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[0:00] ♪ Musical number: "My Favorite Things" — performed by Unknown performer ♪

[0:17] Kevin David Thomas: Happy flashback Friday, everybody.

[0:20] Robert W Schneider: That's right.

[0:21] Kevin David Thomas: FBF, baby.

[0:22] Robert W Schneider: FBF as opposed to TBT, which is what we normally do.

[0:26] Kevin David Thomas: But now we're FBFing, we're TBTing, we're FBF.

[0:29] Robert W Schneider: It depends on how we're feeling.

[0:30] Kevin David Thomas: Are we gonna do a Thursday or are we a little busy and we're gonna do a Friday?

[0:33] Robert W Schneider: It's a little busy this week, so here we are.

[0:35] Kevin David Thomas: Maybe Tuesday at six o'clock.

[0:37] Robert W Schneider: It'll drop.

[0:38] Kevin David Thomas: I don't even know.

[0:38] Robert W Schneider: We say that every week.

[0:39] Kevin David Thomas: What day of the week is it?

[0:40] Robert W Schneider: We don't know what it is.

[0:41] Kevin David Thomas: Hope you're doing well, everybody.

[0:42] Kevin David Thomas: Um hey, first of all, if you missed us on Trivia last Saturday, uh, don't worry about it.

[0:47] Robert W Schneider: But I will say you did miss the wonderful Kevin David Thomas doing what he does best, singing from the golden age.

[0:54] Kevin David Thomas: We had a fun time.

[0:54] Robert W Schneider: We had some 1950s action.

[0:56] Kevin David Thomas: It was really, really fun.

[0:57] Robert W Schneider: I had a good time singing those songs.

[0:59] Kevin David Thomas: We had a lovely time, folks.

[1:00] Robert W Schneider: We're always so happy when you can come join us.

[1:02] Kevin David Thomas: And we hope you join us again next Saturday.

[1:05] Robert W Schneider: Not this Saturday, not tomorrow, but the weekend after, which I believe is the 12th.

[1:10] Kevin David Thomas: Um and is that right?

[1:12] Robert W Schneider: Is that right, folks?

[1:13] Kevin David Thomas: December.

[1:14] Robert W Schneider: You tell us, folks, you let us know.

[1:15] Kevin David Thomas: December 12th at 8 o'clock PM Eastern Standard Time.

[1:18] Robert W Schneider: Um, we will be doing trivia again, and this time it's going to be the musicals of the 2000s, the aughts.

[1:26] Kevin David Thomas: I should be more specific.

[1:27] Robert W Schneider: The aughts.

[1:27] Kevin David Thomas: You can't stop the beat, folks.

[1:29] Robert W Schneider: You're not gonna be able to stop it.

[1:31] Kevin David Thomas: So you um no, we're gonna go through uh hairspray, the producers, Millie, a lot of good ones.

[1:38] Robert W Schneider: Spring Awakening will be there, I'm sure.

[1:40] Kevin David Thomas: I would hope so.

[1:43] Robert W Schneider: What's that?

[1:45] Kevin David Thomas: That's uh if we skip that one, you won't see me shedding a lot of tears.

[1:49] Robert W Schneider: That's all I'm saying.

[1:50] Kevin David Thomas: I'm not gonna lie to you.

[1:51] Robert W Schneider: And this I we keep opinions out of this podcast, but I've never been a big fan of that show.

[1:56] Kevin David Thomas: I hate to say it out loud.

[1:57] Robert W Schneider: I think I missed the generation.

[1:59] Kevin David Thomas: Like I was just a little too old when I saw the original.

[2:01] Robert W Schneider: So I was like, what?

[2:03] Kevin David Thomas: It's yeah, it's wait till you have to pay a mortgage.

[2:05] Robert W Schneider: It's really gonna get bad.

[2:07] Kevin David Thomas: Did you like Rent?

[2:08] Robert W Schneider: Were you a renter?

[2:08] Kevin David Thomas: Loved Rent.

[2:10] Robert W Schneider: But see, that was my generation.

[2:12] Kevin David Thomas: That was my, yeah.

[2:13] Robert W Schneider: And I wonder if people maybe 15 years older than me was like, ugh, it's Rent.

[2:18] Kevin David Thomas: What are they complaining about?

[2:20] Robert W Schneider: Although they were those are real situations that were.

[2:23] Kevin David Thomas: What do they know?

[2:23] Robert W Schneider: Well, no, that was a big complaint from a lot of people that saw Rent that were older at the time, which was like, why don't they get a job?

[2:29] Kevin David Thomas: If you read uh Michael Riedel's new book that just came out, uh, which we talked about uh on I think a couple maybe last podcast, which was Singular Sensation.

