The Playbill Podcast: A Show on Broadway

How does a simple Chess rivalry become more than just one person against another? How about...when both players are involved in a love triangle? And the two players are American and Russian, with their nations locked in a Cold War? This is the backdrop of the musical CHESS, the epic tale by Sir Tim Rice and two members of ABBA, Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus.Originally conceived in the early 1980’s as a world-renowned concept album by Rice, Andersson, and Ulvaeus, it had a successful run in London before it was brought to Broadway in the late 80’s. It was changed quite a bit for its American run, and the newer version of the show only made it through 68 performances on Broadway in 1988.So many fans over the years have clamored for this show to get a proper Broadway revival, and we finally got it thanks to a new book by Danny Strong, direction by Michael Mayer, and a remarkable cast at the helm: Lea Michelle as Florence, Aaron Tveit as Freddie, and Nicolas Christopher as Anatoly. In this episode, host Alex Birsh (Playbill's C.O.O. and SVP) brings on a theater friend who suggests the show when someone asks them, "what should I see on Broadway?"And then he brings on his special guest, one of the stars of the show, Aaron Tveit, and who talks about the challenges and the joys of bringing this production to fans each night.

Have you ever wished to find yourself IN a musical? That is the fate of boyfriend and girlfriend Josh and Melissa, who get trapped in the town of Schmigadoon, influenced by the Golden Age of musical theatre (and named after the Broadway classic Brigadoon). First performed at The Kennedy Center in 2025, the stage rendition of the streaming series of the same name (on AppleTV+) has just been nominated for a staggering 12 Tony Awards, including Best Musical.In this episode, host Alex Birsh (Playbill's COO and SVP) brings on a theater friend who suggests the show when someone asks what to see on Broadway.And then Birsh brings on the two stars of the show, Alex Brightman and Sara Chase, the latter of whom earned her first Tony award nomination for the role. The two of them talk about what it's like to take on characters who are stuck in a musical.Get ready to cross that bridge and try some corn puddin', as we head to the Nederlander Theatre on 41st Street for Schmigadoon! 

In this episode, we focus not on a particular show but on a remarkable talent who has helped change the landscape of the theatrical world, literally and figuratively: the renowned architect and Tony Award-winning set designer David Rockwell. It is staggering to unpack all the sets he has designed in the last multiple decades, such as the Rocky Horror revival in 2000, Hairspray, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, The Normal Heart, Kinky Boots, Side Show, On the Twentieth Century, She Loves Me, Falsettos, Kiss Me Kate, the Chess Revival, and he just earned a Tony nomination for his scenic design for the recently-opened play Fallen Angels. It’s his first nomination since he won for Best Scenic Design of a Musical in 2016 for She Loves Me. But we did first characterize him as an architect, and that is not only how his working life began, but continues to shine within, as he and his firm have had their hands in a remarkable amount of legendary projects in hospitality, like Nobu, The Corner Store, Din Tai Fung, the W Hotel, The Civilian Hotel, and more.Host Alex Birsh talks with David about some of those career highlights, how he got into this line of work, and what gets his creativity going when he’s faced with a new project.

What lengths would you go to for the person you loved, and what lengths would the public love you for it? Those are the central themes of the play Dog Day Afternoon, an adaptation of the 1975 movie, itself a dramatization of real-life events that happened in 1972. Adapted for the stage by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Stephen Adly Guirgis, the story centers on two men, Sonny and Sal, and their quest to rob a bank in New York City in the summer of '72. Played by real-life friends Jon Bernthal and Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Sonny and Sal hold up the bank, but the cast of characters in and around the bank have enough talent to STEAL in their own right, as in the show, thanks to the excellent performances by Jessica Hecht and John Ortiz.In this episode, host Alex Birsh (Playbill's C.O.O. and SVP) talks to a theatre friend who’s seen the show and suggests it when they’re asked, "What show do you recommend seeing on Broadway?"And then he brings on his special guest, the Emmy Award-winning powerhouse Jon Bernthal. They talk about the joy he is having bringing this piece to Broadway, welcoming all kinds of audiences into the theater, and the love he has for his native Ojai and creating the Ojai Theater Festival last year.Lock the doors, count your money, and yell ATTICA as we take you to the August Wilson Theatre on 52nd Street for Dog Day Afternoon.

