In Defense of Musicals

Judith and Leah tackle some new stuff - the School of Rock Boston tour, and the brand new cast recording of the London cast of Company. They discuss Patti LuPone (#queen), lyrics changes (is it not ok to talk of God anymore?), the legend of the rent (way hardcoooooooreeeeee), a cappella musicals (Pitch Perfect - call us?), Mel and Sue (#queens), the LEGENDARY Company documentary (#LEGENDARY #ElaineStritch) and more. 

Judith and Leah discuss RENT: Live on Fox. They'll tackle such questions as: Why doesn't Roger realize that One Song Glory IS A GREAT SONG? Why did Entertainment Weekly drag Valentina so hard? Does pasta with meatless balls actually taste the same (if you close your eyes)? WHY NO DILDOS?  Also on this episode: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory tour! Not getting to the factory until the end of act 1! Weird decisions on which children are played by children! Nothing is catchy! How can we defend it???? (spoiler: ummmmm..... )

Post-Tony's chatter, and then Judith and Leah dig deep into their favorite musical from this year, Mean Girls! Judith also went to see Aladdin in Boston (starring the Maggots Guy from Book of Mormon!!) so we talk about that a bit! Feel free to sing along in your head, the lyrics are Prince Aliiii bum ba dum deeeee a be a daah dahh Apologies for Jude cutting out a bit in this episode, Google hangouts made my computer a bit too heated up...  Jasmine's outfit in the animated movie: https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C5CHFA_enUS736US736&biw=1251&bih=681&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=SOJLW5edFq-k_Qaf-6j4BA&q=jasmine+in+disguise&oq=jasmine+in+disguise&gs_l=img.3...223120.224693.0.224926.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0..0.0....0...1c.1.64.img..0.0.0....0.bQU-gYumaqA In the Broadway show: https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C5CHFA_enUS736US736&biw=1251&bih=681&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=KuNLW8zDEq-4ggfD5bjwBA&q=aladdin+musical+jasmine&oq=aladdin+musical+jasmine&gs_l=img.3...173491.192357.0.192761.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0..0.0....0...1c.1.64.img..0.0.0....0.xrZmyOy3OIE#imgdii=1tTADtxhMOb7XM:&imgrc=TTRPaLPmK-ybVM   

Judith and Leah are back to gab about the most wonderful time of the year - Tony Season! Tony noms came out and it's like the NBA draft of musical theater. Meaning definitely a lot of research happened. Yeah. And stats.  This episode focuses on two out of the four Best Musical nominees, The Band's Visit and Mean Girls! Enjoy! 

Jude was in a show againnnn!! We are celebrating by talking about it out loud live over the airwaves. The jury is NOT still out on Trial By Jury, a lesser known Gilbert and Sullivan one-act. AKA the verdict was that it's great. Also divergences into the Oscars, Podcast Corner, and other musical tidbits. 

Today Judith and Leah defend the first ever Tony award winner for best musical, Kiss me, Kate! It's a classic show within a show within a podcast scenario. *** Plug for MIT's production which Judith is in!! http://gsp.mit.edu/productions/2017/fall/kiss-me-kate/

Today we're talkin' chess again! Judith saw a production in her city of Boston, and who wouldn't want another opportunity to talk about our favorite '80s rock opera/musical about Cold War tensions and international Chess superstardom cowritten by two ABBA members!  We figure out a little more of what's going on with the plot this time. But not too much.  We also talk about Joe Iconis, a musical theater writer from NY, and his musical revue, The Joe Iconis Rock and Roll Jamboree!  #zogmaran  

The Tony's are almost here, and WE. ARE. PUMPED!  Predictions, some selections from the musicals, nothing about plays at all - this episode has everything you need to be prepared for the 2017 Tony Awards. 

What do Waitress, the Great Comet, and Beauty and the Beast all have in common? I'm not sure, which is why it was so hard to find a name for this episode! (If you can find a connection, please please write in. There's got to be something. Maybe relating to pies?)  Anyway, today's ep has some discussion of Waitress and Great Comet. Then, Judith and Leah are joined by special guest Dagney to discuss the live-action Beauty and the Beast! Hilarity ensues

Judith and Leah are talkin bout Newsies! Plus, some misheard lyrics, a tale of woe at Sunday in the Park with George, and Dear Evan Hansen

In this episode of IDOM, Judith and Leah wage their own private war on Christmas! Christmas musicals, that is! They ponder the question, "Are there any good Christmas musicals?" with not-so-surprising results. Grab your cookies and milk, curl up in front of a fire, and listen to some bad Christmas songs! 

Yarr! This be a scurvy episode, ripe with ye brackish sea. That's right, it has to do with PIRATES!! Pirates of Penzance, to be specific. Gilbert and Sullivan classic or annoying operetta that nobody should still listen to? FIND OUT now! We will fight to the death to defend it, because it's our duty, and we are slaves of duty. 

Is it still plagarism if Rodgers and Hammerstein rip off their own shows? How racist is Chop Suey? What exactly is a flower drum song? So many questions, so few answers on this episode of In Defense of Musicals! 

Oh my mom! The girls are back with a new fresh ep. This time, they're defending a classic jukebox musical, Mamma Mia!! We've got Bjorn. We've got Lars? We've got the other two. We've got a movie version that is truly amazing, and a plot that is... yeah. Grab yer popcorn and get a-listenin! 

