Nothing Like Broadway: The Podcast
We pick one musical theater song, and then we pick it apart to figure out how it works in the context of the show. How do the music, lyrics, character, and story all flow from one amazing song to become something more than the sum of its parts? Host writer/composer David Rackoff does his best to explain it all.
Episodes
32 episodes
Do Re Mi (from The Sound of Music)
Let's start about 2/3 of the way through. No, not there. Let's start at the very beginning! A very good place to start. Host writer/composer David Rackoff looks at this very impressive song from Rodgers & Hammerstein. These would be some to...
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Season 2
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Episode 12
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21:49
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(Not) Getting Married Today (from Company)
Pardon me, is everybody here, because if everybody's here I'd like to thank you all for clicking on this podcast. Today, host writer/composer David Rackoff looks at how "Getting Married Today" by Stephen Sondheim works. And boy, does it work (a...
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Season 2
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Episode 11
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28:54
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Learn to Read Music in Five Minutes... Kind of (mini episode)
Actors and singers, today you will learn to read music in five minutes! (Okay, not five minutes, and not totally learn to read music). But writer/composer David Rackoff will give you a foothold in connecting the song you're going to sing to the...
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Season 2
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Episode 10
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15:48
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I'm Still Here (from Follies)
One of the best songs in any genre in the history of the world ever. Host writer/composer David Rackoff uncovers what makes this song so spectacular. You will have heebie-jeebies for Beebe's Bathysphere. (And you'll find out what all of the cra...
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Season 2
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Episode 9
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34:26
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Music or Lyrics: Which Comes First? (mini-episode)
Get into the nuts and bolts of songwriting with host writer/composer David Rackoff. We look at why songwriters would choose to write the music first. Or why they would choose to write the lyrics first. What are the pros and cons of each approac...
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Season 2
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Episode 8
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18:36
Over at the Frankenstein Place (from The Rocky Horror Show)
I'm sure you shiver with anticip-- SAY IT! --pation for today's episode. We look at the music, lyrics, and extravagant weirdness of this song, and this show. Host writer/composer David Rackoff also looks at the cultural significance of The Rock...
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Season 2
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Episode 7
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18:08
Laurie Beechman: A Songwriter's Favorite Singer
This week, writer/composer David Rackoff looks at the amazing Laurie Beechman, and what makes her voice and storytelling so special. If you don't know who she is yet... you're welcome. And if you know, well, then you know. She shone on stage in...
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Season 2
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Episode 6
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18:12
Burn (from Hamilton)
Host writer/composer David Rackoff explains why "Burn" from Lin-Manuel Miranda's "Hamilton" is actually a happy song. (What?!) We break down the music, lyrics, and performance of what is the "end of Act I" of Act II of "Hamilton" song. We look ...
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Season 2
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Episode 5
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27:51
The Perfect Scan (mini-episode)
What's more important than a perfect rhyme? A perfect scan. Every stress in the lyrics must fit with the stresses in the music. This is why (good) musical theater writers stress about stresses. Host writer/composer David Rackoff looks at what t...
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Season 2
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Episode 4
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15:31
Hasa Diga Eebowai (from The Book of Mormon)
Does it mean, "No worries for the rest of your days"? Kind of... This is one of the most shocking, funniest, and perhaps deepest songs in all of musical theater. The makers of "South Park" have created this delightful bit of blasphemy. Host wri...
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Season 2
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Episode 3
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27:50
What Technically Is a Rhyme? (mini pod)
You think you know what a rhyme is... But do you really? in this first mini-pod, we look at what is (and, more interestingly) what isn't a rhyme. Then host writer/composer David Rackoff plays a game where you have a moment to decide if a partic...
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Season 2
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Episode 2
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10:06
Part of Your World (from The Little Mermaid)
Is this the best “I Want” song of all time? Host writer/composer David Rackoff dives deep (sorry) into this fantastic Alan Menkin & Howard Ashman creation. The craftsmanship of this emotional, funny, charming song is quite a remarkable… wha...
