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PODCAST

So Much Stuff to Sing

Shannon Dohar and Erik Stadnik

A podcast about the American Musical. Hosted by Shannon in New York and Erik in Prague; twice monthly.

arts performing arts

All Episodes

34:49

Episode 132 - Summertime

So Much Stuff to Sing ·

2026/02/01

Stop 2 on our 100 year trip through the history of the American musical: 1935 and Porgy & Bess. With music by George Gershwin and lyrics by his brother Ira and original Porgy novelist Debose Heyward, Porgy & Bess was immediately hailed as a masterpiece when it debuted in 1935, though it has been troubled from the start by the question of whether it's too much of an opera to be a musical, and vice versa. As time has passed, the question of whether the piece is inherently racist has also risen and

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41:58

Episode 131 - Ol' Man River

So Much Stuff to Sing ·

2026/01/15

Welcome to 2026, where we're going to go through the first 100 years of the American Musical from its earliest days until the present to track the changes along the way. As a musical once said, the beginning is a very good place to start, so we're starting with 1927's Showboat -- arguably the beginning of what we'd come to call the American Musical. Written by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II, Showboat brought a seriousness of topic and of purpose to the musical stage while still incorporating

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36:02

Episode 130 - The Private and Intimate Life of the House

So Much Stuff to Sing ·

2025/12/06

After another plague of delays, we finally complete our miniseries on aging with the darkest and most brutal depiction of it we've seen. Once again, we return to Natasha, Pierre, & The Great Comet of 1812 by Dave Malloy with "The Private and Intimate Life of the House." This isn't a fun one, so listen with care. We will be back on January 15, 2026 with something unlike we've ever done -- stay tuned! All clips are from 2017's Natasha, Pierre, and The Great Comet of 1812: Original Broadway

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34:50

Episode 129 - Patiencia Y Fe

So Much Stuff to Sing ·

2025/11/01

Another grandmother joins us for this installment in our songs about aging, though Abuela Claudia isn't just anyone's grandmother, she is everyone's grandmother. Her solo "Patiencia Y Fe" is one of the standout moments in the standout score of Lin-Manuel Miranda's breakthrough show In the Heights, and Olga Merediz gives it everything she has. All clips are from 2008's In the Heights: Original Broadway Cast Recording featuring Olga Merediz and are protected by the Fair Use guidelines of

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35:33

Episode 128 - No Time at All

So Much Stuff to Sing ·

2025/10/28

We're back! We had an illness related delay, which was us being thematic, since illness is part of growing older...yeah, let's go with that. But we are back on track and here to talk about Stephen Schwartz's Pippin. In particular, we're looking at the 2012 revival and Andrea Martin's performance of "No Time at All." Definitely watch the performance for the full effect. You'll be glad you did. All clips are from 2013's Pippin: New Broadway Cast Recording featuring Andrea Martin and are

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35:31

Episode 127 - Sunrise, Sunset

So Much Stuff to Sing ·

2025/10/01

Out with the new and in with the old! Yes, we're moving from songs about growing up to songs about the act of having grown up, i.e., songs about aging and growing old. We're starting with a song from a show we have been slightly remiss in having only discussed once way back in the early days of our podcast, despite its tremendous popularity and cultural impact. Join us as we talk about "Sunrise, Sunset" from Bock & Harnick's classic Fiddler on the Roof. All clips are from 1971's Fiddler on the

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47:40

Episode 126 - You Will Be Found

So Much Stuff to Sing ·

2025/09/16

Fasten your seatbelts, it's going to be a bumpy podcast. After 5 years and 125 episodes, we're finally talking about one of the major smashes of the past decade: Pasek and Paul's Dear Evan Hansen. Winner of 6 Tonys -- including Best Actor for overnight sensation Ben Platt -- the show has had quite the interesting journey over the past couple of years. So join us as we talk about the DEH phenomenon, highlight the anthemic "You Will Be Found," and try to answer what, if anything, Evan learns as we

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34:57

Episode 125 - Ring of Keys

So Much Stuff to Sing ·

2025/09/01

More bildungsroman! More childhood discovery! More tears! This time, it's Fun Home that's making us cry, based on Alison Bechdel's graphic novel of the same name. The musical is by Jeanine Tesori and Lisa Krohn and won the 2015 Tony for Best Musical and features the absolutely wondrous and devastating song "Ring of Keys." Buckle up! All clips are from 2014's Fun Home: Original Cast Album featuring Syndey Lucas and are protected by the Fair Use guidelines of Section 107 of the Copyright Act for

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35:14

Episode 124 - When I Grow Up

So Much Stuff to Sing ·

2025/08/15

Who here wants to cry at the innocence and fragility of childhood?! Well, ready or not, here we go, because this episode features "When I Grow Up" from Matilda: The Musical written by Tim Minchin. And it definitely enters then canon of "SMSTS episodes where one or both hosts audibly stifles tears." Enjoy!(?) All clips are from 2011's Roald Dahl's Matilda: The Musical Original London Cast Recording and are protected by the Fair Use guidelines of Section 107 of the Copyright Act for criticism

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39:09

Episode 123 - 13 (Becoming a Man)

So Much Stuff to Sing ·

2025/08/06

Merriam-Webster defines a bildungsroman as "a novel about the moral and psychological growth of the main character." Well, we're not talking novels, but musicals --but otherwise, that definition fits nicely for our next mini-series, featuring songs about young people growing up. First up, "13 (Becoming a Man)" the title song and opening number to Jason Robert Brown's anti-triskaidekaphobic work 13. All clips are from 2008's 13: Original Broadway Cast Recording featuring Graham Phillips and are

