Explaining Musicals, with Lindsay Ellis

If an emotion is too big for talking, you sing. If it's too big for singing, you dance. And if it's too big for dancing, well, you just gotta podcast!

Writer, podcaster, and video essayist Lindsay Ellis knows a thing or two about outsized Broadway emotions—in addition to her many other pursuits, she's created a whole side endeavor talking about them on her musical theater podcast, Musicalsplaining. Ellis guested on last year's Strong Songs episode about Hadestown, and it seemed only natural to have her back for a longer conversation about musical theater.

Back in March, she and Kirk hopped on Zoom and chatted about the first musicals they loved, why musicals resonate with teens, how Hadestown's visual design helps tell a story, and just what the deal is with Andrew Lloyd Webber.

CHECK OUT LINDSAY'S WORK

Lindsay's bestselling debut novel Axiom's End is now available, and her second one is on the way. She's a prolific video essayist, and has made some terrific videos about Lord Andy himself. She's also a co-host on the Musicalsplaining podcast.

REFERENCED ON THIS EPISODE:

• “All I Ask of You (Reprise),” and “Point of No Return” from The Phantom of the Opera (Original London Cast) by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Charles Hart, 1987
• “Cool” by Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim from West Side Story, New Broadway Cast Recording, 2009
• “Dead Mom” by Eddie Perfect performed by Sophia Anne Caruso from the Beetlejuice OCR, 2019
• "Non-Stop” by Lin-Manuel Miranda from Hamilton, 2015
• “Heaven on their Minds” by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice from Jesus Christ Superstar, original concept album, 1970
• “The Club” by Lin-Manuel Mirands from In The Heights, 2008
• “Any Way the Wind Blows,” “Come Home With Me,” “Chant,” and “Wedding Song” by Anäis Mitchell from Hadestown, 2019
• An offhand joke about “The Phantom of the Mall” which is an actual 1989 movie
• “Willkommen” by Kander, Ebb and Masteroff performed by Alan Cumming in the 1998 version of Cabaret
• "Man of Constant Sorrow,” trad. American Folk first published by Dick Burnett, performed by Dan Tyminski and the Soggy Bottom Boys in O Brother, Where Art Thou, 2000
• “Blinding Lights” by The Weeknd from After Hours, 2020

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STRONG PLAYLISTS

Kirk has condensed his Strong Songs picks into a single list, which you can find on Spotify and Apple Music, and YouTube Music.

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This bonus episode was made possible by Strong Songs' lovely Patreon backers. For more on how to become a patron and support the show, go here: https://Patreon.com/StrongSongs

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