well, That's Show Biz, 08-27-2023 2-22 Bullies

Bullies

“Well, That’s Show Biz!”

08-27-2023

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• Welcome to “well, That’s Show Biz!”. I am your host, Jeremy Freedman, and every week I bring you music from Broadway, Movies, and Entertainers along with some anecdotes, information, and commentary all based on a theme.

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• August is Don’t Be A Bully Month so today’s show is going to feature Bullies,  These are not necessarily villains although some are.  Anytime that you have a person with power ‘punching down’, as they say against someone less powerful or marginalized, you have a bully. It is often thought that bullies have low self esteem but it turns out that many bullies have high self esteem. They are usually people with a sense of entitlement and lack compassion. Many bullies are bullied at home. Today we are going to focus on bullies in Broadway shows.

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• We are going to start off with a family show about anti-bullying called Weird! The Musical. It is one story of bullying told from three different perspectives, one who is bullied, a bystander,  and the one who uses bullying behavior. We are going to hear the song “The Queen of Mean”. Next we are going to hear Michelle Pfeiffer, as Velma Von Tussle, from the film version of the musical Hairspray, singing “(The Legend of) Miss Baltimore Crab”. Then we will hear the original Judd Fry from Oklahoma! Singing “Lonely Room”. Although Judd is usually described as a bully, he is a complicated character whose outsider nature might make him the victim of bullying all his life. And finally, we will hear Steve Martin singing “Dentist!” from the movie version of Little Shop of Horrors. Here’s “The Queen of Mean” from Weird! The Musical.

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• You just heard “The Queen of Mean” from Weird! The Musical, “(The Legend of) Miss Baltimore Crab” from Hairspray, “Lonely Room” from Oklahoma!, and “Dentist!” from Little Shop of Horrors as we focus on Bullies today for Don’t Be a Bully Month.

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• <PSA>

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• August is Don’t Be a Bully Month as we focus on Bullies in Broadway shows today. Not every bully is the villain of the story. We are going to open the second set with Rex Harrison as Professor Henry Higgins from My Fair Lady singing “Why Can’t the English?”. Then, in Joseph and The amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Joseph’s brothers are so jealous of him that they sell their own brother into slavery but then tell their father that he was killed by wild animals in the song “One More Angel In Heaven”. Next, we will hear “Hook’s Tango” from Peter Pan. Then, we will hear the villainous Bill Sykes sing “My Name” from Oliver!. And we will conclude this set with the wicked witch singing “Don’t Nobody Bring Me No Bad News” from The Wiz. Here’s “Why Can’t the English?” from My Fair Lady.

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• It’s Don’t Be a Bully Month and you just heard “Why Can’t the English?” from My Fair Lady, “One More Angel In Heaven” from Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, “Hook’s Tango” from Peter Pan, “My Name” from Oliver!, and “Don’t Nobody Bring Me No Bad News” from The Wiz.

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• <Underwriting>

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• You are listening to “well, That’s Show Biz!” on [Station ID].

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• August is Don’t Be a Bully Month so we are focussing on Bullies in Broadway Musicals. Opening set three, we have Carol Burnett as Miss Hannigan from the film version of Annie singing “Little Girls”. We are then going to go to the Disney movie, Pete’s Dragon to listen to Shelly Winters and the rest of the Gogan clan, Pete’s foster family, sing about “The Happiest Home in These Hills”. Next we have Terrence Mann, as Inspector Javert on the hunt for Jean Valjean, singing about “Stars” from Les Miserables. And we are going to conclude this set of Bullies with Kevin Kline as The Pirate King from The Pirates of Penzance singing “Oh, Better Far To Live and Die”. Here’s Carol Burnett with “Little Girls”.

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• You just heard ‘Little Girls” from Annie, “The Happiest Home in These Hills” from Pete’s Dragon, “Stars” from  Les Miserables, and “Oh, Better Far To Live and Die” from The Pirates of Penzance as we focus on Bullies today for Don’t Be a Bully Month on “well, That’s Show Biz!”.

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• <Other Show Promo>

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• <PSA>

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• I am always looking for new theme and song ideas so if you would like to assist me, send your theme and song suggestions to wruushowbiz@gmail.com. And if you are enjoying today’s show, please contact the station at WRUU.org and let them know.

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• And now for today’s final set of bullies. We are going to open with the “Stepsister’s Lament” from the 1965 Television Cast Recording of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella. Then we are going to hear Walter Matthau as half-a-millionaire Horace Vandergelder singing “It Takes a Woman” from the film version of Hello, Dolly!. Next, the bully in the musical Newsies is media mogul Joseph Pulitzer. Here he sings about “The Bottom Line” as he concocts a plan to bully the newsboys into paying more to buy his papers. Then we will hear bully and headmistress Miss Trunchbull sing about “The Hammer” from Matilda the Musical. And we will close with “King Herod’s Song” from Jesus Christ Superstar.  Here’s the “Stepsister’s Lament” from Cinderella.

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• You just heard “Stepsister’s Lament” from  Cinderella, “It Takes a Woman” from Hello, Dolly!, “The Bottom Line” from Newsies, “The Hammer” from Matilda the Musical, and “King Herod’s Song” from Jesus Christ Superstar as we conclude Don’t Be a Bully Month on “well, That’s Show Biz!”

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• If you would like to help out with a future show, you can send your theme and song suggestions to me at wruushowbiz@gmail.com. And if you liked today’s show, contact the station at WRUU.org and let them know.  See you next week.