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This week, we come to you to present a double feature in an attempt to get through as many of the new Broadway musicals this season as we can before the Tonys. So join us as we go "Back in Time" to a show that opened last summer and then take it "Easy" with a show that just opened last week!

Note: spoilers present throughout for both shows, along with discussion and spoilers for corresponding movies

(00:00) Introduction

(02:19) Back to the Future

(22:31) Water for Elephants

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Despite Back to the Future winning the Olivier Award for Best Musical when it was in the West End, it ended up receiving lukewarm notices on Broadway.

While we weren't impressed by many of the songs, it was still interesting to read through the song-by-song breakdown of the cast album (particularly that nugget of information about Jamie Lloyd being the original director).

Cindy's impressions of circus-related stories hasn't been great, starting with the song in Matilda the Musical and peaking with Guillermo del Toro's Nightmare Alley.

Some examples of the acrobatics in the show can be seen in the New York Times feature, as well as in their Good Morning America performance.

If you ever wanted to know about running away to join the circus, Reddit has some answers for you.

While this episode was recorded during late previews of Water for Elephants, reviews have since come out. Christine was shocked at Jesse Green's critic's pick and agreed much more with Sara Holdren's review on Vulture.

While there's no cast album released yet, you can get a taste of more songs from the sitzprobe, part 1 and part 2.

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Music featured in this episode:

Back to the Future: The Musical

Apple Music / Spotify / Amazon Music

Water for Elephants:

Easy

The Lion Has Got No Teeth

Wild

The Road Don't Make You Young

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Are You Blue that Days of Wine and Roses is now closing early?  Well you now have until March 31 to catch this show on Broadway, but if you don’t get a chance to, we have you covered with our recap of what happens in the show and our thoughts on its very unique score!

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Sutton Foster's episode of Say Yes to the Dress is one that has come up recently in our feeds, so check it out if you haven't seen it!

John McWhorter of the New York Times wrote a piece on the lasting impact "Forgiveness" had on him when he first heard the song, despite its unusual structure.

Hear Kelli O'Hara and Brian d'Arcy James talk about the show and how it came to be on Variety's Stagecraft podcast.

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Music featured in this episode:

Days of Wine and Roses (Original Cast Recording)

Apple Music / Spotify / Amazon Music

This Is Our Time...to tell you about Harmony, and while the show has already closed on Broadway, you can listen to us tell you all about it if you take this podcast with you Where You Go!

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Have you heard of Damp January? The New York Times seems to think it's a worthy trend.

Take a look at some of the history behind the real Comedian Harmonists, and there's now a podcast that goes through their history as well!

Check out some clips from the earlier production of Harmony in LA that Christine got to see, featuring a very different direction than the version that made it to Broadway.

It's interesting to see how New York Times gave Harmony a critic's pick in the off-Broadway iteration, while the Broadway production received a generally negative review from the same publication (though a different critic).

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Music featured in this episode:

Harmony (The Cast Recording)

Apple Music / Spotify / Amazon Music

Marie - The Comedian Harmonists

YouTube

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Follow us on Twitter and Instagram @BottomlessBway, our blog at https://bottomlessbway.home.blog, or email us at bottomlessbway@gmail.com! You can also leave feedback in this 30-second survey.

In our first episode of the season, we’re talking about the Fabulous One…or is she?  Imelda Marcos may be just a Pretty Face, but Here Lies Love takes a look at how she rose to power and why she might’ve considered herself the "Star and Slave" of the Philippines.

