No Small Parts: Recent Episodes
A Broadway Boys Podcast
Welcome to the No Small Parts podcast, hosted by Matt & Brian. These self proclaimed musical theatre nerds set out to explore the forgotten, misunderstood or infamous-in-a-good-way musicals in the Broadway canon. Each week one of the boys will be the 'expert' and assign the other a cast recording they have never heard. We will get their first reaction and see if they can explain what is going on. The expert will then take us through the production history, audience reception, and finally reveal the plot and themes of the musical. We hope you enjoy the show!
The boys are back in town - and that town is New York City! This week, we hop on the pod to talk though Brian’s grand return to the Great White Way. We cover 6 SHOWS! Theatre etiquette, flaccid pyrotechnics, Bri’s leather jacket, “The Elphaba Incident” and we do our best Ari as Glinda impressions.
In the season 2 finale, the boys wrap up Wet Hot American Jukebox Musical Summer with the critically panned We Will Rock You. Both Matt and Bri recount how this show really rocked their socks off, but are left questioning why? What drug did they put in this show that made us love it so much? Was it our mutual love of Erica Peck that kept us rushing back?
This is the penultimate episode of our Wet Hot American Jukebox Musical Summer and we’re chatting about Moulin Rouge, the musical that told Glee, “hold my beer” and threw the jukebox off the roof. Is this sparkling diamond a feast for the eyes or does it make you feel like a plastic bag…?
This week, Matt revisits a show they both saw and did not like. BUT after digging a bit deeper into this dreary, depressing and not-so-average jukebox musical, has Matt Stockholm’d himself into liking it? Can he convince Bri to like it too? Only one way to find out…
This week Brian and Matt take it way back and dig up their Jagged Little Pill cassette tapes and talk about how that album really meant something to both of them, then Brian ruins it all by telling Matt how much he hated the musical.
Heads up before you listen: this musical dives into arguably too many subjects one of them being sexual assault & we do touch on that topic in this episode.
This week Matt takes Bri though what he can remember of is $18 Head Over Heels experience, but the details are a bit foggy (probably because of the liquid dinner they had pre-show). Did Matt ‘get up and Go-Go?’ Was it a ‘vision of nowness?’ You will have to listen because ‘our lips are sealed.’
Welcome to Season Two, drama club! Hope you saved your quarters because our summer program will be all about the jukebox musical. First up is Mamma Mia!, the musical that started the jukebox craze on Broadway. Find out why this Italian musical is set in Greece and not Sweden, why the fourth mystery dad might be Heavenly and the possible title for Mamma Mia 3. Get ready for a walk down the aisle you’ll never forget!
In the final episode of season one we see a glimmer of hope on the horizon as Broadway announces shows will be back this fall. Does this mean that the Jar Jar Binks of musicals, Love Never Dies has a 4th chance at a Broadway debut? Is it a sequel or is it a companion piece, we aren't really sure, but Matt and Brian sure have a lot of questions.
The drama club is finally back in session and this week Brian and Matt fall down the rabbit hole (or the service elevator shaft) into Wonderland, the musical that may have started this whole endeavour. The book is a mess, the music is eclectic, and the staging is questionable, almost as if the Mad Hatter herself wrote this on the other side of the looking glass. Will the boys find anything worth saving or are they just chasing the White Rabbit into chaos?
Apologies for missing this weekends Sunday matinee, but our final two episodes need a bit more time in the green room. Brian and Matt read our first ever listener reviews! Then they talk abut what’s in store for our eleven o’clock number, aka season one’s finale, and what might be in the works for season two.
This week Matt is really grumpy and Bri is to blame. First doesn’t always mean best as we dive into the first ever rock opera. The Who’s Tommy. Is this musical a pinball hero or a big fat zero? This one leaves us asking WHO is this for???
Spring is busting out all over this week! Matt and Bri talk about a musical that may have gone one too many times around the carrousel. Is this painted pony relevant anymore? Why do audiences love this show about a slap-happy good time at a clam bake? Your guess is as good as ours.
This week our good friend (and soon to be your good friend) Hilary Wilson drops by the drama room to help Brian and Matt figure out how they both missed the Broadway bio musical about conjoined twins Daisy and Violet Hilton. How did they do the choreography? Why does this sounds so expensive? How does Alice Ripley’s voice blend so well? We may have the answers for you!
Welcome back Drama Club, join us at the first annual anti polio picnic and vaccination carnival! This week Brian and Matt dig into their musical theatre past before shedding a single tear for the cult classic Cry Baby, an almost campy musical possibly better suited for the Baltimore Community Players than Broadway.
For episode five, Matt walks Bri down the smoggy London streets of the almost-hit musical Jekyll and Hyde. Listen now to hear all about community theatre capers, George Bush’s inauguration, David Hasselhoff and the healing properties of a good hair-tie.
In this week’s episode, Brian and Matt discuss American Psycho The Musical (yes, you read that correctly). All of the skin care, fashion, consumerism and 80's coke you could snort - with macarena style choreography! Matt tries to decipher the plot of this bizarre adaptation and Brian digs into the production history. Did we really record this episode or was it all in our head?
This week the boys swing themselves into the tangled web that is Spiderman Turn Off The Dark. Perhaps one of the most talked about musicals of all time. Matt takes us though the history of this high flying, larger than life mega musical with the price tag to match that has some twists and turns Brian does not see coming. Forget what you may already know about the spider boy wonder, because this my leave you with more questions than answers.
This week is Bri's turn to pick the show, and his choice may have left Matt a little "brain dead." The star-studded off-Broadway recording leaves Matt with more questions than answers. Can Bri help Matt navigate his way through this musical that the New York Times said is "like passing a group of animated, slightly-drunken revellers on the street?"
Just like in live theatre if you fall 15 feet in a roller disco musical you get back on your feet because 'the show must go on!'. Our original upload of this episode had some technical difficulties and we never actually get to hear Matt try and explain the plot to Brian, so we have cut that part into a mini episode for you all. Thank you for listening and enjoy act 2 of our Starlight Express episode, "A Lotta Locomotion".