Unveiling “On Broadway: A Maven’s Guide” (today's MARQUEE)
YouTube series dives into the intertwining narratives of American history and musical theater
Shalom, Broadway lovers!
In today’s MARQUEE: The Broadway Maven’s Weekly Blast: an introduction to a new video series putting Broadway shows in the context of American history, including full videos from Carousel and Kiss Me, Kate; a preview of a Piano Talk about Wicked; and a Last Blast about Company.
Premium subscribers also get a Broadway Blast about Mean Girls; the rest of the Piano Talk about Wicked; and a quiz about song titles with women’s names in them.
SAVE THE DATE: Lin-Manuel Miranda expert Howard Ho, whose YouTube channel has done more to explain Hamilton to Broadway fans than anything else, will be teaching a class on that iconic show to The Broadway Maven. Tuesday, May 7 at Noon ET. $9, registration opens this week.
The Broadway Maven is pleased to announce a new series of videos connecting key Broadway shows to the events of American history. How did social, political, and economic trends help shape shows like Show Boat and Carousel? And how did shows like Oklahoma! and The Music Man influence American history in turn?
Below are the two most recent entries, Carousel and The Music Man, followed by buttons that will take you to the entries for Show Boat, Anything Goes, and Oklahoma!.
Would you like to see more “On Broadway”? Which shows should I tackle next? Hit reply and let me know.
ANNOUNCEMENT: There will be no MARQUEE next week in observance of the Passover holiday.
PIANO TALK: This week, music educator Mateo Chavez Lewis tackles Wicked, and specifically the chords in the finale to “The Wizard and I.” He demonstrates the complexity and subtlety of the last four bars of the song in an accessible but rigorous way. While Elphaba holds the famous last note of the song, a lot of music theory is going on “under the hood” – and Mateo gives us a clear and compelling peek. Here are the first 90 seconds of that Talk:
Note: links to register for ALL classes are always available at TheBroadwayMaven.com.
• Sunday, April 21 4 pm ET: History and Harmony: A Broadway MasterClass session 3 (registration closed)
• Sunday, April 28 4 pm ET: History and Harmony: A Broadway MasterClass session 4 (registration closed)
• Sunday, May 5 4 pm ET: History and Harmony: A Broadway MasterClass session 5 (registration closed)
• Tuesday, May 7 Noon ET: Hamilton with Lin-Manuel MIranda expert Howard Ho ($9, registration opens this week)
• Sunday, May 12 4 pm ET: History and Harmony: A Broadway MasterClass session 6 (registration closed)
• Sunday, May 19 4 pm ET: History and Harmony: A Broadway MasterClass session 7 (registration closed)
• Sunday, May 26 4 pm ET: History and Harmony: A Broadway MasterClass session 8 (registration closed)
NOTE: As always, ALL-ACCESS Passholders do not have to sign up or pay for anything. Just show up!
LAST BLAST: In Company, the song “Barcelona” takes place with protagonist Bobby lying in bed – a perfect posture for a man who’s lying to himself and others. In the post-coital afterglow of a hookup with a nearly nameless (June? April?) flight attendant, Bobby urges his bedfellow to stay in bed with him instead of going to Barcelona. But his desire for her continued companionship is a lie, as we discover when April decides to stay and he reacts, “Oh, God!” By capturing Bobby's immediate regret and fear of intimacy, “Barcelona” becomes a lens through which we view his larger journey of self-discovery, ingeniously setting the emotional groundwork for his eventual epiphany in the final song “Being Alive” that true fulfillment comes from embracing connections beyond the superficial. And truly, a bed is the perfect place for an “Aha!” moment for a man who has made having sex with multiple women part of his identity.
Broadway Maven David Benkof helps students further their appreciation of musical theater through his classes, his YouTube channel, and MARQUEE: the Broadway Maven’s Weekly Blast. Contact him at DavidBenkof@gmail.com.