The Gospel of Musical Theatre

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.

We talk about:

• The Conflict: Streisand & Laurents versus Pollack & Redford, and some of the behind-the-scenes drama that led to ...

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.

We talk about:

• ESP: Is there a meaningful distinction between extrasensory perception and Christian conceptions of spirituality and prayer?
• Reincarna...

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!

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 take a close look at Horace’s so...

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.

We talk about:

• The Greatest Star: The phenomenon of the original Fanny Brice, how Barbra got involved in the project, and where the line between ego, str...

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.

We talk about:

– The Method: Barbra’s early training in the method developed by Konstantin...

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!)

We talk about:

– The power of parables, and how stories can...

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.

Previous seasons:

Season 1:  Rodgers & Hammerstein

Season 2:  Lerner & Loewe

Season 3:  Stephen Sondheim

Season 4:  A...

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).

We talk about:

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

– Where does “t...

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.

We talk about:

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

– What is the relationship between Christine and the Phantom? An abusive mentor relationship, a fo...

Peterskins & Grumblethaniel (Peter & Nathan) ascend to the Heaviside Layer for a close theological reading of one of the strangest, silliest, and most sensational mega-musicals ever to tread the boards: the much-beloved and much-reviled 1981 spectacle that is CATS.

We talk about:

– The naming of cats and humans – the names that culture and society give us, and the ineffable name that is known only to God.

– Whether the feli...

It's Evita (1978)! The culmination of Lloyd Webber’s collaboration with lyricist Tim Rice, this show offers an epic look at politics, celebrity, and gender through the life of a contemporary saint, Argentina’s beloved First Lady Eva Peron (1919-1952).

We wonder:

– Whose politics are at work in Evita? What does the musical say about Argentinian politics, British politics, and maybe even North American politics?

– What does Evita h...

It's finally here... Today, we turn to the Gospel According to Andrew Lloyd Webber: the Biblical rock-opera phenomenon that is Jesus Christ Superstar (1970)!

We talk about:

– The context of the late 60s/early 70s that gave rise to a rock opera treatment of the Jesus story

– The eroticism in Mary Magdalene’s (and maybe Judas’?) relationship with Jesus and the question of how sexuality & love intersect in the Christian traditio...

We're baaaackkkk! We're kicking off our fourth season, a deep dive into the musicals of the one & only Andrew Lloyd Weber: one of the most esteemed and prolific musical theatre composers of all time.

In this episode, Nathan & Peter take a look at an early success he and lyricist Tim Rice had in 1968: Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat!

We talk about:

- The intersection of "liturgical" music (Lloyd Webber’s fathe...

To celebrate Pride Month, Peter and Nathan are joined by the incredible Isaac Lamb and Stephanie Smith, director and musical director for a new and groundbreakingly queer production of Meredith Wilson’s 1957 classic musical The Music Man – which opens at Third Rail Repertory Theatre in Portland, OR, on June 17th.

We talk about:

– Theatre and church, chamber pieces versus extravagant spectacles, and what led Meredith Wilson to cre...

We're welcoming a very special guest: Ed Bacon, legendary leader of progressive Christian causes and an inveterate Sondheim fan!

With Ed’s help, we pull apart the spirituality, theology (and the trichology!) of what is probably Stephen Sondheim’s best-known—and arguably best-loved) musical, the 1987 masterpiece Into the Woods.

We talk about:

- The subversive nature of fairy tales, and what we think we’re doing when we tell these ...

It's time for Peter’s favorite Sondheim musical: Sunday in the Park with George!

Stephen Sondheim & James Lapine’s Pulitzer Prize-winning 1985 musical masterpiece is a beautiful meditation on art and art-making. We love this show, and we hope you will too.

We talk about:

- Making art, preaching sermons, and the art of living – and suffering & failure in art... and life

- Noticing & cultivating attention as a spiritual...

Peter & Nathan's keep rolling through the Sondheim oeuvre with his most notorious "flop," the 1981 Merrily We Roll Along!

Is it really a bitter, nihilistic look at growing older? Or is there actually something—dare we say—holy at work in this experimental, bittersweet musical about growing up?

We Talk About:

- Is it true that, as Mary says, "God don’t answer prayers a lot?"

- How Merrily illustrates a theology of friendship a...

Sort of-guest Arwen Myers—soprano, Sweeney stan, and executive producer of this podcast—joins Peter and Nathan for a wide-reaching conversation about her favorite musical... which just happens to be about murder and meat pies (and Victor Garber).

That's right: it's the 1979 Tony-Award winning Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street!

We talk about:

- The medieval chant Dies Irae and how it frames Sweeney Todd as a story ab...

We're talking about Sondheim's most commercially successful musical, A Little Night Music (1973) – a witty, clever sex comedy made up, in Hal Prince’s famous words, of "whipped cream with knives."

We Talk About:

– The show’s big themes – love, sex & time – and how they find expression in the music, especially the now-iconic "Send in the Clowns." 

– Three generations exploring love & relationships and the nature of aging.