Wicked, The Schwartz & I. Stephen Schwartz was one of the best teachers I ever had. Now let’s talk “Wicked.”Why is Wicked both a masterpiece and a minefield?In the Season 1 finale of Does It Sing?, I break down “The Wizard and I” — the genius, the chaos, the craft, and the lyrical gymnastics that have baffled me for 22 years.Season finale is out now on YouTube, Apple, and Spotify.🎧📺 Search: DoesItSing-WDG#DoesItSing, #DoesItSingPodcast, #WickedTheMusical, #TheWizardAndI, #StephenSchwartz, #MusicalTheatre, #BroadwayPodcast, #SongwritingPodcast, #LyricWriting, #BroadwayNerd, #TheatreTok, #Vampirina, #DisneyMusic, #ChristmasKarma, #MusicalTheatreNerd

In the Season 1 finale of Does It Sing? with David Goldsmith, we do something we haven't done since Episode 1: no guest, just a solo deep dive into the craft of musical theatre — through one very famous song.

In this episode:

• A recap of Season 1 and its guests:

  • Alexandra Silber and her revelatory new book for the upcoming BRIGADOON at Pasadena Playhouse

  • Dick Scanlan and the reimagined THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE workshop (with a cameo mention for my wife, Bryonha Marie)

  • Stephen Flaherty on THE LORAX and the RAGTIME prologue

  • Zina Goldrich on the Broadway-bound EVER AFTER

• What’s coming in Season 2:

  • Lynn Ahrens on reshaping DAMN YANKEES for the 21st century

  • David Javerbaum on parody lyrics, The Daily Show, and why rhyme, meter, and prosody matter even more when you’re trying to be funny

• A few personal updates:

  • Writing “Maybe I’m Falling” for the new Disney series Vampirina: Teenage Vampire (along with some special fan footage and personal demos!)

  • Upcoming film Christmas Karma, written and directed by Gurinder Chadha, with songs I’ve co-written

• And then: a forensic breakdown of “The Wizard and I” from Wicked

  • How the ASCAP/Disney Workshop (with Stephen Schwartz at the helm) shaped my thinking about giving notes

  • Why Wicked is both a towering achievement and a mixed bag of craft

  • The prosody and rhyme gymnastics in “The Wizard and I” — when they work, and when they pull you out of the story

  • The tension between cleverness and clarity

  • How the show brilliantly seeds the “melting” payoff from this I Want song all the way to the final scenes

Along the way we talk about actors rescuing awkward scans, the danger of writing to impress instead of to serve story, and why Wicked still answers the three essential questions: Does it sing? Do I care? Why this show, why now?

🔔 Subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or YouTube (DoesItSing-WDG) so you don’t miss Season 2.

🎹 Zina Goldrich breaks it all down for you.
In this episode, Zina takes us inside the writing of “Who Needs Love?” — the Cinderella “I Want” song for the Broadway-bound Ever After — and shows how it transformed into a completely different Act 2 number with a brand-new dramatic job.

From there, she sits at the piano to premiere the Prince’s counterpoint, putting the whole puzzle together in real time.

And at the end?
You’ll hear the full demo of “Zina With a Z,” the patter song we wrote together — the one that dares to follow Kander & Ebb.

🎧 Episode 9 is streaming now.
🎹 A rare composer-behind-the-piano masterclass.

In this episode of Does It Sing?, award-winning composer Zina Goldrich returns for Part 2 of our in-depth conversation on the evolution of "Ever After"—the new musical based on the beloved 1998 film, currently headed toward a 2027 Broadway debut via Phoenix Theatre.

David and Zina revisit the very first “I Want” song from the show’s earliest days—and how the journey through 100+ rewrites and 20 years led them to the version audiences will hear today. It’s a vulnerable, craft-driven look at the long game of musical theatre creation—and the song at the heart of it all.

PLUS: David shares the only song he’s written with Zina—the hilarious, patter-heavy “Zina With A Z,” performed in cabaret but never before released. We play the full original demo here. You won’t want to miss it.

🕊️ Zina Goldrich & Marcy Heisler are recipients of the Fred Ebb Award, the ASCAP Richard Rodgers New Horizons Award, and have earned accolades for their globally loved catalogue including Taylor the Latte Boy, Baltimore, Dear Edwina, and Junie B. Jones.

