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

[0:18] Kevin David Thomas: Hi. What you all doing?

[0:27] Robert W. Schneider: Well, shit, I got a story about Mrs. Faye Dunaway. Yes, of course. We should just start the episode. Hi, everybody.

[0:39] Kevin David Thomas: Okay.

[0:40] Robert W. Schneider: Hello. No, we'll just say this is the intro. I'm sorry. Kevin asked me if I was watching Leslie Jordan on Instagram. You know, you find these things, these little sparks of joy in your day, and it could be something as simple as Leslie Jordan on the old Instagram, and boy, he is funny. If you're not following Leslie Jordan on Instagram, stop what you're doing. Get thee to Instagram and go watch Leslie Jordan. And if you say, who's Leslie Jordan? Who is she? No, no, no. Oh, no. The minute you see him, you're going to say, oh, that 80s movie. Oh, that 90s movie. Ski Patrol, anybody? Oh, that movie. I loved that movie, Rob. That was one of my favorite movies.

[1:15] Kevin David Thomas: Ski Patrol is a good movie.

[1:18] Robert W. Schneider: Ski Patrol and Caddyshack. I watched it the other night. It holds up. He's funny. He's got hair. He's funny. Oh, God.

[1:26] Kevin David Thomas: Leslie Jordan's a genius. So, yeah, go ahead and watch him, but he talks to the camera like it's your best friend. You know, I'm going to be honest with you. If somebody could get Leroy Reams on Instagram, I think he could give Leslie Jordan a run for his money. Although there's a cap on the time, I think, for —

[1:36] Robert W. Schneider: And language.

[1:42] Kevin David Thomas: And language. That'll be a problem with Leroy. We're going to have a little bit of an issue there. Did you see him on his couch just sitting there in his drawing room and just telling a story and like giving all of the tea?

[1:51] Robert W. Schneider: Yeah.

[1:52] Kevin David Thomas: Oh, and, folks, if there is one wish I have for all of our listeners, it is that you get to spend at least an hour, if not two, with Leroy Reams. And you just say one name, and it's like throwing a pebble into a pond. It'll just ripple and ripple and ripple. He's the best. You know, go and listen to some of our interviews with him, please, or our in-memoriams that we've had with him. We've spent a lot of time with the great man.

[2:13] Robert W. Schneider: The in-memoriams with him.

[2:14] Kevin David Thomas: There's a lot of hours there for you to listen to, if you would like to. That's a great way to spend time with him, because it's real, that what you hear is what you get.

[2:26] Robert W. Schneider: What you hear is what you get. And I love that man so freaking much. Hey, okay, so first of all, a little bit of sad news. We didn't get to talk about this last week, because last week we had a hysterical guest on. Philip came on as Pam Goldberg and was hysterical. But Shetlar Studios and Theaters, where we did this podcast for years, has now closed its doors and is no longer in operation because of the quarantine. So we will not be recording at Shetlar anymore, which makes me so brokenhearted. They were so kind to us and so accommodating. And I just wanted to take a moment just to say how much I appreciated everything that they had done for us. And please support whatever local arts and arts businesses you can, because just like that, it can be gone.

[3:14] Kevin David Thomas: Imagine all those pianos, all those. And they'd just taken over NOLA Studios. The old NOLA was on the 11th floor. So they just invested all that money. And who would have thought that something like this would come along after 40 years or so? And I know you did too, Rob.

[3:37] Robert W. Schneider: I had clients coaching or whatever. Where do you want to work? Shetlar, Shetlar, Shetlar, Shetlar, always Shetlar. They sponsored us.

[3:47] Kevin David Thomas: Jen Tepper and I just got interviewed by NPR about what this means for the closing of Shetlar. And I was saying, the one thing, and this is hard to articulate if you've never been there, it just sort of levels every single person and puts everybody on the same playing field. Because no matter who you are in that building, you're there to work. Whether you're like the biggest star or just coming out of college, everyone is on the same playing field. And I was telling this story, and this is a true story. I was at Shetlar one day and there's two elevators. There's two elevators to go into the main lobby. And it was a senior class from a college. And one of the girls was getting on the elevator.

She had just finished her showcase. And she said, all I want to do is become rich and famous and have an amazing career. And as she said that, I swear to you, Kevin, the other elevator doors opened and Christine Baranski strolled out. I swear to you. I was going to a voice lesson. And I was thinking to myself, where else but here can you meet someone who's at the starting line and someone who's at the peak of their career at the same time? And it levels them. They were both there to work. It was about the work. So we are going to miss Shetlar Studios and Theatre.

[4:55] Kevin David Thomas: It's a really great...

