Originally published on Set The Tape
2020 has been something of a mixed year for musicals. On the one hand, Hamilton coming to Disney+ means that millions of people were able to experience one of the most popular musicals of the last decade, and there are so many more fans of it, but Covid has resulted in theatres having to close, and there are many shows that have been hit hard, some of which may struggle to return to the big stage. This makes 2020 a particularly brave year to start a podcast about musical theatre, but adversity can breed creativity, and so in the face of no theatres MusicalSplaining was born.
Billed as a podcast for ‘people who love musicals (and also for people who hate musicals)’, the two hosts come at the subject from very different angles. One of the hosts, YouTuber and New York Times best selling author Lindsay Ellis, is a big fan of theatre, and has been to many shows; on the other hand, her co-host, author and illustrator Kaveh Taherian, really doesn’t like them.
Together the two of them will go through some of the biggest names in musical theatre, and Lindsay will attempt to find a show that Kaveh will actually enjoy. Thanks to the aforementioned closure of theatres there are only a handful of times where Lindsay and Kaveh were able to see a live show before lockdowns came into effect, but thanks to some theatre recordings they’ve been able to carry on the podcast even in these trying times.
They cover the ‘original stage musical’ Cats (as well as the abhorrent 2019 film), The Phantom of the Opera, Rent, and The King And I, as well as some newer shows that have been spawned by popular films and bands, like Beetlejuice, Frozen, and Spongebob. Not only do they go through what they loved and loathed about each of these musicals, but will give you some interesting insight into how the shows came into being, awards they’ve won, and what the public generally thought about them.
MusicalSplaining might not be the show for everyone, just as musical theatre isn’t for everyone, but – as listeners discover over the course of the podcast – even someone who absolutely hates musical theatre can have a good time with some shows. That the sheer diversity and variety of the medium means that there’s something out there that anyone will like means that maybe this podcast might just be worth a listen. It might not make you fall in love with musical theatre, but it could help you discover something that you end up really enjoying.
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