Episode 878: Helen...of Savoy!
MusicalTalk - The UK's Independent Musical Theatre Podcast
Release Date: 03/25/2025
Episode 891: Popping Back To Pop Off Michelangelo (Part 1)
MusicalTalk - The UK's Independent Musical Theatre Podcast
Join Thos as he sits down again with Dylan Marcaurele, the talented writer and composter of hit musical, Pop Off Michelangelo! In this illuminating chat, they explore how this wonderful show has changed and developed as it moved from the EdFringe to London and discuss how you give an American show a very British sensibility! Like the lyrics of the opening number say, this is a show which is very in demand!
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Episode 890: Potty the Plant and Fronds (Part 2)
MusicalTalk - The UK's Independent Musical Theatre Podcast
Join Thos as he continues his in-depth conversation about the evergreen cult musical favourite, Potty the Plant which opens at the Wiltons Music Hall in East London this week. With songs from the show and insights into this darkly hilarious musical, as well as more on its sister show, Fringe! the Musical, this is an episode that'll grow on you!
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Episode 889: Potty The Plant and Fronds (part 1)
MusicalTalk - The UK's Independent Musical Theatre Podcast
Hoorah! Potty The Plant, which was MusicalTalk's Pick of the Fringe at Edinburgh in 2023, is coming to the legendary Wilton's Music Hall in London in June! So join Thos as he talks to the people behind this cult comedy musical, Baden Jack Burns, Sarah Burns and Aeddan Sussex, as they discuss how the show has developed in the last few years, as well as their touching but satirical swipe at all things EdFringe in their second show, Fringe! The Musical. With songs from both shows, a grudging but sincere appreciation of Andrew Lloyd Webber, and insights on the perils of roller skates,...
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Episode 888: Hercules at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane - The Gospel Truth!
MusicalTalk - The UK's Independent Musical Theatre Podcast
In this week’s episode of MusicalTalk, Nick and Hannah share their thoughts hot off the heels of the very first preview of Disney’s Hercules, now making its West End debut at the historic Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. From gospel muses to gods on high, they dive into the show’s music, staging, and how it adapts (and evolves) the beloved animated film for the stage. Does it go the distance? Has Alan Menken done it again? And how does this latest Disney stage offering stand alongside its predecessors?
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Episode 887: Charles Strouse Remembered (Part 2) - Put On A Happy Face
MusicalTalk - The UK's Independent Musical Theatre Podcast
MusicalTalk continues its two part tribute to the late Charles Strouse, the legendary composer of Annie, Bye Bye Birdie, Applause, I and Albert, All American, Charlotte's Web, All Dogs Go To Heaven, Minsky's, Mayor, Marty, Nick and Nora and so many others! In this episode, Thos and Charles enjoy a charmingly inimate, detailed and honest look at his works and career which paint a perfect picture of the hugely talented but modest man he truly was; and it's a chance to learn more about the aborted Stanley Kubric Star Wars Musical! Dick Van Dyke called him "one of the greats" and in...
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Episode 886: Charles Strouse Remembered (Part 1) - By Strouse
MusicalTalk - The UK's Independent Musical Theatre Podcast
MusicalTalk pays a special tribute to the late, great Charles Strouse, who has just died a month shy of his 97th birthday. Charles was one of the giants of the last sixty years of musical theatre and leaves an enormous legacy: with new shows produced across seven decades, collaborations with Alan Jay Lerner, Lee Adams, Mel Brooks, Stephen Schwartz, Arthur Laurents, Martin Charnin, Rupert Holmes, Betty Comden and Adolph Green to name but a few, and with amazing rosta of shows and films featuring his music, such as Annie, Bye Bye Birdie, Golden Boy, Nick and Nora, Applause and All Dogs Go To...
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Episode 885: From Super troupers to Stormtroopers
MusicalTalk - The UK's Independent Musical Theatre Podcast
This week on MusicalTalk, Nick and Hannah take a sunny trip down memory lane to explore the legacy of the global phenomenon Mamma Mia! With Nick revisiting the stage show for the first time in 25 years, they discuss how the production has evolved over the decades and why its irresistible blend of ABBA hits and heartwarming storytelling continues to resonate with audiences worldwide. But the conversation doesn’t stop in Greece! Nick and Hannah also dive into a galaxy far, far cheekier as they share their thoughts on The Empire Strips Back: A Burlesque Parody, now playing at Riverside Studios....
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Episode 884: Pop Off Michelangelo!
MusicalTalk - The UK's Independent Musical Theatre Podcast
It's the best possible news - MusicalTalk's Pick of the Fringe 2024 hits London in 2025! Pop Off Michelangelo! took Edinburgh by storm last summer, and now comes to London from May until July - and it's a tasty treat. Thos talks to the show's writer, 21st century Renaissance Man, the talented Dylan MarcAurele, about how this multi-layered, clever, high-camp comedy came to be, whilst also analysing how the show also looks at darker and deeper contempory issues. With laughs, insights and song, you won't want to miss this delightful conversation with a truly creative man. It's time to pop...
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Episode 883: From Fishnets to Flappers - Rocky Horror Vs The Great Gatsby
MusicalTalk - The UK's Independent Musical Theatre Podcast
This week on MusicalTalk, Nick returns to The Rocky Horror Show for the first time in 25 years and shares his reflections on the cult classic’s enduring appeal, high camp, and raucous audience participation. Then, it’s off to the London Coliseum, where Nick and Hannah experience The Great Gatsby — but in a rare twist, it’s Nick who walks in knowing nothing about the show, while Hannah holds all the insight! Join them for a lively discussion of this ambitious new production, the surprises it held, and how it reimagines F. Scott Fitzgerald’s iconic world for the stage.
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Episode 882: Top Marx for Animal Crackers - Part 2
MusicalTalk - The UK's Independent Musical Theatre Podcast
In this week's episode, Thos takes a close look at the 1930 Marx Brothers musical comedy film, Animal Crackers, and its place against the backdrop of a number of transitions - the move from stage to screen for the madcap quartet, the loss of popularity of Hollywood film musicals at the end of the 1920s, the move from prosperity to economic slump following the Wall Street Crash, and how the film industry was learning to adapt stage shows for the silver screen after only four years of talkies! And we take an additional look at Margaret Dumont, dubbed by Groucho himself as the "fifth Marx...
info_outlineAt last, a musical about one of the unsung female heroes of musical theatre - Helen D'Oyly Carte! Join Thos as he talkes to Susan Ellerby about her latest modern G&S show, Gilbert and Sullivan's Improbable New Musical....And Helen, about the accomplished, and even trailblazing, Victorian businesswoman, who was one of the four most important people in the Gilbert and Sullivan story, not least for her diplomatic skills in keeping the quarrelsome duo together creatively but also for forging their legacy into the twentieth century and beyond. With songs aplenty, Thos and Sue talk about this delightful new show and its central character - Helen D'Oyly Carte! Unsung, no longer...