well, That's Show Biz, 09-17-2023 2-25 Juke Box Musicals

Jukebox Musicals

“Well, That’s Show Biz!”

09-17-2023

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• Welcome to “well, That’s Show Biz!”. I am your host, Jeremy Freedman, and each 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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• Today we are presenting Jukebox Musicals. Jukebox Musicals are shows in which the majority of songs are well-known popular songs rather than original music and are used to tell a story. Often the story is about the person who wrote or sang the songs used in the show. They differ from Musical Revues in that Revues lack a plot. I avoided this theme for a long time as I am not really a fan of Jukebox Musicals in that they seem to me to be a lazy and cheaper way of creating a musical. However, they do provide an opportunity for actors to inhabit these great performers and many have won Tony awards for Best Actor and Actress. And a couple have even won the Tony Award for Best Musical.

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• We are going to start with Adrienne Warren who won the Best Actress Tony singing “River Deep - Mountain High” from Tina: The Tina Turner Musical. Next we will hear “The Stranger” from Movin’ Out which used the music of Billy Joel to tell the story of a generation of young people growing up on Long Island during the 1960s. Then, we will hear “Blue Suede Shoes” from  Million Dollar Quartet which dramatized the recording session at Sun Records, Memphis in 1956 with Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, and Jerry Lee Lewis. And finally, we will hear “Winner Takes It All” from the ABBA musical, Mamma Mia!.  Here’s “River Deep - Mountain High”.

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• You just heard ‘River Deep - Mountain High” from  Tina: The Tina Turner Musical, “The Stranger” from Movin’ Out, “Blue Suede Shoes” from Million Dollar Quartet, and “Winner Takes It All” from  Mamma Mia! As we highlight Jukebox Musicals today on “Well, That’s Show Biz!”.

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• <PSA>

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• Today we are showcasing Jukebox Musicals and we are going to open our second set with “Shut up and Raise Your Glass” from Moulin Rouge! The Musical based on the movie of the same name. It won the Tony Award for Best Musical and Best Lead Actor among others. Next we are going to hear “I Got You Babe” from The Cher Show. It won the Best actress Tony for Stephanie J. Block who played one of the three Cher actresses in the show. Then we are going to hear “My Girl” from Ain’t Too Proud : The Life and Times of The Temptations. And we will close out the set with “Head Over Feet” from Jagged Little Pill based on the album by Alanis Morissette. Hear’s Moulin Rouge!.

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• You just heard “Shut up and Raise Your Glass” from Moulin Rouge! The Musical, “I Got You Babe” from The Cher Show, “My Girl” from Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of The Temptations, and “Head Over Feet” from Jagged Little Pill.

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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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• The focus today is on Jukebox Musicals and we are opening our third set with “Can’t Fight This Feeling” from Rock of Ages which featured songs from the 1980s. Next up is “Reach Out and Touch (Somebody’s Hand)” from Motown the Musical which was based on Berry Gordy’s autobiography and the history of the Motown record label. Then we are going to hear “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” from American Idiot based on Green Day’s concept album. And finally we will hear “On the Radio” from Summer: The Donna Summer Musical. Here’s “Can’t Fight This Feeling” from Rock of Ages.

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• We are focused on Jukebox Musicals and you just heard “Can’t Fight This Feeling” from Rock of Ages, “Reach Out and Touch (Somebody’s Hand) from Motown the Musical, “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” from American Idiot, and “On the Radio” from Summer: The Donna Summer Musical.

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• <Other Show Promo>

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• <PSA>

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

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• And now to conclude our Jukebox Musical show, Myles Frost won the Tony award for portraying Michael Jackson in MJ the Musical which was his very first professional acting job. We are going to hear “I’ll Be There”. Next, Hugh Jackman won the Tony Award for portraying Peter Allen in The Boy From Oz. We will hear him sing “Love Crazy”. Then Jessie Mueller won for Best Actress in Beautiful: The Carol King Musical. Here she is with “Will You Love Me Tomorrow”. And finally, Jersey Boys, based on the life of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons, was the first Jukebox Musical to win the Tony award for Best Musical. We will conclude this set with “Sherry”. Here’s “I’ll Be There” from MJ the Musical.

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• You just heard “I’ll Be There” from MJ the Musical, “Love Crazy” from The Boy From Oz, “Will You Love Me Tomorrow” from Beautiful: The Carol King Musical, and “Sherry” from Jersey Boys.

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