Broadway To Main Street

We're starting--and finishing--this episode with songs by the quintessential queen of lyric writing. Renditions by Judy Garland, Fred Astaire, Louis Armstrong, and shows such as SEESAW and A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN.

Our annual Halloween show on "Blood-vay to Main Street" is charged with electricity as we send up Frankenstein and his monster--join Count Larry Maslon for an hour of show tunes with a lot of heart--and brains!

It's election time and show tunes are sweeping the country. Here are great campaigns songs and tributes to participatory democracy about from Annie, Of Thee I Sing, Hamilton, and more.

Spend a little time with this astonishing Coleman/Fields score. Performers include Gwen Verdon, of course, but also Shirley MacLaine, Bobby Short, Juliet Prowse, and Sammy Davis, daddy-o! Fun, laughs, good times!

"B" is for the way we l-o-v-e Broadway; "W" is for "Wow--Nat King Cole!"; "A" is author Will Friedwald, who joins us to discuss his new Nat Cole bio; "Y" is you're gonna dig this very, very extra-ordinary episode.  

Composer John Barry was best-known as the musical muse of 007, but he spun gold in many songs and a few stage shows. Check out Michael Crawford, Barbra Streisand, Louis Armstrong, Shirley Bassey and more in this tribute episode.

  Ease on down B2MS as we look at the great outliers--shows whose creators got their one shot at musical theater fame: The Wiz, 1776, Promises Promises, Dreamgirls, and more.

Johnny Mercer was not only one of America's greatest lyricists, he was a fabulous singer of his own material and others. We set up more than a dozen Mercer songs, sung by Johnny with Bobby Darin, Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland, Bing Crosby and more.

Tap your troubles away.  Move the coffee table and get up and dance; great numbers from West Side Story, Hairspray, Gypsy, Damn Yankees and more.

In the 1950s and '60s, wonderful songs were recorded by pop artists from Broadway shows that never had a cast recording. Here are Barbra Streisand, Steve Lawrence, Nancy Wilson, Robert Goulet and more.  

There have been many great musicals--Where's Charley?, Pal Joey, Love Life--that never had an original cast album. Here are some wonderful songs from these shows, performed by Frank Sinatra, Lotte Lenya, Jo Stafford, and more.

David Merrick was one of Broadway's greatest producers--and greatest scoundrels. C'mon along and listen to a banquet of songs from great hits--Hello, Dolly!, Oliver!, 42nd Street--terrible flops, and outrageous anecdotes.

Hello, gorgeous! It's about time--the fantastic 1964 Broadway collaboration among Barbra Streisand, Jule Styne, and Fanny Brice. Guest appearances by Diana Ross, Barbara Cook, Idina Menzel, and Brice herself.

Travel is also a state of mind. Great songs from Newsies, As Thousands Cheer, Guys and Dolls, and written by the Gershwins, Frank Loesser, Rodgers and Hart and more conjure up our nostalgia for wanderlust.

Even minor Rodgers and Hammerstein is major American music. Hear Dick Haymes, Judy Garland, John Coltrane, Bing Crosby, Bernadette Peters and more perform songs from off the beaten track.

The samba beat meets the Broadway songbook; classic tunes sung and swayed by Sinatra and Jobim, Sarah Vaughan, Astrud Gilberto, Quincy Jones, Sammy Davis and more.

A follow-up to our popular celebration of the legendary performances that DIDN'T win Tony Awards (some not even nominated!). Mandy Patinkin and Bernadette Peters, plus Elaine Stritch, Kristin Chenoweth, Matthew Broderick, and more.

For our annual July 4th program, we turn to "1776"--this time, the entire recording of the extremely rare 1970 West End production; if you like this musical, you'll want to sign on to this extraordinary hour.

Miss Peggy Lee was a once-in-a-lifetime singer who treasured the Broadway songbook. Spend a little time with us as we celebrate her centenary with Lee's impeccable renderings of the show tune canon.

A celebratory look at the legendary performances that DIDN'T win Tony Awards (some not even nominated!). We hand out prizes to Julie Andrews, Ethel Merman, Barbra Streisand, and more.