Movie: The Musical!

Goodnight, everybody. Thanks for the memories. We'll always have Shrek.

We're back on the main feed with a Tony Awards Predictions Episode! Join Ben and Bran and their special guests, Zach Schiffman (@schlife) and "The" Dr. Dillamond (@DrDillamond) as we predict Tony winners, spread rumors and gossip, and gab about the best and worst of this season's Broadway musicals. #BroadwayIsBackApparently!

Ben and Bran and Billy. We discuss Stephen Daldry's 2000 film and 2004 musical. Topics include coke, cross-dressing, and Maggie Thatcher. Visit our Patreon at patreon.com/moviethemusical !

Catch up on our Andrew Lloyd Webber miniseries in time for Evita this Friday! patreon.com/moviethemusical

We're joined by past guests Nina Starner and Brittany Coyne to chat about the 94th Annual Academy Awards. Topics include Dune Tunes, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Hollywood sickos. Vic Berger: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOH37W0jPpA&ab_channel=VicBerger Sorry for the weird breaks in episodes! We'll be back to regularity soon.

Playwright John Fisher journeys with us to Tromaville to get toxic with the film-turned-musical The Toxic Avenger! Topics include bad taste, James Gunn, and the Alamo Drafthouse. Follow John on Twitter: @JohnRFish

Check out our Patreon! patreon.com/moviethemusical

Ben and Bran turn this organization into an Anarcho-syndicalist commune to chat about Monty Python. Topics include Dolly the Sheep, problematic Brits, and Rocko. Check out our Patreon at patreon.com/moviethemusical

Sibling duo Sophie Scanlon and Marty Scanlon join us for this larger-than-life episode on the Penny Marshall cinematic hit, BIG, and the Maltby/Shire musical flop, BIG! Topics include sweaty premises, The Lord of the Rings, and singing children. Follow Sophie's cabaret “You Be The Guy”: https://www.youbetheguy.com/ Find Marty (https://martyscanlon.com/) on Twitter: @mcscan

2 B's and a bubble. Topics include turn of the millennium comedies, Howard Stern, and a good adaptation.

Guestless and restless, the duo discusses Steven Spielberg's 2002 hit and Terrence McNally's 2011 flop. Topics include Leo DiCaprio, Fake Hanks, and bingo cards.

Enjoy this recording of our live show! Thanks for joining us this year. We're gonna take a few weeks off from the main feed and we'll see you in January! If you can't wait that long, please join us over at patreon.com/moviethemusical for some sweet bonus content. Happy Holidays!

It was a holiday weekend! Enjoy this peek at our Patreon feed with Ben, Bran and Em Modaff, composer of our theme song and all around talented person. They're currently starring in "Hundred Days" at Kokandy Productions. https://www.kokandyproductions.com/hundred-days/ emiliemodaff.com patreon.com/moviethemusical Thanks so much to everyone that came to our live show at Davenport's! Rest in peace, Stephen Joshua Sondheim.

Actor Alison Kertz dives into the river with us to talk all things Big Fish. Topics include Danny DeVito, legacy, and sons. Alison Kertz on everything: @alisonkertz

Elizabeth Gottleib labors all day to discuss Dolly Parton's star vehicle. Topics include Pigeon Forge, big hair, and hot baritones. Follow Liz on Twitter: @DrDillamond Come see us live on 11/19 at Davenport's Cabaret! https://www.eventbrite.com/e/movie-the-musical-the-cabaret-tickets-183564214507?aff=ebdsoporgprofile

Our good luck charm, Sid Branca returns to chat about Fellini's masterpiece and it's numeral musical adaptation. Topics include autobiographical filmmaking, art about art, and Italian Heritage. Sid Branca's website: http://sidbranca.com/ Come see us live at Davenport's Piano Bar and Cabaret on Friday, November 19th at 8pm! https://www.eventbrite.com/e/movie-the-musical-the-cabaret-tickets-183564214507?aff=ebdsoporgprofile

Bradley Halverson rises from the dead to discuss Mel Brooks' and Gene Wilder's classic creature feature. Topics include Boris Karloff, spookiness, and the most quotable film from America. https://www.bradleyhalverson.com/

Writer/director Fred Pelzer is here to chat about the dark-hearted flop. Topics include the lyin' news media, streaming rights, and film noir. fredpelzer.com