This week (month? It's been a while since the last ep...) Judith and Leah tackle Bye Bye Birdie, a musical that's really hard to defend. And we do a pretty bad job. We talk about "going steady," terrible voices, Ed Sullivan, and play the game, "Is this song a joke or just sexist?" Also, a review of the movie from Stefan!

In this episode of In Defense of Musicals, Judith, Leah and special guest Nick talk about the Tonys and defend the musical Sweeney Todd! They delve into the origins of the name Sweeney Todd, talk about objectification, play a rousing round of "Guess the Musical," and create a spinoff game show called "Lovett First Sight." Plus - who would win in an election, Donald Trump or Judge Turpin? This episode is brought to you by Meat Thins. Meat Thins: Thin meat, Thick flavor!

In this episode, Judith and Leah give their Tony predictions, from what people will wear, to who will win all the Tonies. (Tony's? Tonys's?) General silliness and fun ensues. 

In this episode, Judith and Leah take on one of the most fun but divisive musicals in the repertoire: Chess! It's ABBA-mazing. They talk about Josh Groban, Russian accents, and awkward lyric choices, and try to figure out how Nobody's Side can just be so damn catchy. 

Time to get your PJs on because Judith and Leah are talking about The Pajama Game! They discuss weird Broadway voices, common romantic tropes in musicals, and all the things you could buy with seven and a half cents in 1950.

By overwhelming popular demand, Judith and Leah are back with a defense of CATS the musical! They talk about their introduction to CATS, decide on names for their future children, and try to answer the age-old question: What in the Hell is a Jellicle Cat?!

Judith and Leah dive into the wonderful world of TV podcasting! Somehow, Leah had never seen Smash, but now she has! One episode, at least. And then they talked about it! Thus creating a podcast about a television show about a musical about a movie star. They are hoping to win an EGOT for this. 

Judith and Leah are tired of ALW musicals. It's time for some Sondheim realness. In this episode, they discuss one of the lesser-listened (by them) Sondheim musicals. (spoiler: Not A Day Goes By is a good song.) They also do a real cool pop song breakdown. Yeah. 

In another riveting Andrew Lloyd Weber episode, Judith and Leah talk about the one musical they were not allowed to listen to as children, Jesus Christ Superstar (sorry, Dad!) (not really!) Together they cast aside logic and reason to find the true meaning of "the buzz." 

In this episode, Judith and Leah talk about some of the best movie musicals to grace the year 2015. #frozen #what'scoolerthanbeingcool? #icecold

In this blast from the past, Judith and Leah get excited about theme music! Then they talk about some stuff. How bad are their Argentinian accents? How bad are their Patty Lupone impressions? How weird of a musical is The Wild Party?? Answers within. 

Judith and Leah return with special guest Brett, to discuss the most bizarre movie-turned-TV-show-turned-musical-written-by-acclaimed-country-star ever made. The gals gab about workplace sexism, Hamilton, their bff Lily Tomlin (#goals), and MORE! (#BennySchwaz4King)

In this long-awaited episode, Judith, Leah, and special guest Megan discuss all three High School Musical movies. Are they actually musicals? How bad does something have to be before it goes all the way around and becomes great? Come join us in a fantasy land where the main characters are the worst, the bad guys are fabulous, everyone is angsty, and someone is actually named Sharpay.

Have you ever wanted a play-by-play of your favorite awards show, but a week later? Then this episode is for you! Judith and Leah watched the Tony Awards, and used their going-to-the-bathroom time, also known as the commercials, to record their thoughts. Topics include Alan Cumming's suits, those creepy yellow guys dancing with Chita Rivera, and a really scary encounter Judith had. 

This one is less of a "defense of musicals" than just straight up hating on musicals. In the wake of the Glee finale, Judith answers all of your Glee-related questions and laments how a potentially great show went so very wrong. Then, Judith and Leah try in vain to defend Starlight Express, i.e. the Thomas the Tank Engine Musical. Oh, Andrew Lloyd Webber, what were you thinking?

In this episode, Leah defends The Fantasticks, the longest-running musical of all time that nobody knows about. Time travel, weather forecasting, and radishes are involved. Enjoy!

Crazy Bob Fosse choreography! Shirley Maclaine! Strippers! Join us as we discuss Sweet Charity, the musical about your friendly neighborhood taxi dancer! (Whatever that means..) 

It's early May, and you know what that means...time for our super belated Presidents' Day Special episode!! Judith and Leah and *special guest* Anne chat about our favorite president-related musicals including 1776, Assassins, and Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson. Everyone learns a valuable lesson, that "life is more than sexual combustibility."

Join us for a special top ten list episode of In Defense of Musicals! Judith and Leah talk about Sondheim songs, and what they would sing if they had their own Broadway karaoke bar. Also, a little bit about the Tony noms and Fun Home! 

Well, there are worse things that sitting with your iPod while we talk about some Sondheim and we play some Barbra Streisand and we get a little goofy on a Suuuuuuuuuuundaaaaaaaay! 

RENT! Wicked! Popular musicals loved by many, hated by many others.. Today Judith and Leah get right to the heart of the matter ... after figuring out who starred in The Pajama Game, that is. 

Welcome to In Defense of Musicals! For their first episode, Judith and Leah talk about... BAT BOY! There will be blood! Suspense! Intrigue! Love! Singing! Twincest?!? Stay tuned.