So Much Stuff to Sing – Details, episodes & analysis

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. We look at her career and why it hasn't been quite what it might have been while we talk about "The Writing on the Wall," the finale to The Mystery of Edwin Drood by Rupert Holmes. It's a lot, so buckle in.

All clips are from The Mystery of Edwin Drood (2012 New Broadway Cast Recording) featuring Stephanie J. Block and are protected by the Fair Use guidelines of Section 107 of the Copyright Act for criticism and commentary. All rights reserved to the copyright owners.

Watch the performance on YouTube!

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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. 

All clips are from the 2013 Original Cast Recording of Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812 featuring Dave Malloy as Pierre, Phillipa Soo as Natasha, Gelsey Bell as Princess Mary, Lucas Steele as Anatole, and Manik Choksi as Dolokhov and are protected by the Fair Use guidelines of Section 107 of the Copyright Act for criticism and commentary. All rights reserved to the copyright owners.

Buy/listen to the performance on Amazon!

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Follow SMSTS on Instagram: @somuchstufftosing

Email the show: somuchstufftosing@gmail.com

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 Broadway show: "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?" by Y.E. Harburgh and Jay Gorney. The song, written for a 1932 revue called Americana appropriately enough, quickly became an anthem of the Great Depression and has maintained its status ever since. 

The NPR piece from 2008 mentioned on the episode

The Kennedy Center resource for teachers about this song

All clips are from 2004's Broadway: The American Musical featuring Bing Crosby and are protected by the Fair Use guidelines of Section 107 of the Copyright Act for criticism and commentary. All rights reserved to the copyright owners. (N.B.: Erik adores this documentary and strongly recommends it for anyone who wants to sounds smart about Broadway history.)

Buy/stream the album on Amazon!

Listen to the SMSTS playlist on Spotify!

Follow SMSTS on Instagram: @somuchstufftosing

Email the show: somuchstufftosing@gmail.com

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 featuring Lonny Price as Charley Kringas, Jim Walton as Franklin Shepard, Ann Morrison as Mary Flynn, and Jason Alexander as Joe Josephson and are protected by the Fair Use guidelines of Section 107 of the Copyright Act for criticism and commentary. All rights reserved to the copyright owners.

Buy/stream the album on Amazon!

Listen to the SMSTS playlist on Spotify!

Follow SMSTS on Instagram: @somuchstufftosing

Email the show: somuchstufftosing@gmail.com

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."

All clips are from 2023's Merrily We Roll Along: New Broadway Cast Recording featuring Daniel Radcliffe as Charley Kringas, Jonathan Groff as Franklin Shepard, and Lindsay Mendez as Mary Flynn and are protected by the Fair Use guidelines of Section 107 of the Copyright Act for criticism and commentary. All rights reserved to the copyright owners.

Buy/stream the album on Amazon!

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Follow SMSTS on Instagram: @somuchstufftosing

Email the show: somuchstufftosing@gmail.com

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 pick apart the strands of this masterpiece and discuss Sondheim's favorite of his own songs.

All clips are from 1976's Pacific Overtures featuring Mako as the Reciter, James Dybas as the Old Man, Gedde Watanabe as the Boy, and Mary Hsu Syers as the Warrior and are protected by the Fair Use guidelines of Section 107 of the Copyright Act for criticism and commentary. All rights reserved to the copyright owners.

Watch the original Broadway production of this song!

Watch the Anatomy of a Song special from 1976!

Buy/stream the album on Amazon!

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Email the show: somuchstufftosing@gmail.com

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 1985's Follies in Concert are protected by the Fair Use guidelines of Section 107 of the Copyright Act for criticism and commentary. All rights reserved to the copyright owners.

Note: the DVD does not include all of the songs in full, but is still an fascinating watch.

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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, and self-harm. Listener discretion is advised.

All clips are from the 1990 Original Broadway Cast Recording of Once on This Island featuring LaChanze and are protected by the Fair Use guidelines of Section 107 of the Copyright Act for criticism and commentary. All rights reserved to the copyright owners.

Buy/stream the album on Amazon!

Listen to the SMSTS playlist on Spotify!

Follow SMSTS on Instagram: @somuchstufftosing

Email the show: somuchstufftosing@gmail.com

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 kinks. Also, the original cast album is cuirrently out of print and not widely available for streaming, so, if you're the rights holder, fix that, please.

All clips are from the 1975 Original Broadway Cast Recording of The Wiz featuring Stephanie Mills as Dorothy and are protected by the Fair Use guidelines of Section 107 of the Copyright Act for criticism and commentary. All rights reserved to the copyright owners.

Buy the album on Amazon!

Listen to the SMSTS playlist on Spotify!

Follow SMSTS on Instagram: @somuchstufftosing

Email the show: somuchstufftosing@gmail.com

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 protected by the Fair Use guidelines of Section 107 of the Copyright Act for criticism and commentary. All rights reserved to the copyright owners.

Buy/stream the album on Amazon!

Listen to the SMSTS playlist on Spotify!

Follow SMSTS on Instagram: @somuchstufftosing

Email the show: somuchstufftosing@gmail.com