Podcasts about becky's new car

This week, Deb and Joe interview Chris Polhill, Director of Becky's New Car at Ridgedale Players and Nancy Cooper, Director of Calendar Girls at Farmington Players.   Ridgedale Players - Becky's New Car Farmington Players - Calendar Girls Grosse Pointe Theater - The Pirates of Penzance Players Guild of Dearborn -  Come Blow Your Horn Southgate Community Players - Annie Jr. Subscribe to Front Row Podcast in iTunes, or visit our website. Contact the show directly via email info@frontrowpodcast.com or leave your comments on our hotline at 248-631-4077.  

This week, Deb and Joe interview Chris Polhill, Director of Becky's New Car at Ridgedale Players and Nancy Cooper, Director of Calendar Girls at Farmington Players.   Ridgedale Players - Becky's New Car Farmington Players - Calendar Girls Grosse Pointe Theater - The Pirates of Penzance Players Guild of Dearborn -  Come Blow Your Horn Southgate Community Players - Annie Jr. Subscribe to Front Row Podcast in iTunes, or visit our website. Contact the show directly via email info@frontrowpodcast.com or leave your comments on our hotline at 248-631-4077.  

Middle-aged angst takes center stage at the Sonoma Community Center as Becky’s New Car pulls into Sonoma Arts Live. Steven Dietz’s bittersweet comedy runs through June 25. Becky Foster has reached the “Is that all there is?” stage in her life. She’s got a job that overworks her, co-workers that don’t appreciate her and a grown, psychology-majoring son living in her basement. On the plus side, she has a loving, doting husband who’s willing to work roofing jobs hours away to keep his family in comfort. Becky seems destined to live her life out in quiet desperation when a gentleman walks into the car dealership at which she works. He’s wealthy, widowed and in a very short period of time, interested in Becky. Through a series of misunderstandings, he thinks Becky’s widowed too. Does she correct him, or will she see this as her way out? Well, good people sometimes make bad choices and Becky is soon looking for a way out of her way out. Lest you think this all sounds a bit bleak and/or depressing, fear not as it’s actually a pretty funny show. Director Carl Jordan has gathered a winning cast who find the humor in each character’s foibles and flaws while retaining their humanity. Melissa Claire does a great job in helping the audience understand why Becky makes the choices she does and gains their empathy. Dietz has the character “break the fourth wall” and directly interact with the audience throughout the show which can be awkward but Claire handles it with aplomb. Mike Pavone as Walter Flood makes for a charming gentleman suitor who stumbles upon Becky and maybe a way out of his funk at the loss of his wife. It’s easy to see why Becky could risk everything for him. Matt Witthaus does very well as the good-hearted husband Joe whose obliging manner turns a bit a dark by show’s end. Michael Temple does a good job as the basement-dwelling, pizza swilling Chris who pontificates on the psychological state of all and drives his mother nuts. Katie Kelly has some nice moments as Kenni Flood, Walter’s daughter, particularly when dealing with a potential gold-digging neighbor (a boozy and biting Serena Elize Flores). The show’s single funniest moment comes courtesy of Stephen Dietz (no relation to the playwright) as Becky’s co-worker Steve in a monologue that involves a mother, a child, a puppy, and a cliff. It’s not giving anything away to say that all these characters cross paths and while the specific circumstances strain credulity sometimes you just have to go with the flow. Claire’s and Pavone’s performances are the initial hooks that make you willing to go along for the ride. Set Designer Bruce Lackovic manages to fit four distinct settings onto the small Rotary Stage, with Becky scurrying between her living room, her office, her car, and Walter’s home. The backdrop is a series of lit, colorful spheres that double as projection screens. Combined it makes for a very eye-catching set. Becky’s New Car is a welcome respite from some of the darker, more mean-spirited plays that have been produced locally of late. It’s nice to see a lighter touch applied to the dramatization of the journeys we often take in life. Director Carl Jordan and cast have mapped out a pretty amusing outing. Consider jumping into Becky’s New Car and joining them for the ride. Becky’s New Car plays at the Sonoma Community Center Thursdays through Saturdays at 7:30pm and Sundays at 2pm through June 25. For more information, go to sonomaartslive.org

This week, Deb and Joe talk to Jerry Nehr, director of Other Desert Cities at the Fine Arts Society of Detroit. In our Tech Talk segment, stage combat expert Brian Moultrup discusses the best way to take a punch on stage. Becky's New Car opens this week at Farmington Players. Special thanks to Birmingham Village Players for letting us record interview segments in their green room. Subscribe to Front Row Podcast in iTunes, or visit our website. Contact the show directly via email info@frontrowpodcast.com or leave your comments on our hotline at 248-631-4077.

This week, Deb and Joe take the show to the venerable theater on 12 Mile Road known as "The Barn," home of Farmington Players. Deb and Front Row Podcast get mentioned this week in a Detroit News article.  Show openings this week include "Sleepy Hollow - A Musical" at the Downriver Actors Guild and "The Vast Difference" at Farmington Players. Upcoming auditions include "Fiddler on the Roof" at Grosse Pointe Theatre and "Elf, The Musical" (youth production) at the Village Players of Birmingham.  Our special guests this week are Tony Targan and David Reinke. Tony (director of Spamalot) discusses the history of The Barn (it really was a barn) and about the theater in general. He shares the upcoming season of "The Vast Difference," "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever," "Becky's New Car," and "Monty Python's Spamalot." David, the director of "The Vast Difference" talks about the show and his involvement in the premier production of the show in the nineties. Learn more about Farmington Players by reading Tony's blog. Subscribe to Front Row Podcast in iTunes, or visit our website. Contact the show directly via email info@frontrowpodcast.com or leave your comments on our hotline at 248-631-4077.

Bob Wilcox and Gerry Kowarsky review (1) A CHORUS LINE, by Marvin Hamlisch, Edward Kleban, James Kirkwood & Nicholas Dante, at Stages St. Louis, (2) THE IMMIGRANT, by Mark Harelik, at the New Jewish Theatre, (3) PELLEAS AND MELISANDE, by Claude Debussy, at Opera Theatre of St. Louis, (4) JUST DESSERTS, by Neil LaBute, at St. Louis Actors' Studio, (5) VAGABOND ADVENTURES, at Circus Flora, (6) KIND SIR, by Norman Krasna, at ACT Inc., (7) THE VISIT, by Friedrich Duerrenmatt, at Stray Dog Theatre, (8) BARE, by Damon Intrabartolo & Jon Hartmere, at New Line Theatre, and (9) BECKY'S NEW CAR, by Steven Dietz, at Insight Theatre Co.