Greg Jenner is joined in 20th-century New York by Dr Hannah Thuraisingam Robbins and comedian Desiree Burch to learn about the history of Broadway. Most of us are familiar with at least one Broadway musical, from classics like My Fair Lady and the Sound of Music to new favourites Hamilton and Wicked. In the last couple of decades, high-profile film adaptations of shows like Chicago, Cats and Les Misérables have brought musical theatre to a bigger audience than ever before. But whether or not you know your Rodgers & Hammerstein from your Lloyd Webber, the history of Broadway is perhaps more of a mystery. This episode explores all aspects of musical theatre, from its origins in the early years of the 20th century, to the ‘Golden Age’ in the 50s and the rise of the megamusical in the 80s. Along the way, Greg and his guests learn about the racial and class dynamics of Broadway, uncover musical flops and triumphs, and find out exactly what ‘cheating out’ is. This is a radio edit of the original podcast episode. For the full-length version, please look further back in the feed. Hosted by: Greg Jenner Research by: Hannah Campbell Hewson, Annabel Storr and Anna McCully Stewart Written by: Emmie Rose Price-Goodfellow, Emma Nagouse, and Greg Jenner Produced by: Emmie Rose Price-Goodfellow and Greg Jenner Audio Producer: Steve Hankey Production Coordinator: Ben Hollands Senior Producer: Emma Nagouse Executive Editor: James Cook
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Hello, and welcome to youo're Dead to me, the Radio 4 comedy podcast that takes history seriously.
My name is Greg Jenner.
I'm a public historian, author and broadcaster.
And today we are collecting our costumes and can canning into the chorus line as we learn all about the history of of Broadway.
And to help us, we have two very special theatrical stars in History Corner.
They're an associate professor in popular music and the director of the Black Studies department at the University of Nottingham.
They're an expert on musical theatre and research race and gender identity in popular culture.
They've published on everything from the wizard of Oz to Hamilton and my favourite, Frozen.
No, you let it go.