I really like musicals, but I can't always get to the theatre, especially these days. Usually, I'm limited to listening to the albums, supplemented by summaries of the plot, and occasionally a bit of bootleg footage or pictures. However, audio dramas present a unique opportunity for musicals to reach a wider audience. You get the singing and the talks bits. Sure, there's no visuals, but when it comes to musicals it's the audio that really counts. I bring this up because we'll be taking a look at a musical anthology audio drama. We're taking a look at Bite-Sized Broadway.
Bite-Sized Broadway is an anthology of mini-musicals. Each musical differs in style, music, and length. Shows run anywhere from seventeen to thirty-two minutes. The remaining time is spent on an interview with the creators of the musicals. The interviews are conducted by Jonathan Lynch. I was first made aware of Bite-Sized Broadway when I was contacted by Andrew Fox on Reddit. He's the sound engineer for the podcast, and is responsible for coordinating the musical scores in each episode. He's also an alumnus from Team StarKid. Team StarKid were an indie theatre troop who produced several parody musicals beloved across the Internet and beyond. Their works include A Very Potter Musical, Holy Musical B@tman, Starship, Twisted, The Trail to Oregon, and Me and My Dick. And yes, that last one is indeed the tittle of a musical.
Andrew had read some of my previous review I posed in r/audiodrama, and asked if I'd be willing to take a look at Bite-Sized Broadway. I said yes, and now here we are. Well, a former member of Team StarKid has asked me to review an audio drama he was involved in. I guess I'm in the big leagues now. Well, actually, I knew I was getting in the big leagues when I got asked to review another audio drama. I can't tell you what it is just yet, but it does have some reasonably well-known actors from Hollywood attached to it. That's the only clue you get right now. But, let us focus on the present, and Bite-Sized Broadway. We'll jump straight in to the first episode.
Well, actually, before that, just a quick aside. I absolutely adore the theme song that plays at the beginning and ending of each episode. Each episode has their own personalized posters, and they're all great. In fact, if you listen on Spotify, the image you get will be each episode’s poster, rather than the series title card. But we're getting off-track. To the first musical we go.
Our first mini-musical is tilted The Getaway. Peter is a former New York City taxi driver who now works for Uber. In fact, it's his first day on the new job. He feels that life is moving too fast, and he just wants to somewhere he can get away from it all. Specially, he wants to take his wife on a nice vacation. If only he had the money. But little does he know that all of that is about to change. Little does Peter know that his first pair of riders have recently robbed a bank.
Bite-Sized Broadway starts off strong with great first episode. The start of this episode reminded me a bit about a trip they took to New Orleans for work. They used rideshare companies like Uber and Lyft to get around the city. One of their drivers mentioned that he used to be a taxi driver, but competition from rideshares forced him to join the competition. He only makes half of what he did when he was a taxi driver, but it was that or unemployment. It strikes me that Peter is in a similar situation to that man. Though, honestly, I would have thought New York would have been less effected than most places. Taxis are such an iconic part of New York; you'd think the city would preserve and/or subsidize them; especially since they could serve as a tourist attraction.
At one time, most major cities in America used streetcars as a form of public transportation. However, most of these got replaced by buses and cars. New Orleans was a rather notable exception to this trend. This is thanks in large part to the streetcar preservation movement that emerged in the city. To this day streetcar still play a role in New Orleans public transportation, and are a minor tourist attraction associated with the city. This is to say that I can see something like that happening with the taxis of New York.
Now then, let's talk about the music. The musical starts off with a great opening number called "Moving Too Fast/Getaway." It's a bombastic opening number, which contrasts with the lyrics about how Peter feels that the world is moving too fast and leaving him behind. It was probably my favorite song from this episode. Why no, the fact that I often feel like Peter played no role in that; why do you ask?
