An Unnecessarily Hostile Q&A with The Mayor of Musical Theatre (Did we mention the Mayor’s latest interview is with Carrie Hope Fletcher?)

By Admin on Thursday, 20 April, 2023 in Feature, Interview, Onstage

A new study has revealed that there are between three and four million podcasts internationally, but only 720,000 have more than ten episodes. As The Mayor of Musical Theatre releases its eleventh – featuring West End superstar Carrie Hope Fletcher – here is a Q&A with its host and MTR contributor, Ian Bowkett.

So, you think you deserve the title of The Mayor of Musical Theatre, do you?

Absolutely not! I needed to come up with a format at the last minute when some great interview opportunities rolled into the Musical Theatre Review offices and that is what I landed on. The allure of alliteration and the pressure of a deadline overrode any humility and self-awareness and now here we are.

As a musical theatre composer (The Sam Neill Experience and Sisyphus: A Rock ‘n’ Roll Musical), reviewer, photographer, and fan, I might have some insight into that world, but the goal always is to interview people much more qualified for the title of The Mayor of Musical Theatre than me. So far, every guest has been far too polite to question it, but one day I will be put in my place (hopefully by Patti LuPone) and it will be the most entertaining episode we ever do – if personally devastating.

Why should I listen to this interview podcast rather than any of three to four billion others hosted by far more famous/knowledgeable/attractive people?

Well for one, stars are often on their best behaviour when talking to respectable podcasts, but for lil’ ol’ me are far more likely to rail against the government (Anna-Jane Casey), badmouth beloved shows (Brian McFadden), or discuss questionable roles from their past (Louise Dearman – and Debbie Does Dallas: The Musical, for those wondering).

More importantly though, the aim of the podcast is to learn more about these stars by how they have been affected by different pieces of musical theatre. Every episode, we get to know the guest, but we also get to discuss upwards of 12 musicals.

Surely everyone would just want to talk about Dave Malloy’s Ghost Quartet, which as we all know is objectively the greatest piece of musical theatre ever written? Must get a bit samey?

You would have thought so, but it turns out people like a wide variety of shows. My horizons are always being expanded by guests’ recommendations. Some musicals come up a lot – Heathers, West Side Story and Cabaret are topping the leader board of mentions at the moment – but it’s amazing how much you can learn about someone from their unique tastes.

So what are the 12 big questions?

Which show first made you fall in love with musical theatre?
Which musical’s score gets stuck in your head most often?
What is your favourite musical currently running in London?
Which musical has made you laugh the most?
What is your favourite movie musical?
Which musical might people be surprised to learn you love?
Which musical do other people love that you don’t quite connect with for whatever reason?
What do you think is the most romantic musical?
Which musical have you not seen that you think you should?
Which musical’s fictional world would you most like to live in?
If you were to direct a radical re-staging of a classic musical, which would you choose?
If you were The Mayor of Musical Theatre, which show would you order be staged forever so you can go see it whenever you want, and in which venue?

Great, now I can play at home without having to listen to the show.

Fair enough, but our 11th episode is with Carrie Hope Fletcher and it is one of my favourite conversations so far. We talk about some incredible musicals, as well as her own career in musical theatre and her upcoming concert tour, An Open Book.

And I suppose that episode is out now on all major podcast services, is it? Along with the entire back catalogue of interviews with such superstars as Anna-Jane Casey, John Owen-Jones, Courtney Bowman, Sooz Kempner, Matt Henry MBE, Brian McFadden, Alex Young and Ellie Nunn, Georgina Onuorah, Louise Dearman, and Madalena Alberto and Joaquin Pedro Valdes?

Yes.

Good.