The Most Expensive Flop in Broadway History (Ep 563 - Madeline Kahn/William)
The day this episode comes out (March 26, 2026), is the 115th birthday of renowned playwright Tennessee Williams. And to mark the occasion, we’re heading into the Sewers archives to hear my 2020 interview with writer William V. Madison, whose career was inspired in part by a moving experience in college involving a Streetcar Named Desire. That brought William to a series of adventurous jobs, from working on Broadway shows to producing the news alongside Dan Rather, singing to Angela Lansbury, earning a nickname from Fidel Castro, and writing a biography of Madeline Kahn.
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If you wonder what the flop was (it's not Turn Off The Dark) and prefer reading, William wrote an extensive blog about the brief 1986 debut season of Rags. https://billmadison.blogspot.com/2011/08/rags-25-years-on.html
Wow, interesting guy! I found his comments about the self promotion of Beverly Sills funny. I remember her appearing on the Dick Cavett show a few times. She promoted herself as just a regular gal who happened to be an opera singer. She pointedly made the distinction between herself and someone who had a reportedly difficult Diva personality, like Maria Callas.