We've escaped the icy grip of Walt only to fall into a time loop from 1993. Esther Fallick gets snowed in with the pod to talk about Harold Ramis and Bill Murray's perennial favorite and its 2016 stage adaptation. Topics include breaking eggs, tiny cameras, and Australian idioms. Follow @estherfallick on social media! Buy tickets to our upcoming live show on Friday November 19th! https://www.eventbrite.com/e/movie-the-musical-the-cabaret-tickets-183564214507?aff=ebdsoporgprofile

We love each other so much. Come see us live! Friday, November 19, 8pm at Davenport's Piano Bar and Cabaret! Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/movie-the-musical-the-cabaret-tickets-183564214507?aff=ebdsoporgprofile More info at davenportspianobar.com

The wonderful Grace Aki (Tell Me On a Sunday podcast) joins us to close out our Disney season with, what else, Disney's latest animated behemoth, Frozen. Topics include Panic at the Disco, the future of Disney, and Ben and Bran's official rankings of the films and musicals discussed this season! Listen to Grace's podcast Tell Me on a Sunday: https://spoti.fi/3mkUjNj More from Grace: bit.ly/3BGZkXo

29. The Hunchback of Notre Dame (w/ Rauly Luna) Playwright Rauly Luna (El Bear) journeys with us to Paris to discuss the *other* Victor Hugo musical! Topics include corrupt systems of organized religion, the TV show Reboot, and the magnificence of French architecture. @elbearwasthere https://newplayexchange.org/users/40383/rauly-luna Twitter @LunaRauly

Nina Starner returns to tackle the classic body-swapping comedy Freaky Friday! Topics include would-be-assassins, Jamie Lee Curtis, and the amorphous nature of contemporary Broadway musicals. Follow Nina Starner on Twitter: @ninastarner Check out Nina on Looper: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kqr1QZCDrzQ&list=PLOzaghBOlEsdLV6P3E_NczZsLEAUOihc1

27. Aladdin (w/ Tina Munoz Pandya) Tina Munoz Pandya returns for a magic carpet ride into the world of Aladdin. Topics include stereotypes, animal sidekicks, and Big Willy Style. Tina Muñoz Pandya is a Chicago-based actor, singer, musician, teaching artist, and co-founder/producer of We the People present: A Podcast. She also insisted on nothing that she is the following: a Nancy Drew computer game enthusiast, musical theatre nerd, food tv fan, certified British person, horse girl, and owner of at least 6 Shakespeare-themed soaps. We the People present: A Podcast The Vanishing Act https://www.theaterwit.org/plays/2021/mrburns/

Hope Rehak joins the pod to carry the banner and deliver those papes! Topics include strikes, pirouettes, and Teddy Roosevelt. https://thebaffler.com/latest/newsies-marshall https://linktr.ee/hoperehak www.hoperehak.com

Our first ever guest, Bianca Phipps, finally returns to travel all the way from the ogre's swamp to join us Under the Sea and talk about the chaotic history of the stage adaptation of The Little Mermaid. Topics include Hot Fish Dads, heelys, and toxic positoovity. More info on “Crown Noble”: https://buttonpoetry.com/product/crown-noble/ The Pod Has Been Cast: https://www.thephbcast.com/

Ben and Bran are talkin' Tarz! Topics include diegesis, colonialism, and Phil Collins.

The illustrious Zach Barr (And Now They Sing!) triumphantly returns to the pod to dig into Disney's first live-action stage adaptation, Mary Poppins. Topics include Sherry Bobbins, P.L. Travers, and musicals about houses. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/28/movies/mary-poppins-returns-blackface.html Zach Barr on Twitter/Instagram: @AdmiralZachBarr And Now, They Sing on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUJsQHlW1syyvbVa0AsCZyQ Zach's Ko-Fi Page: https://ko-fi.com/admiralzachbarr

Director Chika Ike returns to the pod to discuss the surprisingly daring stage adaptation of The Lion King. Topics include circles, tardiness, and The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. More from Chika Ike: https://www.chikavike.com/

Theatre Warrior Gaby Labotka agrees to Be Our Guest this week as we begin our journey into the world of the Disney Theatrical Productions canon with Beauty & The Beast. Topics include candle-on-feather-duster action, terrifying Beast costumes, and Schmigadoon! www.gabylabotka.com Follow Gaby: @Theatre_Warrior Groups of Ten or More People: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gp1PXYgU0b0

