whose podcast "Didn't Read It" is a must-listen for those who love classic literature...and erudite, playful and thoughtful conversation.

Grace was kind enough to invite me on her pod to talk about one of my favorite plays that has also gained critical cred as literature, "Waiting for Godot." We dive deep into Samuel Beckett's classic...and share a lot of laughs along the way.

Grace and I collaborated on a ground-breaking podcast called "Convince Me I Care," but not very many people seemed to care about it at the time. If you are looking for additional distractions during the summer, I'd suggest checking it out.

See you in two weeks with the premiere of Season 3 of "Chasing Phantom!"

Phil Crosby and I had such a good time talking about "Funny Girl" that we rambled on for another 15 minutes or so answering questions posed by our live audience at Richmond Triangle Players. You get some more background on Barbra (of course), Phil demonstrating his forecasting prowess in talking about the Tony Awards and a final slice of a story from Pat Vastano about her real-life experience at "Funny Girl."

More bonus material next week before season 3 starts up on Sept. 3rd! In the meantime, please peruse the back catalogue of episodes at ChasingPhantom.net and, as always, reach out to me at davidhintztimberline@gmail.com with comments, complaints or cries of outrage!