Advertise on podcast: Paul and Corey Cross the Streams

Let's put on a show! It's season 8 for Paul and Corey Cross the Streams, and this season we're watching musicals. It's a singular art form with a dynamic history, and we get to listen to a lot of cast recordings… This week, Paul wanted to take on the musical theatre institution that is Rodgers and Hammerstein. And to do that, he chose what has lately become one of their more problematic and difficult pieces, Carousel (1956). The film is based on the 1945 Broadway success, which was their second project together after the homerun that was Oklahoma. Carousel is an adaptation of the 1909 Hungarian play Liliom. by Ferenc Molnar. So, the question one may have is, "What makes this show so troubling?" Well, it's about domestic violence and generational trauma. And like so many of Rodgers and Hammerstein's shows, for as beautiful as the music is or how inventive they were with the form of musical theatre, the shows just don't age well. Paul and Corey examine how the show tries consciously to engage in the topic, and how and why it falls woefully short.

Let's put on a show! It's season 8 for Paul and Corey Cross the Streams, and this season we're watching musicals. It's a singular art form with a dynamic history, and we get to listen to a lot of cast recordings… This week, Corey wanted to take a look at a musical that exemplifies a style of theatre that flourished in the '90s and '00s, formally inventive and indebted to Stephen Sondheim. This week's film is The Last Five Years (2014), adapted from the 2002 Off-Broadway show. The show was written by Jason Robert Brown, and the film was adapted and directed by Richard LaGravenese. It stars Anna Kendrick and Jeremy Jordan as the star-crossed lovers in what was a two-hander show. The show/film's premise is that we watch a relationship and marriage begin and end from the perspectives of these two people in opposing chronological order. Confusing?! Not really, but kinda. We meet Cathy at the end of the relationship, and her story ends at the beginning, and then we meet Jamie at the beginning of their relationship and follow to the end. It's a good idea! But that's about where the praise of the show and especially film end. There's just a lot wrong here, folks. Obviously, social media has had a field day with this show and how problematic Jamie is. And everyone knows about the legal disputes that surrounded the show - being that is a thinly-veiled autobiographical account of Jason Robert Brown's own experience. And then, the film itself is just so...amateurish. A lot to discuss, and Paul even comes up with the definitive take on The Last Five Years!

Let's put on a show! It's season 8 for Paul and Corey Cross the Streams, and this season we're watching musicals. It's a singular art form with a dynamic history, and we get to listen to a lot of cast recordings… This week, Paul made a left at the large fork in the road and chose The Muppet Movie (1979). The Muppets have been a cultural institution for nearly 60 years, and this was a great opportunity to talk about the artistry and philosophy of Jim Henson and the other artists who created them, including but not limited to Jane Henson, Frank Oz, Jerry Nelson, Richard Hunt, and Dave Goelz, and writers (of The Muppet Show and film) Jerry Juhl and Jack Burns. The Muppet Movie was an offshoot of The Muppet Show (which itself was a reworking of their time on Saturday Night Live), and so Paul and Corey talk about how the two relate and the type of sketches, celebrity cameos, and humor the Muppets were known for. Of course, the film might possibly not be as beloved if not for the beautiful songs and music written by Paul Williams and Kenneth Ascher. And ultimately Paul and Corey talk about the magic of the Muppets. Why they appeal to kids of any age, and why Jim Henson is such a beloved artist.

Let's put on a show! It's season 8 for Paul and Corey Cross the Streams, and this season we're watching musicals. It's a singular art form with a dynamic history, and we get to listen to a lot of cast recordings… This week, Corey wanted to hear the music play with Cabaret (1972)! Just like Singin' in the Rain, where do you begin with Cabaret? The film, a major rewrite of the 1966 Broadway show, which was an adaptation of the 1951 Broadway play I am a Camera, which also had a British film adaption in 1955. And all of those were based on a collection of stories titled The Berlin Stories (1945), by Christopher Isherwood. These were thinly fictionalized accounts of his experiences as a young gay British man living in the queer demimonde of Berlin during Germany's Weimar Republic. Phew! That's a lot! Cabaret is just a monster of a show. With every reinvention, it says something new about itself and the world, and with every reinvention, you wonder, "How could any version of the show be better than this?!" Paul and Corey discuss all of that. The production woes of Bob Fosse and producer Cy Feuer; Kander and Ebb; Liza Minelli in her star-making performance; the role of art and fascism; and the life of Communist activist Jean Ross, who was the basis of Sally Bowles. So, leave your troubles outside! Life is disappointing? Forget it! In this podcast, life is BEAUTIFUL!

Let's put on a show! It's season 8 for Paul and Corey Cross the Streams, and this season we're watching musicals. It's a singular art form with a dynamic history, and we get to listen to a lot of cast recordings... This week, Paul wanted to take on another of the movie musical canon: Singin' in the Rain (1952)! Where to begin with Singin' in the Rain? Arguably the best movie musical, appearing in Sight and Sound polls and AFI lists. Referenced in countless other films, TV shows, and other media. We discuss the careers and styles of co-directors Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen. We discuss producer/musical composer Arthur Freed (a*****e!) and the authors of the screenplay Betty Comden and Adolph Green. We discuss the careers and talents of Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds, Donald O'Connor, Jean Hagen, and Cyd Charisse. We discuss the oft-debated topic of who-was-better: Fred Astaire or Gene Kelly?  We even discuss why Corey doesn't really love this movie... It's a great episode of a part of cinema history.

