From Carrie to Phantom by Katherine

From Carrie to Phantom by Katherine - August 2018 Scholarship Essay

From Carrie to Phantom is the number one educational podcast on every theatre nerd’s phone and in their heart. The podcast, which started with a simple research paper, covers specific actors and musicians, pairs of songs, and entire Broadway musicals in an equally analytical and loving manner.
The creator of From Carrie to Phantom, Katherine Williams, came up with the idea for the podcast while working on a high school research paper. Finding biographical sources about Lin Manuel-Miranda was easy enough, but searching for intelligent, fact-based sources about In the Heights and Hamilton: an American Musical was a whole different story. In Williams’ opinion, “Not many sources seem to use facts rather than opinions without sounding pretentious. Of course, opinions must be used to a certain extent, but not so much that an academic source becomes an obsessive fan’s rant.” Williams was frustrated enough with this issue that she decided to make the source she needed, and From Carrie to Phantom was born.
From Carrie to Phantom has episodes on every aspect of musical theatre. Some episodes focus on specific actors, producers, techies, and lyricists from the world of theatre. Episode seven, for example, spins the tale of Christy Altomare, from her birth in 1986 to her roles on tour as Wendla, off broadway as Sue Snell, and on broadway as Anya in Anastasia. Other episodes focus on pairs of songs, comparing similar songs from different shows or discussing two from the same show. Episode four discusses the parallels between “Dead Girl Walking” and its reprise from Heathers, and episode thirteen discusses “So In Love” from Kiss Me Kate and “On My Own” from Les Miserables. Lastly, every ten episodes, Williams produces a two-hour special on a specific show, alternating between flops and successful productions. The titular shows, Carrie and The Phantom of the Opera, are discussed in episodes ten and twenty respectively.
The most popular episode of the podcast is episode seventeen. This special, completed in honor of Sutton Foster’s birthday, ranks Williams’ top thirty love songs in musical theatre. The episode is well liked for many reasons, including Williams’ passion for the subject, the mixture of opinions and analysis that is the basis for the whole podcast, and the variety of the songs ranked. The top spot goes to “I Turned the Corner” from Thoroughly Modern Millie because of its melodious harmonies, advancement of characters and the plot, and the musical’s overall strength. Honorable mentions go to “You Shine” from Carrie, “Something to Believe In” from Newsies, and “Miracle of Miracles” from Fiddler on the Roof.
If you listen closely enough in an empty and seemingly silent theatre, some say From Carrie to Phantom can be heard swirling around the ghost light. That might just be a myth, but with the popularity of the podcast and the superstitions of theatre nerds, anything is possible.