Next up we have "The Perfect Getaway (Bank Robber Bebop)." It's a jazzy, bouncy, upbeat number evocative of the musicals of the 1930s and 1940s. I really enjoyed this one as well. The banks robbers’ song about how they just need to lay low, and hope Peter doesn't get pulled over, and they'll have pulled off the perfect crime. At the same time, Peter sings about how he hopes to save up enough to take his wife on a nice vacation.
Our closing number is "Would It Be Wrong/Getaway (Reprise)." Peter has finally connected the dots, and he's also holding the robbers' bad of unmarked bills. Would it be so wrong to look the other way? The music starts slow and contemplative as Peter wrestles with his dilemma. Then it turns triumphant and upbeat as he decides, to hell with it, he's taking the money, and taking his wife on a great vacation. The robbers also sing triumphantly about how they've gotten away with it all. So, this musical is three of three on songs I liked.
And indeed, Peter and the robbers are about to go on the trip of a life time. Their destination includes room and board, with three hot pre-paid meal each day. They will enjoy extensive workout routines, numerous crafting opportunities, and plenty of alone time to just relax and meditate on life. The rooms...leaving something to be desired, but hey, you can't win them all. That's right, they're going on an all-expense paid trip...to prison! Hey, all I'm saying is that the musical ends with the police arriving, and Peter is holding a bag of stolen money. That's going to look very suspicious. I don't think "Please, Officer, you have to believe me! I'm just an innocent bystander!" is going to cut it. At absolute best, Peter will be back to square one. But hey, it makes for an amusing end.
As you can see, I greatly enjoyed The Getaway. It was an excellent first episode. Short but sweet, and a lot of fun.
Our second musical is Blue Cross Blues. Bill and Michelle are just an average American couple dealing with the realities of modern life. This includes expensive insurance premiums. On day, Bill decides that he's going to get them a reimbursement from their medical insurer. However, he's about to find out that this is easier said than done.
Bite-Sized Broadway started strong with an excellent first episode, but can it top it? As it runs out, yes it can. Quite well in fact. First off, I'll say that it was interesting to have odder characters as the protagonists. You don't often see that in musicals. They're also an older interracial couple, which is even rarer. I also felt that the musical did a good job of being evenhanded. It satirizes the healthcare debate, but it pokes fun at both sides, and doesn't come down firmly on either side. Well, maybe a bit towards the idea of a government healthcare system, but the musical does point out that such a thing isn't without its flaws. Now then, let's move on to the songs.
Our first song is "How Hard Can It Be?" It's a smooth, cool, and triumphant opening number that sets up the plot. Bill and Michelle get into an argument about who contributes more to the household: Bill with his landscape paintings or Michelle and her lawyer job? Bill has full confidence that it's going to be easy, but Michelle has her doubts.
Next, we have "Waiting #1." It's a transitional number involving Bill and Michelle waiting to see if the letter Bill sent to the insurance company worked. Survey says...no reply. Nothing too fancy here, but it gets the job done. I'll save us trouble and say here that "Waiting #2" is much the same.
"Billing Codes" happens after Bill calls the insurance agency. It starts off almost like a church hymn, but quickly turns into a bouncy marching number. This song reminded me of something that happened in my life. A few years ago, I needed to get jaw surgery to correct faulty orthodontics. Naturally, that meant my parents had to spar with their health insurance provider. The insurance company did everything to avoid paying. Thankfully, my dad eventually wrote a letter so through and convincing in its reasoning that the insurance company had no choice but to pay up. It helps that both of my parents are lawyers who work for the State of Louisiana, and they're privy to a lot of this sort of stuff. So, I got my surgery, made a full recovery, and my parents didn't have to pay any money for it.
I also liked how the song lists all the random things that the hospitals bill for. A big reason healthcare is so expensive in America is that the hospitals got in bed with the insurance companies. The insurance companies are required to pay a minimum amount for certain things, so the hospitals deliberately jack-up the prices so that they can get more money from the insurance companies.