[2:37] Robert W Schneider: He talks some about that in uh how older people were like, Got a job, you crazy kid.

[2:44] Kevin David Thomas: Oh, it's like what they're saying to artists now with that now that they're on COVID break.

[2:48] Robert W Schneider: You know, not a real job.

[2:50] Kevin David Thomas: Now that I'm done yelling at you, I'm gonna go back to Facebook.

[2:52] Robert W Schneider: And it's like our and it's like, okay, all right, fine.

[2:52] Kevin David Thomas: All right.

[2:55] Robert W Schneider: Uh angry people.

[2:57] Kevin David Thomas: We have angry people.

[2:58] Robert W Schneider: But we're not angry, are we?

[2:59] Kevin David Thomas: We're very happy because today.

[3:00] Robert W Schneider: We're in the land of musical theater.

[3:02] Kevin David Thomas: We've got favorite things today.

[3:03] Robert W Schneider: What who wants to go first?

[3:04] Kevin David Thomas: I'm excited.

[3:05] Robert W Schneider: You're excited.

[3:06] Kevin David Thomas: Uh you know what? I'll go first because mine is sort of a recapitulation on what we talked about on the uh trivia night, actually.

[3:12] Kevin David Thomas: Um the I to I mentioned a book uh on Trivia Night that I was just uh you know in the middle of reading, and I that's gonna be my favorite thing this week.

[3:19] Kevin David Thomas: Is this book that I had mentioned? I'm gonna hold it up to you, Rob.

[3:22] Robert W Schneider: Settle in, folks.

[3:22] Kevin David Thomas: Settle in called Broadway to Main Street.

[3:27] Kevin David Thomas: How Show Tunes Enchanted America.

[3:31] Robert W Schneider: Um not changed America, Enchanted America.

[3:31] Kevin David Thomas: Enchanted America.

[3:36] Kevin David Thomas: Um and I must say, I found this book to be utterly enchanting.

[3:40] Robert W Schneider: What is this enchanting book about, Kevin?

[3:42] Kevin David Thomas: Okay, I'm gonna just read a little bit of the open cover just so I could explain it, but I think this is gonna be much more efficient.

[3:47] Kevin David Thomas: Um The Music of Broadway is one of America's most unique and popular calling cards in Broadway to Main Street, how show tunes enchanted America.

[3:54] Kevin David Thomas: Author Lawrence Maslin tells the story of how the most beloved songs of the American musical theater made their way from the theater district to living rooms across the country.

[4:01] Kevin David Thomas: Uh it really goes through the history of the popular song.

[4:05] Kevin David Thomas: Uh in and and also you know, through record sales and through sheet music, he he goes to the very advent of what popular song, you know, listening was like at the turn of the century, how people, all these songs were from Broadway shows, and that in Tin Pan Alley days, they were just pumping out songs.

[4:21] Kevin David Thomas: I mean, supply and demand.

[4:22] Robert W Schneider: That the demand was so huge that the supply could be just enormous with the the songwriters.

[4:28] Kevin David Thomas: No, not all songs were great, um, and you had just people in back offices just like pounding out show tunes to get sold onto the sheet music.

[4:35] Kevin David Thomas: So it catalogs the early days of that.

[4:37] Kevin David Thomas: And then going into the recorded song, how that changed Broadway, and how, and this is the thing that I really rocked me, Rob, was um this notion that all of the record companies in the 40s, well, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, and even a little bit too today.

[4:53] Kevin David Thomas: I mean, look at uh Spongebob SquarePants was produced by a corporation, um, a Nickelodeon.

[4:58] Kevin David Thomas: I mean, they wanted to make their money.

[5:00] Kevin David Thomas: Um, they all these Columbia Sony, they all invested in the Broadway shows so they could have the score.

[5:07] Kevin David Thomas: So if I was opening in a and I didn't know this, uh, and I just found this so uh fascinating the way he tells it, that um, you know, I could be this lead of some, you know, show that's coming to Broadway.

[5:17] Kevin David Thomas: Um, let's just say it's like Fanny or something, you know, and like not a big hit, but a show that was gonna have a run by Harold Rome.

[5:23] Kevin David Thomas: Um, all of the songs from my show would already have been playing on the radio before my show even came to New York.

[5:29] Robert W Schneider: I didn't know that.

[5:29] Kevin David Thomas: I just didn't realize that.

[5:31] Kevin David Thomas: And so a lot of these songs, they these the record companies were like fighting for these scores.

[5:36] Kevin David Thomas: So their way in was, well, I'll just I'll just I'll invest in the show, and then I can have the score.

