Musical Theatre Melodies

Man With a Load of Mischief (John Clifton & Ben Tarver) – 1966 original off-Broadway cast recording + an interview with Walter Willison about Ben Franklin in Paris (by Mark Sandrich Jr. and Sidney Michaels) being staged in concert at 54 Below in New York City on 13th September

Chu Chin Chow (Frederic Norton & Oscar Asche) – 1959 London studio cast recording & additional numbers + introduction by Rex Bunnett + selections by the original 1916 London cast members

Rags (Charles Strouse & Stephen Schwartz) – 1990 studio cast recording with members of the original 1986 Broadway cast + a selection of original cast recordings from Broadway musicals of 1910 (the year of Rags’ setting)

Oh, Kay! (George & Ira Gershwin & Howard Dietz) – 1994 New York studio cast recording + additional recordings by the original 1927 London cast and 1960 off-Broadway revival cast members

Liza of Lambeth (Cliff Adams, William Rushton & Berny Stringle) – 1976 original London cast recording + introduction by Rex Bunnett + a tribute to Bill Oddie featuring songs and sketches from Cambridge Circus (Footlights revue) – 1963 original London cast "live" recording

The Geisha (Sidney Jones & Harry Greenbank) – 1998 London studio cast recording + introduction by Rex Bunnett

The Adventures of Marco Polo (Clay Warnick, Mel Pahl & Edward Eager - based on the themes of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov) – 1956 U.S. TV cast recording + selections from the 2019 compilation CD album Alfred Drake – Lucky to Be Me – A Life in Music featuring recordings from 1940 to 1962

So Long, 137th Street (Stan Daniels) – cast recording featuring members of the original 1976 Broadway production + selections from A Jolly Theatrical Season – 1963 album featuring Robert Morse and Charles Nelson Reilly

El Capitan (John Philip Sousa & Tom Frost) - 1997 University of Illinois cast recording

By Jeeves (Andrew Lloyd Webber & Alan Ayckbourn) – 1996 original London cast recording + introduction by Rex Bunnett + selections from Kissing Time (Ivan Caryll & P.G. Wodehouse) – 1919 original London cast recording

Come Spy With Me (Bryan Blackburn) – 1966 original London cast recording + introduction by Rex Bunnett + a selection of songs recorded by Barbara Windsor from Lionel Bart’s Twang!! and Danny La Rue from Jerry Herman’s Hello, Dolly!

The Baker’s Wife (Stephen Schwartz) – 1976 U.S. tour cast recording + additional songs from the 1989 original London cast recording 

Trelawny (Julian Slade) – 1972 original London cast recording + introduction by Rex Bunnett + selections from Julian Slade’s 1980 album Looking For a Piano, featuring the composer-lyricist performing his own songs and reminiscing about his various stage shows. – (repeat broadcast from August 2022)

Mame (Jerry Herman) – 1966 original Broadway cast recording + archival interviews with Jerry Herman and Angela Lansbury from 1996 + excerpts from An Evening With Jerry Herman – 1974 New York "live" concert recording

Annie Get Your Gun (Irving Berlin) – 1966 New York revival cast recording + additional numbers from the 1990 London studio cast recording + an interview with former President of the Rodgers and Hammerstein Organization Ted Chapin

A Bunch of Ratbags (Peter Pinne & Don Battye) – 2005 Melbourne revival cast recording + an archival interview with Peter Pinne from 2014 + selections from the 1966 original Melbourne cast recording & cover versions of songs from the score

Side By Side By Sondheim (music & lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, plus music by Leonard Bernstein, Jule Styne, Richard Rodgers & Mary Rodgers) – 1976 original London cast recording + introduction by Rex Bunnett

Rex (Richard Rodgers & Sheldon Harnick) – 1976 original Broadway cast recording + an interview with Sheldon Harnick (recorded in 2015) + demo recordings of "cut" songs written for Rex performed by Sheldon Harnick

The Bing Boys Are Here (Nat D. Ayer & Clifford Grey) – 1916 original London cast recordings + introduction by Rex Bunnett + With a Song in My Heart: Nat D. Ayer – 1952 episode of the 3DB Melbourne radio series