Have you ever been lucky enough to visit somewhere, or meet someone, and feel almost immediately that your life is about to change? That is what the character Dougal feels about New York and his unofficial tour guide, Robyn, in the Broadway musical Two Strangers Carry a Cake Across New York.First developed in England, the musical tells the story of Dougal’s 48-hour visit to New York on a mission to connect with members of his family at an upcoming wedding. But, as you can tell by the title of the show, he and Robyn have a job to do before the big day, and they navigate through the third character of the play, New York City itself. In this episode, host Alex Birsh brings on a theater friend who suggests the show when someone asks them, What should I see on Broadway?And then he brings on his special guests: Sam Tutty, who plays Dougal, Christiani Pitts, who plays Robyn, and director and Choreographer Tim Jackson, and they talk about what it’s like to bring this very creative and special show to Broadway audiences.

In 1998, composer/lyricists Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, and book writer Terrance McNally brought a big, American musical to Broadway based on Ragtime, the acclaimed novel by EL Doctorow. It was a success; the production was nominated for 13 Tony Awards and won four of them. The show ran for multiple years, launched many careers, and brought new, beautiful music to the world. That world has waited many years for a revival of this beloved musical, which tells the commingling stories of Coalhouse Walker Jr and his wife Sarah, Mother and Father and their family in the upper class in Westchester, and Tateh and his daughter, immigrants embracing a new and complex home in New York at the turn of the 20th century. Lincoln Center and its new artistic director, Lear deBessonet, have brought us the long-awaited revival at the Vivian Beaumont Theater, and it’s made a sizable splash on Broadway, playing to sold-out houses thanks to its beauty and many timely themes that are all too familiar today. In this episode, host Alex Birsh (Playbill's C.O.O. and SVP) talks to a theatre friend who’s seen the show and suggests it to those who ask, "What should I see on Broadway?" Birsh then brings on the three leading players in the show: Joshua Henry (Coalhouse), Caissie Levy (Mother), and Brandon Uranowitz (Tateh). To get tickets to Ragtime, click here. To see all of what Broadway has to offer, visit Playbill.com.

The Lost Boys musical is on its way to Broadway, and it is one of the season’s most highly anticipated new shows. Previews start March 27th at the Palace Theatre, with tickets available now at lostboysmusical.com. The production is in the middle of the final sprint to the finish that all new shows need to take on to open on Broadway successfully, and while there is rarely time to reflect in those moments, the producing and creative teams for the show are peeling back the curtain with a three-part podcast series called "Time To Kill: Making The Lost Boys Musical." And lucky for you all, we’re releasing those episodes here on the Playbill Podcast. The hosts of the series are producers James Carpinello, Marcus Chait, and Patrick Wilson, and each episode has featured a different member or members of the creative process, such as the music, the direction, and the cast. The first episode of the series focused on the music with special guests The Rescues. In the second installment, the hosts brought on the two-time Tony Award-winning director of the musical, Michael Arden. In this third and final installment of the series on the Playbill Podcast, the hosts bring on the cast members portraying the Emerson family: Shoshana Bean, LJ Benet, and Benjamin Pajak.

The Lost Boys musical is on its way to Broadway, and it is one of the season’s most highly anticipated new shows. Previews start March 27th at the Palace Theatre, with tickets available now at lostboysmusical.com. The production is in the middle of the final sprint to the finish that all new shows need to take on to open on Broadway successfully, and while there is rarely time to reflect in those moments, the producing and creative teams for the show are peeling back the curtain with a three-part podcast series called "Time To Kill: Making The Lost Boys Musical." And lucky for you all, we’re releasing those episodes here on the Playbill Podcast. The hosts of the series are producers James Carpinello, Marcus Chait, and Patrick Wilson, and each episode will feature a different member or members of the creative process, such as the music, the direction, and the cast. The first episode of the series focused on the music with special guests The Rescues. In this second installment, the hosts bring on the two-time Tony Award-winning director of the musical, Michael Arden.

The Lost Boys musical is on its way to Broadway and it is one of the season’s most highly anticipated new shows, with previews starting March 27th at the Palace Theatre. Tickets are available now at lostboysmusical.com. The production is in the middle of the final sprint to the finish that all new shows need to take on to open on Broadway successfully, and while there is rarely time to reflect in those moments, the producing and creative teams for the show are peeling back the curtain with a three-part podcast series called "Time To Kill: Making The Lost Boys Musical." And lucky for you all, we’re releasing those episodes here on the Playbill Podcast. The hosts of the series are producers James Carpinello, Marcus Chait, and Patrick Wilson, and each episode will feature a different member or members of the creative process, such as the music, the direction, and the cast. In this first installment, the focus is on the band that created the music for the production: The Rescues.