Broadway Worlds: Recent Episodes
Hannah Adamy
A limited podcast anthology series about musical theatre pieces from the students of the Broadway Musicals class at UC Davis, Winter Quarter 2020.
Thank you to our contributors from MUS117 Sections 02 and 06!
Here are the written episodes. Enjoy!
- Sarah Williamson discusses The Phantom of the Opera(not written - just a crossover episode from another podcast!);
- Lara Kerwin discusses Something Rotten;
- Yunlei Liu discusses The White Haired Girl;
- Erica Mineo discusses Guys and Dolls
Arianna Oliveira asks whether or not this movie musical could be converted into a Broadway musical. How does it differ from traditional musicals, and how does this difference contribute to the film as a whole? Is this difference what would stop it from being on Broadway, does La La Land need the production of a film to come across? In our final podcast, Arianna discusses the nostalgic nods to the classic era of Hollywood film, especially as evoked through music.
Angela Hunt discusses Moulin Rouge! and the way it reworks different songs into the theme of the musical.
Alexis Harrison talks about Holiday Inn, specifically the differences between the original 1942 film and the stage production that opened on Broadway in 2016. Does the stage version succeed over the film at integrating the songs into the plot? Tune in to find out!
Yiping Su focuses on the concepts of acceptance and individualityand how might they be similar or dissimilar according to social contexts in Disney's Mary Poppins Returns.
LJ Azaula identifies the influence of golden age musicals on the Disney Renaissance (The Little Mermaid (1989) - Tarzan (1999)). He compare the structure and format of these movies with classic musicals, like Oklahoma!, Show Boat, etc. in order to demonstrate the impact of integrated musicals on these Disney movies from back then and today.
Leilani Barbee discusses High School Musical: its themes of acceptance of others and of ourselves, and how it became a staple musical for younger generations and inspired them to explore musical theatre.
Alyssa Ramirez discusses discrimination and race as portrayed through zombies and werewolves in the Disney movie musical Zombies 2.
Giovanna Fuentes-Rivas talks about gender in Grease. She analyzes Sandy and Danny’s relationship and whether or not it is something that should be celebrated/promoted.
Quoc Nguyen talks about Be More Chill and the musical's message on teenage social hierarchy, mental illness, and substance abuse.
Robin Nguyen discusses Dear Evan Hansen and its portrayal of social anxiety, if it was successful in this portrayal, and how it impacts society's perspective on this matter and mental health in general.
Nicole Wagner talks about how different musical and dance styles identify social class/popularity in the musical Heathers.
Michelle Fay discusses both the salient points and reception of the Broadway adaptation of Disney's Frozen.
Mina Dang discusses Legally Blonde andthe idea of privilege (Harvard Variations) and long-lived stereotypes, such as the idea that a woman has to follow a man, and how the musical reverses these stereotypes!
Candace Nguyen explores themes of Good vs. Evil, commenting on the defining "villains," and social norms/assimilation within Wicked juxtaposed to The Wizard of Oz.
Katie Yust discusses the musical Hello, Dolly! and its class system and what is viewed as "appropriate" for each class system as illustrated by the relationship between Horace and his daughter, as well as with Barnaby and Cornelius in the song "Elegance."
Aaron Wuerth talks about Rocky Horror Picture Show and its, at the time, contentious themes of sexuality, gender, and societal norms.
Elisa Gonzalez talks about the musical Hairsprayand how it largely focuses on how this musical confronts racism in its lyrics, music, and choreography.
Nicholas Bond Bishop researches how gender and sexuality is treated in Hedwig and The Angry Inch.
Haochuan Pan discusses Mamma Mia! as a musical for people who love life and why many people love it so much.
Hallie Yu discusses Cabaretand the theme of "being a bystander". Set in Nazi Germany, in Berlin, Cabaret presents characters that fall onto a "spectrum" of sorts when it comes to either supporting the Nazi party, not supporting the Nazi party and actively trying to help the people affected by them, and then the bystanders who neither really contributed or fought against them. Hallie analyzes why this happened while also talking about the affect of the music and dancing which make this musical so entrancing.
Jonathan Chu explores why two lesser known (and rather unpopular in their own time) Founding Fathers received such attention and acclaim in modern American media, focusing on John Adams and his depiction in the musical 1776, and Alexander Hamilton in Hamilton.
Transcript available.
Rebecca Bania discusses 1776 in the context of the Nixon White House, and how sometimes, a musical can seriously affect those in power and their responses (if any) to it.
Alex Gallardo discusses Hamilton and its values among the political scene while also considering its relevance to today's world.
Josh Mendelson discusses the musical Chicago and particularly looks at the roles of vaudeville, gender roles, and the idea of spectacle surrounding the criminal.
Natalie Chow discusses the musical Guys and Dolls and how its elements relate to those of other classic Broadway musicals, such as the juxtaposition of two couples (Oklahoma!), musical elements that represent other countries (use of claves in West Side Story), and what elements make it considered a "perfect" musical.
Noah Vanderveer-Harris speaks on West Side Story's current and historical versions, and how race has interplay with the gang-related violence in this show.
Yixuan Liu discusses the background, character, and plot of Rent, specifically the songs "Seasons of Love" and "I'll Cover You."
Sheridan Scarborough focuses on social class in Newsies by looking at how the newsboys are treated.
Though not strictly a "New York community," Christina White considers New York in Canadian context in her discussion of the musical Come From Away, a recent Broadway musical revolving around the terrorist attacks of 9/11. She explores Islamophobia, as well as the broader theme of connecting as humans and coming together in a time of tragedy despite difference.
Eric Neumann discusses The Wiz and some of the major themes found in the musical, including: race, religion, social class, and slavery and emancipation. Eric also focuses on the film's symbolic reclaim of Black culture, both through its music (jazz, R&B, gospel, disco, pop, and ragtime) as well as its styles of dance, such as tap and disco.
Dafne Contreras discusses the musical representation of In the Heights in how it portrays a Latinx community. It focuses on the notion of what it means to be part of a community, mainly what it means to be Latinx and what that looks like.
Diany Freire discusses In the Heights and focuses on the constant pressures on first generation college students, as well as the struggles of being an immigrant coming to the United States of America.
Welcome to the Broadway Worlds podcast, a project that delves into the songs, stories, and magic of musical theatre.
In this limited podcast series, we'll learn about musical theatre pieces from the students of the Broadway Musicals class at UC Davis.
You'll meet witches, princesses, criminals, crap dealers, Bohemians, as well as your normal, everyday folks only...everyone sings and dances!
So hold onto your ear buds, and get ready to enter all these spectacular Broadway Worlds!