Anthony Nunziata & Elizabeth Stuart Discuss New Kids’ Musical Series ‘Mr. Anthony & Friends’

Breaking news to your phone. US mobile only. No password required.

Broadway + NYC

Broadway

Off-Broadway

Off-Off Broadway

Cabaret

Dance

Opera

Classical Music

West End / UK

International

Canada

Australia / New Zealand

Europe

Asia

Latin America

Africa / Middle East

Entertainment

Ctrl + K to open · Esc to close

Broadway comes together for a new generation in Mr. Anthony & Friends, the new musical children’s series, premiering on October 10 on YouTube.

Most Popular

Get all the top news & discounts for Cabaret & beyond. No password required.

Broadway comes together for a new generation in Mr. Anthony & Friends , the new musical children’s series created, hosted and executive produced by singer-songwriter Anthony Nunziata . The series premieres on October 10 on YouTube.

Get all the top news & discounts for Cabaret & beyond.

The eight-episode first season brings together an acclaimed lineup of Broadway talent, including Oscar and Grammy Award-winning composer Stephen Schwartz ( Wicked, Godspell, Pippin ), Tony and Daytime Emmy Award winner Lillias White , Broadway performer Janine LaManna , and Ali Ewoldt , whose Broadway credits include The Phantom of the Opera and Les Misérables .

Nunziata, a New York native whose career has included two sold-out appearances at Carnegie Hall with The New York Pops and engagements at Café Carlyle, created the series to bring the warmth, music and personal connection of classic children’s television to a new generation.

The development of the series was closely overseen by educational consultant Dr. Shalom “Sholly” Fisch, a developmental psychologist who spent 15 years at Sesame Workshop as vice president of program research. Dr. Fisch was instrumental in leading the research behind each episode.

The creative team is led by co-creator and executive producer Elizabeth Stuart , pictured above, an award-winning journalist who spent 20 years at CNN and ABC News, and also includes creative director Kelley Moore; musical director and Drama Desk nominee Yasuhiko Fukuoka ; original music scoring by Broadway conductor Ming Aldrich-Gan ( Dear Evan Hansen ); and lead editor-animator Rebecca Linthwaite, whose recent work includes editing for Ms. Rachel .

Blending 21 original songs with imaginative adventures and themes of friendship, kindness, curiosity and creativity, Mr. Anthony & Friends brings Broadway-caliber musical storytelling together with research-based educational content designed for young children and their families.

We spoke with Nunziata and Stuart about the show.

Can you tell me a little about the inspiration behind this series? Were there any shows in particular from your childhood that you modeled it after or tried to emulate?

Elizabeth Stuart : Anthony and I are very close to our young nephews and niece and really bonded over the idea of a show for children that spoke to them at their level. Answering questions kids might have and encouraging them to be curious was something we both felt strongly about. I grew up loving Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood , Sesame Street and Reading Rainbow , and realized today’s kids’ shows don’t always have that slower pacing that we grew up with in the ’80s and ’90s. It was our goal to bring back a spirit of nostalgia with this show - including a few fun tips of the hat to the shows we’re paying homage to.

Anthony Nunziata : It began with wanting to create the kind of warm, human connection that made classic children’s television so special. As a singer-songwriter and performer, I’ve spent my life seeing how powerfully music can connect people and open them up emotionally. And being an uncle to my nephews Patrick and Jack constantly reminds me how much wonder, curiosity and imagination children naturally have.

We wanted Mr. Anthony & Friends to feel like a place where a child is being spoken with, not spoken down to. Where we can look directly into the camera, sing together, take a deep breath, laugh, make mistakes, learn something new and have room to simply be.

Did you learn anything that surprised you from working with an educational consultant with experience on Sesame Street?

E S : Sholly was fabulous to work with and helped ground us around the concept of a “big idea” for each episode that could be reinforced several times throughout. That was key in making each episode have a throughline and feel cohesive. We paid a lot of attention to the words we are using and adding Mr. Anthony’s own childlike wonder, which we hope allows kids to be okay with getting things wrong sometimes, too.

A N : Working with Dr. Shalom “Sholly” Fisch completely changed the way I think about writing for children. One of the biggest lessons for me was realizing just how much intention can go into something that ultimately feels very simple.

As a songwriter, I’m always thinking about melody, rhyme, emotion and storytelling. With this show, Sholly helped us look at every lyric, phrase and repetition through another lens: What is the child taking away from this? What is the "big idea"? Are we reinforcing it clearly without overexplaining it? I think there’s actually a tremendous sophistication in creating something simple and accessible for a child.

What are you most excited about for the premiere of this series?

