Broadway Bound #200 -- A regular 2-hour edition of the greatest Broadway music from yesterday and today -- Originally aired on WMNR on Jan. 4, 2014.

Broadway songs guaranteed to make you smile.

There are lots of songs from the musical theater that just make you smile. They're clever, funny, tongue-in-cheek, or just infectious - in a good way. These 27 always get me to smile. From the oldest one on the list, 76 Trombones with Robert Preston, to the newest production of My Fair Lady where Norbert Leo Butz steals the show with Get Me To The Church On Time. Liza Minnelli and Chita Rivera, as mother and daughter, come to realize they very much the same in The Apple Doesn't Fall while Karen Ziemba has found the cure for what ails her, Arthur In The Afternoon.
Classics like Honey Bun, Anything Goes, A Spoonful of Sugar, Bosom Buddies, and His Love Makes Me Beautiful tickle your funny bone every time.
Listen to these gems and get ready to smile.

New York City was a mess in the 1980's. Broadway attendance plummeted. Some predicted the end of the American Musical. In spite of all that, a few blockbuster musicals emerged during that decade and saved the Great White Way just in time to make its historic turnaround in the 1990's.

Broadway Bound #264 -- Survivor: Broadway in the '80s

With Broadway attendance figures and revenues constantly setting records in the 21st century, it's hard to imagine that just 30 years ago we almost witnessed the end of this American art form. New York City's most important tourist destination is the Broadway Theater District, the blocks surrounding Times Square that house 40 Broadway Theaters and many more smaller venues. But in the 1980's parts of the city were riddled by crime, filth, and decadence. The Times Square area was among the worst.

42nd Street was home to pimps, prostitutes, panhandlers, peep shows and hustlers. Garbage tossed on the street, urine puddles on sidewalks, derelicts living in boxes and street crime was part of the vibe. Tourism to Broadway dropped. Families would not come. It seemed only the stalwart theater aficionados ventured to shows. Get in, see a show, get out. As a result producers were not funding new works to the degree they had. New shows, especially the more expensive musicals, were disappearing. Some predicted that the American Musical Theater had taken its last gasp.

Fortunately, that was not the case. In spite of all the obstacles many of Broadway's most enduring new musicals opened during the '80s. There were also the revivals. However, there were many musicals most people have never heard of that were nominated for Tony Awards. There simply were so few to choose from that the Tony Committee had to find something to fill the slots. Musicals with titles like Tintypes, Grind, Merlin, Quilters, Starmites, Romance/Romance and Big Deal were all Best Musical nominations during the decade.

But there were also brand new musicals that proved creativity in musical theater was alive and well. Here's a sampling of the best: 42nd Street, Nine, Cats, La Cage aux Folles, Les Miserables, The Phantom of the Opera, Sunday in the Park With George, Into the Woods, My One and Only, Big River and Dreamgirls. Audiences supported these shows and kept the lights burning.

On this edition of Broadwaty Bound we salute the '80s musicals that held down the fort for more than a decade providing reason for the Broadway Renaissance of the 1990's that continues to this day.

Imagine a life without Broadway Music. Now imagine being stranded on desert island . If you could have your Broadway music in a very limited amount, what would you choose? These are mine.

Broadway musicals have no shortage of hope and happiness expressed in song.

Hope and happiness are two human feelings that find their way to the Broadway stage over and over - of course. From Get Happy and Happy Time, Seize the Day, and Open a New Window, 29 songs capture hope and happiness in very upbeat ways. Classics like You'll Never Walk Alone and Climb Every Mountain, join self-esteem affirmations like Beautiful.

Get a boost to the drearies on this edition of Broadway Bound.

Pretty much, these songs, selected from Broadway and off-Broadway musicals, are easy to listen to. They won't put you to sleep, but you won't run to turn them off either. Old and new.

Some musicals have songs that you have to be in the mood for. They may be very intense, layered and loud. That's all good, when you want it. These songs, culled from a couple dozen shows, tend not be intense but rather melodic and easy to listen to. The show starts with Daddy Warbucks, Reid Shelton, singing Something Was Missing from Annie, and ends up with three tunes from Summer: The Donna Summer Musical - easy ones.

