36 Questions

36 Questions is a 2017 podcast musical with music and lyrics by Chris Littler and Ellen Winter, with sound design by Joel Raabe. It follows the story of an estranged husband and wife trying to reconnect over the 36 Questions That Lead to Love, which were a part of a psychological study that explores intimacy. Released in three 50-minute acts, the three episodes were released by Two-Up Productions on July 10, July 24, and August 7, respectively, and it stars Jonathan Groff and Jessie Shelton.

Musical Numbers

Act I "Hear Me Out" – Judith "One Thing" – Jase and Judith "Natalie Cook" – Judith and Jase "Judith Ford" – Jase "For the Record" – Jase and Judith

Act II "We Both" – Jase and Judith "Our Word – Judith "A Better Version" – Judith "Reality" – Jase

Act III "Answer 36" – Judith "Listen Back" – Jase "Attachment" – Jase "The Truth" – Jase and Judith

Production

Skip Bronkie and Zack Akers of Two-Up Productions, the same company behind Limetown, approached Littler and Winter with the parameters of the plot. Littler and Winter dismissed the podcast trope of having an external narrator early in the production process, deciding instead to loop the two singers’ voices into harmonies to avoid the need for a chorus. In place of a narrator, each episode exists as a series of voice memos that Judith records on her phone.

References

Jones, Daniel. “The 36 Questions That Lead to Love.” New York Times (2015). Fierberg, Ruthie. "How Two Unknown Composters Got Jonathan Groff to Start in Their Podcast Musical." Playbill (2017). Soloski, Alexis. “This Podcast is a Love Story, for Your Ears Only.” New York Times (2017).