[4:56] Robert W. Schneider: Yeah. We wish everyone over there the best. And God, I hope they'll come back at some point, but who knows. But yeah. So that's that. So sorry. We miss you, Shetlar.

[5:06] Kevin David Thomas: It's crazy. Yeah.

[5:09] Robert W. Schneider: But on a positive note, Kevin, tell everyone what we did last Saturday.

[5:17] Kevin David Thomas: Folks, we had the first ever behind-the-curtain Broadway's Living Legends Broadway trivia night. It was so much fun. Rob and I hosted it. I attempted to be at the piano. We had over almost 50 people join us on this event. And listeners who were there, thank you so much. It was so much fun. And there was so many kind, so many kind, kind words that we are doing it again this Saturday night. This Saturday night, Rob, the category is...

[5:52] Robert W. Schneider: 1970s musicals. The theme is 1970s musicals. So all the questions will revolve around the 70s. Don't worry. Whether you're a novice or whether you're Peter Felicia, there are questions for all of you. So please, please, please...

[6:09] Kevin David Thomas: That's right. That's right.

[6:11] Robert W. Schneider: Yep. And the way...

[6:12] Kevin David Thomas: I will tell you...

[6:15] Robert W. Schneider: Oh, yes. Go ahead, please. No, go ahead, please.

[6:15] Kevin David Thomas: I just wanted to say, no, it just does... And I know... But I had two friends. I mean, my family, my wife and my sister. And I know they're biased, but they don't know... They're not the big... They're fans of musical theater. They love it, but not like we do. They didn't even play. They had a blast. They loved just being a part of it, I must say. So I think that, you know, it's fun if you are joining us for trivia, but also if you just want to feel the energy of that. Because everyone's face is there, and you are a part of a real fun environment, I guess is what I wanted to say.

[6:44] Robert W. Schneider: And it's sassy. And you get to also... It's kind of cool. At least I think it's very cool for us. We've had so many listeners like you who've supported us from the beginning. So to see them online and to interact with them and for them to interact with each other, it's just a very cool experience. And we plan on doing this just about every weekend, if we can. So this week, the theme is 1970s musicals, Annie, Chorus Line, Seesaw, The Wiz, all that fun stuff, Chicago, that'll all be in there. And the way that you get to...

[7:10] Kevin David Thomas: The lesser-known ones.

[7:11] Robert W. Schneider: Oh, we have some lesser-known ones. Get ready. And the way that you play is you donate $5 to us on Venmo. You can donate it to robert-schneider-5, and all the proceeds for each event go to a different non-profit that are helping artists struggling because of the quarantine. So this week, our charity is the American Association of Community Theaters because they are struggling. So last week was Artist Relief Fund. So please come out. All the money goes to them, and it's a really good cause. So I hope you'll come and join us. But every Saturday, 8pm Eastern Time, done on Zoom. And once you give us the $5, we'll give you the Zoom link. But we had a good time. And Kevin's gonna play more this week. We're very excited about that.

[8:00] Kevin David Thomas: Oh, yes.

[8:02] Robert W. Schneider: He's got a piano, kids.

[8:04] Kevin David Thomas: It's time for a favorite thing.

[8:09] Robert W. Schneider: Yes. Well, Rob, keeping in the theme of the 70s, I thought I would tie it all in together. So I thought I would feature... My favorite thing would be from the 70s.

[8:26] Kevin David Thomas: I can't say that this will be on our trivia. I don't know, actually. I don't know. We'll see. Maybe I'll play some music from it. But this has actually been... I've long been fascinated, Rob. And new listeners, perhaps you're the same. When you've had a great composer or lyricist who had a big hit show early in their career or the middle part of their career, but they continued to write shows later on, well, it's not like they became hacks. It's really hard to create a great show and tell the great story. But a composer is still a great composer. So there's some shows they're kind of like little gems that were never hit, but I like them. So this is one of them. The show is my favorite thing.

The cast album is of the show. It actually happened a year after the show exited. And so I don't consider... Because it's not in the 70s, this happened in 79. And the cast album actually came out in 80, if we're going to be technical. But I've long loved the score of this show. I thought it's so charming. The team had had a big hit earlier in their career, like 17 years earlier. Did they have two big hits in their career?

[9:39] Robert W. Schneider: Oh, I'm sure. They also had... Well, they had big movie hits. They wrote a lot of movie songs together. Is it Carmelina?

[9:45] Kevin David Thomas: It most certainly is Carmelina. Well done, Rob. Oh my gosh. Yeah. So Carmelina. Well done. So the team behind Carmelina, I know I'm like, just praise hands all around. This came out in April 8th, 1979. It ran 17 performances at the St. James Theater.

[10:16] Robert W. Schneider: I think that song is so beautiful. One more walk around the garden. Absolutely gorgeous.

