Musical Theatre Writer Guy

Musical Theatre Writer Guy is a YouTube channel and podcast in which Michael discusses everything Musical Theatre from a Writing Perspective! Whether you’re a writer, performer, director, designer, producer, stagehand, audience member - a professional artist, aspiring, or simply love the theatre - Michael’s goal is to present you with information that will enhance your theatrical experiences and help to bolster your enjoyment of the theatre. New episodes are released every other Friday!

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Episodes 144

The King's Legacy Album | History in the making
16d ago · 9:03
JOIN US in the Musical Theatre Writing Collective! https://www.musicaltheatrewritingcollective.com/mtwc-about DOWNLOAD the FREE PDF of the North Star Question Sets: https://www.musicaltheatrewritingcollective.com/north-star-question-sets The time has come to finally begin recording an album of music for “The King’s Legacy” after all of these years! Em takes you behind the scenes of the journey, inviting you to be a part of the process, as we begin the journey of recording the music from the show. Ever wondered what it looks like to do this work on a musical? Join Em and find out!
I tried watching 2 Broadway shows without analyzing them
1mo ago · 5:11
JOIN US in the Musical Theatre Writing Collective! https://www.musicaltheatrewritingcollective.com/mtwc-about DOWNLOAD the FREE PDF of the North Star Question Sets: https://www.musicaltheatrewritingcollective.com/north-star-question-sets As a musical theatre writer, educator, content creator, and writing coach, is it possible for me to watch 2 Broadway shows and simply enjoy them? Come with me today as I try to find out by seeing Schmigadoon! and The Lost Boys in one, rainy, NYC, double-header musicals day!
AI and Musical Theatre Writing (Do’s and Dont’s)
1mo ago · 12:13
JOIN US in the Musical Theatre Writing Collective! https://www.musicaltheatrewritingcollective.com/mtwc-about DOWNLOAD the FREE PDF of the North Star Question Sets: https://www.musicaltheatrewritingcollective.com/north-star-question-sets AI is everywhere and we cannot ignore that it is affecting art and artists of all varieties. And the question always comes up: Should AI be used when writing musical theatre? Although AI isn’t currently able to fulfill the brief of writing good quality musical theatre, it does look like the tech companies are hoping it will eventually have those skills. So, do
5 Habits That Fix 95% Of Your Writing Problems (Never Get Stuck)
2mo ago · 5:38
JOIN US in the Musical Theatre Writing Collective! https://www.musicaltheatrewritingcollective.com/mtwc-about DOWNLOAD the FREE PDF of the North Star Question Sets: https://www.musicaltheatrewritingcollective.com/north-star-question-sets Writers can get stuck easily. But when it becomes regular, it becomes a true writing problem. But luckily, there are 5 habits that - if you can incorporate them into your life - will kick almost all of these problems right out the door. Let’s make sure you never get stuck again!
6 Rules That Will Get Your Musicals Written
4mo ago · 8:02
JOIN US in the Musical Theatre Writing Collective! https://www.musicaltheatrewritingcollective.com/mtwc-about DOWNLOAD the FREE PDF of the North Star Question Sets: https://www.musicaltheatrewritingcollective.com/north-star-question-sets I have written 8 or 9 musicals at this point in my almost two-decade career writing for musical theatre, and I have also had 3 of my musicals produced so far. So, how can you also get your shows written, developed, finished, and produced? Here are 6 rules that you simply must follow!
10 Things I Stopped Doing in 2025 (to Write 2 Musical Drafts)
4mo ago · 13:56
JOIN US in the Musical Theatre Writing Collective! https://www.musicaltheatrewritingcollective.com/mtwc-about DOWNLOAD the FREE PDF of the North Star Question Sets: https://www.musicaltheatrewritingcollective.com/north-star-question-sets Writing a musical is hard enough without getting in our own way. But there are tons of ways that we can accidentally block ourselves from achieving that next step in our writing journeys - whether that’s finishing a first draft, putting on a reading, submitting for production, or even just getting started. Last year in 2025 I made a concerted effort to stop do
Here Are Your Next Steps for Your New Musical Journey!
5mo ago · 18:38
JOIN US in the Musical Theatre Writing Collective! https://www.musicaltheatrewritingcollective.com/mtwc-about DOWNLOAD the FREE PDF of the North Star Question Sets: https://www.musicaltheatrewritingcollective.com/north-star-question-sets What exactly do the steps of writing and developing a musical look like? How do you know where you are in the journey so you can know exactly what your next steps should be? It is important we know where we are and how to move forward toward our goals, so here is a full breakdown of the entire musical theatre writing and development journey for you to figure o
Get In On the New Musicals Ground Floor!
6mo ago · 8:47
JOIN US in the Musical Theatre Writing Collective! https://www.musicaltheatrewritingcollective.com/mtwc-about DOWNLOAD the FREE PDF of the North Star Question Sets: https://www.musicaltheatrewritingcollective.com/north-star-question-sets This video is mostly for all of the non-writing musical theatre collaborators out there who loves working on new musicals. But it’s ALSO for writers too! Not only does all of this apply to all writers in a big way as well, but you’re also going to want to watch this video so you know exactly who you want to share this information with! Let’s get you connected
