The Gospel of Musical Theatre

We’ve got the Lutherans to thank for this one.

It’s the worst-ever name for a musical, but Peter & Nathan think that 2001’s Urinetown, with music and lyrics by Mark Hollmann & Greg Kotis, is worthy of your attention – and some sustained theological reflection.

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We talk about:

• The show's origin story (thanks, Lutherans!) and its unfortunately timed Broadway debut on the heels of ...

Somewhere beyond the barricade, is there a world you long to see?

There’s no more overtly theological (or more popular) musical than Claude-Michel Schönberg & Alain Boubil’s 1980 Les Misérables, based on Victor Hugo’s 1862 novel.

From Valjean and Javert to Eponine and Fantine, this musical crams more pathos, prayer, and bad wigs into three hours than any other musical we know. Do you hear the people sing?

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Immigration, capitalism, feminism, intersectionality, and the civil rights: this musical has it all!

Flaherty & Ahren’s 1998 musical Ragtime is a big, expensive show with lots of plot (never Peter’s strong suit) – but we love this musical and what it has to say about kingdoms of power and the kingdom of God.

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Peter & Nathan make some highly controversial claims:

• "Ragtime" is the...

What would you do? What will you do?

In the election run-up, Peter & Nathan are talking about musicals that deal with political unrest and social change (don't worry, it's still fun!). We begin with the 1966 Broadway classic Cabaret, one of the darkest, kinkiest, and most-enduring musicals of all time.

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We talk about:

– Willkommen / Two Ladies / The Money Song: The "decadence" depicted b...

What better way to celebrate summer than with a frozen cocktail of Disney Princess mania? It’s 2013’s Frozen, beloved by aspiring Elsas and Annas, reviled by parents and caretakers who threaten to lose it if they hear “Let it Go” one more time (trigger warning: you’ll hear it in this episode).

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You’ll also hear:

• Love is an Open Door: a catchy romance ballad that sets up deeper questions...

“A bit of madness is key to give us new colors to see.”

Today, we continue our Summer Movie Happy Hour Fizzy Summer Tour... thing... as we talk about 2016’s contemporary take on the classic film musicals of the 1940s, 50s and 60s: LaLa Land.

2016 feels like a La La Land ago. How does this film hold up almost a decade later?

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We talk about:

• "Another Day of Sun" – A great opening number t...

We fixed everything in the real world so all women are happy and powerful.

Just kidding... but we ARE talking about The Barbie Movie! We’re so excited to be joined by Arwen Myers, executive director of the podcast, musicals aficionado – and the person Barbie was made for – to talk about Greta Gerwig's blockbuster 2023 summer hit. Is it a musical? We think it is.

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We talk about:

• "Pink" – An almos...

Band Geeks of the world, unite!

We’re taking a fizzy summer tour through some of our favorite movie musicals – and what better way to observe the Fourth of July weekend in the USA than with one of the most patriotic and Americana-obsessed musicals of all time, the 1962 film version of Meredith Willson’s 1957 Broadway musical The Music Man!

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We talk about:

• "Rock Island" – One of the most impressiv...

Papa, can you hear me?

It's the last episode of our Season of Babs, and we're going out strong! That's right: today we look at Barbra Streisand's magnum opus, the 1982 film Yentl – which she both directed and starred in.

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We talk about:

• Prayer & Texts:  What it means to study sacred texts, and the critical differences between traditionally-Christian and traditionally-Jewish ways of understand...

Is it a musical? Is it a $6MM home movie? A contemporary Purim spiel? This is a weird movie, you guys.

The evergreen story of A Star Is Born has attracted legendary performers like Judy Garland, Barbra Streisand, and Lady Gaga. Today, Peter and Nathan focus on the 1976 film version with Barbra and Kris Kristofferson in the context of Gaga and Garland. 

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We talk about:

• The Backstory:  Dorothy Park...

It may not be a musical, but it sure is close... It's The Way We Were!

It’s 1973. Watergate has happened. Barbra Streisand, Robert Redford, Arthur Laurents, and Sidney Pollack get together to re-create the weepy romcom in the non-musical—but musical-theatre-adjacent!—classic The Way We Were.

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We talk about:

• The Conflict: Streisand & Laurents versus Pollack & Redford, and some of the behin...

Peter and Nathan watched this movie so you don't have to!

It's time for a deep cut... We’re talking about the 1970 film version of Alan Jay Lerner and Burton Lane’s very strange musical, On A Clear Day You Can See Forever – a show about a psychiatrist with terrible boundaries.

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We talk about:

• ESP: Is there a meaningful distinction between extrasensory perception and Christian conceptions of spir...

She's still glowin', she's still crowin,' she's still goin' strong...

That's right: we're continuing our deep dive into the great Barbra Streisand with a look at the mid-60s Broadway classic, Jerry Herman’s Hello Dolly!

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We talk about:

• Discernment: Dolly is a woman on a journey out of grief – and is looking for her sign. What kind of a theology of discernment does the show depend on?
• Gender: We t...

Isn’t it "people who DON'T need people are the luckiest people in the world?"

Today we look at the role that made Barbara Streisand's early career: the role of Fanny Brice in Jule Styne & Bob Merrill’s 1964 musical Funny Girl and the 1968 film directed by William Wyler.

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We talk about:

• The Greatest Star: The phenomenon of the original Fanny Brice, how Barbra got involved in the project, and w...

Everybody said don't, but we're doing it anyway... It's the Gospel According to Babs!

It's the queerest thing we've ever done. This season, we're focusing on the musical (and musical-adjacent) films of one of the greats – Barbra Streisand: GOAT queer diva, filmmaker, actor, and singer, who just released her autobiography My Name is Barbra.

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We talk about:

– The Method: Barbra’s early training in the ...

Schmigadoon is back on Apple TV! The second season takes us in a slightly different direction, and today we explore the theology of the musicals being lovingly spoofed by "Schmicago" and wonder what it means that "every day can be a happy beginning."

(By the way... if you missed our episode on Schmigadoon Season 1, you can listen here, or wherever you get your podcasts!)

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We talk about:

– The power o...

If you're just joining us... It's priestly, it's profane, it's the queerest thing we've ever done – it's the Gospel of Musical Theatre, the podcast that dives deep into the spirituality of musical theatre!

When we can't find any spiritual themes to talk about, we talk about the clothes and the chorus boys.

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Previous seasons:

Season 1:  Rodgers & Hammerstein

Season 2:  Lerner & Loewe

Season 3:...

Nathan and Peter welcome Ian Farthing, Vancouver-based actor & director and one of the original London ushers for the West End Production of Starlight Express (1984). We explore the theology & themes of Starlight Express – as well as Lloyd Webber’s more recent musical Sunset Boulevard (1993).

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We talk about:

– Theatre as a vocation, and how vocations – religious or artistic – change over the ...

We descend into the depths of the Paris Opera for the 1986 musical phenomenon The Phantom of the Opera – a troubling story about abuse, lust, and the power of music.. and one of the most successful & beloved musicals of all time.

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We talk about:

– The Phantom:  Is the Phantom (or "Erik" as he’s known in the original novel) a serpent or a savior?

– The Ick Factor:  What is this relationship betwee...