Ranked #1
Episode 5: Dr. Joel Berkowitz on the Yiddish Theatre's Past (and Present)
Episode 5: Dr. Joel Berkowitz on the Yiddish Theatre's Past (and Present)
Dr. Joel Berkowitz takes us on a tour of Yiddish theatre, past and present, explaining the origins and significance of t... Read more
20 Sep 2019
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43mins
Ranked #2
Episode 4: You Naughty, Naughty Men: Joshua William Gelb’s New Reimagining of The Black Crook
Episode 4: You Naughty, Naughty Men: Joshua William Gelb’s New Reimagining of The Black Crook
The Black Crook often appears (somewhat inaccurately) in history books as the first American musical. Joshua William Gel... Read more
20 Sep 2019
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19mins
Ranked #3
Episode 57: Dr. Claudia Orenstein on the Evolving Art of Tolpavakoothu
Episode 57: Dr. Claudia Orenstein on the Evolving Art of Tolpavakoothu
Tolpavakoothu is a traditional form of shadow puppetry from Kerala, in southern India. Like many similar performance tra... Read more
18 Nov 2019
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30mins
Ranked #4
Episode 65: Playing Around with Nineteenth-Century Theatre in Dr. Robert Davis’s Broadway 1849
Episode 65: Playing Around with Nineteenth-Century Theatre in Dr. Robert Davis’s Broadway 1849
Dr. Robert Davis has been studying the world of nineteenth-century theatre in New York City for much of his career, but ... Read more
18 Nov 2019
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24mins
Ranked #5
Episode 55: Examining the Controversial History of the “Mummers Wench” with Dr. Christian DuComb
Episode 55: Examining the Controversial History of the “Mummers Wench” with Dr. Christian DuComb
We know that the history of theatre and performance contains plenty of insensitive, even offensive, tropes and stereotyp... Read more
18 Nov 2019
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31mins
Ranked #6
Episode 60: Lost Worlds and “Pansexual Extravaganzas”: Rediscovering Weimar Operetta with Dr. Kevin Clarke
Episode 60: Lost Worlds and “Pansexual Extravaganzas”: Rediscovering Weimar Operetta with Dr. Kevin Clarke
When we think of operetta, words like “edgy” and “sexy” rarely come to mind. Dr. Kevin Clarke is hoping to change that t... Read more
18 Nov 2019
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36mins
Ranked #7
Episode 56: How to Succeed in (Early Modern Show) Business: Dr. David Nicol’s Philip Henslowe Blog
Episode 56: How to Succeed in (Early Modern Show) Business: Dr. David Nicol’s Philip Henslowe Blog
What was the business of theatre like in Shakespeare’s time? We don’t have many records, but one fascinating document ha... Read more
18 Nov 2019
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35mins
Ranked #8
Episode 62: Theatre and Civil Rights: Dr. Julie Burrell on the Importance of A Medal for Willie
Episode 62: Theatre and Civil Rights: Dr. Julie Burrell on the Importance of A Medal for Willie
How did African American theatre and the struggle for civil rights intersect? For many critics in the 1950s and ’60s, th... Read more
18 Nov 2019
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17mins
Ranked #9
Episode 8: Fifty Years and Counting: Talking About Chicano Theatre and Political Activism with Dr. Jorge Huerta
Episode 8: Fifty Years and Counting: Talking About Chicano Theatre and Political Activism with Dr. Jorge Huerta
When Jorge Huerta became involved with El Teatro de la Esperanza, Chicano theatre was only beginning to emerge. The famo... Read more
23 Sep 2019
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35mins
Ranked #10
Episode 63: After the Big Top: Carlos Alexis Cruz on the Evolution of Modern Circus
Episode 63: After the Big Top: Carlos Alexis Cruz on the Evolution of Modern Circus
The classic circus, featuring performing animals in three rings under the big top, has passed away. What’s taken its pla... Read more
18 Nov 2019
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23mins