Where to Find Collaborators for Musical Theatre
7mo ago · 10:22
JOIN US in the Musical Theatre Writing Collective! https://www.musicaltheatrewritingcollective.com/mtwc-about DOWNLOAD the FREE PDF of the North Star Question Sets: https://www.musicaltheatrewritingcollective.com/north-star-question-sets The most common question I hear from new and experienced musical theatre writers is: “Where can I find collaborators?” It seems like everyone is looking for collaborators - especially lyricists looking for composers or songwriters looking for book writers - but that people are not finding each other. But there are tons of you out there. So let’s fix this!
3 Ways to Make Better Musicals
8mo ago · 15:18
JOIN US in the Musical Theatre Writing Collective! https://www.musicaltheatrewritingcollective.com/mtwc-about DOWNLOAD the FREE PDF of the North Star Question Sets: https://www.musicaltheatrewritingcollective.com/north-star-question-sets Writing a musical is hard. There are tons of moving parts, it’s impossible to be objective, and even when you do have collaborators, the whole process can still feel quite lonely. It’s an art form where the more you learn about the craft, the more you understand just how much you have left to learn. Plus, there’s not a ton of guidance, and it’s hard to find pe
The Psychology Behind Catchy Musical Hooks
8mo ago · 12:34
JOIN US in the Musical Theatre Writing Collective! https://www.michaelradi.com/musical-theatre-writing-collective DOWNLOAD the FREE PDF of the North Star Question Sets: https://michael-radi.mykajabi.com/north-star-question-sets Catchiness and tunefulness are the elusive and hard-to-define elements of song that we all want to somehow capture in our stage musical songs. Much of the time this is comes down to the hook melody, which makes listeners want to sing or play the song on repeat. And the best of these catchy hooks stay with you forever, making true “Earworms” out of their melodies. But wh
How to Keep Audiences at the Edge of Their Seats
9mo ago · 8:06
JOIN US in the Musical Theatre Writing Collective! https://www.michaelradi.com/musical-theatre-writing-collective DOWNLOAD the FREE PDF of the North Star Question Sets: https://michael-radi.mykajabi.com/north-star-question-sets It is incredibly important in a musical to not only keep your audience engaged, but to have them so in it that they need to know what happens next. Creating suspense can be difficult in any genre and medium, but it can seem particularly difficult to create in a musical. So, what is it exactly that helps to create suspense, and how can we apply that to our musicals?
The Exact Process I Use to Write Musical Theatre Songs
10mo ago · 14:57
JOIN US in the Musical Theatre Writing Collective! https://www.michaelradi.com/musical-theatre-writing-collective DOWNLOAD the FREE PDF of the North Star Question Sets: https://michael-radi.mykajabi.com/north-star-question-sets I’ve written tons of songs for musicals over the past 16+ years, and many of you have taken that to mean that songs just pop out of me…but that’s not quite how it works. Yes, I have a process that I follow efficiently, but it never really gets any easier. But, since so many of you have asked, here is the exact process I use to write songs for musical theatre - whether w
Why You Need a Writing Coach or Mentor
11mo ago · 17:43
JOIN US in the Musical Theatre Writing Collective! https://www.michaelradi.com/musical-theatre-writing-collective DOWNLOAD the FREE PDF of the North Star Question Sets: https://michael-radi.mykajabi.com/north-star-question-sets Every musical theatre writer needs a coach or a mentor. Yes, all of us. You need a knowledgeable and informed set of eyes and ears that are removed enough from the material that they can provide precise and objective feedback…and who also knows enough about the project to be fully invested in its ultimate successes. But what does this person actually do for you? Let’s t
Write Better Musicals Using these Music Theory Techniques
11mo ago · 12:52
JOIN US in the Musical Theatre Writing Collective! https://www.michaelradi.com/musical-theatre-writing-collective DOWNLOAD the FREE PDF of the North Star Question Sets: https://michael-radi.mykajabi.com/north-star-question-sets In this video Part 2 video of a 2-Part series, we dig into some music theory, which composers either seem to love or hate. Music theory is just providing you with a set of tools you can either choose to use or ignore, but some of those tools we all kind of have to use - they’re foundational. Other tools, however, when you choose to use them in your musicals to help tell
The Magic of Voice Leading in Musicals
1y ago · 15:43
JOIN US in the Musical Theatre Writing Collective! https://www.michaelradi.com/musical-theatre-writing-collective DOWNLOAD the FREE PDF of the North Star Question Sets: https://michael-radi.mykajabi.com/north-star-question-sets In this video Part 1 video of a 2-Part series, we dig into some music theory, which composers either seem to love or hate. Music theory is just providing you with a set of tools you can either choose to use or ignore, but some of those tools we all kind of have to use - they’re foundational. Other tools, however, when you choose to use them in your musicals to help tell
Lyric Scansion: The Secret Science of Songwriting in Musicals
1y ago · 23:52
JOIN US in the Musical Theatre Writing Collective! https://www.michaelradi.com/musical-theatre-writing-collective DOWNLOAD the FREE PDF of the North Star Question Sets: https://michael-radi.mykajabi.com/north-star-question-sets When you hear lyrical scansion being talked about in musical theatre, you probably think about things like proper word accenting and emphasis. But it actually goes so much deeper than simply making sure the words are emphasized on the music in the same way they would be spoken. You have to take into account the intentions of the characters, your intentions as a writer,