Does the wind come sweeping down the plains? How sweet does the waving wheat smell? No guests, only vibes. Topics include dream ballets, Arizona, and Ben Platt's terrible wig. Subscribe for more like this at patreon.com/moviethemusical

Sara Costello returns to discuss the Sandman and pop music throughout the ages. Topics include wedding season, divorce season, Ellen Degeneres, and Season 3! https://www.instagram.com/saracosty/ https://twitter.com/SaraCosty

Filmmaker/actor Connor Allen Smith (Prairie Creek Productions) returns to discuss Fellini. Topics include temporal pincers, guilt, and Britney Spears. Connor (they/he) is an Arkansas-native, Chicago-based actor, director, & producer. They really love movies! You can find out which on their letterboxd and the kinds they like to make on their production company's website. Though, lately, you can find them on the couch eating a pint of ice cream or pretending to read a book but also (sometimes) prepping their new project "Happy Birthday, Jimmy!" (sponsored by the Independent Film Alliance). Prairie Creek Productions: https://prairiecreek.pro/ Support “Happy Birthday, Jimmy!”: https://givebutter.com/hbd-jimmy https://www.instagram.com/kondorfalcon/ https://www.facebook.com/PraireCreekPro

Catherine Miller returns to pass the dutchie on the left hand side and talk about propaganda piece Reefer Madness and it's subversive reshaping. Topics include weed, boring christian films, and Muppet Babies. Follow Catherine Miller on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Scuffsta https://www.jackalopetheatre.org/

17. XANADU America's Sweetheart Tyler Symone travels back with us to the cocaine-fueled 1980's to dig into the psychedelic movie-musical flop that inspired a pretty kooky musical-theater reclamation project! Topics include the Razzie Awards, buckets of cocaine, and Zanna, Don't! Tyler Symone is a New York City based actress and is delighted to have been able to join an episode of MOVIE: The Musical! She has been across regional stages and playhouses since graduating from in 2019 as well as social media platforms like TikTok and Youtube since starting her content creation brand Tipsy Tee LLC in 2020. Find more out about Tyler on tylersymone.com instagram: @thetylersymone

Put your hands together for performer extraordinaire Eileen Tull who joins us to tell you what it's all about. Old Hollywood, Old Broadway, and a truly bumpy night. Topics include Michael Shannon, gay overtones, and #SpankToMank . Eileen Tull is a storyteller, writer, poet, comedian, and one-woman-show person. She has performed throughout the country, from San Francisco to New York City, including in the SF Fringe, New Seeds Festival, United Solo, the Cincy Fringe, the Minnesota Fringe Festival, and the Dallas Solo Festival. Her work has been seen all over Chicago in theatres, bookstores, art galleries, bars and other non-traditional spaces. Currently, Eileen writes about movies and pop culture on her blog Is This Film School? She is a drama instructor with the Chicago Park District, and her work as a creative activist was recognized by The White House in 2016.

Writer Andy Boyd journeys with us to a cabin in the woods (ooOOOoooh!) to dig into the spooky world of Sam Raimi and the fantastically Not Great musical it inspired! Topics include the Star Wars Prequels, the death of irony, and A Farewell to Arms. Andy Boyd is a playwright, cartoonist, and songwriter based in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. His play The Trade Federation, or, Let's Explore Globalization Through the Star Wars Prequels was recently published by NoPassport Press, and his play Three Scenes in the Life of a Trotskyist is available as a podcast. You can find out more about Andy at andyjboyd.com or by following his Instragram @andyjboyd. Follow Andy and buy his play: https://www.instagram.com/andyjboyd/ https://www.andyjboyd.com/ https://www.lulu.com/en/us/shop/andy-boyd/the-trade-federation-or-lets-explore-globalization-through-the-star-wars-prequels/paperback/product-8wr68g.html?page=1&pageSize=4 https://newplayexchange.org/users/1802/andy-boyd

A free taste of the patreon for you sick little puppies! Sid Branca returns to discuss the best thing we will ever cover on this show. Topics include puppets, frame rates, and Italian American heritage. Follow Sid on everything: http://sidbranca.com/ Subscribe to the Patreon: patreon.com/moviethemusical