"Pay The Bill" see Bill finally get in contact with the billing department. Unfortunately, it doesn't quite go as he'd hope. It's a tango villain song. I'm with the musical's creators, Neil Radisch and Ed Levy, tango makes for an excellent villain song. Also, having the billing department being connected to the Sisters of the Merciful Dollar, as noted above, makes perfect sense. As a side note, one of the best depictions of the health insurance industry I've ever seen was The Incredibles. Specifically, the scene where Mr. Incredible is working for the insurance company and the boss says, basically, "How are we supposed to make money when you keep approving everyone?!"
"Waiting #3" is much like its predecessors. However, this time the check comes at long last: the princely sum of fifty-six cents. Wow, that's like slightly more than half of one whole dollar! That's also...uh, way less than even a fraction of one percent of what Bill and Michelle owe. It just now occurred to me that the fact that the husband is named Bill is a pun. Sometimes I'm a bit slow on the uptake.
"Government Healthcare" is our closing number. Bill and Michelle face the music: they must become Democrats and support government healthcare. It's a bouncy, patriotic marching song. It's also an awesome note to end the musical on. The cast sing about how it will lead to more people getting the help they need, and how healthcare should be a right, not a privilege. However, they also concede that taxes will rise, implementing it will be very expensive, and that it might lead to hospitals and EMTs becomes much less speedy and less efficient. Not mentioned, but worth considering, is that private insurance would still exist. Canada has government healthcare, but it is to supplement, not replace, private insurance.
And going back to my surgery, what if a government healthcare system deemed it cosmetic, and not worth paying for? Then my folks would still have had to spare with private insurance. There aren't easy answers, and I like that the musical leaves it to the audience to decide for themselves. All in all, Blue Cross Blues is a fantastic second episode. In fact, I didn't listen to the episodes in order, so this was my first episode. And it was a great musical to have for my first taste of Bite-Sized Broadway.
Our third episode is titled A Relative Relationship. Simon Pang and Carmen Solidad couldn't be more different. She's one of the most popular girls at school, and he's a nerd. They're also step-siblings, something neither of the, is happy about. They've been called to the vice principal's office because one of them cheated off the other's test. They've been tasked with determining who takes the blame, but little do they know that they're also about to see a different side of each other.
I wouldn't exactly say that this musical broke any new ground. I've seen similar plots to this done before. I see shades of The Breakfast Club here. Still, familiar doesn't equal bad, but I still rather enjoyed this musical. Having the main characters be step-siblings was an interesting touch. In the interview, musical creator Timothy Huang mentions that the actors are adults, despite the characters being in middle school, because certain lines would be less funny if the characters were played by actual kids. I guess I didn't pick up on that during my first listen. Well, I knew the actors were older than middle school age, but I guess it didn't faze me as weird. Theatre often requires you to use your imagination and suspend your disbelief to bring the story on the stage to life. Now then, let's move on to the songs.
Our first song is "My Mom is Gonna Kill Me." The upbeat music contrasts with Simon and Carmen worrying about how their parents will react when they find out about getting called to the vice principal. Also, we learn that Simon is Korean-America, as he mentions that his mom grew up near the DMZ. It's a fun way to start the musical and establish the characters.
The second song is "It Should Be You/I've been Despised For So Long." We get accordions, trumpets, snare drums, and even a bit of bass as Carmen and Simon debate about who should take the fall. Well, Carmen was the one who did it, no questions asked, but she's already on academic probation and doesn't want to get expelled. For if that happens, her prospects are...not very good. This song leads us directly into...
"It Happens Every Day" is our third song. Carmen blames Simon for introducing their parents to each other. He retorts with a barb about how her mom walked out on her dad. This genuinely hurts Carmen, and Simon immediately feels regret for crossing the line. The song is slow and gentle about how Carmen blames herself for her mom walking out. We also see how her confidence and bravado is just a mask to disguise her insecurity about how she feels she constantly screws up and makes bad choices. Yeah, I can relate to that. Though, I still have both of my parents. I'm often told I obsess to a fault over my faults, mistakes, and screw-ups.
