Who gets to tell the story? It's the season finale, and it feels like a perfect time to travel back to 2015, when a blockbuster hip-hop musical about America’s founders took the world by storm. That's right... Today, Peter and Nathan return to the room where it happened and consider the theology of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton. _________________________________________ You’ll hear: My Shot / Wait For It / The Ten Duel Commandments: Hamilton & Burr—like Valjean & Javert, like Jesus & Judas—represent oppositional forces, responding to similar circumstances with radically different approaches to life. They also each get a great “I Want” song. Burn / Quiet Uptown / Say No To This: Eliza Schuyler Hamilton, Maria Reynolds, Angelica Schuyler Church and the various roles that women play in this story. What does forgiveness look like – and what does Eliza see at the end of the musical? One Last Time / Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story: Few other musicals are so associated with presidential administrations as Hamilton is with Barack Obama. We think about the connections between the Hamilton project and the Obama project, wonder about the soft nationalism at the heart of this story, and think critically about the legacy of George Washington. Who gets to tell the story? You’ll hear Lin-Manuel Miranda, Leslie Odom Jr, Phillipa Soo, Renee Elise Goldsberry, Christopher Jackson and the cast of the 2015 Original Broadway Cast Album. It won a Grammy. _________________________________________ Check out some of our all-time favorites! Phantom of the Opera Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat Jesus Christ Superstar! Schmigadoon! (Season 1 / Season 2) West Side Story! Yentl! Frozen! Barbie! Never miss an episode! Sign up for our email list to get updates when new episodes are released, info about upcoming special events, and more.

It’s the worst-ever name for a musical (thanks, Lutherans) but Peter and Nathan think that 2001’s Urinetown is worthy of your attention – and sustained theological reflection.

Somewhere beyond the barricade, is there a world you long to see? There’s no more overtly theological (or more popular) musical than Claude-Michel Schönberg & Alain Boubil’s 1980 Les Misérables, based on Victor Hugo’s 1862 novel. From Valjean and Javert to Eponine and Fantine, this musical crams more pathos, prayer, and bad wigs into three hours than any other musical we know. Do you hear the people sing? _________________________________________ We talk about: Prologue (the Bishop) / Stars / Javert’s Suicide – Javert, the police inspector, embodies a law-and-order version of the Christian gospel (shout-out to our Jansenist followers!) – and ultimately, the mercy he is shown destroys him. Are these competing atonement theories, or is there more subtlety in Les Mis’ treatment of the Christian gospel and its consequences? I Dreamed a Dream / On My Own / A Little Fall of Rain – Fantine gets one, brief, shining moment before she dies (it's a weeper), and Eponine stands in for every alto who dreams of being the soprano – and then she dies, too. Why do most of the women in Les Mis end up dead? Turning, Turning – "What's the use of praying if there's nobody who hears it?" In a musical where women are mostly prostitutes or virgins, the women’s chorus gives voice to one of the show’s darkest and most provocative theological questions. Bring Him Home / Do You Hear the People Sing? – What does an evangelized life look like on the ground – and what does “somewhere beyond the barricade” really mean? You’ll hear Colm Wilkinson, Phillip Quast, Lea Salonga, Michael Ball and Judy Kuhn from the 1995 “Dream Cast Recording.” You’ll also hear Anne Hathaway sing “I Dreamed a Dream” from the 2012 film soundtrack because she won an Oscar for it, and attention must be paid. _________________________________________ Check out some of our all-time favorites! Phantom of the Opera Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat Jesus Christ Superstar! Schmigadoon! (Season 1 / Season 2) West Side Story! Yentl! Frozen! Barbie! Never miss an episode! Sign up for our email list to get updates when new episodes are released, info about upcoming special events, and more.

Immigration, capitalism, feminism, intersectionality, and the civil rights: Ragtime has it all! But is it actually just an extended commercial for Ford?

In the election run-up, Peter & Nathan are talking about musicals that deal with political unrest and social change. We kick off with the 1966 Broadway classic Cabaret, one of the darkest, kinkiest, and most-enduring musicals of all time.

What better way to celebrate summer than with a frozen cocktail of Disney Princess mania? It’s 2013’s Frozen, beloved by aspiring Elsas and Annas, reviled by parents and caretakers who threaten to lose it if they hear “Let it Go” one more time (trigger warning: you’ll hear it in this episode).

