Podcasts about hot tin roof

Truth That Burns, Love That Heals (Cat on a Hot Tin Roof)What if the most loving thing you can do is tell the ugliest truth? We gather the crew: Jeremy Jeremiah, Bri, James St. Simon, and Mario Andrew, to sit with Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and pull apart the mendacity that keeps a family polished on the outside and starved on the inside. With literature professor James St. Simon and the team, we unpack Maggie's raw persistence, Brick's calculated indifference, and Big Daddy's denial, tracing how confrontation becomes care when someone finally says what everyone already knows.A family built on mendacity tries to hold shape while money, memory, and desire pull it apart. We trace how hard truth cuts open the wound, why Maggie stays on the roof, and how Brick's numbness begins to thaw when lies finally fail.• Maggie's persistence as a test of love• Brick's addiction as avoidance of grief and desire• Big Daddy's denial and the cost of false reassurance• The hot tin roof as a metaphor for truth and marriage• Succession, status, and how families buy distraction• Confession as an act of care, not cruelty• Surgical model of reconciliation and slow healing• Rain, sobriety, and the fragile hope of renewalWe start in that charged bedroom where Maggie claws for connection and Brick drowns in bourbon, then widen to the loud halls where inheritance schemes and polite lies pass for affection. Along the way, we explore the hot tin roof as a living metaphor: love that burns but purifies, truth that hurts but heals. We talk addiction beyond the bottle—shopping, status, busyness—and why families so often choose props over presence. The turning point comes as Brick forces Big Daddy to face mortality and Big Daddy forces Brick to face desire, betrayal, and grief. No flashbacks, no easy answers—just voices, pressure, and the slow relief that only honesty can bring.From there, we map a practical path through reconciliation. Think surgery: you cut, remove the rot, and accept the scar. The rain-soaked confrontation reads like a baptism; Brick's first dry minute hints that sober love is possible when denial finally breaks. The film's ending resists fantasy, leaving stitches instead of smooth skin, and that's the point. Healing is real, but it's slow. If you've ever chosen distraction over intimacy or kept peace by keeping quiet, this conversation offers language, courage, and a way back to the table.If this resonated, subscribe, share it with a friend who loves classic cinema and honest talk, and leave a review with the truth you're choosing to face next.Questions about Orthodoxy? Please check out our friends at Ghost of Byzantium Discord server: https://discord.gg/JDJDQw6tdhPlease prayerfully consider supporting Cloud of Witnesses Radio: https://www.patreon.com/c/CloudofWitnessesFind Cloud of Witnesses Radio on Instagram, X.com, Facebook, and TikTokPlease leave a comment with your thoughts!

What does it take to keep your voice—and your purpose—strong through every season of life? In this episode of Unstoppable Mindset, I sit down with my friend Bill Ratner, one of Hollywood's most recognized voice actors, best known as Flint from GI Joe. Bill's voice has carried him through radio, animation, and narration, but what stands out most is how he's used that same voice to serve others through storytelling, teaching, and grief counseling. Together, we explore the heart behind his work—from bringing animated heroes to life to standing on The Moth stage and helping people find healing through poetry. Bill shares lessons from his own journey, including losing both parents early, finding family in unexpected places, and discovering how creative expression can rebuild what life breaks down. We also reflect on 9/11, preparedness, and the quiet confidence that comes from trusting your training—whether you're a first responder, a performer, or just navigating the unknown. This conversation isn't just about performance; it's about presence. It's about using your story, your craft, and your compassion to keep moving forward—unstoppable, one voice at a time. Highlights: 00:31 – Hear the Flint voice and what it takes to bring animated characters to life. 06:57 – Learn why an uneven college path still led to a lifelong acting career. 11:50 – Understand how GI Joe became a team and a toy phenomenon that shaped culture. 15:58 – See how comics and cartoons boosted classroom literacy when used well. 17:06 – Pick up simple ways parents can spark reading through shared stories. 19:29 – Discover how early, honest conversations about death can model resilience. 24:09 – Learn to critique ads and media like a pro to sharpen your own performance. 36:19 – Follow the pivot from radio to voiceover and why specialization pays. 47:48 – Hear practical editing approaches and accessible tools that keep shows tight. 49:38 – Learn how The Moth builds storytelling chops through timed, judged practice. 55:21 – See how poetry—and poetry therapy—support grief work with students. 