[5:41] Kevin David Thomas: So then there became this fight over all these people for the scores, and yet some of the scores were like not hits, you know, like Dirac the Cat, not a hit.

[5:49] Kevin David Thomas: They still invested in the score, thinking it might be, and then hoping that perhaps, you know, someone like Barbara Streisand might, you know, sing a song.

[5:57] Robert W Schneider: She does, and then they can make a lot of money because of this one single.

[6:00] Kevin David Thomas: Um, he also talks about uh Goddard Lieberson, uh Thomas uh Shepherd, who was one of our previous guests, um, and he goes through the history of what the you know the impact that they had and the importance that they had on the cast album and keeping show music alive.

[6:14] Kevin David Thomas: He talks about Ed Sullivan, and then he he brings it all the way up into the current day, um, talking how like the last time we had uh uh you know a chart on the Billboard charts, you know, um cast album was Hair, uh that it ranked, you know, got up.

[6:26] Robert W Schneider: And then four decades later is the next time that we have a cast album on the charts.

[6:31] Kevin David Thomas: Um and so the the history of all of it um just really was is well explained and well described.

[6:37] Kevin David Thomas: Uh uh uh Professor Maslin, because he teaches uh at uh NYU, he has it's not just like you know, uh there's a lot of pictures in this book, but one of the coolest parts about it, and I'm I'm curious if more books are gonna be like this going in in the future, Rob, and uh and I don't know if you've ever experienced this before, but in the book, you go to the first page and it says about the companion website.

[7:00] Kevin David Thomas: There's a companion website that provides more context and a musical landscape through which the reader can better understand the complex decisions at play during the cultural journey.

[7:07] Kevin David Thomas: Meaning, you know, a lot of for instance, I didn't know Jackson Five put out a single of Corner of the Sky.

[7:13] Robert W Schneider: Never knew that.

[7:13] Kevin David Thomas: Didn't know that because Motown Records produced the Pippin cast album.

[7:18] Kevin David Thomas: It was the first time that they invested in cast album.

[7:20] Robert W Schneider: And of course, they're gonna ask their roster of singers to cover the hits.

[7:24] Kevin David Thomas: So then you can go to the website that I had up on my phone the whole time I'm reading and click the title, and then you hear a clip of you know this Jackson 5 song, and then that's and that gives you you know greater context of what's going on.

[7:36] Kevin David Thomas: Um or it could be talking about the orchestrations, how you know the different versions of if he walked into my life, you know, were produced.

[7:42] Kevin David Thomas: Um and then uh yeah, and so I think that's it there there's a real it it doesn't read like a reference book at all.

[7:49] Kevin David Thomas: It definitely reads more like a Michael Riedel and die book, if we may, you know, where it had he brings, you know, the a narration to this, and and as he's going in uh uh, you know, uh uh order, uh chronological order and time, um, you really see where we are today, like how we got to Hamilton's sort of breaking through uh and and how special that was because you see the history and context of you know how hard you know how hard it was to make these songs popular um by pop singers and how the industry almost died because after you know Little Night Music, the 70s, you knowbody wanted to sing those kinds of songs anymore.

[8:22] Kevin David Thomas: And he really takes you on that journey of how it's sort of come full circle with that Hamilton mixtape album that came out with all the pop singers covering it and how that became a big hit.

[8:30] Kevin David Thomas: So I learned a lot.

[8:32] Kevin David Thomas: I had a great time reading it.

[8:33] Kevin David Thomas: I and I think our I think our you listeners, I think you would really, really, really enjoy this, especially if you're a cast album collector, um, you like your cast albums.

[8:40] Kevin David Thomas: This is a very sleek book, Oxford Press put it out.

[8:43] Kevin David Thomas: It's really, really well done.

[8:44] Kevin David Thomas: Um, and I I can't speak enough about it.

[8:46] Kevin David Thomas: So thank you, um, uh Lair Lawrence uh Maslin and A Broadway to Main Street, how Show Tunes Enchanted America.

[8:54] Kevin David Thomas: Check it out, it's a great book.

[8:55] Robert W Schneider: I love how enchanted that is.

[8:56] Kevin David Thomas: That sounds so fancy.

[8:58] Robert W Schneider: I was really into it.

[8:59] Kevin David Thomas: I really dug it.

[9:00] Robert W Schneider: I had a great time reading it.

[9:01] Kevin David Thomas: Yeah, I recommend it to you too, my friend.

[9:03] Robert W Schneider: You're right.

[9:04] Kevin David Thomas: It's it's an absolutely fantastic book.

