Chewing Scenery

Finally, a movie that's ALL about a stage manager, and he's opening a Broadway show.  Or is he the production manager?  The writers of Opening Night don't seem too clear on the difference!  We discuss giving calls before a show, swings, inappropriate backstage behaviour, and why Topher Grace's main character is the least likeable onscreen stage manager yet.

We're finishing 2021 with a holiday bonus mini-episode, telling stories of things that have gone wrong in shows from our pasts.  Stay tuned in 2022 for more new episodes!

A very non-systematic conversation about our job: what does a stage manager actually do day-to-day?  Are stage managers artists?  And how does being a stage manager help us talk about movies about theatre?  We may not be able to fully describe all we do (even in 40 minutes), but we find time for digressions about spying and whether actors are the best lovers.  

Back for a second season, we delve into the horror-comedy-musical Stage Fright (2014) with special guest Em Aubin.  We talk about theatre summer camp, sweaty costumes, cultural appropriation, and what items around a theatre you could turn into murder weapons.  Is Stage Fright least successful as a horror movie, comedy, or musical?  Listen to find out.

Many thanks to Em for being our first guest, and a special shout-out to friend-of-the-podcast Melanie McNeill, who attended the summer camp where this movie was filmed!  

Our third episode is about a (justifiably-obscure) Alfred Hitchcock movie, Stage Fright.  We talk about bad police work, stereotypes about actresses, and whether you would stop a show.... FOR MURDER.  

Our second episode is about the classic backstage musical 42nd Street (1933). Will the new, fresh-faced chorus girl save the show?  Will the director have a nervous breakdown before opening?  Why did they bring the mob into this?  And can we make this episode shorter than the movie is?*

*Yes, by 6 minutes

Our first episode is on Center Stage (2000), a ballet movie we love and love picking apart.