Simon also reveals his own insecurities about how he feels pressured to pass ever test and do well in school for his mom's sake. I guess if there is a moral to this song, it is that you should be kind to others. You don't know what they're going through. Also, everyone has hidden depths and insecurities. Nobody is ever all that they seem.
"Rain" is an orchestral number that ends the musical. Simon and Carmen have both grown as people, and both gained a deeper and understanding and compassion for each other. Short, but it does the job.
I guess that summaries my feelings about A Relative Relationship. It was short, but it had a lot of heart. This was the episodes where I went "Goodness! Some of these episodes barely have any musical in them!" But, on the other hand, I think this musical was probably exactly the length it needed to be. We're three for three with great mini-musicals.
Episode four is titled The Last Magic Negro (Or Chad's Great Awokening). Chad is a middle manager at a company that has found itself swept up in the George Floyd Protests. Chad has been tasked with helping make the company more accommodation to black employees. Unfortunately, he has no clue how to do this. Thankfully, he can call on the help of Jimmy Bagger, the last magical negro in the world. But Chad always finds a way to completely botch Jimmy's advice. The question remains: what is Chad going to do.
This musical was written by Jamil Ellis and Andrew Fox. When Andrew first pitched Bite-Sized Broadway to me, he recommended this musical in particular. He told me not to be put off by the title. Apparently, he meant the word negro. I mean, I wasn't offended, but then again, I'm not exactly politically correct. No, the word I was more wary of was awokening, emphasis on woke. As I've already said, I am not exactly what you might call politically correct.
I'll admit, I have mixed feelings about this one. When I first listened to this musical, I gave it a rather unfavorable review. However, after a brief chat with Andrew, I decided to give it another listen. I liked it much better the second time round.
Whenever you produce art based around hot button social issues/movements, you're going to invoke some strong emotional responses from people. It doesn't matter how delicately to treat your subject; press the hot button, and you run the risk of getting burned. Or at least, you'll potentially run into people who are burned out by it all. Now, that isn't to say that it is impossible to write a meaningful, and even-handed, story using touchy issues. Indeed, some of the greatest works of art have dealt with controversial subjects. I guess what I'm saying is, tread carefully, and know both your intended audience and your potential audience.
When I first listened to The Last Magic Negro my initial response was "Oh, great. Another 'woke costal progressives assume their experiences with racism apply to all of America' show." I will admit, in hindsight this was a knee-jerk reaction, and there was evidence against of I'd had a clearer mindset. According to Andrew, the musical is very much aimed at a coastal left-wing progressive audience. As such, Chad is not meant to represent all white people, as I initially believed him to be. If the target audience is coastal progressives, then I think Last Magical Negro will do quite well. However, when you release an audio drama you're playing for a, potentially, global audience. Or at least, an audience outside your immediate area. I was willing to give this musical another go, but not all listeners are going to be as forgiving. It also helped that I had direct contact with Andrew, something most listeners would lack.
The Last Magic Negro does have some good moments of satire. At the start of the musical, one of Chad's fellow employees brags that she's raising awareness and fighting racism by sharing internet articles and think pieces. Chad retorts that she wore blackface for Halloween last year. It funny, and groan-worthy, on two levels. The first bit pokes fun at internet slacktivism but the second but has a fair bit of truth as well.
I remember, during my senior year of high school I was scrolling through Facebook and saw some pictures my classmates had taken from a party they had. The girls dressed as jungle princesses, and the boys...wore blackface; full-body blackface. Oh, did I mention I went to a Catholic school in North Louisiana full of rich kids? I wasn't exactly a social butterfly, so I didn't get invited to this party, nor was I looking for an invite. Clearly, I wasn't missing very much. I was also one of the not-so-rich kids who went to that particularly school. Oh, and here's the cherry on top, many of those same classmates would later go on to make post paying lip service to Black Lives Matter last year. I sure hope none of them go into politics or entertainment, because those pictures are going to bite them in the asses sooner or later.
