MasterVoices has launched a podcast series in anticipation of its 2024-25 season-opening performance of “Strike Up the Band.”

The recently-released series features three episodes that explore the different aspects of the Gershwin piece. The episodes are hosted by writer, linguist, and musical theater aficionado John McWhorter and feature interviews with Ted Sperling and Laurence Malson on the making of the script for the new edition of the work. There is also a conversation with cartoonist and former Cartoon Editor for The New Yorker Bob Mankoff on George S. Kaufmann who co-wrote the original book for the musical. Finally, a third exchange talks with author and conductor John Mauceri about the operetta’s influence on Gershwin’s work.

“Strike Up the Band” opens on Oct. 29, 2024 at Carnegie Hall and features Shereen Ahmed, Phillip Attmore, Victoria Clark, John Ellison Conlee, Lissa deGuzman, Claybourne Elder, Christopher Fitzgerald, Bryce Pinkham, and David Pittu.