[10:20] Kevin David Thomas: So the team behind this, they had hits before them. I mean, earlier in their career, we're talking Alan J. Lerner, Burton Lane, On a Clear Day You Can See Forever, Joseph Stein, who's a just well-renowned book writer, gave us Fiddler and umpteen other amazing books. But on this collaboration, they were called Carmelina. Some later on, they said it was not based on this, but everyone else in all the books say it was based on a film called Buena Sera, Mrs. Campbell, which also might be called Mamma Mia, because it's about an Italian woman who... Now you have to imagine that this takes place in the 60s. So during World War II, she had three liaisons when she was younger, and she had three liaisons with American soldiers, three different soldiers. And then of course, they went on their way and she went on her way. And then this takes place 20 years later, 17 years later, and her daughter, Josie de Guzman, is...

[11:49] Robert W. Schneider: Welcome to Behind the Curtain: Broadway's Living Legends. Today, we’re diving into some of our favorite things in musical theatre.

[12:04] Kevin David Thomas: That's right! We have a lot to cover, including some fond farewells and celebrations of incredible talent.

[12:16] Robert W. Schneider: First up, we’re saying goodbye to Shetler Studios, a place that has been a home for many artists in the Broadway community.

[12:36] Kevin David Thomas: It’s such a significant space. So many rehearsals and auditions have taken place there over the years.

[12:56] Robert W. Schneider: Absolutely. It’s a bittersweet moment, but we have to celebrate all the memories created there.

[13:16] Kevin David Thomas: Speaking of celebrations, let’s talk about the original cast of Mamma Mia! They really changed the landscape of musical theatre.

[13:36] Robert W. Schneider: They did! The energy and joy they brought to the stage were infectious.

[13:56] Kevin David Thomas: And now, we’re also shining a light on Peter Howard, who deserves all the recognition for his contributions to the industry.

[14:16] Robert W. Schneider: Yes! Peter Howard was a brilliant musical director and conductor. His work has touched so many productions.

[14:36] Kevin David Thomas: It’s important to remember these legends and their impact on the art form we love.

[14:56] Robert W. Schneider: Definitely. And as we reflect on these topics, we encourage our listeners to think about their own favorite moments in musical theatre.

[15:16] Kevin David Thomas: That’s a great idea! We’d love to hear from our audience about their favorite shows and experiences.

[15:36] Robert W. Schneider: You can reach out to us on social media or through our website. We want to keep this conversation going!

[15:56] Kevin David Thomas: And don’t forget, if you want to support the podcast, consider becoming a sponsor. You’ll get early access to interviews and exclusive content.

[16:16] Robert W. Schneider: Yes! It’s a great way to connect with the legends of Broadway and dive deeper into the stories behind the shows.

[16:36] Kevin David Thomas: Now, let’s get back to our discussion. What’s next on our list of favorite things?

[16:56] Robert W. Schneider: I think we should talk about some of the lesser-known musicals that deserve more attention.

[17:06] Kevin David Thomas: Great idea! There are so many hidden gems out there that people might not be aware of.

[17:26] Robert W. Schneider: Exactly! For instance, have you ever heard of “Carmelina”? It’s a beautiful score that often gets overlooked.

[17:46] Kevin David Thomas: I love that show! The music is so lush and the story is quite touching.

[17:56] Robert W. Schneider: It really is. And the performances can be so moving.

[18:06] Kevin David Thomas: Plus, it’s interesting to see how it fits into the broader context of musical theatre history.

[18:26] Robert W. Schneider: Absolutely. And speaking of history, let’s not forget about the contributions of composers like Peter Howard.

[18:46] Kevin David Thomas: Right! His work has influenced so many artists and productions.

[19:06] Robert W. Schneider: It’s crucial to honor those who have paved the way for the current generation of performers and creators.

[19:26] Kevin David Thomas: Yes! And I think it’s important for us to keep sharing these stories and celebrating their legacies.

[19:46] Robert W. Schneider: Well said! Let’s keep the momentum going and highlight more of our favorite things in the next segment.

[20:06] Kevin David Thomas: Sounds good to me! I’m excited to dive deeper into these topics.

[20:26] Robert W. Schneider: And remember, listeners, your support helps us continue to bring these stories to you.

[20:46] Kevin David Thomas: We appreciate every single one of you who tunes in and shares our passion for musical theatre.

[21:06] Robert W. Schneider: Thank you for joining us today! We’ll be back with more insights and stories from Broadway’s living legends.

[21:26] Kevin David Thomas: Until next time, keep celebrating the magic of musical theatre!

[21:46] Robert W. Schneider: Bye for now!

[22:06] Kevin David Thomas: Bye!