#67: 42nd Street (2001 revival), celebrating the New Year with Phil Crosby

For this first episode of 2026, I expose perhaps the most embarrassing gap in my theater knowledge. I often say I'm not as devoted a theater nerd as you might expect from someone who's written about theater for more than 25 years and has a theater history podcast but this episode is the proof. 

I am ashamed to say I have never in my life seen what may be the ultimate Broadway lover's Broadway show, "42nd Street." This Broadway show about putting on a Broadway show includes all of the benchmarks of a Golden Age musical, even though the original idea for adapting the movie into a show only came to fruition in 1980.

Even though this show exposed a huge gap in my theater knowledge, my guest is possibly the best person to talk about it: the podcast's most frequent guest, Phil Crosby. In this, his 8th appearance, Phil once again brings his extensive knowledge base to bear in our conversation about this classic "small town girl becomes a star" story.

Phil was itching to dig deeper into the original production - and we couldn't help but dig into it a little - but in our consideration of the revival, we talk about why this show plays so well with certain generations, why it doesn't necessarily require big name stars, and what changed (for the better but arguably for the worse) between the original and the revival.

Be sure and check out my website, ChasingPhantom.net, for more information related to the 2001 revival of "42nd Street" and, most importantly, some relevant video clips. Happy 2026! Let's hope this one's better than last year!