On Your Toes (Richard Rodgers & Lorenz Hart) – 1954 Broadway revival cast recording + an interview with former President of the Rodgers and Hammerstein Organization Ted Chapin

It’s a Bird… It’s a Plane… It’s Superman (Charles Strouse & Lee Adams) – 1966 original Broadway cast recording + selections from Mr. Wonderful (Jerry Bock, Larry Holofcener & George Weiss) – 1956 original Broadway cast recording

St. Louis Woman (Harold Arlen & Johnny Mercer) – 1946 original Broadway cast recording + additional numbers from the 1998 New York City Center “Encores!” revival cast recording + selections from Harry Warren and Johnny Mercer’s score for the 1946 MGM motion picture musical The Harvey Girls from the 1946 soundtrack recordings

State Fair (Richard Rodgers & Oscar Hammerstein II) – 1996 original Broadway cast recording + an interview with former President of the Rodgers and Hammerstein Organization Ted Chapin + additional songs from the 1962 motion picture soundtrack recordings of State Fairfor which Richard Rodgers wrote both music and lyrics

My Fair Lady (Alan Jay Lerner & Frederick Lowe) – 1956 original Broadway cast recording + archival interviews with Alan Jay Lerner and Miles Kreuger + selections from Lyrics by Lerner – 1956 studio album featuring Alan Jay Lerner performing his own songs

The Grand Duke (or, The Statutory Duel) (W.S. Gilbert & Arthur Sullivan) – 1973 University of Michigan Gilbert and Sullivan Society cast recording conducted by Eric Stern + introduction by Rex Bunnett

Bubbling Brown Sugar (Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway, “Fats” Waller, Eubie Blake, et al) – 1976 original Broadway cast recording + orchestral & vocal selections from the 3 CD albums of Black Manhattan featuring the Paragon Ragtime Orchestra conducted by Rick Benjamin

When You’re Young (John Hanson) – 1966 British touring cast recording + an interview with cast member Nigel Rideout + a selection of solos and duets performed by John Hanson from Lilac Time, The Student Prince, The Vagabond King, The Desert Song,Bitter Sweet and Glamorous Night with Jane Fyffe, Doreen Hume and June Bronhill.

Summer Song (Dvorak adapt. Bernard Grun & Eric Maschwitz) – 1956 original London cast recording + introduction by Rex Bunnett + selections from Balalaika (George Posford, Bernard Grun & Eric Maschwitz,) – 1961 Australian studio cast recording

The Match Girls (Tony Russell & Bill Owen) – 1966 original London cast recording + introduction by Rex Bunnett + selections from The Queen is Mad (Tom McGrath & Amy Clare Tasker) – 2024 London & 2025 Edinburgh cast recordings

On the Level (Ron Grainer & Ronald Millar) – 1966 original London cast recording + a selection of TV and movie themes written by Australian composer Ron Grainer, including those for Doctor Who, Steptoe and Son, The Prisoner, Maigret and other iconic British TV series from the 1960s and ‘70s.

Sweet Charity (Cy Coleman & Dorothy Fields) – 1966 original Broadway cast recording + an archival radio report of the show’s opening night and interviews with Ethel Merman, Gwen Verdon, Helen Gallagher and librettist Neil Simon + selections from Cy Coleman’s 1966 record album If My Friends Could See Me Now & from Barbara Cook’s 1993 CD album Close as Pages in a Book paying tribute to the lyrics of Dorothy Fields.

The Mad Show (Mary Rodgers, with lyrics by Marshall Barer, Stan Hart, Larry Siegel, Steven Vinaver & Stephen Sondheim, & sketches by Larry Siegel & Stan Hart) – 1966 original off-Broadway cast recording + Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves 40 (Mary Rodgers & Sammy Cahn) – 1957 U.S. studio recording + an archival interview with Mary Rodgers (from 1994) + selections from Once Upon a Mattress (Mary Rodgers & Marshall Barer) – 1960 original London cast recording)

Pacific Overtures (Stephen Sondheim) – 1976 original Broadway cast recording + selections from Sondheim – A Musical Tribute featuring an all-star Broadway cast performing the songs of Sondheim recorded “live” in concert at the Shubert Theatre in New York on the evening of 11 March 1973.