📍 Spotify | Apple | YouTube
🔗 @DoesItSing | #DoesItSingPodcast

🎧 Listen to the full episode

Broadway composer Zina Goldrich joins David for a deliciously deep dive into the origin of Taylor the Latte Boy — how a one-off song inspired by a real barista turned into a musical theatre phenomenon, a publishing deal, and an enduring songwriting partnership with Marcy Heisler.

David and Zina explore early gems like Oh, How I Loved You, the Does It Sing? segment breakdowns, and the surprising backstory behind the Five Women At An Airport opening number — which David admits was inspired by Marcy & Zina’s hilarious Audra McDonald showstopper Baltimore.

Along the way, Zina breaks down her own harmonic language from the piano, revealing the secrets behind what David calls The Zina Chord — and why it sings.

🔹 How Taylor the Latte Boy became a hit 🔹 The real story behind “Baltimore” 🔹 What makes Zina’s music craft-first and audience-loved 🔹 The legacy of Goldrich & Heisler 🔹 Song nerdistry: “Oh, How I Loved You” dissected 🔹 And more, from Carnegie Hall to Broadway debuts-in-the-making.

In Episode 7 of Does It Sing?, David Goldsmith and Tony-winning composer Stephen Flaherty (Ragtime, Once On This Island, Anastasia, Seussical) dive deep into the Prologue of Ragtime — one of the greatest opening numbers in Broadway history.

🎭 This episode covers:
• How Flaherty & Ahrens constructed a 10-minute overture of characters, ideas, and themes
• Writing four spec songs to “audition” for Ragtime — and why Ragtime (Prologue) came first
• Flaherty’s trick of avoiding the tonic for 10 minutes to create explosive release at the end
• Integrating three worlds (New Rochelle, Harlem, and the Immigrants) musically and dramatically
• Weaving historical characters and motifs into a single evolving ragtime theme
• Lessons from Terrence McNally, Sondheim conversations, and the “small bouquets” clue in Doctorow’s novel
• Building inevitability, subtext, and tension into large-scale musical architecture
• CCM, Schubert Archives, Jerome Kern sketches, and Flaherty’s ragtime band The Fleeting Moments Waltz and Quickstep Orchestra
• Why Ragtime resonates even more today — and how Lincoln Center’s new revival is taking shape

🎧 This is Part 2 of a two-part conversation with Stephen Flaherty. Part 1 (Episode 6) covers The Lorax sequence cut from Seussical.

—

About Virtual Stage Lab
Virtual Stage Lab (co-founded by David Goldsmith & Paul Gordon) film-captures original musicals and plays to democratize development, viewing, and licensing. Watch full captures free on the VSL YouTube page.
Pitch a segment: virtualstagelab@gmail.com
More: virtualstagelab.com

Fair Use note: Any audio/video excerpts are for commentary/education. Please support the rights holders by streaming or purchasing official recordings.

00:00 Welcome back — Part 2 of the Stephen Flaherty interview
03:00 How Ragtime (Prologue) became one of David’s 25 best songs of the century
07:15 Sondheim chats & harmonic language
11:00 Flaherty’s three “languages”: minor, hopeful major, and industrial
16:00 Dr. Seuss vs. Lynn Ahrens — seamless lyric writing
20:30 Mystery to flashback: signaling time jumps musically
26:00 Cat in the Hat “drive-bys” and Seussian sounds
32:00 The Colonial Theater: chaos, tarot cards, and “fire & smoke”
40:00 Boston breakdown: losing director, set, costumes — but forging trust with Lynn
47:00 Seussical’s “world’s most expensive workshop” and eventual happy ending
54:00 Transition to Ragtime: pitching the prologue at Café Un Deux Trois
59:00 Avoiding the tonic for 10 minutes — why the final Ragtime lands so hard
1:06:00 Writing four spec songs; reversing perspective from Colehouse to the Little Boy
1:13:00 Three worlds, three main characters, and musical assimilation
1:20:00 Lessons for conservatory composers: counterpoint, dissonance, clarity of melody & bass
1:28:00 Journey On preview — staging the impossible
1:34:00 La-la-la courage: Lynn Ahrens’ prosody challenges
1:40:00 Ragtime’s relevance today and the upcoming Lincoln Center revival
1:47:00 Closing reflections & Virtual Stage Lab info

