Season 1 of MUSICALS WITH IMPACT Podcast Now Streaming

The inaugural season of Musicals With Impact, hosted by Spencer Williams, launched on all major podcast streaming platforms on Wednesday, January 8th, 2021. Produced by Fashion Consort, and part of the FC Podcasts network, Musicals With Impact celebrates new, culture-shifting musicals and gives a much-needed voice to their creators as they pursue their journey to Broadway. It is part of the Broadway ReFocused Project developed by Spencer Williams, which explores Broadway’s past with a goal to reshape its future. Overall, the project focuses on BIPOC, transgender, queer, women, disabled, and other under-represented voices.

Musicals with Impact was developed in partnership with New York Theater Barn, a not-for-profit theatre company that incubates original musicals that tell untold stories. Host, Spencer Williams states, “I wanted to be able to connect producers, theatre companies, musical theatre performers, and enthusiasts with new and up and coming writers and stories with a lens of diversifying what we see on the stage. Frankly, I want to make sure people know that there are other stories and voices out there that are telling incredible stories through the genre of musical theatre.” Executive production Joshua Williams adds, “I hope listeners will not only discover new and amazing musical theater, but also be an active part of supporting diversity on Broadway.”

The first season begins with guest Elisa Marra, a seventeen year old composer and writer who broke onto the theater scene last May 2020 with the Broadway Records release of her new concept album of her musical Frankie. She sets the tone for this season by highlighting women-centered and LGBTQIA+ stories. Nine additional musicals will also be featured this season, including Jaime Jarrett’s Wonder Boy, G. Victoria Campbell’s Treeson: An Eco Musical, Kira Stone‘s Salem, and more.

New episodes will be released every Wednesday on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, TuneIn and Spotify. Episodes, bonus materials and full transcripts are available at: www.broadwayrefocusedpodcast.com.

Fashion Consort is a New York City based creative agency that draws on a deep network of experts and professionals to create, produce and deliver strategy and content that connects, educates and inspires, with a focus on current issues, innovations and authentic human connections. Fashion Consort is the home to the FC Podcasts network, currently home to Retail Revolution, Transition of Style, Pivot with Purpose with Meghan Houle and News Bytes podcasts.

Joshua Williams, Executive Producer, is an award-winning creative director, consultant and educator. He excels at the intersection of creativity and commerce, combining his talents as a writer, theater director and musician, with a penchant for marketing, retail and business. Over the past twenty years, he has developed expertise in omni-channel branding, marketing and retailing, with a focus on authentic engagement between customer and brand. He is a guest lecturer at universities worldwide and on television.

Spencer Williams, Creator & Host is a musical theatre educator, composer and playwright. He co-wrote an original new musical, For Tonight that has been seen in the UK and all over the US. Blair Russell Productions represents For Tonight after being optioned after its full professional production at Queensbury Theatre in February 2019. In July 2021, a full concept album will be released on all music platforms. Spencer produced a developmental reading of For Tonight at the 2014 New York Musical Theatre Festival; a hit that sold out and extended in a concert version at the same festival. It was also featured at the Goodspeed Festival of New Musicals in January 2015, TheatreFest ’15 on the Isle of Man, UK, and Michigan State University in October 2015. New York Theatre Barn produced it in its New Work Series in January 2018. “One Step (Don’t Forget Me)” from For Tonight, was a Top 12 finalist in the ‘Drewe & Stiles Best Song Award’ and was performed in the West End, at the Garrick Theatre in May 2015.

As an educator Spencer is the current Director of Arts at York School in Monterey, CA. He created the Broadway ReFocused educational platform during remote learning in 2020 and released Season 1 of Broadway ReFocused podcast, now on Apple Podcasts. Spencer recently directed and produced Chicago, The Wedding Singer, The Stories of Tonight, An Evening with Stuart Brayson (US Premiere), Shrek, the musical, Whisper House (high school premiere), Snoopy!!! and Les Miserables. Graduate of Boston University, MM: Music Education. Member of Dramatist Guild, ASCAP, National Alliance for Musical Theatre (NAMT), Music Theatre Educators’ Alliance (MTEA), Mercury Musicals Development (MMD) and Musical Theatre Network (MTN).

For more information visit www.broadwayrefocused.com.

For more information visit www.FashionConsort.com.