Playwright Beth Hyland joins the pod to talk Problematic Faves, Top 5 Lists, and how a Nick Hornby novel became the basis for cinematic and theatrical male ego in the best - and worst - ways. Topics include Glengarry Glen Ross, Jack Black, and the gentrification of Wicker Park. Beth Hyland is a playwright, screenwriter, and songwriter based in Chicago. Her plays and musicals been produced and developed in the UK at the Octagon Theatre, in New York at The Hearth, and around Chicago at Steppenwolf LookOut, The Sound, Jackalope Theatre, First Floor Theater, The Story Theatre, The Passage Theatre, Sideshow Theatre, and others. She is the co-founder and playwright-in-residence of The Sound, and you can find her online at bethhyland.com

All aboard the VW bus! Nina Starner (Looper) returns to the pod to discuss the curious case of how a pretty good writing team turned a pretty good movie into a pretty bad musical. Topics include There Will Be Blood, Bennifer, and Honey Boo Boo. Follow Nina Starner on Twitter: @ninastarner

Comic genius Brittany Handler blabs on Don Bluth in our horniest episode yet. Topics include the Fiddler Cinematic Universe, cold war propaganda, and Gleb. Follow Brittany Handler on Twitter: twitter.com/canigetahandler

The wonderful and hilarious Rivkah Reyes (Where Are We Now? Podcast, School of Rock) joins Ben and Bran to laugh our heads off discussing the comic satirical antics of Mel Brooks. From an Oscar-winning film to a record-breaking Tony Award-winning Broadway bonanza, what changed from stage to screen in the story of Bialystock and Bloom? Topics include Nazis, tubed meats, Osama Bin Laden, and The Academy Awards. Rivkah Reyes (they/she, but mostly they) is a queer Filipinx-Jewish actor, musician, comedian, producer and writer from Chicago. Since their movie debut in the 2003 film School of Rock, Riv has been a prominent force in the comedy and theater scenes of Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York. They have worked with The Second City in Chicago on several sketch revues and performed improv, sketch, and stand-up at iO, The Hollywood Improv, The Laugh Factory, Club Cumming and Las Culturistas' I Don't Think So Honey! Live. Riv resides in Los Angeles and spends their days drinking tea, listening to lo-fi beats, and being a spooky witch. Follow Riv: rivkahreyes.com Where Are We Now?: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/where-are-we-now-with-rivkah-reyes/id1559667545 Bad Animal: https://www.badanimal-film.com/

Master of Multimedia Sid Branca joins the pod to journey on down to Skid Row and investigate the equally exciting worlds of Roger Corman, and Howard Ashman & Alan Menken! Who knew that a man-eating plant would become a musical-theatre sensation, and inexplicably save the Disney corporation? Topics include arpeggios, Chicago storefront theater, and hot nerds. Sid Branca is a multimedia artist, writer, and educator working at the intersection of moving image media, performance, and creative writing. They make video works, media performances, book projects, and music and sound art. They also work as a projection designer and serve as the Director of New Media for First Floor Theater, and teach moving image media at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Their critical writing often focuses on queer and trans metaphorical readings of science fiction and horror genre films and literature. Theatrical adaptation, popular music, and musical theater often appear in their work, and so they were especially delighted to speak about Little Shop here on Movie: the Musical. Low Budget Audrey Twos: https://tumblrgallery.xyz/tumblrblog/625355.html Article mentioned by Sid: http://gutsmagazine.ca/no-one-makes-it-out-alive/ Sid Branca’s website: http://sidbranca.com/

Casting Director Catherine Miller dishes on the popular kids in our discussion on the 1988 cult classic, and the conversation gets oh so very. Topics include strip croquet, Vampire Academy, and Welsh dialects. Follow Catherine Miller on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Scuffsta https://www.jackalopetheatre.org/

Director Chika Ike joins the pod to talk the king of camp himself, John Waters, and how his hair-hoppin’ 80’s feature film got *ahem* watered down in musical translation. Topics include roaches, Debbie Does Dallas, Hollywood Shuffle, and white liberal nonsense. Support Chicago Community Bond Fund here: https://chicagobond.org/ Support GoodKidsMadCity: https://www.gkmcenglewood.com/donate More from Chika Ike: https://www.chikavike.com/ Shadow/Land with the Public: https://publictheater.org/productions/season/2021/shadowland/

