Broadway Revisited "concept sheet"
Broadway Revisited is intended to serve and increase
the audience for American theater music from Kern to Sondheim by presenting
in each weekly hour about fifteen recordings, with a commentary intended
to provide context, information, and amusement. Topics include biographies,
variations on themes, the current Broadway season, historical periods,
and new releases and reissues. The scope is stretched to include off-Broadway,
film musicals, and England. Original cast recordings are used, along with
superior performances by jazz and cabaret artists. A high-minded description
of the program would mention attention to the development of the form,
biographies of the composers, and similar worthy content. These are covered,
but the driving force is to present entertaining music in an entertaining
way. The words and music of the songs have priority, and the main criterion
is a good recording of a good song.
Although there is about five times as much music as commentary in the average
hour, the importance of the lyrics and the context supplied by the narrative
mean that listeners have to pay attention. For this reason, scheduling
is best when the audience does not expect background music. Good times
are adjacent to programs like Peter Schickele, Marian McPartland, Car Talk,
MarketPlace, My Word, Prairie Home Companion, ATC, WESAT, and WESUN. Although
the program appeals to people who are not "Broadway" fans as
well as those who are, another option is to schedule it at an inconvenient
time with enough promotion for die-hard devotees to find it.
The range of topics and the breadth of the record library provide considerable variety. As with any art form, there is mediocrity as well as quality in theater music. Although the program's range is catholic, it is not indiscriminate. A memorable listener comment was, "Strange-- I don't like "Broadway", but I like Broadway Revisited."