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34:42

Episode 122 - You and Me (But Mostly Me)

So Much Stuff to Sing ·

2025/07/16

Shannon and Erik (but mostly Shannon) are here to close out our miniseries on comic duets with "You and Me (But Mostly Me)" from The Book of Mormon, written by Matt Parker, Trey Stone, and Bobby Lopez. Erik, meanwhile, details his theory of comic characters and why, for him, a lot of this song falls flat. All clips are from 2011's The Book of Mormon: Original Broadway Cast Recording featuring Andrew Rannells amd Josh God and Queen Latifah and are protected by the Fair Use guidelines of Section

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32:58

Episode 121 - Class

So Much Stuff to Sing ·

2025/07/01

What if a brilliant comic duet was also incredibly vulgar? Yes, we're talking "Class" from Kander & Ebb's Chicago, and we get into both why it was almost cut from the original production and why it was cut from the 2002 Oscar-winning film. All clips are from 2002's Chicago: Music from the Miramax Motion Picture featuring Katherine Zeta-Jones and Queen Latifah and are protected by the Fair Use guidelines of Section 107 of the Copyright Act for criticism and commentary. All rights reserved to the

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31:29

Episode 120 - Bosom Buddies

So Much Stuff to Sing ·

2025/06/24

We're back again, and just in time for Pride Month (Happy Pride!), we're talking about one of the queerest songs ever to appear in a totally "straight" musical: "Bosom Buddies" from 1966's Mame, with music and lyrics by Jerry Herman. Join us as we talk about Broadway, bitchiness, and Bea. All clips are from 1966's Mame: Original Broadway Cast Recording featuring Angela Lansbury and Bernadette Peters and are protected by the Fair Use guidelines of Section 107 of the Copyright Act for criticism and

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31:17

Episode 119 - Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better

So Much Stuff to Sing ·

2025/06/04

A few days late, but we hope it's worth the wait: it's new miniseries time! This time, we're looking at comedic duets, and we start with one of the most iconic examples of the genre: "Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better" by Irving Berling from 1946's Annie Get Your Gun. We talk a lot about the show, the song, and why the latter seems destined to outlive the former. All clips are from 1999's Annie Get Your Gun: The New Broadway Cast Recording featuring Bernadette Peters and Tom Wopat and are

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36:37

Episode 118 - Talent

So Much Stuff to Sing ·

2025/05/15

One final SondheimB-side before we depart. This time, we're looking at a show that's gone by many names, but has failed to make a huge impression under any of them. We're discussing at "Talent" from Road Show, aka Bounce aka Wise Guys. Never heard of it? You're not alone. N.B.: There is a very light swear in the song, at the very end. If you don't want your kids to hear it, just stop when we say goodbye. All clips are from 2009's Road Show: Original Cast Recording featuring Claybourne Elder and are

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35:57

Episode 117 - It's Only a Play

So Much Stuff to Sing ·

2025/05/01

We're talking The Frogs, perhaps the ultimate curio in the Sondheim canon. Originally staged at Yale as a side project during Sondheim's golden 70s, the show was eventually brought to Broadway in 2004 -- still the most recent Broadway debut for Sondheim -- by Nathan Lane, who expanded the original version and got Steve to write some new songs. Now a more recognizable work -- though still an off-beat one -- another major production is set for the London stage. But where do Shannon and Erik come down

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34:26

Episode 116 - With So Little To Be Sure Of

So Much Stuff to Sing ·

2025/04/15

Moving on with Sondheim B-Sides, we come to his very next show after Forum, namely the complete catastrophe that was Anyone Can Whistle. Co-written with Arthur Laurents, who also directed, the show was a massive flop, but it did give the world Broadway star Angela Lansbury, as well as an incredicle score. In this episode, we look at "With So Little To Be Sure Of," but not how it is in the show, necessarily. Curious? Listen and find out! All clips are from the 2020 online concert event Take Me to the

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41:04

Episode 115 - Comedy Tonight

So Much Stuff to Sing ·

2025/04/01

It is our annual tribuite to the God of Musical Theater, Stephen Sondheim, and for this year's festival we are exploring some songs of his from the shows that people rarely place among their favorites. The unloved, the ignored, the obscure, and the forgotten. Or, in this case, a show that many know, but doesn't tend to get thought of as a "Sondheim" show. It's time for a song from his first produced show writing both music and lyrics: "Comedy Tonight" from A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the

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36:40

Episode 114 - The Field

So Much Stuff to Sing ·

2025/03/15

Okay, don't panic! No, you've probably never heard of this song "The Field" -- or maybe even this show --Octet -- but what if I told you it was Dave Malloy's follow up to The Great Comet? And then what if I told you it was a weird chamber musical about internet addiction? Well, maybe listen to the episode anyway, and join us as we discuss the nature of Art, whether the internet is bad, and the fundamental nature of reality. Y'know, the stuff of musicals. All clips are from the 2019 original cast

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34:19

Episode 113 - The Song of Purple Summer

So Much Stuff to Sing ·

2025/03/01

Our next ensemble song takes us to 1890s Germany via Broadway in 2006. Spring Awakening, with book and lyrics by Steven Sater and music by rocker Duncan Sheik, is based on an 1891 German play that explores many of the worst things that can occur to a person, especially during adolescence. Winner of 8 Tonys, the show speaks frankly about sexuality, abuse, and mental health, and while "The Song of Purple Summer" -- which we talk about in this episode -- doesn't address those issues directly, the show

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