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Check out how the Broadway Theatre was transformed for Here Lies Love, as explained by set designer David Korins and take a look at some of the behind the scenes action where the ensemble has to run all the way around the stage area while doing a quick change ⁠

The other major immersive musical happening right now is Guys and Dolls over in London, which involves a similar standing room dance floor concept

The original concept album is quite different from the show that made it to stage, and thanks to the Wayback Machine, we can see the original descriptions for each of the songs from David Byrne’s website

Want to know more about the background of the show and context for the current songs? Take a look at the New York Theatre Guide article that Cindy mentioned

Imelda Marcos was famously known for her many pairs of shoes, supposedly around 3,000 (and not 300 like Christine said), and in case you want to know what happened to them, Vice has you covered

Hear from the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist that wrote about the Marcoses and his experience at Here Lies Love

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Music featured in this episode:

Here Lies Love (Original Cast Recording)

Apple Music / Spotify / Amazon Music

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Follow us on Twitter and Instagram @BottomlessBway, our blog at https://bottomlessbway.home.blog, or email us at bottomlessbway@gmail.com! You can also leave feedback in this 30-second survey.

It’s 2024 and we’re back with an Off-Broadway highlights episode, showcasing two shows we saw last fall: Sondheim’s last musical, Here We Are, and a revival from Classic Stage Company of I Can Get It for You Wholesale!  Note that there are spoilers for both shows in this episode.

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ICYMI: The Frank Rich piece on Vulture explains how Sondheim’s last musical finally came to be on stage.

There are a couple of interviews that have been particularly interesting, featuring members of the Here We Are cast, which you can hear on NPR and WNYC.

While Here We Are is based on two Buñuel films, two other films came to mind that seemed to fit in a similar vein: Bottoms and Triangle of Sadness.

One of the greatest parts of seeing a show at Classic Stage Company is their in-depth show guide, which provides a lot of historical context about when the show was set and some dramaturgical points of interest.

I Can Get It for You Wholesale is actually licensed by Concord Theatricals, and you can see a full synopsis of the show on their site (and see some of the differences from the revisions made by John Weidman in this production). You can also check out this interview with Theatermania where Weidman talks about his process.

In keeping with the Sondheim tie-in, check out Lindsay Mendez performing Who Knows?

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Music featured in this episode:

Snippets for Here We Are from the WNYC feature.

I Can Get It for You Wholesale (Original Broadway Cast Recording)

Apple Music / Spotify / Amazon Music

Other excerpts from this revival come from the trailer and Julia Lester's Playbill performance

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Follow us on Twitter and Instagram @BottomlessBway, our blog at https://bottomlessbway.home.blog, or email us at bottomlessbway@gmail.com! You can also leave feedback in this 30-second survey.

As usual for our final episode this season, we’re diving into the Tony Awards!  We try to predict all 26 categories, while also giving our picks for what we would choose to award, and we get a chance to discuss plays and revivals which we don’t cover in our regular season episodes.  So hit play and we’ll tell you who to watch out for on Sunday night!

Because this is a long episode, there are chapter markers for you to use (assuming your podcast player supports them).

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Since the time of recording, a few more sites have come out with their Tony predictions, including Time Out New York and the New York Times survey of Tony voters (turns out they’re able to poll about a fifth of the voters!).

The designer that Cindy was talking about in regards to the & Juliet costumes was Vivienne Westwood, whose style can be seen in this TikTok video.

To get a sense of the infamous “doors” tap number from Some Like It Hot, check out this video, which also shows some of the tech going on behind the scenes.

Sean Hayes is actually a classically trained pianist, and you can check out a sample of him playing Rhapsody in Blue at a Ham4Ham.

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Music/audio featured in this episode:


The Ballad of Sweeney Todd from Sweeney Todd
Light from New York, New York
Since U Been Gone from & Juliet
Welcome to Pondicherry Zoo from Life of Pi
Vamp! from Some Like It Hot
Corn (Reprise) from Shucked
This Is Not Over Yet from Parade
Better from Kimberly Akimbo
A scene from Leopoldstadt (featuring Brandon Uranowitz)
It Takes Two from Into the Woods
I'm Fine by Self Esteem for Prima Facie
Camelot from Camelot
This Time from Kimberly Akimbo

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Follow us on Twitter and Instagram @BottomlessBway, our blog at https://bottomlessbway.home.blog/, or email us at bottomlessbway@gmail.com! You can also leave feedback in this 30-second survey.