MEAN GIRLS Theater Producer, and friend of the pod, Danielle Stack (Jackalope Theatre Company) joins Ben and Bran to find out whether Tina Fey’s iconic teen girl film-turned-musical is really as fetch as we remember. Topics include Tim Meadows, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Teen Girl Squad, and Mank! (Apologies for some audio issues on this episode!) Danielle Stack (she/her) is a theatre producer based in Chicago. Born and raised in Texas, she's been living in Chicago for the past ten years. She is the Artistic Producer for Jackalope Theatre where she has been producing their all digital season of short plays based on current events (Living Newspaper Series), and full length commissioned plays (New Frontier Series), that you can watch on YouTube. Her passions include croissants, egg bagels, and listening to her husband talk about movie-to-musical adaptations and responding "that's wild." Jackalope Theatre: https://www.jackalopetheatre.org/ Jackalope YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/JackalopeTheatre/videos

Filmmaker/actor Connor Allen Smith (Prairie Creek Productions) joins the pod to get wild with Billy Wilder, as we explore the journey of one of the earliest examples of a film-to-stage adaptation. Topics include Tony Soprano, horny executives, camera lenses, and how everyone’s rent is too damn high. Connor (they/he) is an Arkansas-native, Chicago-based actor, director, & producer. They really love movies! You can find out which on their letterboxd and the kinds they like to make on their production company’s website. Though, lately, you can find them on the couch eating a pint of ice cream or pretending to read a book but also (sometimes) prepping their new project "Happy Birthday, Jimmy!" (sponsored by the Independent Film Alliance). Prairie Creek Productions: https://prairiecreek.pro/ Watch “Fletcher”: https://prairiecreek.pro/fletcher [available through April as part of the Cinema Femme Festival] Support “Happy Birthday, Jimmy!”: https://givebutter.com/hbd-jimmy https://www.instagram.com/kondorfalcon/ https://www.facebook.com/PraireCreekPro

Don’t you dare say the name of this episode three times, we beg you! Actor and comedian Sara Costello joins the pod this week to discuss the ghost with the most and his spooky stage debut! Topics include hot Alec Baldwin, fan fiction as adaptation, Johannes Gutenberg, Harry Belafonte, and moms named Martha. https://www.instagram.com/saracosty/ https://twitter.com/SaraCosty

Director, writer, and video essayist Zach Barr (And Now They Sing) joins Ben and Bran to explore the entrancing and, oftentimes, depressing world of the Beales of Grey Gardens. How did this formless piece of iconic documentary cinema get transformed into a two-act book musical? Topics include the Kennedys, the ethics of documentary filmmaking, 9/11 Truthers, and all sizes of Edie. Resources Against Anti-Asian Violence: https://anti-asianviolenceresources.carrd.co/ Zach Barr on Twitter/Instagram: @AdmiralZachBarr And Now, They Sing on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUJsQHlW1syyvbVa0AsCZyQ Zach’s Ko-Fi Page: https://ko-fi.com/admiralzachbarr

Stephen, you horny devil. Actor and musician Tina Muñoz Pandya joins Ben and Bran to speak in praise of Bergman, Sondheim, and the joys of weekend-ing in the country. Topics include sad boys, Maya Rudolph, sexy buttons, and the brilliance of Amber Gray. Tina Muñoz Pandya is a Chicago-based actor, singer, musician, teaching artist, and co-founder/producer of We the People present: A Podcast. She also insisted on nothing that she is the following: a Nancy Drew computer game enthusiast, musical theatre nerd, food tv fan, certified British person, horse girl, and owner of at least 6 Shakespeare-themed soaps. Check out: We the People present: A Podcast Check out: The Vanishing Act

International Reese Witherspoon expert Nina Starner parlays with the pod to prosecute the 2001 instant classic. Is the story of Elle Woods “So Much Better” on stage than on screen? Or does this musical adaptation need to hit the books and study up? Topics include dogs on stage, Elijah Wood, Win a Date with Tad Hamilton, and the horny Harvard admissions board. Nina Starner is a pop culture obsessive and freelance writer who currently works at Looper as a staff writer in their news and feature departments. She splits her time between her hometown of Philadelphia and Paris, where she's pursuing a creative writing Master's degree from the University of Kent. Since 2001, she has been searching for an exact replica of Elle Woods' pink belted courtroom dress.