Anthem: Homunculus Explained

Anthem Homunculus

Anthem: Homunculus is a musical podcast series written by John Cameron Mitchell and Bryan Weller starring Mitchell, Glenn Close, Cynthia Erivo, Patti LuPone, Denis O'Hare, Laurie Anderson, Nakhane, Christopher Hanke, Marion Cotillard, Ben Foster and Bridget Everett. The show was produced by Topic Studios and initially released exclusively on Luminary and presently distributed by Acast.

Background

The podcast debuted on April 23, 2019.[1] and was created by John Cameron Mitchell (director, scriptwriter, co-songwriter) and Bryan Weller (co-songwriter and music producer).[2] The first draft was developed at William S. Burroughs's former house in Lawrence, Kansas where Mitchell and Weller were invited to work by Burrough's longtime partner James Grauerholz.[3] [4] Anthem: Homunculus is a ten-episode fictional musical audio series totalling over six hours.[5] [6] The premise and structure stemmed from an unfinished sequel to Hedwig and the Angry Inch ("Hedwig and the Divine Homunculus") that Mitchell abandoned and reworked into a "speculative autobiography" in which he wonders what might have become of him if he had never left his small town of Junction City, Kansas. The plot involves a Mitchell-like protagonist, Ceann MacKay, who attempts to crowdfund his brain tumor health care through an audio telethon. Seizures periodically send him to an afterlife where he wrestles with characters from his past. Glenn Close plays his mother Maeve who, in this liminal space, demands forgiveness by way of a heavy metal song while nailing herself to a cross. Patti Lupone plays Sister Max, his junky jazz-singing nun aunt who is his most supportive family member. Ceann's lover Jairo is played by South African musician/actor Nakhane whom Mitchell cast through DM on Instagram. The part of Joan the Baptist, a singing evangelist for the Virgin Mary, was written for Cynthia Erivo whom he had seen on Broadway in The Color Purple.[7] [8] Mitchell and Weller initially pitched the idea for television but were rejected so they reconceived it as an audio piece.[9] [10] The show features 31 songs written by Weller and Mitchell that span multiple genres.[11] The soundtrack for the podcast was released on May 20, 2019, by Ghostlight Records.[12] The podcast had a live marathon listening party at the IFC Center on November 24, 2019. Later listening parties took place in Austin, San Francisco and Portland, OR.[13] [14] [15]

Reception

The Guardian included the show on their list of the best podcasts of 2019 saying that the show "is a heartrending and hilarious combination of music, theatre and drama".[16] Rolling Stone called it "a hallucinatory masterpiece", Slate deemed it "a game changer", and The Atlantic called it one of the best podcasts of 2019, featuring "superbly rendered dialogue".[17] The podcast was an honoree in the scripted fiction category during the 2020 Webby Awards.[18]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Hetrick . Adam . April 17, 2019 . Listen to Trailer for John Cameron Mitchell's Musical Podcast Anthem: Homunculus . December 19, 2022 . . en-US.
  2. News: Soloski . Alexis . April 18, 2019 . In John Cameron Mitchell's Podcast, a Rock Musical That's All in Your Head . en-US . . December 18, 2022 . 0362-4331 . January 18, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230118212518/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/18/theater/anthem-homunculus-john-cameron-mitchell.html . live .
  3. Web site: Tougaw . Jason . May 15, 2019 . Neurology Gets Punked . live . December 19, 2022 . . Sussex Publishers . en-US . January 18, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230118212522/https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-elusive-brain/201905/neurology-gets-punked .
  4. Web site: Schwartz . Brie . June 21, 2019 . John Cameron Mitchell's Anthem: Homunculus is the Rock Podcast You Didn't Know You Needed . live . December 19, 2022 . Oprah Daily . . en-US . January 18, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230118212521/https://www.oprahdaily.com/entertainment/a28088704/john-cameron-mitchell-anthem-homunculus-podcast/ .
  5. Web site: Martin . Michael . April 23, 2019 . Q&A: John Cameron Mitchell on Why His New Podcast Musical Was 'Too Weird' for TV . live . December 19, 2022 . . . en-US . January 18, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230118212522/https://observer.com/2019/04/john-cameron-mitchell-says-his-new-podcast-musical-anthem-homunculus-was-too-weird-for-tv-glenn-close-patti-lupone/ .
  6. Web site: Sarachan . Risa . April 26, 2019 . 'Anthem: Homunculus' is John Cameron Mitchell's New Musical Podcast That You Don't Want to Miss . December 19, 2022 . . Integrated Whale Media . en-US.
  7. Web site: Scherstuhl . Alan . April 25, 2019 . The Spiritual Sequel to Hedwig and the Angry Inch is a Game-Changing Podcast Musical . live . December 18, 2022 . . . en-US . December 18, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221218032501/https://slate.com/culture/2019/04/anthem-podcast-review-john-cameron-mitchell-hedwig-sequel-musical.html .
  8. Web site: Cox . Gordon . April 30, 2019 . Listen: How John Cameron Mitchell's New Podcast Fits Into the Mitchellverse . live . December 19, 2022 . . . en-US . December 19, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221219120850/https://variety.com/2019/legit/news/john-cameron-mitchell-anthem-hedwig-1203201305/ .
  9. Web site: Larsen . Peter . May 22, 2019 . How a Musical About a Gay Man With a Brain Tumor Became a Podcast With Glenn Close, Patti Lupone and Its Creator John Cameron Mitchell . December 19, 2022 . . . en-US.
  10. Web site: Stewart . Zachary . May 12, 2019 . John Cameron Mitchell's Anthem: Homunculus Could Start a Podcast Revolution . December 19, 2022 . Theater Mania . en-US.
  11. Portwood . Jerry . May 5, 2019 . John Cameron Mitchell and Glenn Close on New Podcast 'Anthem: Homunculus' . December 18, 2022 . . . en-US.
  12. Web site: Hetrick . Adam . May 20, 2019 . Soundtrack for John Cameron Mitchell's Anthem: Homunculus Released May 20 . December 19, 2022 . . en-US.
  13. Web site: Cristi . A. A. . November 25, 2019 . Photos: John Cameron Mitchell and Glenn Close Host Homunculus Listening Party . December 19, 2022 . . Wisdom Digital Media . en-US.
  14. Web site: Scott . James . January 17, 2020 . John Cameron Mitchell Finds Life After Hedwig . December 19, 2022 . . en-US.
  15. Web site: Milligan . Kaitlin . April 19, 2019 . John Cameron Mitchell, Bryan Weller to Release 'Anthem: Homunculus' Soundtrack Featuring Cynthia Erivo, Patti LuPone . December 19, 2022 . . Wisdom Digital Media . en-US.
  16. Web site: December 20, 2019 . The 20 Best Podcasts of 2019 . December 19, 2022 . . en-US.
  17. Web site: Standley . Laura Jane . McQuade . Eric . December 27, 2019 . The 50 Best Podcasts of 2019 . live . December 19, 2022 . . . en-US . March 24, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220324052959/https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2019/12/50-best-podcasts-2019/604165/ .
  18. Web site: 2020 . Honoree—Anthem: Homunculus . December 19, 2022 . . en-US.

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