Another part, where I didn't know if I should laugh or cry, is where Chad really devotes himself to becoming an ally. He rallies his troops and...violently smashes and destroys buildings and property within the very black communities he claims he wants to help. He also interrupts peaceful protests and set stuff on fire. Yeah, rather unfortunately that happened frequently during the protests. Anarchist groups, such as ANTIFA, destroyed property, including black owned businesses...just because really. Some people just want to watch the world burn. Said anarchist groups were almost exclusively made up of upper middle class and rich white “progressive” people. However, there were also groups unaffiliated with the anarchist who also looted and destroyed stuff, including black businesses, because...uh, well, you got me there. Not sure what the thinking was, or if they were thinking at all.
There's also a funny scene where Chad tries to find black people to listen to. Problem is, he doesn't know any. He gets so desperate he calls Bank of America. The representative asks why he thinks she's black, and he says because she sounds black. It goes about as well as you might expect.
The music of this musical is quite good, and a good variety of styles. As one would expect from a production co-produced by an alumnus of Team StarKid. "What Are You Going to Do?" is a slow R&B number where Chad's co-worker Monique asks the titular question. How are Chad, and the company, going to address racism and discrimination? "Magical Negro Jingle", the song where Jimmy first appears, is pretty clearly a spoof of The Reading Rainbow theme song. And that's what makes it so much fun. "Listen" is done in the style of a gospel number. "Use Your Voice" is another upbeat funky song where Jimmy tells Chad to, well, use his voice and speak out against racism. "The Glory" is done in the style of an 80s movie montage song. It's the song where Chad goes off the deep end with his activism. The guy who sings it is even credited as 80s Guy. "Make A Change" is another spoof, this time of the Michael Jackson song "Man in the Mirror."
Okay, all well and good, but I still took issue with certain points in the musical. At one point, Chad confronts his shadow archetype. The shadow says Chad is racist because he says the word nigger when singing along to rap song. If he doesn't mean it with malicious intent, I fail to see the problem. Hey, here's a crazy idea. If black people don't want white people to say nigger, maybe black people shouldn't say nigger either. Just a thought.
And this is more of a minor point, but perhaps Jimmy could have been a bit more specific when he told Chad to listen to black people. What if he'd listened to one of that crazy black conservatives like Candice Owens or Larry Elder? Or worse, what if he listened to black anti-Semites like the Black Hebrew Israelites or Louis Farrakhan? Granted, the musical would get extremely dark if, for example, Chad got radicalized and committed a synagogue shooting. I'm just saying, maybe Jimmy's problem wasn't just that Chad wasn't listening, but that he was too vague in his direction. At the end we do see that he has his reasons for this, but you'd think he'd be worried about the potential collateral damage Chad might cause.
Okay, so what is my final verdict here? The Last Magic Negro isn't completely flawless, but it is a lot better than I initially believed it to be. Upon further review, I think I'm going to give this on a thumbs up. However, that comes with the caveat that Andrew and Jamil should remember to proceed with caution in the future. Remember, when you're making an audio drama, the whole world is potentially listening. I was willing to give them a second chance, and the benefit the doubt, but not all listeners will be that charitable or forgiving. But all that having been said, give this musical a listen and see what you think of it.
Our fifth musical is Toy Box. Velveteen is a toy rabbit who loves his boy dearly. However, he has recently found himself place in a toy chest. Fortunately, he's not alone. There is tank, a no-nonsense remote controlled toy tank. There's also Horse, an old wise skin horse. Velveteen must come to terms with that fact that his boy might be gone for good. He must find meaning in a life without his beloved boy.