“A bit of madness is key to give us new colors to see.” Today, we continue our Summer Movie Happy Hour Fizzy Summer Tour... thing... as we talk about 2016’s contemporary take on the classic film musicals of the 1940s, 50s and 60s: LaLa Land. 2016 feels like a La La Land ago. How does this film hold up almost a decade later? _________________________________________ We talk about: "Another Day of Sun" – A great opening number that sets up the world of LaLa Land (literally Los Angeles – but in the context of the election that took place in 2016, the year this film was released, what else might LaLa Land mean?) "Start a Fire" – John Legend’s one contribution to the soundtrack is (maybe?) the best song in the film – and gives us a different perspective on the Jazz Question, which in this film is really a question of race. "The Fools Who Dream" – The moment that wins Emma Stone an Academy Award – her audition song (the eleven o’clock number!) love-letter toast to creatives who refuse to compromise. You’ll hear Emma Stone, John Legend, and Ryan Gosling singing the Pasek/Patel score from the 2016 film soundtrack. ________________________________ Check out some of our all-time favorites! Phantom of the Opera Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat Jesus Christ Superstar! Schmigadoon! (Season 1 / Season 2) West Side Story! Yentl! Frozen! Barbie! Never miss an episode! Sign up for our email list to get updates when new episodes are released, info about upcoming special events, and more.

We fixed everything in the real world so all women are happy and powerful. Just kidding... but we ARE talking about The Barbie Movie! We’re so excited to be joined by Arwen Myers, executive director of the podcast, musicals aficionado – and the person Barbie was made for – to talk about Greta Gerwig's blockbuster 2023 summer hit. Is it a musical? We think it is. ________________________________ We talk about: "Pink" – An almost Broadway-level opening number that establishes the all-pink world of Barbieland before everything goes haywire. "Push" – A very specific in-joke for a very specific generation of kids, and a cathartic moment for anybody who’s ever experienced mansplaining. "The Monologue" – America Ferrera’s iconic speech about the impossible contradictions inherent in being a woman in the 21st century. It's the film’s articulation of Gospel. How is this monologue good news? "I’m Just Ken" – The film’s most obvious musical moment – and one of the greatest production numbers of the 21st century. How do we feel about the fact that Ryan Gosling steals every scene he’s in? "What Was I Made For?" – Billie Eilish’s Oscar-winning ballad, Barbie’s eleven o’clock number, and perhaps the most pregnant question the film asks. Is Barbie a prophet? A savior? You’ll hear Lizzo, Matchbox Twenty, America Ferrera, Ryan Gosling and Billy Eilish from the film’s 2023 soundtrack. ________________________________ Check out some of our all-time favorites! Phantom of the Opera Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat Jesus Christ Superstar! Schmigadoon! (Season 1 / Season 2) West Side Story! Yentl! Frozen! Barbie! Never miss an episode! Sign up for our email list to get updates when new episodes are released, info about upcoming special events, and more.  

It’s Summer Movie Madness! For the Fourth of July weekend, we’re talking about the most American musical ever: The Music Man!

Papa, can you hear me? It’s the last episode of our Season of Barbra Streisand, and we’re going out strong! That’s right: today we look at her magnum opus, the 1982 film Yentl – which Barbra both directed and starred in.

Is it a musical? Is it a $6MM home movie? A contemporary Purim spiel? This is a weird movie, you guys.

It may not be a musical, but it sure is close... It’s The Way We Were!

Peter and Nathan watched this movie so you don’t have to. It’s the weirdest musical about ESP you’ll ever not watch!

She’s still glowin’, she’s still crowin,’ she’s still goin’ strong... That’s right: we’re continuing our deep dive into the great Barbra Streisand with a look at the mid-60s Broadway classic, Jerry Herman’s Hello Dolly!

Isn’t it ”people who DON’T need people are the luckiest people in the world?” Today we look at the role that made Barbara Streisand’s early career: the role of Fanny Brice in Jule Styne & Bob Merrill’s 1964 musical Funny Girl and the 1968 film directed by William Wyler.

Everybody said don’t, but we’re doing it anyway... It’s the Gospel According to Babs!

Schmigadoon is back on Apple TV! The second season takes us in a slightly different direction, and today we explore the theology of the musicals being lovingly spoofed by ”Schmicago” and wonder what it means that ”every day can be a happy beginning.”

It’s priestly, it’s profane, it’s the queerest thing we’ve ever done... It’s the Gospel of Musical Theatre, the podcast that dives deep into the spirituality of musical theatre.

Nathan and Peter welcome Ian Farthing, Vancouver-based actor & director, to help us explore the theology & themes of Starlight Express – as well as Lloyd Webber’s more recent musical Sunset Boulevard.

We descend into the depths of the Paris Opera for the 1986 musical phenomenon The Phantom of the Opera – a troubling story about abuse, lust, and the power of music.. and one of the most successful & beloved musicals of all time.