Broadway Belongs to Me!

Purity Unleashed #1

Released: 23 May 2023

Listened: 5/27/23

In the cliffhanger from the previous story, Hebe vanished from existence. She doesn’t appear in this boxed set (barring a brief cameo), which may have something to do with Ruth Madderly’s appearing in the TV show. Mel is distraught, and the Doctor promises to find Hebe, so…it’s a good time for a comedy break? The Doctor traces the time distortion to New York, 1939. Although most Americans opposed the Nazis in Germany, there was a small but vocal group who supported them, and they were making noise in New York around this time. Mel didn’t know anything about that part of history, as it happens. However, she gets stuck joining the chorus of a Broadway play called “Behold America!” a pro-fascist song-and-dance extravaganza, and accidentally gets elevated to a starring role. Mel is both embarrassed to be in a musical, and disgusted at the subject matter, which is funny because Bonnie Langford is right at home on Broadway. In fact, the story is brimming over with jokes and references to musical theater, many of which I didn’t get, but there you are. As to what’s actually going on, credit to Matthew Sweet, you’ll never see it coming. And neither does the Doctor; he’s believably mystified right up until the reveal. Which somehow makes this comedy even more absurd than it already was. Maybe this wasn’t the best place to do a comedy, but when Big Finish wants to do a musical, they commit to the bit.