Putting It Together (Podcast)

The failure of Anyone Can Whistle is legendary. It closed after 9 performances. Madeline Botteri and Joel DeCandio, of The Sondheim Project, join Kyle in discussing how the first song of the show helps (and doesn't help) set the stage for what's to come.

Miracle Song can be looked at as a satirical takedown of religion. There are certainly gospel elements to the music and blatant Christian imagery. Christine Chen returns to talk to Kyle about this and whether this should have been the opening number.

There Won't Be Trumpets was cut from the show but still made it onto the cast album. It grew in popularity from there and now appears anytime Anyone Can Whistle is revived. Did it deserve to be cut? Suzanna and Kyle discuss that and how Fay may be the hero she wants somebody else to be.

Justin Guarini has acted and sang all over the world. One of his most cherished performances was as Bobby in Stephen Sondheim's Company, at the Bucks County Playhouse. He discusses that show, theatre in general, and reveals the advice he'd give to young actors.

Simple is a long song. And, as it turns out, not so simple. This was the first time where Sondheim combined music, speaking, multiple characters, and multiple melodies into one song. David and Kyle try to break it apart and figure out what works and what doesn't.

Kyle's ability to do a French accent isn't very good. But this song, Come Play Wiz Me, is a fascinating example of pastiche. It's a musical style in which Stephen Sondheim is well known for. Eric Matthew Richardson returns to offer his expertise on that, plus gives a bunch of references ranging from Shakespeare to Monty Python.

Is whistling easy, or is it hard? Darby Turnbull returns to the podcast to discuss the song Anyone Can Whistle. In the conversation truths are revealed, lessons are learned, and gay themes are discovered.

Listeners called and wrote in questions for Kyle to answer about Broadway, Sondheim, and the podcast itself. This is a special episode that celebrate the last 50 episodes and (hopefully) gets you excited for the next 50.

There's a Parade in Town is a song that was written because Angela Lansbury demanded it. Sometimes it can be hard to think about Angela Lansbury as a diva, especially if you've seen interviews with her and can see how gracious she normally is. In this episode Jonathan Chisolm helps Kyle to square those two sides of her personality.

Everybody Says Don't may seem like another song that fits into the theme of "be yourself no matter what the world says." But guest Will C. White discusses with Kyle why you shouldn't overlook this part of Anyone Can Whistle. Plus, does Ira Gershwin suck?

Sometimes you got to to lean on yourself. Kyle talks with himself about a song where people say they can rely on each other. But could they be just as likely to stab each other in the back? The answer is yes.

Fay has been holding out for a hero the entire show, but now she realizes it needs to be her that's the hero. Local actor Riley Galarneau joins Kyle to discuss character motivation, being pushed to do uncomfortable things, and 80s power ballads.

This episode starts with an extended ballet sequence that leads directly into a song that was eventually cut. Tim Kov and Anna Hulkower, from My Little Tonys, join the discussion and reveal secret Sondheim facts while deciding on whether the cut song should have stayed and whether the dance should have left.

It's a weird way to end a show, but then again with Anyone Can Whistle everything has been a bit odd. Karen Unland and her daughter Elizabeth (from the podcast That's a Thing?!) join the show to discuss With So Little To Be Sure Of. They also talk about the difficulty with love songs, whether this song is inconsistent with the characters singing it, and they try to guess how many Tony Award nominations the show received.

The new season of Putting It Together debuts on October 30th! This will be different from previous episodes, as we take a look at Do I Hear a Waltz in a three episode miniseries. It will explore the history, the problems, but most importantly the music.