This is SIX (🇬🇧 👑 🎤). Can you identify the others?

Earn a well-deserved smiley face by cracking these Broadway brain-ticklers!

Shalom, Broadway lovers!

Heard about Broadway Maven classes but not sure if Membership is right for you? Here’s a great no-commitment chance to find out! Next week, for five days in a row, The Broadway Maven is offering a FREE class on an important and captivating Broadway show or shows. Each class discusses themes, lyrics, characters, story, and includes a music theory segment by Mateo Chavez Lewis demonstrating at his piano.

All classes meet at both Noon and 7 pm ET. Come as often as you like!

• Cole Porter’s Broadway (Sunday, January 5)

• Hair (Monday, January 6)

• Waitress (Tuesday, January 7)

• Fosse’s Cabaret (Wednesday, January 8)

• West Side Story (Thursday, January 9)

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In today’s MARQUEE: The Broadway Maven’s Weekly Blast: A) a fun Emoji Game to kick off the new year in style; B) a Student Review of Mateo’s new cast album; C) a Broadway Blast about A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum; D) a Review of an Italian-language production of Anastasia; and E) a Last Blast about Pippin.

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GAME: We've just welcomed 2025, but is your Broadway vision 20/20? Find out with this emoji-driven name-the-show game. Stumped? The answers await at the end of the issue, under the Last Blast.

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STUDENT REVIEW: Does a lie become true if you make yourself believe it? In the tremendous cast album for Tommy Rhodes, a new true crime musical by Broadway Maven music educator Mateo Chavez Lewis, son Tommy goes missing and seems to reappear, triggering a custody battle over this unidentified boy claimed both by the Rhodes and by another woman who says she is his mother. It's all presented through the unique framing device of Charlotte Rhodes, the granddaughter of the boy in question, who wants to discover the truth of her lineage.

Having the bygone and modern-day stories unfold side by side cunningly draws attention to their parallels. For instance, the themes of truth and its personal and external impacts are explored by the suppression of doubt in the past by Charlotte’s great-grandmother and in the present by her great aunt. Another clever benefit is that by unraveling the case with the audience already knowing the boy’s fate, the mystery shifts to whether or not this was justice rather than simply to whom the court would award him.

Those familiar with Mateo’s lessons on YouTube or for The Broadway Maven will be able hear his attention to detail in this arresting score. The numbers “Somethin' Ain’t Right” and “Skeletons” are striking, with strong feelings of movement like menacing dances. When songs feel jolly and old-fashioned like in “One Eye Open” and “The Parade,” Mateo maintains an undertone portending a grave upcoming twist. Each song in this album serves both a dramatic end and flavors the show with impressive musical variety. I particularly connected with Tommy Rhodes’ engaging ensemble numbers; my favorite tune being “The Water in the Bayou”. This cast album does an excellent job of conveying the plot and its music is bewitching, so I recommend having a listen! -Ella Shaul, Maven Scholar Fall '24

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BROADWAY BLAST: When, in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Senex announces he likes maids because "they're neat," he's not speaking literally. Because in "Everybody Ought to Have a Maid" he describes what he imagines a maid would do for him, and he includes "cluttering up" and "littering up" the bedroom. It underscores the fact that Senex and the other men who sing the song are interested in maids for their sexuality and not their housekeeping. The comedic treatment of these fantasies is more than just lighthearted—it subtly pokes fun at the absurdity of male objectification, making it clear that the men's interest in maids has little to do with domestic skills.

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REVIEW: "Quando viene dicembre" ("Once Upon a December")... Last December 25, I attended a performance of Anastasia in Milan at Teatro Archimboldi. The production was lavish, the performances enchanting, and the music pure Stephen Flaherty. The lyrics, of course, were crisp Italian translations of Lynn Ahrens's delightful original words. With a stage that was much deeper than it was wide, the production could (had to?) creatively interpret the various dancing scenes in the Romanov ballroom. For example, during a ghostly scene, some of the dancing royal Russians appeared to be full-color holograms, an arresting display. The biggest piece missing from the show, as in all stage versions of Anastasia, is the mystical villain from the 1997 animated film version, Rasputin, and his sardonic sidekick Bartok. His replacement, the flat, non-supernatural Soviet General Gleb, pales in comparison. One nice addition to the show, though, is the second-act love song "The Countess and the Common Man" sung between Vlad and Lily. The enthusiastic crowd, with lots of kids in tow, thoroughly enjoyed the production, clearly a holiday treat for many Italian families. For me, though, it was a rare chance to combine two things I love -- Broadway and the Italian language -- as a Jew without anything else to do on Christmas in Milan.

