John McWhorter's a Musical Theatre Queen

The Cornfield Podcast

For my second ever Cornfield Podcast interview I was honored to have Best-Selling Author, New York Times columnist, Columbia University professor, co-star of The Glenn Show—and my Simon’s Rock roommate (40 years ago!), JOHN MCWHORTER!

John is a connoisseur of Musical Theatre, the world where I’ve performed for most of my 30+ year career. So we dish our favorite shows, the current politicized Broadway scene, innovations in colorblind and color conscious casting and “cultural appropriation,” and the history of Black Musicals—and the white Jews who wrote them! John’s mini-master class on Porgy and Bess at the end of the chat is not to be missed.

DISCLAIMER: ALL VIEWS EXPRESSED ARE MY OWN, AND THOSE OF MY GUEST.

A few corrections, and names which escaped us during the conversation:

* J. Harrison Ghee is the Tony-winning performer who stars in Some Like it Hot. Their understudy, whom John mentions, is Jarvis B. Manning, Jr.

* The actor in & Juliet is Justin David Sullivan.

* The 1776 actor Sarah Porkalob gave the interview to Vulture, and it was quoted in The New York Times.

* Sherman Edwards wrote the score for 1776, book by Peter Stone.

* The score for The Color Purple was written by Stephen Bray, Allee Willis and Brenda Russell.

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