A look at The Drowsy Chaperone, Pretty Woman - The Musical, and classics like Funny Girl, 42nd Street, Sweet Charity and Promises Promises are samples of what's in store. A surprise comes from Parade, the 1960 off-Broadway revue, Jerry Herman's first foray into show music.

Lots of rain, storms, and sun, but how about Noah in the flood or Dorothy in a tornado? Broadway musicals got 'em.

There is practically nothing you can't find in song. The weather is not exempt. Since Stormy Weather and Heat Wave were introduced in 1933 we've had many more weather songs. The '40s gave us I Got the Sun In the Mornin' and the Moon at Night and It's Too Darn Hot. Irving Berlin gave us It's A Lovely Day Today in Call Me Madam and Andrea McArdle forever charmed us saying the sun'll come out Tomorrow. That whorehouse in Texas was some hot place with 20 Fans a-turnin' in every room but nothing compares to Viet Nam's scorchers when The Heat Is On In Saigon.
From Oh, What a Beautiful Morning to A Grand Night For Singing this edition of Broadway Bound illustrates the breadth of lyrics and music that once again keeps the musical theater interesting and fresh.

Where's off- Broadway? It's in New York right in the heart of the Broadway theater district. Off-Broadway refers to the number seats in a theater (100-499), not the location of the theater. Because off-Broadway theaters cost less to operate, producers often mount shows there. Some shows really take hold and move to the larger more expensive theaters on “Broadway" with seats 500+. Other shows are not meant for the much larger Broadway houses. They're intended for smaller venues and stay there.

Everything heard on this edition of Broadway Bound is from off-Broadway cast recordings.

This is a look at some musicals that use use rock 'n' roll in the musical or write the music in the style of rock. From 1968, Hair is considered the first successful Broadway Musical to have a rock score. Some like to say Bye Bye Birdie (1960) was the first rock 'n' roll musical. One listen to it, and you know it's not.
Other tracks from non-rock musicals are included on this edition of Broadway Bound.

When a new musical opens on Broadway audiences most often determine its success. Successful musicals run their course but producers keep their eyes open for the opportunity to bring them back after some time has passed or a new interpretation/production comes on the scene. When that happens, a Broadway "revival" is mounted. On this edition of Broadway Bound, 23 of the most revived musicals are featured.
We reach back to the first "modern" musical, Show Boat, that was originally mounted in 1927 and has been revived on Broadway six times since. That means it has been on Broadway a total of seven times: the original plus six revivals.
One musical holds the record for the most revivals - seven. Its first time on Broadway was 1935. Any guesses?
We look at musicals that have had at least three Broadway revivals. There are seven of those. Four Broadway revivals? Nine of those. Five Broadway revivals? Four of those. Six Broadway revivals? Two. And only one show has had seven revivals on Broadway.

The main feature of this edition of Broadway Bound is an entire run through of the Broadway musical 1776. The backstories about the musical, the actual historical facts that the show is based on, three sources of music (original 1969 cast, 1972 film soundtrack, and the 1996 Broadway revival), and a running commentary as the plot unfolds provide a unique experience to approaching this masterpiece.

Also featured are classic American show stoppers.

27 Broadway songs, most quite well known, fit the bill for exuberance. Stirring songs from Les Miz, Newsies, Memphis and Evita join the infectious toe-tappers like Brand New Day (The Wiz), Spercalifragilisticexpialidocious (Mary Poppins) and The Lambeth Walk (Me & My Girl). Songs from Dolly!, Mame, Seesaw, Spamalot and The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas provide more uplifting music.

Guaranteed to make you move, sing, smile, and think.

Broadway Bound 322 -- Ghostlight of 2020

For ten years, the Armed Forces Vietnam Network (AFVN) radio served as a lifeline to "home" for the millions who served in Vietnam and southeast Asia.