59:39 – Take notes on memoir writing, emotional management, and one-person shows. About the Guest: Bill Ratner is one of America's best known voice actors and author of poetry collections Lamenting While Doing Laps in the Lake (Slow Lightning Lit 2024,) Fear of Fish (Alien Buddha Press 2021,) To Decorate a Casket (Finishing Line Press 2021,) and the non-fiction book Parenting For The Digital Age: The Truth Behind Media's Effect On Children and What To Do About It (Familius Books 2014.) He is a 9-time winner of the Moth StorySLAM, 2-time winner of Best of The Hollywood Fringe Extension Award for Solo Performance, Best of the Net Poetry Nominee 2023 (Lascaux Review,) and New Millennium "America One Year From Now" Writing Award Finalist. His writing appears in Best Small Fictions 2021 (Sonder Press,) Missouri Review (audio,) Baltimore Review, Chiron Review, Feminine Collective, and other journals. He is the voice of "Flint" in the TV cartoon G.I. Joe, "Donnell Udina" in the computer game Mass Effect, the voice of Air Disasters on Smithsonian Channel, NewsNation, and network TV affiliates across the country. He is a committee chair for his union, SAG-AFTRA, teaches Voiceovers for SAG-AFTRA Foundation, Media Awareness for Los Angeles Unified School District, and is a trained grief counsellor. Member: Actors Equity Association, Screen Actors Guild-AFTRA, National Storytelling Network • https://billratner.com • @billratner Ways to connect with Bill: https://soundcloud.com/bill-ratner https://www.instagram.com/billratner/ https://twitter.com/billratner https://www.threads.net/@billratner https://billratner.tumblr.com https://www.youtube.com/@billratner/videos https://www.facebook.com/billratner.voiceover.author https://bsky.app/profile/bilorat.bsky.social About the Host: Michael Hingson is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Michael, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog Roselle. This story is the subject of his best-selling book, Thunder Dog. Michael gives over 100 presentations around the world each year speaking to influential groups such as Exxon Mobile, AT&T, Federal Express, Scripps College, Rutgers University, Children's Hospital, and the American Red Cross just to name a few. He is Ambassador for the National Braille Literacy Campaign for the National Federation of the Blind and also serves as Ambassador for the American Humane Association's 2012 Hero Dog Awards. https://michaelhingson.com https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/ https://twitter.com/mhingson https://www.youtube.com/user/mhingson https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhingson/ accessiBe Links https://accessibe.com/ https://www.youtube.com/c/accessiBe https://www.linkedin.com/company/accessibe/mycompany/ https://www.facebook.com/accessibe/ Thanks for listening! Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page. Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below! Subscribe to the podcast If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can subscribe in your favorite podcast app. You can also support our podcast through our tip jar https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/unstoppable-mindset . Leave us an Apple Podcasts review Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts. Transcription Notes: Michael Hingson ** 00:00 Access Cast and accessiBe Initiative presents Unstoppable Mindset. The podcast where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet. Hi, I'm Michael Hingson, Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe and the author of the number one New York Times bestselling book, Thunder dog, the story of a blind man, his guide dog and the triumph of trust. Thanks for joining me on my podcast as we explore our own blinding fears of inclusion unacceptance and our resistance to change. We will discover the idea that no matter the situation, or the people we encounter, our own fears, and prejudices often are our strongest barriers to moving forward. The unstoppable mindset podcast is sponsored by accessiBe, that's a c c e s s i capital B e. Visit www.accessibe.com to learn how you can make your website accessible for persons with disabilities. And to help make the internet fully inclusive by the year 2025. Glad you dropped by we're happy to meet you and to have you here with us.   Michael Hingson ** 01:21 Well on a gracious hello to you, wherever you may be, I am your host. Mike hingson, and you are listening to unstoppable mindset. Today, we get to have a voice actor, person, Bill Ratner, who you want to know who Bill Radnor is, go back and watch the old GI Joe cartoons and listen to the voice of Flint.   Bill Ratner ** 01:42 All right. Lady Jay, you better get your battle gear on, because Cobra is on their way. And I can't bring up the Lacher threat weapon system. We got to get out of here. Yo, Joe,   Michael Hingson ** 01:52 there you go. I rest my case Well, Bill, welcome to unstoppable mindset.   Bill Ratner ** 02:00 We can't rest now. Michael, we've just begun. No, we've just begun.   Michael Hingson ** 02:04 We got to keep going here. Well, I'm really glad that you're here. Bill is another person who we inveigled to get on unstoppable mindset with the help of Walden Hughes. And so that means we can talk about Walden all we want today. Bill just saying, oh goodness. And I got a lot to say. Let me tell you perfect, perfect. Bring it on. So we are really grateful to Walden, although I hope he's not listening. We don't want to give him a big head. But no, seriously, we're really grateful. Ah, good point.   Bill Ratner ** 02:38 But his posture, oddly enough, is perfect.   Michael Hingson ** 02:40 Well, there you go. What do you do? He practiced. Well, anyway, we're glad you're here. Tell us about the early bill, growing up and all that stuff. It's always fun to start a good beginning.   Bill Ratner ** 02:54 Well, I was a very lucky little boy. I was born in Des Moines, Iowa in 1947 to two lovely people, professionals, both with master's degree out at University of Chicago. My mother was a social worker. My father had an MBA in business. He was managing editor of Better Homes and Gardens magazine. So I had the joy of living in a better home and living in a garden.   Michael Hingson ** 03:21 My mother. How long were you in Des Moines?   Bill Ratner ** 03:24 Five and a half years left before my sixth birthday. My dad got a fancy job at an ad agency in Minneapolis, and had a big brother named Pete and big handsome, curly haired boy with green eyes. And moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota, and was was brought up there.   