Ah, now this is what I call a pallet cleanser. I think it's inevitable that this musical invites comparisons to the Toy Story franchise. Specifically, to Toy Story 3. You have the themes of toys trying to navigate through life after their owners have outgrown them. However, I feel that Toy Box takes a more introspective and melancholy approach to the subject matter. It's reminds me a bit of something I read once discussing the different philosophical approaches of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spin-off series Angel. Buffy has sort of a Judeo-Christian perspective; evil is powerful, and bad things happen to good people, but evil can be overcome if you fight hard and persevere. Angel, by contrast, takes cues from Norse Mythology. Evil may never truly be defeat. You will have small victories, but you will also be forced to make great sacrifices. However, the world is still worth fighting for, and you can find meaning in the struggle.
I guess Toy Box is like Angel, and Toy Story is like Buffy, in terms of outlook. The conflict here is of the toys finding meaning in their lives, even though the boy is probably never coming back. This musical is, well, I wouldn't say an adaption of The Velveteen Rabbit. Only in a very, very loose sense. Rather, it's inspired by it, and takes some cues, but mostly tells its own story. Now then, let's move on to the music.
Our first song is "The Boyhood Army." It's an upbeat marching song as Tank explains to Velveteen that they protect the boy. They protect him from mean kids on the playground who scrape his knees, and even from his own parents, but only when they're mad. Tank treats it like being in an actual army, but Horse wishes he'd just give it a rest already.
The next song is "Hop/Never Stop Loving." Tank is applauded that Velveteen can't hop, despite being a rabbit. Velveteen is determined to hop, and yet he also wonders about just what it means to be a rabbit. Is it hopping, floppy ears, and a twitchy nose? I liked how Horse snarks at all the macho stuff Tank says. In fact, I think Horse was my favorite character in this musical. Eventually, Horse points out to Velveteen that is strength isn't being able to hop, it's being able to love. For it is only when a child truly loves you that a toy becomes real. Horse also reveals that he used to belong to the boy's nephew. You get a real sense that he still a bit sad that the uncle is gone, but he knows that the love they shared will always remain.
Song number three is "What Do You Do?" Tank's batteries are starting to give out, and he's terrified. It's strongly implied that his bravado is just a mask to disguise his insecurity and fears. The boy isn't coming back, and Tank knows it, even though he doesn't want to admit it. Admittedly, it is a little weird that Tank's life is tied to his batteries. Velveteen and Horse don't have batteries, but that doesn't slow them down. Then again, this is a musical about living toys, so I say just roll with it. On a grander scale, the toys ponder how they will find meaning in their lives now that the boy doesn't need them anymore.
"Finale: Boyhood Army (reprise)" closes us out. Velveteen convinces the toys that they can find meaning by being there for each other. They all have flaws, but they can all still love, and the boy will live on in their hearts. They can still be an army for themselves.
Well now, Toy Box was a surprisingly heartfelt musical. The premise could easily have been played for laughs, but Teresa Lotz and Will Buck made something really special. They said they'd been sitting on their idea for many years, and I can certainly say it was worth the wait. This was specially a Christmas episode, but it can be enjoyed at any time of the year. And can be enjoyed by listeners of all ages. Now, if you'll excuses me, I have to go hug my stuffy wooly mammoth and my rubber Parasaurolophus. I should probably find the rubber T-Rex, my plastic bugs, and my Thomas the Tank Engine trains too.
And so that was all that episodes that are out so far from Bite-Sized Broadway. The review was getting a bit long, so I split it in two for ease of reading. Don't forget to checkout part two.
Bite-Sized Broadway is a musical snack that keeps you coming back. It is a fantastic musical anthology podcast, and I can't recommend it enough. We've had some really great shows so far, and from the looks of things, we've got even more great musicals on the way. And I can't wait to discover them all. Go ahead and listen today, you'll be glad that you did.
Well, I think that should do it from me for now. I will see you guys next time.
No comments:
Post a Comment