Let's put on a show! It's season 8 for Paul and Corey Cross the Streams, and this season we're watching musicals. It's a singular art form with a dynamic history, and we get to listen to a lot of cast recordings... This week, Corey continued discussed of Motown, albeit in a legally-deniable way, with Dreamgirls (2006). The film was adapted and directed by Bill Condon from the 1981 Broadway show, which was originally directed by Michael Bennett, with music by Henry Krieger, and book and lyrics by Tom Eyen. The film was a box office smash and critical success, winning Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actress and Best Sound Mixing. It's a star-studded cast, including Jamie Foxx, Beyonce Knowles, Eddie Murphy, Danny Glover, and Jennifer Hudson. And yet. Paul and Corey just did not like this adaptation. Corey, who worked bar at the original Broadway show and saw it hundreds of times, discusses the differences between the two versions and especially the power of seeing the show live. They also discuss why the film could have suffered from trying to satisfy its stars and expanding the story too much. And for as much as they don't agree with the common wisdom about Jennifer Hudson's performance, they were deeply impressed by Eddie Murphy and Beyonce's performances. They also discuss the musical's interrogation of respectability politics and art in the context of the early 1960s America, as well as misogynoir, colorism, and fatphobia. It's a far-reaching conversation. Enjoy!

Let's put on a show! It's season 8 for Paul and Corey Cross the Streams, and this season we're watching musicals. It's a singular art form with a dynamic history, and we get to listen to a lot of cast recordings... This week, Paul continued along, and is now easing down, the Yellow Brick Road as he and Corey discuss The Wiz (1978). It's another example of a film adaptation of a hit Broadway show that radically reimagines the book and premise - for good or for ill. Paul and Corey discuss the historic exclusion of Black musicals from Broadway, as well as the conditions that led to a welcome influx of them in the early 1970s. They talk about the somewhat fraught pre-production, and the people (Geoffrey Holder, Stephanie Mills) and events that led to its rousing success. They also talk about how Motown Productions came to produce the film, some of the history of the company, and most especially the involvement of Diana Ross behind and in front of the camera. The Wiz (the film) was a critical and box-office failure at the time of its release; however, it found its audience and has become its own cultural institution. Paul and Corey discuss what works and what doesn't and how much of the blame can and should be attributed to having the film directed by Sydney Lumet(!) and written by Joel Schumacher(!!).

Let's put on a show! It's season 8 for Paul and Corey Cross the Streams, and this season we're watching musicals. It's a singular art form with a dynamic history, and we get to listen to a lot of cast recordings... This week, Corey chose Baz Luhrmann's Moulin Rouge! (2001). This is the first instance where both hosts could not bring themselves finish the film in question. But not to worry they both had seen it when it came out (Corey liked it then, Paul hated it). And although they strongly rejected the film, both Paul and Corey respectfully unpack just what qualities and artistic choices Luhrmann and company made that led them to their positions, going so far as comparing the film to the French theorist Guy Debord's The Society of the Spectacle.

Let's put on a show! It's season 8 for Paul and Corey Cross the Streams, and this season we're watching musicals. It's a singular art form with a dynamic history, and we get to listen to a lot of cast recordings... This week, Paul chose perhaps the most influential American film - The Wizard of Oz (1939). A film so omnipresent in everyone's life that Corey couldn't even watch it. A film so ingrained in our consciousnesses that Paul and Corey don't even recount the plot of the film during the course of the episode! What they do discuss is...everything else. From L. Frank Baum's troubling op-eds to David Lynch to Friends of Dorothy to the conditions on the set to Judy Garland's life and career to how being on television every year almost made the film into a religious event. The episode could have gone at least an hour longer. An absolutely and transcendentally beautiful film that deserves all the praise it gets.

Let's put on a show! It's season 8 for Paul and Corey Cross the Streams, and this season we're watching musicals. It's a singular art form with a dynamic history, and we get to listen to a lot of cast recordings... This week, Corey chose what is arguably the greatest book musical of all time, Gypsy. This is also the first time that Paul and Corey watch a live recording of a musical and, in this case, a revival - Gypsy: Live from the Savoy Theatre (2015). In the likely event that you haven't seen this film, we strongly recommend you watch before listening. It is streaming for free on Tubi. The show was first produced in 1959, with music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and book by Arthur Laurents. It was a star-vehicle for Ethel Merman, who played the original Mama Rose. The musical was based on the 1957 memoir, Gypsy: A Memoir by Gypsy Rose Lee (a famous burlesque dancer and entertainer). Before we get too much further in this episode synopsis, it must be said that the term was and is an unacceptable slur used about the Romani people. To the extent that the name of the show, the character, and the performer are what they are, we can understand them through a critical lens of culture, time, and consciousness, without endorsing or hand-waving. With that in mind, the show really does earn its reputation of being the King Lear of musicals. The nuance and depth of characterization is incredible. The songs stand the test of time. And in this production, the performances of Imelda Staunton as Mama Rose and Lara Pulver as Louise are astounding, while being surrounded by a cast of brilliant performers. Paul and Corey discuss the psychology of stage mothers and Mama Rose, societal expectations of women and the commodification of their bodies, and how heartbreaking Gypsy is in the way it creates dramatic opportunities for these hurting people try their best to love each other. It's a great discussion of an excellent musical and production!

