Broadway Letter Swap

You’re listening to A Way with Words, the show about language and how we use it.

I’m Grant Barrett.

And I’m Martha Barnette.

And joining us now on the line is our quiz guy, John Chaneski.

Hey, John.

Hey, Martha.

Hey, Grant.

Hey, bud.

What’s up?

I don’t know if you guys know, I have a BFA in drama from NYU.

What?

Okay.

Yes, that’s my degree.

So, yeah.

So I know a little bit about Broadway.

Okay.

And I think the same.

Okay.

Now, you’ve got to be very careful when you work on Broadway.

You know, you’ve seen those marquees with all the lights.

You know, they’re really up high.

And if you put up the wrong letter, boom, you’re doing a different show.

Aha.

For instance, you change just one letter on a marquee, and the next thing you know you’re working on a show about a former lady sharpshooter who now works at McDonald’s.

That’s right.

It’s Annie Get Your Bun.

Bun, yeah.

Now you have to work on that show.

So let’s use this quiz as a little cautionary lesson.

I’ll describe a show, which is a famous musical, with just the first letter of one word changed.

You tell me the title of the terrible new musical, okay?

Okay.

Ready, let’s hear it.

All right, here we go.

A fancy professor makes a bet that he can change a lowly shampoo girl into the top stylist at a salon.

My Hair Lady.

My Hair Lady.

My Hair Lady, yes.

I would watch that one, by the way.

I would watch all of these.

Sure.

In this DC Comics theatrical universe musical, Batman must solve perplexing conundrums as he spends a night chasing one of his most quizzical foes high above the streets of Gotham City.

Well, quizzical is a Riddler or the Joker.

Yeah, yeah.

Think of a musical.

Oh, a famous musical.

Riddler on the Roof.

That’s the one, Riddler on the Roof.

Oh, oh, oh, oh.

Riddle me this, bad man.

This musical is pretty much unchanged.

It’s about an up-and-coming actress gaining fame while her famous lover self-destructs, though not from alcohol.

He’s just really, really tired.

A star is boar.

No, he’s really tired.

He’s really tired, so it’s faint.

A star is worn?

Yes, a star is worn.

A star is worn.

He’s just so tired.

Disney will probably pick up this anthropomorphic adaptation of Romeo and Juliet that features star-crossed birds that belong to rival flocks.

Oh, my goodness.

So West Side Story becomes…

Rival Birds.

Now, if I change the last…

Nest Side Story?

Yes, Nest Side Story.

Now, if I change the last letter, it could be West Side Stork, but it’s not going to be that.

I can tell you that much.

That’s the sequel.

One stork against the same.

Right, stork, West Side.

This is the simple story of a dog who learns to play the piano, write some songs, and win a Grammy.

In Austria.

The Hound of Music.

The Hound of Music.

The Hound of Music.

Perhaps it’s the sequel to Cats. I don’t know.

Being an orphan on the streets is tough.

In this musical, a chipper young waif gets a pointy piece of wood in his heel, and that’s pretty much all there is.

Sliver twist?

Sliver.

Sliver is right.

Oliver Twist was the book.

Sliver.

Sliver.

Sliver with an exclamation point.

That is the musical.

Very well done.

At various towns along the Mississippi River, the people are tired of gambling and fancy spectacles.

They just want some good down home cooking, and the titular paddle wheeler provides it.

It’s not showboat.

I was going to say…

Hello Dolly.

Isn’t it showboat?

Is it showboat?

Yeah.

Can we change one letter?

-huh.

Chowboat.

Chowboat is right.

Very good.

I’ll see you guys at the theater.

Congratulations.

That was great.

Oh, John, that was great.

Thanks, buddy.

Really appreciate it.

Take care now.

Take care.

The show’s about words and language, but a whole lot more, culture, family, history, that all comes into it.

If you’ve got a question related to anything having to do with any of that, give us a call, 877-929-9673.

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