Ranked #11
Episode 61: Chantal Bilodeau on “Breaking Up with Aristotle” and Finding New Ways to Tell Stories Onstage
Episode 61: Chantal Bilodeau on “Breaking Up with Aristotle” and Finding New Ways to Tell Stories Onstage
Back in 2016, playwright Chantal Bilodeau announced that she was breaking up with Aristotle. In addition to her work wri... Read more
18 Nov 2019
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13mins
Ranked #12
Episode 53: Rediscovering Sheridan’s Smash Hit Pizarro with Dr. Selena Couture & Dr. Alex Dick
Episode 53: Rediscovering Sheridan’s Smash Hit Pizarro with Dr. Selena Couture & Dr. Alex Dick
We know Richard Brinsley Sheridan as the comic playwright responsible for The Rivals and The School for Scandal. However... Read more
18 Nov 2019
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53mins
Ranked #13
Episode 59: Taking Shakespeare’s Measure in the Twenty-First Century: Dr. Nora Williams and Measure (Still) for Measure
Episode 59: Taking Shakespeare’s Measure in the Twenty-First Century: Dr. Nora Williams and Measure (Still) for Measure
Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure has long had a reputation as a “problem play.” Structurally, it’s a comedy, but becaus... Read more
18 Nov 2019
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20mins
Ranked #14
Episode 7: Getting (Politically) Radical with Dr. Amy Brady
Episode 7: Getting (Politically) Radical with Dr. Amy Brady
Dr. Amy Brady talks about her article in The Awl on Mary Virginia Farmer and her work with the Federal Theatre Project, ... Read more
23 Sep 2019
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33mins
Ranked #15
Episode 64: Learning About Modern Indonesian Theatre with Dr. Cobina Gillitt
Episode 64: Learning About Modern Indonesian Theatre with Dr. Cobina Gillitt
When people think of Indonesia’s performing arts, traditions such as the shadow puppets of wayang kulit and the dance-dr... Read more
18 Nov 2019
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34mins
Ranked #16
Episode 3: Eric Swanson Discusses His New Musical "Edwin: The Story of Edwin Booth"
Episode 3: Eric Swanson Discusses His New Musical "Edwin: The Story of Edwin Booth"
Eric Swanson talks about his new musical, Edwin: The Story of Edwin Booth, which follows the life of the famous American... Read more
20 Sep 2019
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24mins
Ranked #17
Episode 6: Diversifying the Classics with Dr. Barbara Fuchs
Episode 6: Diversifying the Classics with Dr. Barbara Fuchs
Spain’s Siglo de Oro, or Golden Age, was a period in which the country’s political and economic power contributed to a c... Read more
23 Sep 2019
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25mins
Ranked #18
Episode 9: Theatre of Cruelty on Michigan Avenue: Dr. Susanne Shawyer on Street Theatre and 1968
Episode 9: Theatre of Cruelty on Michigan Avenue: Dr. Susanne Shawyer on Street Theatre and 1968
The images of the chaos at the Democratic National Convention of 1968 have become iconic representations of the turmoil ... Read more
24 Sep 2019
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26mins
Ranked #19
Episode 58: What We Think About When We Think About Casting: Dr. Amy Cook’s Building Character: The Art and Science of Casting
Episode 58: What We Think About When We Think About Casting: Dr. Amy Cook’s Building Character: The Art and Science of Casting
Theatre nerds spend a lot of time obsessing over casting choices: who’s going to play this classic role in the latest re... Read more
18 Nov 2019
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25mins
Ranked #20
Episode 52: Remembering Argentina’s Traumatic Past Through Theatre with Dr. Noe Montez
Episode 52: Remembering Argentina’s Traumatic Past Through Theatre with Dr. Noe Montez
History can be a contentious subject, especially when it comes to determining how and what we remember. That’s especiall... Read more
18 Nov 2019
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24mins