Pulitzer Prize Finalist Eisa Davis joins the podcast to talk about her play ||: GIRLS :||: CHANCE :||: MUSIC :|| which illuminates the world of extraordinary high school musicians at a girls' music program in Berkeley, California. The conversation explores the role of chance and improvisation in the play, the healing power of music, and how the collaboration of the characters in the play connects to her current collaboration with Lin-Manuel Miranda on the upcoming musical The Warriors.
Jun 5
53 min
Bubba Weiler joins the podcast to dig into his new play Well, I'll Let You Go, a powerful exploration of grief and the cultural discomfort around how we engage with the grieving. What was it like watching his debut play explode into a Brooklyn phenomenon last summer? How did he interweave a mystery into a series of tense, tender two-person scenes? And, in an ideal world, what would Bubba want the rituals of mourning in community look like? Don't miss this thought-provoking chat with Bubba Weiler!
May 20
58 min
Welcome to the Recent Past Stage as we check in with a show that ran through early April: Richard Maltby Jr. and David Shire's revue About Time. Lyricist Richard Maltby, Jr. joins the podcast to talk about the trilogy of revues that culminates with About Time and the evolution of his 50-year collaboration and friendship with composer Shire. Don't miss this in-depth episode about the crafts of the lyric and the musical revue!
May 20
41 min
24 hours after Schmigadoon! received 12 Tony nominations, Cinco Paul hops on the podcast to share how he brought this TV show to life onstage and what it feels like to receive his first nominations for Best Book and Best Score. Cinco pulls back the curtain on how he developed rules of how this magical musical town works, explores why he thinks the story might work better as a stage musical, and reveals why the Wells Fargo Wagon now brings a "spittoon" instead of a "harpoon" in his revised lyrics for Broadway. Don't miss this hilarious, deep-dive conversation with the composer, lyricist, and bookwriter of one of this year's most nominated musicals!
May 7
40 min
It's time for a SPECIAL AWARDS EPISODE! Esteemed critics Elysa Gardner and Joe Weinberg join Dan for an epic conversation about the best theater of the season in preparation for the upcoming announcements of the 2026 Tony nominations! Lost Boys or Two Strangers? Cats or Ragtime? (Or maybe Rocky Horror?) Audra or Nicole? (Just kidding, I'm definitely over that by now...) Don't miss this insightful, fun-filled tour through the 2025-2026 Broadway season!
May 2
1 hr 25 min
Episode 100 is here! And the 100th guests are breaking our hearts, opening a door, changing the world...it's Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, the lyricist and composer of Ragtime, currently enjoying a triumphant Broadway revival at Lincoln Center Theater. In this epic episode, Ahrens & Flaherty break down the score of Ragtime, sharing stories about the show's initial development and exploring what makes this new revival so powerful. Find out what changes cast members suggested this time around and why the writers think "New Music" may be going viral in 2026! Join the 100th episode celebration and stream it now!
Apr 6
1 hr 1 min
Pulitzer Prize winner Beth Henley joins the podcast to talk about her new work Bughouse at the Vineyard Theatre. What excited her about joining director Martha Clarke's project to tell the story of the outsider painter Henry Darger? How did she compile Bughouse's text from the tens of thousands of pages that Darger wrote in secret? And how did creating a solo show reshape her playwriting practice? Tune in to this exciting conversation to find out!
Apr 3
40 min
The Lazours (brothers Daniel and Patrick) join the podcast to talk about the development of their new musical Night Side Songs, currently running at LCT3. The Lazours share how they navigate their collaboration as siblings, what inspired them to explore the stories of terminal illness through song, and why they chose to invite the audience to form a sing-along choir throughout the piece.
Mar 27
1 hr 1 min
"Milkshake for a Soviet and I!" Ro Reddick sings (yes, for real!) on The Present Stage as she shares about her new play with music, Cold War Choir Practice. Hear her share about what really went down in her childhood peace choir, the dramatic possibilities for choral singing onstage, the reason why Meek has to be played by an adult, and how she designed the zany tone and built the strange world of the show. Don't miss it!
Mar 26
46 min
Ngozi Anyanwu joins The Present Stage to talk about writing and directing The Monsters, which she's also simultaneously starring in — in another production! — in California! How does she do it all at once? How did she find the theatrical potential of mixed martial arts? And what's so appealing about writing a play for just two actors? Check it all out — and more — on this episode of The Present Stage!
Mar 19
48 min
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