[9:06] Robert W Schneider: Um and yeah, I have seen a lot of those things where mostly in textbooks, where there is a uh, you know, uh a supplemental website where you can go and get more information.

[9:15] Kevin David Thomas: But Larry's book, I think is one of the first I've seen that are popular, you know, that are not textbook related that does it and he does it really well.

[9:27] Robert W Schneider: And one of the things that we had mentioned is the person that runs the theater company with me, Spotlight Theater Company, is Jim Jamiro, who's one of the foremost experts on the American popular song, specifically in the golden age of this era, which is something that Lawrence talks about a lot.

[9:45] Robert W Schneider: And Jim is giving a lecture, and we'll post this on our Instagram and Facebook, but I would encourage you all to go. It's really, really interesting. It's called Jim's Jukebox. It's gonna be December 9th, which is a Wednesday at 6 p.m. Pacific Standard Time. As opposed and if you're on the East Coast, obviously that's nine o'clock. And we'll show you a graphic on how you can go and sign up and take the class. It's free. What could be better than that? And Jim's a really engaging lecturer and a lot of interesting stuff. If you like Lawrence's book, you're gonna really love Jim's lecture. So please, please go attend that after you read Lawrence's amazing book. Fantastic.

[10:22] Kevin David Thomas: Fantastic. I'll check that out. Rob, favorite thing?

[10:26] Robert W Schneider: Well, I do have a favorite thing, Kevin. I'm so happy you asked. You know, listen, it is December. That means you really can't get out and exercise. We've been quarantined for so long. I think we've all put on the quarantine 19, as the kids call it. And I decided, well, it's probably about time to like, you know, lose some of the winter weight. But how to do that in a way that I can only do it in my home? And so I started doing some research to see if there were any online workout videos that I could find. And of course, it took me down a rabbit hole. And I am pleased to announce, Kevin, that my favorite thing for the entire month of December is going to be a theme. Every favorite thing in December that we will talk about will all be unified by weight loss and exercise. It's going to be random, various musical theater exercises and exercise workout videos that I have encountered in my quest to be a healthier, better person.

[11:21] Kevin David Thomas: I am so impressed by the—I just want to say I'm so impressed that you've gone down that rabbit hole and you found that as a way to exercise the old heart and get it going, you know. I didn't even think that you could go there. Look on YouTube for workout, you know, well, you know, Broadway themed.

[11:37] Robert W Schneider: I will be honest, I will watch them while eating ice cream, so I'm not really doing what they're asking for. But I have decided that in the week, I will actually do the exercises of one of the videos and see which one sticks. And so I did this first workout routine. Folks, if you've never seen this before, I encourage you to watch. You can click the link in our description. You can watch the sizzle reel of it. If you've got an hour and a half, you can watch the whole thing. Folks, in 1983, we're gonna go back a little bit. We were at the height of the workout craze, specifically Jane Fonda. If we all remember Jane Fonda and her workout videos, I'm sure. Did your mom have one of those, Kevin? Did she have a—

[12:16] Kevin David Thomas: I remember exactly where I was in my living room watching my mom work out to those videos as a kid. I can remember the move that she had to do. I remember all of it.

[12:27] Robert W Schneider: Yeah. Jazzer size, too. Jazzer size was a big one. So if you remember at this era, folks, Jane Fonda not only changed people's lives through healthy workouts, she also made millions and millions of dollars for herself. And every other celebrity saw this and sort of just jumped on the bandwagon. So we're going to 1983, folks, for our first week. And we're gonna go to a wonderful musical theater star. She's also a fantastic movie star as well, and that is the incredible Debbie Reynolds. And my favorite thing for this week is 1983's Do It Debbie's Way.

[12:57] Robert W Schneider: Do it Debbie's Way. So, folks, here's what Debbie Reynolds does in this amazing, amazing workout video. First of all, there's no living room set or a gym set. It's like an MGM studio. It looks like Pepto Bismol threw up all over the walls. It's pink, sheer curtains and carpeting with chandeliers and columns. It makes no sense. She comes out wearing a lovely form-fitting unitard with a nice belt in the middle to cinch the waist, which is very classic. But Debbie's not doing it alone. No, you can't do Debbie's Way alone. You have to do Debbie's Way with people. And the tape is broken up into three segments, and each segment features Debbie working out with various celebrities. Sometimes Terry Garr will pop up, or sometimes Rosemary will pop up.