Americans in Vietnam between 1963 and 1973, without a doubt listened to the programs on AFVN, Armed Forces Vietnam Network. They were a big deal. There was no internet or email. The best way to connect with "home" was with the stateside vibe coming from the radio: news, information, "commercials" that were actually PSA's geared toward the troops, and most of all the music. Pop, rock, soul, folk and country all held their own on the programs heard on AFVN.

AFVN was staffed by military personnel with few exceptions. Your "job" in Vietnam just may have been as a broadcaster on one of the shifts coming from the radio 24/7. The 1987 film, Good Morning Vietnam starring Robin Williams, made one such broadcaster, Adrian Cronauer, famous. What you probably don't know is that for his two year stint in the Army, Wheel of Fortune's Pat Sajak did the Dawn Buster show with the famous opener GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD MORNING VIETNAM starting at 06:00 each day.

This edition of American Jukebox features the actual air checks of the voices of AFVN, and with careful editing, weaves the music into the soundtrack for a robust hi-def sound. The air checks came from the collection of Marine Sergeant Harry Simons, a prominent AFVN DJ who did two rock 'n' roll shifts a day - morning and night. The tapes also hold several other voices and programs. Town and Country, for the country and western leaning GI's and Chris Noel's A Date With Chris are also featured in the program. In 2015, WEBY in Pensacola, FL put a 10-hour special together master-minded by WEBY's Mike Bates and Harry Simons, USMC Retired. Portions of that 2015 broadcast have been used to create this two-hour special edition of American Jukebox. Without these men, all this history would be lost.

If you're a Vietnam Vet you'll be turned back to another time and place. For those of us who weren't in Vietnam, this is the "taste of home" that we were used to and they longed for. The program is dedicated to the 3.4 million Americans who served in Vietnam and to the memory of more than 58,000 who died there.

Before the term "musicals" identified the Broadway genre, they were called "musical comedies." The shows were light and often very funny. Serious subject matter like murder, assassins, shipwrecks, prejudice and terminal illness were not on stage. On this edition of Broadway Bound we look at songs from Broadway that make us laugh. The clever lyrics, the delivery of the performance, the tongue in cheeks nature, the satire of the songs is bound to put a smile on your listeners' faces.

Join us for 30 comic, fun-time moments from Broadway musicals delivered by Carol Channing, Elaine Stritch, Judy Kaye, Bernadette Peters, Chita Rivera, Angela Lansbury, Patti LuPone, and a few good men.

When your mind is completely preoccupied with anything, be it new love, death, heartbreak, or any other major life altering event, lyrics to familiar songs take on new meaning. So it is during the COVID Pandemic. Broadway songs have forever dealt with life's events, both happy and tragic and all points between.

Take songs like "I'll Be Here Tomorrow" from The Grand Tour, "Back to Before" from Ragtime or "Try to Remember" from The Fantasticks, the lyrics have fresh new meaning. "Flesh Failures" from Hair, "I'm Still Here" from Follies or "To Life" from Fiddler on the Roof all provide lyrics that we can now apply to the situation of the pandemic.

Songs of strength, love, hope, sadness and loss all have found their way to the Broadway stage and on to this edition of Broadway Bound.

Did you ever think about it? Once upon a Broadway stage the "legends" were brand new and making names for themselves. Ethel Merman, Mary Martin, Angela Lansbury, Bernadette Peters, Patti LuPone, Chita Rivera and many others come to mind. On this edition of Broadway Bound we look at a fresh batch of 21st century female musical performers that are the legends of tomorrow. Names you probably don't know, but these performers are always working and perfecting their craft.

Broadway musicals have long focused on the lives of real individuals or real groups of individuals. Case in point: Rose Louise Hovick is "Gypsy." Eva Duarte di Péron is "Evita." Mabel Normand is half of "Mack & Mabel." Peter Allen is the "Boy From Oz," and Fanny Brice is that "Funny Girl." And so the biomusicals go on and on with Summer, The Cher Show, and a biographical look at the Temptations in "Ain't Too Proud."