#DoesItSing, #StephenFlaherty, #Ragtime, #RagtimePrologue, #LynnAhrens, #TerrenceMcNally, #Broadway, #TonyAwards, #MusicalTheatrePodcast, #BehindTheScenes, #SongwritingPodcast, #DavidGoldsmith, #VirtualStageLab, #OnceOnThisIsland, #Anastasia, #Seussical, #OriginalMusicals, #ComposerLife, #LyricistLife, #BroadwayRevival, #StageDevelopment

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The Prologue of Ragtime is nearly 10 minutes long — but it feels inevitable.

Subscribe for more deep-dive episodes of Does It Sing? and catch Part 1 on The Lorax sequence in Seussical.

In Episode 6 of Does It Sing?, David Goldsmith sits down with Tony-winning composer Stephen Flaherty (Ragtime, Once On This Island, Anastasia, Seussical).

🎭 This episode covers:

• How Flaherty & Ahrens created and then cut a 10-minute mini-opera of The Lorax from Seussical

• Why the lost number resurfaced at David’s CCM / Carnegie Hall tribute 30 Years of Stephen

• How Doug Besterman expanded the orchestration to 65 players for the concert

• David’s minute-by-minute analysis of the piece’s structure, harmonic language, and motifs

• Eddie Korbich and Jason Graae’s unforgettable performances of The Lorax

• Stephen’s memories of CCM, BMI Workshop, and first meeting Lynn Ahrens

• Why sometimes dialogue—not melody—serves your dramatic moment best

• Early Flaherty song How Do You Leave the Theater and the Village Voice trio

• The power of student orchestras and alumni coming together for a one-night-only event

🎧 This is Part 1 of a two-part conversation with Stephen Flaherty. Next week, Part 2 dives into one of the greatest musical theatre openings ever written: the Ragtime Prologue.

—

About Virtual Stage Lab
Virtual Stage Lab (co-founded by David Goldsmith & Paul Gordon) film-captures original musicals and plays to democratize development, viewing, and licensing. Watch full captures free on the VSL YouTube page.
Pitch a segment: virtualstagelab@gmail.com
Catalog & info: virtualstagelab.com

Fair Use note: Any audio/video excerpts are for commentary/education. Please support the rights holders by streaming or purchasing official recordings.

00:00 Parody intro — “Be Our Guest” welcome
02:15 Setting up the Flaherty tribute at CCM
06:00 Why David chose The Lorax for this episode
09:40 How The Lorax was cut from Seussical and rediscovered
15:00 The minor arpeggios & Seussian scene-setting
20:30 Flashback section — from minor dread to major hope
26:00 The industrial “chop chop” section & dialogue choice
33:00 Bringing back themes for dramatic impact
38:00 Ending Act II: “All is lost” & structural precision
43:00 Hope returns: the seed, the kids of CCM, and the future in their hands
49:30 Stephen Flaherty joins David for the interview
54:00 Meeting Lynn Ahrens at BMI Workshop
1:01:00 Early song How Do You Leave the Theater with Aaron Lazar
1:07:00 On student orchestras & the power of collaboration
1:12:00 Preview of next week’s Ragtime Prologue deep dive

#DoesItSing, #StephenFlaherty, #TheLorax, #Seussical, #LynnAhrens, #DougBesterman, #JasonGraae, #EddieKorbich, #CCM, #CarnegieHall, #Broadway, #TonyAwards, #LostSongs, #Ragtime, #OnceOnThisIsland, #Anastasia, #DavidGoldsmith, #VirtualStageLab, #MusicalTheatrePodcast, #BehindTheScenes, #SongwritingPodcast, #ComposerLife, #LyricistLife, #OriginalMusicals, #SeussicalTheMusical

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“The Lorax” was everyone’s favorite number in Seussical but never made it to Broadway.
👇 Do you think Broadway should revive cut songs in concerts — or leave them in the trunk?
Subscribe for Part 2 of my Stephen Flaherty interview: the Ragtime Prologue deep dive.