E S : We’ve gotten so much positive feedback from our families and friends - and we especially love getting pictures and videos of kids starting to watch and engage with the songs and episodes. I can’t wait to hear kids singing along!

A N : That’s it for me, too. I love hearing kids - and adults! - singing these songs! We started with an idea and a blank page, and now we have eight episodes, 21 original songs, animated sequences, adventures to places like Italy and Alaska, incredible guests and this beautiful world that so many talented people have helped us build - we celebrate our entire team on our website. And the thing that matters most to me is the child on the other side of the screen. If a child sings one of the songs, tries something new because they saw us try it, takes a deep breath when they’re having a big feeling, or simply feels a little more safe and seen after spending time with us...that’s the dream.

Do you have any future plans for the program?

E S : This project has brought me so much joy. I hope we can keep making it!

A N : Absolutely. We see Mr. Anthony & Friends as a world we can continue building for a long time. We have ideas for future episodes and seasons, music projects and special programming. And what excites me is that the possibilities can grow as our audience grows.

How have your individual backgrounds and careers shaped what you each bring to Mr. Anthony & Friends ?

E S : For me, this show has been an exciting new chapter after spending 20 years as a television news producer at NBC, ABC and CNN, covering breaking news and politics across the country and around the world. Children’s programming has given me an opportunity to take so many of the production and storytelling skills I developed during that career and use them in an entirely different way — and it has been incredibly joyful.

A N : I’m continuing my life as a touring singer-songwriter and recording artist, performing concerts around the country. And what has been so exciting about Mr. Anthony & Friends is that it brings together almost every part of my creative life but now I get to use all of those things in service of children and families.

Is there anything else you'd like to add?

E S : We put a lot of care into every detail of these episodes with the hope that parents will enjoy watching them, too. This is not another green-screen show. Mr. Anthony is in a real space and goes out into the world to experience things that kids can learn from. We hope that’s one of the things that sets our show apart from others.

I also hope parents, especially those who are around the same age as Anthony and me, will see some of what we’re doing as a throwback, but with a modern feel to it. There is repetition in the structure, but we also have so many special segments - including a fully animated song, a trip to find out how bagels are made that is reminiscent of Mr. Rogers ’ “how things are made” segments, and special guests who teach Mr. Anthony lessons.

Anthony and I have also known each other for more than 20 years. Anthony and his brother and my sister and I have all been friends for ages. We joked for years that if Anthony ever hosted a show, I would executive produce it. And one day we looked at each other and thought, “Why can’t we just try to do this?”

Our skills blend together incredibly well. Anthony is constantly coming up with ideas, guests, songs and lyrics, and combining that with my knowledge of production and putting a show together has been a great partnership. Plus, we have assembled an incredible team of people at the top of their fields. It’s been really special.

A N : I love that our friendship is at the heart of the story because Elizabeth and I really do bring very different muscles to this. I tend to have a million creative ideas flying around - a song, an adventure, a guest, a line of dialogue - and Elizabeth has an incredible ability to take those ideas and help shape them into a television show. There’s a tremendous amount of trust between us, and I think that comes from knowing each other for so long and a true and deep respect we have for each other.

At the heart of everything, we want children to come away knowing that their feelings matter, kindness matters, curiosity is something to celebrate, and mistakes are part of learning. And there is a place for them here.

Learn more at www.mranthonyandfriends.com

Header photo of Anthony Nunziata and all photos are (c) Jon Cospito Photography. Below is a photo of the team

Nominate your favorite local productions and performers before the deadline on October 31, 2026.

Review: OUR SINATRA, A MUSICAL CELEBRATION at Marjorie S. Dean Little Theater

Review: Hannah Jane Firing On All Cylinders With HERE I GO at Don't Tell Mama

Review: ALL THESE PRETTY THINGS Is A Funny, Heartbreaking Journey at Theatre Row

Review: Shock, Awe and Surprise as Randy Roberts Triumphs at The Beechman

Also text me

When are you seeing ?

Cabaret venues in New York City

Get an Alert Each Time Rebecca Kaplan Writes

BroadwayWorld TV

Breaking Broadway news and show discounts. No password required.

Breaking Broadway news on your phone. US mobile numbers only.

POPULAR

Sign up for announcements and exclusive discounts on tickets to your favorite shows!

© 2026 — Copyright Wisdom Digital Media , all rights reserved. Privacy Policy

Episode

_Originally reported by [BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/cabaret/article/Interview-Anthony-Nunziata-Elizabeth-Stuart-on-MR-ANTHONY-FRIENDS-Kids-Show-20261003)._