And if you don't know who any of these names are, don't worry. Go to Cosmic Diner, find the guys arguing about who was the best Sally in Follies. They can explain it to you. But the best part, honestly, folks, is the first segment because she has the great musical theater star of Minnie's Boys, Shelley Winters, working out with her. Now, if you don't know Shelley Winters, she was one of the most incredible actresses that ever lived. She played Roseanne's grandma, if you were a Roseanne fan, but she also was in The Diary of Anne Frank. Believe she won two Academy Awards. She's in The Poseidon Adventure. She's an incredible performer who just lived by her own rules and will not work out at all in the video.

She just lays in the back with a sweatshirt that says, "I'm only doing it for Debbie." And will like make fun of people and make fun of exercises. And at one point she goes, "Are your rolls supposed to hurt?" And then at one point, while Debbie Reynolds is explaining a workout, she just says over her full voice, "Are you the only blonde Marlon Brando ever went with?" And then while all the girls are stretching, out of nowhere, Shelley Winters goes, "I have a game. Who here slept with Howard Hughes?" You're lying. You're lying. No, no, no, you can watch this. And you see about three hands pop up amongst the group. Now, it is reckless. Debbie Reynolds is—it's the most honest workout video ever because all she keeps saying is she hates exercise.

I hate exercise. And at one point, after a very strenuous activity, she goes, "If I only had a hit record, I wouldn't have to do this." And you're like, good for you. So I find it to be the most honest, brutal, brilliant, hysterical workout video. You will burn calories just simply by laughing at this.

[15:34] Kevin David Thomas: I was gonna say, did you break a sweat? Did you—

[15:36] Robert W Schneider: I broke a telling the workout. Now, here's the thing, folks. I can't figure this out. I have heard this story, and if somebody can confirm this for me, I would greatly appreciate it. Apparently, when they were filming it, all these women were drunk, is what I have heard. What happened was, as I understand it, was Debbie got all of these people together to be in the video, and the day before the video, she's like, "Oh my God, we've never worked out together, and we should probably like rehearse this and go over it." So they all went over to Debbie Reynolds' house. It was her, Rosemary, Deanne Warwick, Terry Garr, once again, go to Cosmic Diner, the booth will tell you. And they were all like, "Okay, we have to work out, we have to be serious."

And somehow Shelley Winters found the key to the liquor cabinet and was like, "Who wants drinks?" And they just got shit-faced and they never worked out. And then the next morning they're like, "Well, we have to film this. We have to go through with it." So if you watch it with that lens, they look a little wasted. They look a little hungover. They look confused. Debbie Reynolds, especially, God bless her. And her opening introduction looks like she's just woken up. Looks beautiful, but looks like emotionally and mentally that she's just woken up. So I think they sweat the liquor out. So, once again, folks, mine for this is Do It Debbie's Way. It's from 1983. You will not be disappointed. You will break a sweat laughing if nothing else. So thank you, Debbie. That's my favorite thing for this week. And then next week, I'll have another celebrity workout video.

[17:05] Kevin David Thomas: Oh, I can't wait to get to Positive Moves by Angela Lansbury. That's—I can't wait to watch that one.

[17:10] Robert W Schneider: That's a good cooldown. I think that's a really good cool.

[17:12] Kevin David Thomas: It's really if you want to get in touch with yourself.

[17:15] Robert W Schneider: Yes, folks, if you have to get in touch with yourself, that's the best thing to watch. This is a great theme. I'm excited for this, Rob. This is fantastic. I'm good for you. I'm so impressed.

[17:28] Robert W Schneider: Yeah, I will give everybody a clue to what next week's will be. If I can, I'm gonna give you a—

[17:31] Kevin David Thomas: Yes, please.

[17:33] Robert W Schneider: The same person that quote unquote directed this Debbie Reynolds video will be the director and choreographer of next week's video.

[17:43] Kevin David Thomas: Nope.

[17:43] Robert W Schneider: Yeah, no, no. Get ready, folks. Because next week's video, I was like, "What am I watching? What in God's name am I watching?" But we'll talk about that next week. All right, that's mine. So mine is Do It Debbie's Way.

[17:59] Kevin David Thomas: Mine is Broadway to Main Street. House Show Tunes, Enchanted America. Pick, you know, you're gonna have a real tough pick today this week, so have fun.

[18:07] Robert W Schneider: It's a Sophie's choice.

[18:11] Kevin David Thomas: It's a Sophie's choice for everybody.

[18:13] Robert W Schneider: All right, folks. We'll see you next time. Take care. Stay safe.

[18:17] Kevin David Thomas: Right. Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens, bright copper kettles, and worn woolen mittens, brown paper packages tied up with strings.

[18:31] Kevin David Thomas: These are a few of my favorite things.

[18:40] Kevin David Thomas: These are a few of my favorite things.