Forty-Five Minutes From Broadway (George M. Cohan) – 1959 U.S. TV cast recording + an episode of the 1951 3DB Melbourne radio series With a Song in My Heart paying tribute to George M. Cohan + a selection of recordings by George M. Cohan from 1911 and a song medley recorded at a “live” concert performance in 1940.

Tip-Toes (George & Ira Gershwin) – 1998 Carnegie Hall concert production cast recording + George Gershwin at the piano playing his music for Tip-Toes and Oh, Kay! recorded in 1926 + the 3rd movement of his Piano Concerto in F + Victor Arden & Phil Ohman & Their Orchestra playing medleys from Tip-Toes recorded in 1926.

"The Mystery of Edwin Drood" interview with Rupert Holmes (full-length) - 23 December 2025

The Mystery of Edwin Drood (Rupert Holmes) – 1985 original Broadway cast recording + an interview with the Tony Award-winning composer–lyricist–librettist Rupert Holmes

Charlie Girl (David Heneker & John Taylor) – original 1965 London cast recording + an interview with John Taylor + additional numbers from the 1986 London revival cast recording

Snoopy - The Musical (Larry Grossman & Hal Hackady) – original 1983 London cast recording + an interview with award-winning composer Larry Grossman + a tribute to Toni Lamond featuring an excerpt from her cabaret show “A Life in Show Business” – 1994 "live" performance recording

Pipe Dream (Richard Rodgers & Oscar Hammerstein II) – 2012 New York City Center Encores! “live” revival cast recording + an interview with former President of the Rodgers and Hammerstein Organization Ted Chapin

Anya (Robert Wright & George Forrest) – 1965 original Broadway cast recording + an introduction by Walter Willison + an archival interview with original cast member Constance Towers from 2016 + selections from Anastasia – The Musical (Robert Wright & George Forrest) – 1991 New York studio cast recording

Through the Years (Vincent Youmans & Edward Heyman) – 2001 New York studio cast recording + an interview with Aaron Gandy + vocal selections from the 2015 studio album The Musicality of Vincent Youmans conducted by Aaron Gandy (repeat broadcast from 18 January 2022)

Skyscraper (James Van Heusen & Sammy Cahn) – 1965 original Broadway cast recording + The Zulu and the Zayda (Harold Rome) – 1965 original Broadway cast recording

Billion Dollar Baby (Morton Gould, Betty Comden & Adolph Green) – 1998 off-Broadway York Theatre Company revival cast recording + introduction and narration by New York Musical Director and vocal coach Michael Lavine + Arms and the Girl (Morton Gould, & Dorothy Fields) – 1950 original Broadway cast recording

Jolson - The Musical (various) – original 1995 London "live" cast recording + introduction by Rex Bunnett + a selection of Al Jolson's early acoustic recordings from 1911 to 1920

On a Clear Day You Can See Forever (Burton Lane & Alan Jay Lerner) – 1965 original Broadway cast recording + introduction by Tony Award-nominated actor, director and writer, Walter Willison + additional songs from the 1970 film soundtrack + songs from the 1951 MGM film soundtrack of Lerner & Lane's score for Royal Wedding

Jubilee (Cole Porter) – 1951 U.S. radio cast + Cole Porter's 1935 demo recordings of additional songs from his score + 1935 original London cast recordings of Porter's Anything Goes + Ethel Merman’s 1940 recordings of songs from Porter’s Panama Hattie + selections from “Night and Day” – Thomas Hampson sings Cole Porter - 1991 CD album

Drat! The Cat! (Ira Levin & Milton Schafer) – 1997 Los Angeles studio cast recording + a musical tribute to Dame Patricia Routledge featuring a selection of songs from her London and Broadway cast recordings

Les Misérables (Claude-Michel Schönberg, Alain Boublil & Herbert Kretzmer) – original 1985 London cast recording

The Vagabond King (Rudolf Friml, William H. Post & Brian Hooker) – 1961 London studio cast recording + Sunny (Jerome Kern, Otto Harbach & Oscar Hammerstein II) – 1952 U.S. radio cast + the Epilogue to Dearest Enemy (Richard Rodgers & Lorenz Hart) – 2012 Irish studio cast recording