📄 Description⏱️ Chapters🏷️ Hashtags🔑 Tags / Keywords📌 Pinned Comment

📄 DescriptionIn Episode 5 of Does It Sing?, David Goldsmith continues his conversation with Tony-winning lyricist and bookwriter Dick Scanlan (Thoroughly Modern Millie, Motown the Musical, The Unsinkable Molly Brown, Everyday Rapture).🎭 This episode covers:• How “Forget About the Boy” replaced a cut Act II opener (“Picture Perfect”)• The brainstorm with Jeanine Tesori that produced the hook — on Labor Day weekend 1998• Writing the full lyric in a single train ride (with “albatross / no great loss / double-crosser”)• The craft of feminine rhymes, penultimate stresses, and lyric/melody counterpoint• Sutton Foster’s thrilling interpretation and Rob Ashford’s choreography• How Ralph Burns and Doug Besterman orchestrated it into a showstopper• The thrill of hearing stenographers sing names like “Barney Schreiber, CPA”• Why adapting flawed movies can be more fruitful than “perfect” ones (Millie vs. Tootsie)• Dick’s current projects: new opera for the Met, Mark Twain Shouldn’t Say Such Things, and a Carnegie Hall concert celebrating Lin-Manuel Miranda🎧 This is a deep craft dive into one of Broadway’s great Act II openers — a true “Best 25 Songs of the 21st Century” entry.—About Virtual Stage LabVirtual Stage Lab (co-founded by David Goldsmith & Paul Gordon) film-captures original musicals and plays to democratize development, viewing, and licensing. Watch full captures free on the VSL YouTube page.Pitch a segment: virtualstagelab@gmail.comCatalog & info: virtualstagelab.comFair Use note: Any audio/video excerpts are for commentary/education. Please support the rights holders by streaming or purchasing official recordings.⏱️ Chapter Timestamps00:00 Opening parody & intro02:10 Introducing Dick Scanlan’s full bio & credits07:15 How “Forget About the Boy” replaced “Picture Perfect”11:00 Labor Day weekend 1998 — writing the song in one day15:20 Crafting the hook + counterpoint with “Jimmy”20:00 Ralph Burns, Doug Besterman, and Rob Ashford elevate the number23:10 Michael Mayer’s reaction — cutting a big number for a better story25:30 Triple rhyme: “albatross / no great loss / double-crosser”28:55 Why feminine rhymes are more satisfying than masculine ones31:10 Sutton Foster’s instinctive performance choices36:40 Dance break: why it’s earned, not ornamental40:00 Janine Tesori’s deep analysis of Millie & Jimmy43:00 The stenographer names (Barney Schreiber, CPA, and more)47:00 Millie today: reflections on adapting flawed movies51:00 Sublimation of ego & serving the God of Story53:20 Dick’s new work: Met opera, Lin-Manuel Miranda concert, Mark Twain Shouldn’t Say Such Things57:30 Outro: subscribe + next episode tease#DoesItSing, #ForgetAboutTheBoy, #ThoroughlyModernMillie, #DickScanlan, #JeanineTesori, #SuttonFoster, #Broadway, #TonyAwards, #BestSongs21stCentury, #MotownTheMusical, #UnsinkableMollyBrown, #EverydayRapture, #MusicalTheatre, #SongwritingPodcast, #DavidGoldsmith, #VirtualStageLab, #BroadwayShowstopper, #TheatrePodcast, #LyricWriting, #ComposerLife, #LyricistLife, #TheatreCraft, #BehindTheScenes, #StageDevelopment, #OriginalMusicals🔑 Keywords / TagsForget About the Boy song analysis, Thoroughly Modern Millie Broadway, Dick Scanlan interview, Jeanine Tesori songwriting, Sutton Foster performance, Broadway Act II opener, Ralph Burns orchestrations, Doug Besterman, Rob Ashford choreography, Barney Schreiber CPA, Best 25 Songs 21st Century musicals, David Goldsmith podcast, Virtual Stage Lab📌 Pinned Comment“Forget About the Boy” almost didn’t exist — it replaced an elaborate movie-theatre number called Picture Perfect.👇 Do you think cutting “spectacle” for story always pays off? Or do you have a favorite Broadway song that is spectacle first?Subscribe for more deep-dive episodes of Does It Sing?: @DoesItSing