Musical Mapping: The Technique No One Talks About
1y ago · 20:03
JOIN US in the Musical Theatre Writing Collective! https://www.michaelradi.com/musical-theatre-writing-collective DOWNLOAD the FREE PDF of the North Star Question Sets: https://michael-radi.mykajabi.com/north-star-question-sets Creating an entire musical world for your musical can sound extremely daunting. How do you create both development and environment, all while telling the story purely through the music? There’s a little-known technique to do this that isn’t often talked about, and this technique that has helped me create musical worlds for all sort of shows. You want in?
Collaboration Agreements Explained (and Why You Need One)
1y ago · 9:35
JOIN US in the Musical Theatre Writing Collective! https://www.michaelradi.com/musical-theatre-writing-collective DOWNLOAD the FREE PDF of the North Star Question Sets: https://michael-radi.mykajabi.com/north-star-question-sets If you are writing a musical with another person, you *need* a Collaboration Agreement. No question. Without a Collaboration Agreement in place, there are many things that can go very wrong, costing you time, money, collaborators, and even the ownership of your work. Here are the basic things you need to know about these agreements so you can be informed and make sure y
"Emmaline" from "The Witching Hours" - A New Musical by Michael Radi & Patrick Spencer
1y ago · 4:20
"Emmaline" from "The Witching Hours" by Michael Radi and Patrick Spencer Performed by Michael Radi Drums - Chris Beller Guitar - Lennon Hu Cello - Megan Rayl Performed as part of the "Collective Transformation: New Works from the Musical Theatre Writing Collective" cabaret fundraiser at The Green Room 42 on 2/22/25, supporting Transgender Law Center. Music Direction by Sharon Ahn Direction by Keith Andrews Produced by Michael Radi, Amy Andrews, Aaron Michael Krueger, Kat Brannan-Williams, Stephanie Fisher and Julie Richardson "The Witching Hours" is a semi-autobiographical one-act pop-punk mus
Don’t Make These Mistake Using Pop Song Structure in Your Musicals
1y ago · 9:52
JOIN US in the Musical Theatre Writing Collective! https://www.michaelradi.com/musical-theatre-writing-collective DOWNLOAD the FREE PDF of the North Star Question Sets: https://michael-radi.mykajabi.com/north-star-question-sets Writing musical theatre songs with a pop song structure doesn’t work quite the way that you might think it does. A lot of writers seem to think that just because it’s a song form we are all familiar with from popular music that it’s easier to write into a musical. But often, it’s harder because you may be missing one or two critical ingredients. So let’s make sure that
The Contemporary Song Structures of Musical Theatre You Need to Know
1y ago · 16:06
JOIN US in the Musical Theatre Writing Collective! https://www.michaelradi.com/musical-theatre-writing-collective DOWNLOAD the FREE PDF of the North Star Question Sets: https://michael-radi.mykajabi.com/north-star-question-sets There are two major song forms in contemporary musical theatre that you need to know and not nearly enough people are talking about. For our purposes, we’re going to call them the Macro-AABA and the Micro-AABA. They are like the 32-bar AABA chorus form…but also not. These forms are flexible and grounded, and easily allow for contemporary vocal styles and tuneful melodie
The Most Challenging Song Structure That Makes Broadway Hits!
1y ago · 18:12
JOIN US in the Musical Theatre Writing Collective! https://www.michaelradi.com/musical-theatre-writing-collective DOWNLOAD the FREE PDF of the North Star Question Sets: https://michael-radi.mykajabi.com/north-star-question-sets Are you skipping right over using one of the most effective song structures in musical theatre? Now to be fair, it’s one that many writers report as being particularly difficult to write well. But it’s an incredibly effective musical song structure for convincing and for tunefulness. Today we return to the 32-bar chorus in its other major form in part 2 of our 4-part so
Master Musical Theater Writing With This Classic Structure!
1y ago · 19:59
JOIN US in the Musical Theatre Writing Collective! https://www.michaelradi.com/musical-theatre-writing-collective DOWNLOAD the FREE PDF of the North Star Question Sets: https://michael-radi.mykajabi.com/north-star-question-sets You can make your musical theatre songwriting life so much easier by understanding and using this classic song structure. We are taking it all the way back to the origins of musical theatre writing to the classic that started it all: the AABA 32-Bar Chorus. If it has stuck around this long, then must work extremely well. But how? And why? And how can you use it?
Discover Your DISTINCT Writing Voice for Musical Theatre Success!
1y ago · 9:56
JOIN US in the Musical Theatre Writing Collective! https://www.michaelradi.com/musical-theatre-writing-collective DOWNLOAD the FREE PDF of the North Star Question Sets: https://michael-radi.mykajabi.com/north-star-question-sets We all know the classic adage, “Good artists borrow, great artists steal,” but if you’re always borrowing and stealing…then what is actually yours? Every writer longs to find their own unique voice and style, and often while trying to emulate the quality of those who inspired them. So how do we learn from our teachers, mentors, and idols while also creating a voice that