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Season 2
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Episode 1
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27:16
Rose's Turn (from Gypsy)
In our season 1 finale, writer/composer David Rackoff tackles what may be the grandest achievement in musical theater songwriting. "Rose's Turn" is a mad scene, an aria, a showcase for the best musical theater actresses of all time. Stephen Son...
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Season 1
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Episode 20
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32:49
Sing Along (from Nothing Like Broadway)
How does a song get written? This is a fascinating episode where writer/composer David Rackoff breaks down his process in writing the song “Sing Along” from the musical “Nothing Like Broadway”. This is a fun, surprising episode where you get to...
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Season 1
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Episode 19
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33:46
One Day More (from Les Misérables)
One of the great Act I enders of all time, no question. But… are the things sung about all really happening “One Day More”? The answer may surprise you! Host writer/composer David Rackoff picks apart the music, lyrics, and storytelling that mak...
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Season 1
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Episode 18
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25:09
Popular (from Wicked)
We've all got Oz fever, so this week, writer/composer David Rackoff analyzes "Popular" from the musical "Wicked" by Stephen Schwartz. Why is the hook so catchy? Why are the lyrics so mind-blowing? How does this song help to tell the story of "W...
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Season 1
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Episode 17
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27:31
Stars and the Moon (from Songs for a New World)
Is this the ultimate cabaret song? Host writer/composer David Rackoff dives deep into one of his (and every songwriter's) favorite cabaret songs. Jason Robert Brown's gorgeous, diabolically manipulative "Stars and the Moon" is so much fun to wa...
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Season 1
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Episode 16
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27:00
The World's Most Famous Spy (from Nothing Like Broadway!)
Today, we get to peek inside the process of writing a patter/comedy song! Host David Rackoff looks at his own song, "The World's Most Famous Spy", to see how he came up with the concept, and how he wrote the music and lyrics to this song from t...
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Season 1
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Episode 15
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36:54
76 Trombones and Goodnight My Someone (from The Music Man)
Writer/composer David Rackoff delves into "Seventy-Six Trombones" and "Goodnight My Someone" from "The Music Man". Two great, unrelated songs. Or are they? These songs have more in common than you might think! It's a fast, fun episode this week...
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Season 1
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Episode 14
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19:28
You Gotta Get a Gimmick (from Gypsy)
One of my favorite numbers, one of your favorite numbers, one of everyone's favorite numbers: "You Gotta Get a Gimmick"! We'll talk about how writers "song-spot" to figure out where and what a song will be. And once you figure out that it's goi...
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Season 1
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Episode 13
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23:52
Send in the Clowns (from A Little Night Music)
Sondheim's biggest pop hit! But how does it work? And how does it work in the context of the show? Why is this an exercise in negative space? Is it about sex or love? Send in the clowns? Don't bother, writer/composer David Rackoff is here.
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Season 1
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Episode 12
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21:11
Meadowlark (from The Baker's Wife)
It’s the best song you’ve (maybe) never heard of! This week, writer/composer David Rackoff dives deep into “Meadowlark” by writer/composer Stephen Schwartz (Wicked). You’ll see why this song is the song that musical theater songwriters (includi...
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Season 1
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Episode 11
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41:11
Somewhere That's Green (from Little Shop of Horrors)
A song that pretty much everyone falls in love with. Writer/composer David Rackoff looks at why that is, and how this song unlocks the secret to why this tiny off-off-Broadway show is remembered and revived forty years later. All hail Howard As...
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Season 1
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Episode 10
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33:12
Keep It Gay (The Producers)
Who knew that this hilarious, silly song would yield our longest, most in-depth analysis so far! "Keep It Gay" has to be one of the funniest songs from one of the funniest shows ("The Producers") of all time. Yay Mel Brooks! This episode of the...
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Season 1
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Episode 9
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32:16
Finishing the Hat (from Sunday in the Park with George)
Today, host writer/composer David Rackoff has producer Zane Michael on the podcast to discuss "Finishing the Hat" from "Sunday in the Park with George" by Stephen Sondheim. They disagree, David shocks Zane with a riseque metaphor for the score ...
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Season 1
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Episode 8
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18:49
