The Original Cast

Saviez-vous qu’il existe de très nombreuses adaptations du roman de Gaston Leroux, Le Fantôme de l’opéra? Eh bien, il y en a. Et nous discutons de certains d'entre eux. (Toutes mes excuses à tous les auditeurs francophones.)

Kevin is the author of Big Deal: Bob Fosse and Dance in the American Musical (now in paperback!) and is here for the first "Fosse" musical.

Patrick's children have a very important message for you. http://bit.ly/originalcaststore

Did you know there were musicals based on comics (besides Spider-Man: Turn of the Dark)? Well, we explore them and their impact in this wonderful live show from Flying V Theatre's Awesome-a-Thon Vol. 3 24-hour fundraiser.

Have you seen Love Letters? You should see Love Letters. It's a play. And a perfectly cromulent one.

Tony-nominated actor (Starmites) and director (Amazing Grace, Lippa's The Wild Party) Gabriel Barre is our first guest to be in the original Broadway cast of the show we're discussing, and you will soon see why. Rags famously ran for 4 performances on Broadway but nevertheless was nominated for 5 Tony awards and has survived through the years due to staunch advocation by its devoted fans and creators.

Courtney worked with Susan Stroman. So we talk about Susan Stroman. A lot! With that good Courtney/Patrick energy!

Composer/lyricist Adam Gwon is here for a western adaptation of Wagner's The Ring Cycle and to talk about his new musical Scotland, PA which is based on an early-aughts indy film that adapts Shakespeare's Macbeth into a story about competing burger joints in 1970's rural Pennsylvania. What a sentence!

Did I ever tell you about the time I co-produced a production of Grease! and it turned out we didn't have the rights?

DC Metro Theater Arts editor and publisher Nicole Hertvick is here for an emo telling of the 7th President of the United State's rise to power that fully commits to its premise.

Doug and I do a lot of great musical theatre back-and-forth but really you just need to read this line from Dorothy Rodgers (wife to Richard, mother to Mary) New York Times obituary: "Mrs. Rodgers founded Repairs Inc., an agency that hired craftsmen to repair broken objects, in 1935 and was its head until 1941. In 1945 she patented the Jonny Mop, which was sold by Johnson & Johnson. It was one of several inventions. In 1958 she created the Basically Yours dress pattern for McCall's, and in 1972 she patented

**TRIGGER WARNING** The episode contains frank discussions of sexual assault and stalker behavior. Caroline Dubberly is here for a show about the dichotomy of existence, the destructiveness of revenge, the cycle of abuse, and the power of self-love.

Doubling up on Al Silber with portions of last week's interview that were edited for time. This episode will also dovetail nicely into next week's episode on Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Synergy!

Actor and author Alexandra Silber is currently appearing as Fraulein Sally Bowles in Olney Theatre Center's production of Cabaret. But she's here this week to talk about this beautiful Lucy Simon/Marsha Norman musical and so much more. Really, we get deep.__Topics include: living with grief, communing with nature, and the glory of Rebecca Luker.

How can you have a family and do theatre and be a good parent and not feel guilty? . . . You probably can't.