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An overview of the key components that were common to musicals during Broadway’s golden age. Even then, not all musicals had all of them. But most of the successful ones generally followed this outline (and many modern smash hits still follow it today).

Simon of Cyrene: The Musical was to reach Black people and help them see themselves in the story of Jesus’ suffering, crucifixion and resurrection. Its writer wanted “to demonstrate to other Black boys and men how God works miracles to turn circumstances and situations into God-honoring destinies.” But just the trailer choked me up and helped me connect with the story in a way that deepens my understanding and grief about racial relations

Mind the Gap participants enact an ideological tug-of-war Collaboration across all sorts of divides is one of Summit Stages’ core...

Evan Hansen: alone and okay Last July, I wrote a post Evan Hansen Deserves Forgiveness , arguing that the near-perfect musical would be...

Our shared stories unite us across generations and cultures After I praised Disney’s new version of Snow White in last week’s...

I think I have a critic’s eye for what works and what doesn’t in a musical. I tend to be highly attuned to problematic messages that...

This is a glimpse at the story of my conversion from a culture warrior to an aspiring peace maker.  

Fiddler on the Roof's "To Life" What do “ Put on Your Sunday Clothes ”, “ With A Little Bit of Luck ,” “ Seventy-Six Trombones ,” and “...

A bit of burlesque is standard fare in a Broadway show, because sex sells and keeps the audience awake. But is this device worth the price?

Hold an elephant-eating party! Last week, I wrote about my goal to launch a global, intentional and organized movement to build the...

When the world gathers to Salt Lake City for the 2034 Winter Olympics, the city will be flooded with living proof of musical theatre's power

Henry Higgins ( Harry Hadden-Paton) and Eliza Dolittle (Laura Benanti) dance together. When Lerner and Loewe turned Shaw’s Pygmalion into...

My Fair Lady's famous final line I grew up on My Fair Lady . I have watched it over, and over, and over. To this day, when I feel joyous...

Sky Masterson pursues Sarah Brown with "I'll Know" Not every musical tells a love story. But a huge number of successful ones do. This is...

Jessie Mueller and Joshua Henry in Carousel. Photo by Julieta Cervantes. REVISED with your feedback. When I planned to write this week’s...

Elphaba sings "The Wizard and I" While the opening numbers of a musical give us a taste of what’s coming and get us oriented to the world...

Opening of The Music Man by the Washington Park Playhouse in Albany, NY This is the first post in my Building Blocks of a Musical series,...

Finding a solid pattern is the first step to a newbie making an impressive cake How does one create a great musical?  That’s a question...

Fiona Paloma as Mary and Milo Manheim as Joseph in Journey to Bethlehem Joyous greetings to each of you this season, as we celebrate the...

Could a Musical Tackle Trans Issues in a Way that Lifts and Unites? Lately, I’ve seen some social media posts by friends that I’ve been...