Happy holidays to you and yours! We are so excited to present our Christmas special, “How to Write a Christmas Song Without Really Trying.” No, it’s not meant to be a diss against writers, but it is meant to be a reference to a classic Broadway show.
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Christmas songs and Broadway songs have to be the two most delightful genres. And when they are mixed, in the words of Ashley, “It’s chef’s kiss!” Did you know that many popular songs of the season were written by Broadway composers? Many of the tunes were originally from musicals, though not always Christmas-themed ones.
Today we take a deep dive into those Christmas songs from our Broadway guys. Join us as we compare The Sound of Music era to Narnia, learn how to holiday-ify a regular song, and coin the term “Marketing Magicians.”
Episode Mentions
Robert Goulet, Carol Lawrence, Frank Loesser, Guys and Dolls, Neptune’s Daughter, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Holiday Inn, Irving Berlin, Bing Crosby, “Mr. Les Mis Himself” Colm Wilkinson, Jerry Herman, Mame, Angela Lansbury – “The Grandmother of Broadway,” Lucille Ball, I Love Lucy, Hello, Dolly!, Meredith Willson, The Music Man, Unsinkable Molly Brown, Here’s Love, Miracle on 34th Street, 1491 the musical, Meet Me in St. Louis, Judy Garland, Vincente Minnelli, Liza Minnelli, Craig A. Meyer, The Sound of Music, Julie Andrews, The Garry Moore Show
Listen along to the songs we mentioned on today’s episode!
Streaming Holiday Theatre Recommendations
This Wonderful Life starring Jeremy Aggers at the Aurora Theatre in Lawrenceville (through January 1, 2021). Visit www.auroratheatre.com for more information.
A Year with Frog and Toad at Synchronicity Theatre (through January 3, 2021). Visit synchrotheatre.com for more information.
Bonus Videos
For the budding theatre fans
I incorrectly said that “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” takes place after Judy Garland’s little sister has beaten up her snowmen, but actually the song happens before the beating up. It seems little sis did not appreciate the song.
For the fangirls
For the die-hards
As promised, here’s Jack Jones singing the Christmas-ified “My Favorite Things,” complete with sleigh bells at the beginning. It’s embedded in the middle of “The Christmas Waltz” to further the illusion that it’s a Christmas song. Very clever.
Addendums
In our excitement to kick off the episode, we didn’t mention that while “White Christmas” is not originally from White Christmas, it is from Holiday Inn, another Irving Berlin musical. what else Irving Berlin wrote. He was famous for writing the musical Annie Get Your Gun as well as many patriotic songs like “God Bless America.”
Here’s the article Ashley referenced about how Sound of Music’s “My Favorite Things” became a Christmas song: https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/holiday/8078515/my-favorite-things-christmas-sound-of-music
Special thanks to Peachy Corners Cafe, Crazy Love Coffeehouse, Land of a Thousand Hills Coffee, Ground & Pound Coffee, and Noble & Main for being the best editing offices.
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