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Musical Theatre Writer Guy

Episodes 144

The King's Legacy Album | History in the making

I tried watching 2 Broadway shows without analyzing them

AI and Musical Theatre Writing (Do’s and Dont’s)

5 Habits That Fix 95% Of Your Writing Problems (Never Get Stuck)

6 Rules That Will Get Your Musicals Written

10 Things I Stopped Doing in 2025 (to Write 2 Musical Drafts)

Here Are Your Next Steps for Your New Musical Journey!

Get In On the New Musicals Ground Floor!

Where to Find Collaborators for Musical Theatre

3 Ways to Make Better Musicals

The Psychology Behind Catchy Musical Hooks

How to Keep Audiences at the Edge of Their Seats

The Exact Process I Use to Write Musical Theatre Songs

Why You Need a Writing Coach or Mentor

Write Better Musicals Using these Music Theory Techniques

The Magic of Voice Leading in Musicals

Lyric Scansion: The Secret Science of Songwriting in Musicals

Musical Mapping: The Technique No One Talks About

Collaboration Agreements Explained (and Why You Need One)

"Emmaline" from "The Witching Hours" - A New Musical by Michael Radi & Patrick Spencer

Don’t Make These Mistake Using Pop Song Structure in Your Musicals

The Contemporary Song Structures of Musical Theatre You Need to Know

The Most Challenging Song Structure That Makes Broadway Hits!

Master Musical Theater Writing With This Classic Structure!

Discover Your DISTINCT Writing Voice for Musical Theatre Success!

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Episodes 144

The King's Legacy Album | History in the making

I tried watching 2 Broadway shows without analyzing them

AI and Musical Theatre Writing (Do’s and Dont’s)

5 Habits That Fix 95% Of Your Writing Problems (Never Get Stuck)

6 Rules That Will Get Your Musicals Written

10 Things I Stopped Doing in 2025 (to Write 2 Musical Drafts)

Here Are Your Next Steps for Your New Musical Journey!

Get In On the New Musicals Ground Floor!

Where to Find Collaborators for Musical Theatre

3 Ways to Make Better Musicals

The Psychology Behind Catchy Musical Hooks

How to Keep Audiences at the Edge of Their Seats

The Exact Process I Use to Write Musical Theatre Songs

Why You Need a Writing Coach or Mentor

Write Better Musicals Using these Music Theory Techniques

The Magic of Voice Leading in Musicals

Lyric Scansion: The Secret Science of Songwriting in Musicals

Musical Mapping: The Technique No One Talks About

Collaboration Agreements Explained (and Why You Need One)

"Emmaline" from "The Witching Hours" - A New Musical by Michael Radi & Patrick Spencer

Don’t Make These Mistake Using Pop Song Structure in Your Musicals

The Contemporary Song Structures of Musical Theatre You Need to Know

The Most Challenging Song Structure That Makes Broadway Hits!

Master Musical Theater Writing With This Classic Structure!

Discover Your DISTINCT Writing Voice for Musical Theatre Success!