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Closing Night

Closing Night

By: Patrick Oliver Jones
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About this listen

 Step into the captivating world of Broadway musicals with Closing Night, a theater history podcast unraveling the short lives of musicals and play on Broadway. In Season 1, we explored the turbulent history of the Marquis Theatre, one of Broadway's youngest venues, beginning with the controversial demolitions that birthed its legacy. For Season 2, the focus shifts to some infamous productions that closed before actually opening on Broadway. Relive the excitement and at times artistic chaos that almost brought these musicals to Broadway and what led up to their closing night. Whether you're a theater enthusiast, creative artist, or history buff, you'll enjoy the journeys of theatrical gems that have come and gone.@2024 WINMI Media Art Entertainment & Performing Arts World
Episodes
  • BONUS: Emily Maltby Finally Brings Lolita, My Love to New York

    BONUS: Emily Maltby Finally Brings Lolita, My Love to New York
    Jun 16 2025
    In this special bonus episode, we continue the story of Lolita, My Love—the infamous Alan Jay Lerner musical that never made it to Broadway. After its chaotic out-of-town run and abrupt closure in 1971, the show remained a cautionary tale of ambition and controversy. But in 2019, it finally had its long-overdue New York debut, thanks to the York Theatre Company’s Musicals in Mufti series. Director Emily Maltby joins the podcast to share the behind-the-scenes process of reviving Lolita, My Love for a modern audience. From navigating the show's difficult subject matter to collaborating with historian Erik Haagensen on a newly reconstructed script, Emily offers thoughtful insights into the delicate art of giving misunderstood musicals a second life. It’s a revealing look at how this controversial work finally found its voice on a New York stage—nearly five decades after its original failure. --- Theme Music created by Blake Stadnik. Produced by Patrick Oliver Jones and WINMI Media with Dan Delgado as co-producer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    39 mins
  • Lolita. My Love

    Lolita. My Love
    May 31 2025
    In 1958, Vladimir Nabokov’s Lolita shocked American readers with its provocative tale of obsession and manipulation—just as Alan Jay Lerner’s musical Gigi, featuring the now-cringeworthy “Thank Heaven for Little Girls,” was charming its way to nine Oscars. Though vastly different in tone, both stories revolved around older men’s fixation on adolescent girls. Which makes it all the more surprising that Lerner, the man behind Gigi’s sugarcoated serenade, would take on Lolita for the stage just over a decade later.In this episode, we explore Lolita, My Love—a musical adaptation plagued by rewrites, walkouts, and uncomfortable audience reactions. With music by James Bond composer John Barry and direction from a team trying to toe the line between art and provocation, the production aimed high but never made it to Broadway. Instead, it became one of theater’s most fascinating failures, collapsing under the weight of its subject matter—and proving that some stories may simply resist musicalization.---Theme music created by Blake Stadnik. Click ⁠here⁠ for a transcript and list of all resources used. Produced by Patrick Oliver Jones and WINMI Media with Dan Delgado as co-producer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    55 mins
  • The Little Prince and the Aviator (1982)

    The Little Prince and the Aviator (1982)
    Apr 30 2025
    In the early 1980s, producer Joseph Tandet put the failure of the 1974 movie musical of The Little Prince behind him and set his sights on Broadway. He secured the rights and assembled an award-winning creative team—including Academy Award-winning composer John Barry and his lyricist Don Black as well as three-time Tony winner Hugh Wheeler. But what unfolded behind the scenes was anything but magical. From rewrites and cast changes to last-minute creative disagreements, The Little Prince and the Aviator was plagued by setbacks from the very beginning. The show never officially opened on Broadway, but it made it all the way to the theater, with sets built, actors rehearsed, and a score ready to be sung—until everything fell apart. In this episode, we explore the chaotic and fascinating path of a musical that almost was, using firsthand accounts from Tandet’s revealing memoir and a personal interview with Anthony Rapp, who was just 10 years old when he was cast in the title role. It’s a story of ambition, mismanagement, and the delicate balance between creative vision and theatrical reality—and why some shows never make it to opening night. --- Theme Music created by Blake Stadnik. Click here for a transcript and list of all resources used. Produced by Patrick Oliver Jones and WINMI Media with Dan Delgado as co-producer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    40 mins
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