This transcript was automatically generated and might contain errors.

[0:07] Robert W. Schneider: There's a broken light for every heart on Broadway, as the old timey saying goes, but what about all those shows that never even got the chance to play Broadway?

[0:16] Robert W. Schneider: Yes, all those wonderful and not so wonderful musicals that all wanted to be the next Hamilton, Sweeney Todd, and Kiss Me Kate, but never got a chance to shine.

[0:24] Robert W. Schneider: We'd be foolish to think that when a composer sits down at their piano, somewhere in the back of their mind, they aren't hoping that this song will be the next great American show tune.

[0:34] Robert W. Schneider: Or a producer, no matter how important they think the subject matter is, isn't thinking about adding another yacht to their collection from the profits they will make from this blockbuster on their hands.

[0:44] Robert W. Schneider: That out-of-town actor who knows once this show gets to Broadway and New York sees their brilliance, they will be turning down every major movie studio who's knocking at their door.

[0:53] Robert W. Schneider: But as we know, sometimes things just don't go as planned.

[0:57] Robert W. Schneider: Look, no actor wants their dream deferred, no composer wants their song to go unheard, no producer wants a tax write off.

[1:05] Robert W. Schneider: Well, actually, well never mind.

[1:07] Robert W. Schneider: So, what if all those shows that never came to Broadway, the ones that should have been up there with Hamilton and Sweeney and Kate, what if they were brought back into the public eye so everyone could see the endless amount of riches that are waiting to be dusted off and celebrated by us musical theater fans.

[1:23] Robert W. Schneider: My name is Robert W. Schneider, and I'm a musical theater historian and director who's had the great fortune of unearthing tons of these musicals in my award winning series at 54 Below called Broadway Bound.

[1:35] Robert W. Schneider: What I love doing about this series, which you can check out on my channel on YouTube, is that a lot of people come to the concert thinking, oh, I'm gonna have to sit through an evening of bad songs from bad shows, and they leave believers.

[1:46] Robert W. Schneider: The problem with doing this series is I only have a few minutes to discuss each show and the story on how these shows came to be, and even more importantly, why they never came to Broadway.

[1:57] Robert W. Schneider: It's fascinating.

[1:58] Robert W. Schneider: So, I am launching a new podcast dedicated to all those musicals that were supposed to come to Broadway, but for one reason or another, just did not.

[2:07] Robert W. Schneider: The podcast is called, Imaginatively Enough, Broadway Bound, just like the 54 series.

[2:12] Robert W. Schneider: And each episode will be an in-depth exploration of a musical that, like most musicals, had its eyes set on the great bright way but shuttered on the road.

[2:21] Robert W. Schneider: Each episode will feature interviews with the people who were there on the front lines, including some audience members.

[2:27] Robert W. Schneider: You'll hear demo recordings never heard before from some of these shows, audio from live performances, and seeing if there is a world in which any of these shows still might make it to Times Square.

[2:37] Robert W. Schneider: Broadway Bound will explore all types of musicals destined for New York.

[2:41] Robert W. Schneider: Some closed in preview, some closed out of town, some never left their workshops, and some never even made it outside of the writer's studio.

[2:48] Robert W. Schneider: And because we love a theme, each season will be unified by a common idea.

[2:53] Robert W. Schneider: The theme for season one is called Put It in Turnaround.

[2:57] Robert W. Schneider: The Broadway-bound musicals that were based on movies.

[3:01] Robert W. Schneider: Ten classic movies all turned into musicals, each one hoping to be as successful as the Producers or Hairspray or Little Shop and all those other Hollywood hits that set up camp on Broadway.

[3:11] Robert W. Schneider: We will go on location to Tokyo to hear about a four-hour Gone with the Wind musical, and then travel to Washington, D.C.

[3:18] Robert W. Schneider: to stop the Baker's Wife producer David Merrick from stealing the sheet music to Meadowlark so Patti LuPone won't sing it.

[3:25] Robert W. Schneider: The man who gave us Funny Girl and the man who gave us Bat Out of Hell trying to make Mrs. Robinson sing while in the commissary casting is trying to get Angela Lansbury to commit to taking on a Federico Fellini musical.

[3:38] Robert W. Schneider: And to start us off on our first reel, we give you a musical that had it succeeded, we would never have had the TV show Friends.

[3:46] Robert W. Schneider: Yes, those Hollywood inspired musicals, plus a few more, will all be part of season one of Broadway Bound.

[3:53] Robert W. Schneider: And, to quote Val McCallum, I simply cannot do it alone.

[3:56] Robert W. Schneider: So our guests for this first season include the creators of Friends, Martha Kaufman and David Crane, 10-time Emmy Award winning director of Cheers, James Burroughs, cinematic icon Leslie Ann Warren, the genius that is Stephen Schwartz, plus Broadway's favorites Chris Seber and John Bolton, trailblazing director Casey Nicholaw, and the list goes on and on.

[4:17] Robert W. Schneider: So grab some popcorn, maybe a Kit Kat, and know that heartbreak will feel good in a place like this.

[4:22] Robert W. Schneider: Thanks, Nicole Kidman.

[4:24] Robert W. Schneider: Tune in on February 1st, 2024 for our first episode of Broadway Bound.

[4:30] Robert W. Schneider: Shh, the musical is starting.