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MEMBERSHIP: Broadway Maven Membership is just $18 a month and includes 5-15 classes and other expert-led Broadway experiences, plus a password to the Clips Archive and periodic giveaways to Broadway and off-Broadway shows, including at least one opening night performance and party (the first such drawing of 2025 will be January 12, for an off-Broadway opening). Upcoming Members-only classes include Guys and Dolls; A Little Night Music; The Book of Mormon; “Savoring Broadway,” and a watch party for A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder in which we watch it with the man who won a Tony for writing it: Robert L. Freedman. Join this vibrant learning community at the button below. It’s your home for Broadway appreciation!

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HOMEWORK: Will this be on the test?

Get out your backpacks and assignment notebooks, because with Rush Week coming up Sunday, there are five (!) homework videos to watch, one for each of the five FREE classes, Sunday through Thursday.

Sunday, January 5: Watch the video below for the Cole Porter's Broadway class. It's a 10-minute version of Anything Goes. What is the theme of the show? Put your answers in the comments.

Monday, January 6: Watch this not-safe-for-work video for the Hair class. In the comments explain whether you think the nude scene is essential to the show or not.

Tuesday, January 7: Watch this 10-minute version of Waitress. What is the theme of the show? Explain your answers in the comments.

Wednesday, January 8: Watch the video below for the Cabaret class. Which are your two favorite examples of the punchline in the gorilla number? Explain your choices.

Thursday, January 9: Watch the video below for the West Side Story class. What is the theme of the show? Explain your answer in the comments.

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Note: A full calendar of upcoming classes is always available at TheBroadwayMaven.com.

• Sunday, January 5 Noon and 7 pm ET Cole Porter’s Broadway (FREE, register HERE)

• Monday, January 6 Noon and 7 pm ET Hair (FREE, register HERE)

• Tuesday, January 7 Noon and 7 pm ET Waitress (FREE, register HERE)

• Wednesday, January 8 Noon and 7 pm ET Fosse’s Cabaret (FREE, register HERE)

• Thursday, January 9 Noon and 7 pm ET West Side Story (FREE, register HERE)

• Monday, January 13 Noon ET Guys and Dolls (Members only)

• Tuesday, January 14 Noon and 7 pm ET A Little Night Music (Members only)

• Sunday, January 19 Noon ET Maven Scholar presentations (Members only)

• Tuesday, January 21 Noon and 7 pm ET The Book of Mormon (Members only)

• Sunday, January 27 Noon and 7 pm ET “Savoring Broadway” (Members only)

• Sunday, February 2 Noon ET Watch Party: A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder with SPECIAL GUEST Tony-winning book writer Robert L. Freedman (yeah, we’re watching it with the guy who wrote it). (Members only)

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LAST BLAST: The angular title of Pippin’s anthem, "Corner of the Sky," hints at the title character's deepest desire: to escape the endless cycles of ambition and disillusionment symbolized by circles and find a stable, meaningful “corner” of his own. This tension plays out visually in Bob Fosse’s choreography, where sharp, angular movements contrast with the show’s circular imagery. In “Glory,” fragmented, angular gestures underscore Pippin’s search for greatness, even as the troupe’s circular motifs pull him back into the rhythms of unfulfilled striving. The climax resolves this conflict when Pippin rejects the fiery hoop—a literal circle—and embraces the grounded stability of ordinary life with Catherine. By juxtaposing angular choreography with circular imagery, Pippin reflects the human struggle to break free from life’s relentless cycles and carve out a place of meaning.

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ANSWERS TO GAME: The Wizard of Oz, Les Misérables, Fiddler on the Roof, Titanic, Into the Woods, Cinderella, The Phantom of the Opera, Oklahoma!, The Book of Mormon

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The Broadway Maven is a vibrant educational community that helps its members think more deeply about musical theater. Every month, members may attend 5-15 expert-led classes and innovative Broadway experiences, all for just $18. We also foster enthusiasm for Broadway through the FREE weekly substack newsletter MARQUEE and host an expansive YouTube channel. It's your home for Broadway appreciation. Contact The Broadway Maven at DavidBenkof@gmail.com.