Let's put on a show! It's season 8 for Paul and Corey Cross the Streams, and this season we're watching musicals. It's a singular art form with a dynamic history, and we get to listen to a lot of cast recordings... This week, Paul wanted to pick a straight-down-the-middle classic. A crowd-pleaser. Grease (1978). Well, it turns out everyone loves Grease except for Corey. Although, that's not quite true. See, there are so many versions of Grease... So, Paul and Corey discuss the production history of the little show from Chicago that became the longest-running Broadway show (for a time) and conquered the world with the film and its soundtrack. Multiple revivals. Reality shows. Sequels and prequels. All that stuff. Grease (the film) is a Frankenstein's monster of a project, and, love it or hate it, it somehow came together into a colossal, beloved success. And the question that Paul and Corey discuss is "at what cost to the original script and concept?" It's a great discussion. (Paul had such a great time rewatching the film that he ran out and bought the soundtrack.)

Let's put on a show! It's season 8 for Paul and Corey Cross the Streams, and this season we're watching musicals. It's a singular art form with a dynamic history, and we get to listen to a lot of cast recordings... Attend the podcast on Sweeney Todd! Yes, this week Corey chose the Tim Burton/Johnny Depp joint Sweeney Todd (2007). This adaptation of Stephen Sondheim's brilliant musical from 1979, was...bad. Which is too bad because the musical is one that Corey and Paul both love very much. In the episode, they discuss Stephen Sondheim's body of work and his singular style; the history of the archetypical characters of Sweeney Todd and Mrs. Lovett; Tim Burton's career (and artistic limitations); whether the musical is, as original director, Hal Prince, claimed and Sondheim disagreed, a satire of "the Industrial Revolution;" and most importantly why and in what ways this adaptation struggles with its source material. (A factory whistle blows)

Let's put on a show! It's season 8 for Paul and Corey Cross the Streams, and this season we're watching musicals. It's a singular art form with a dynamic history, and we get to listen to a lot of cast recordings... It may be the Great Depression, but Paul and Corey are in the money! Yes, this week's episode is Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933). Directed by Mervyn Leroy, music & lyrics by Harry Warren and Al Dubin, choreography by Busby Berkeley, and starring Joan Blondell, Dick Powell, Ruby Keeler, Ginger Rogers, and Aline MacMahon (and more), Gold Diggers of 1933 was and is a classic of Hollywood musicals. However, Corey really didn't like it. The boys discuss sexism and the Male Gaze, the Hayes Code, spectacle and Busby Berkeley's impact on filmmaking, the reappraisal of musicals of the '20s and '30s that happened in the '70s, and even the Bonus Army.

Let's put on a show! It's season 8 for Paul and Corey Cross the Streams, and this season we're watching musicals. It's a singular art form with a dynamic history, and we get to listen to a lot of cast recordings... For his first episode, Corey chose the international smash-hit, the Tollywood (India) film, RRR (2022). Directed and written by S. S. Rajamouli, the film is a fictional and fictionalized account of the meeting of two Indian revolutionaries, Komaram Bheem and Alluri Sitarama Raju, during the British Raj. The film is a blast: action-packed, singing and dancing, compelling drama, excellent VFX, brilliant (fight) choreography, and more, as it tells the exciting story of rising up against colonial oppression. But. The film exists in a political and economic context, specifically the current rule of Hindu nationalism and the long-established caste system in India, that international viewers might not know or understand. And for as much fun as it is to root for our protagonists in their fight against racist imperialism and colonialism, the film may not be as progressive in its political positions on oppression and exploitation as it purports. It's a nuanced and interesting conversation on a thrilling film.

Let's put on a show! It's season 8 for Paul and Corey Cross the Streams, and this season we're watching musicals. It's a singular art form with a dynamic history, and we get to listen to a lot of cast recordings... For our first episode, Paul chose his favorite musical, The Music Man (1962), based on the hit show which opened on Broadway in 1957. Written entirely(!) by Meredith Wilson and starring Robert Preston (who also starred in the Broadway production), the film is part of a major run of adaptations that took place in Hollywood in the late '50s and '60s. Paul and Corey talk about their relationships with The Music Man; the differences between the film and show; why The Music Man might be the perfect musical; what was the point of traveling salesmen; whether or not Ron Howard went overboard with the lisping; and a lot more.