Michael Hingson ** 03:45 Wow. So you went to school there and and chased the girls and all that stuff.   Bill Ratner ** 03:54 I went to school there at Blake School for Boys in Hopkins, Minnesota. Couldn't chase the girls day school, but the girls we are allowed to dance with certainly not chase. Michael was at woodhue dancing school, the Northrop girls from Northrop girls school and the Blake boys were put together in eighth grade and taught the Cha Cha Cha, the waltz, the Charleston, and we danced together, and the girls wore white gloves, and we sniffed their perfume, and we all learned how to be lovers when we were 45   Michael Hingson ** 04:37 There you are. Well, as long as you learned at some point, that's a good start.   Bill Ratner ** 04:44 It's a weird generation. Michael,   Michael Hingson ** 04:46 I've been to Des Moines before. I was born in Chicago, but moved out to California when I was five, but I did some work with the National Federation of the Blind in the mid 19. 1970s 1976 into 1978 so spent time at the Iowa Commission for the Blind in Des Moines, which became a top agency for the Blind in well, the late 50s into the to the 60s and so on. So   Bill Ratner ** 05:15 both my parents are from Chicago. My father from the south side of Chicago, 44th and Kenzie, which was a Irish, Polish, Italian, Jewish, Ukrainian neighborhood. And my mother from Glencoe, which was a middle class suburb above Northwestern University in Evanston.   Michael Hingson ** 05:34 I Where were you born? 57th and union, north, south side, no, South   Bill Ratner ** 05:42 57th union is that? Is that west of Kenzie?   Michael Hingson ** 05:46 You know, I don't remember the geography well enough to know, but I know that it was, I think, Mount Sinai Hospital where I was born. But it was, it's, it's, it's a pretty tough neighborhood today. So I understand,   Bill Ratner ** 06:00 yeah, yeah, my it was tough, then it's tough now,   Michael Hingson ** 06:03 yeah, I think it's tougher, supposedly, than it was. But we lived there for five years, and then we we moved to California, and I remember some things about Chicago. I remember walking down to the local candy store most days, and had no problem doing that. My parents were told they should shut me away at a home somewhere, because no blind child could ever grow up to amount to anything. And my parents said, You guys are you're totally wrong. And they brought me up with that attitude. So, you   Bill Ratner ** 06:32 know who said that the school says school so that   Michael Hingson ** 06:35 doctors doctors when they discovered I was blind with the   Bill Ratner ** 06:38 kid, goodness gracious, horrified.   Michael Hingson ** 06:44 Well, my parents said absolutely not, and they brought me up, and they actually worked with other parents of premature kids who became blind, and when kindergarten started in for us in in the age of four, they actually had a special kindergarten class for blind kids at the Perry School, which is where I went. And so I did that for a year, learn braille and some other things. Then we moved to California, but yeah, and I go back to Chicago every so often. And when I do nowadays, they I one of my favorite places to migrate in Chicago is Garrett Popcorn.   Bill Ratner ** 07:21 Ah, yes, with caramel corn, regular corn, the   Michael Hingson ** 07:25 Chicago blend, which is a mixture, yeah, the Chicago blend is cheese corn, well, as it is with caramel corn, and they put much other mozzarella on it as well. It's really good.   Bill Ratner ** 07:39 Yeah, so we're on the air. Michael, what do you call your what do you call your program? Here I am your new friend, and I can't even announce your program because I don't know   Michael Hingson ** 07:48 the name, unstoppable mindset. This   Bill Ratner ** 07:51 is unstoppable mindset.   Michael Hingson ** 07:56 We're back. Well, we're back already. We're fast. So you, you, you moved off elsewhere, out of Des Moines and all that. And where did you go to college?   Bill Ratner ** 08:09 Well, this is like, why did you this is, this is a bit like talking about the Vietnam War. Looking back on my college career is like looking back on the Vietnam War series, a series of delusions and defeats. By the time I the time i for college, by the time I was applying for college, I was an orphan, orphan, having been born to fabulous parents who died too young of natural causes. So my grades in high school were my mediocre. I couldn't get into the Ivy Leagues. I got into the big 10 schools. My stepmother said, you're going to Michigan State in East Lansing because your cousin Eddie became a successful realtor. And Michigan State was known as mu u it was the most successful, largest agriculture college and university in the country. Kids from South Asia, China, Northern Europe, Southern Europe, South America all over the world came to Michigan State to study agricultural sciences, children of rich farmers all over the world and middle class farmers all over the world, and a huge police science department. Part of the campus was fenced off, and the young cadets, 1819, 20 years old, would practice on the rest of the student body, uniformed with hats and all right, excuse me, young man, we're just going to get some pizza at eight o'clock on Friday night. Stand against your car. Hands in your car. I said, Are you guys practicing again? Shut up and spread your legs. So that was that was Michigan State, and even though both my parents had master's degrees, I just found all the diversions available in the 1960s to be too interesting, and was not invited. Return after my sophomore year, and in order to flunk out of a big 10 University, and they're fine universities, all of them, you have to be either really determined or not so smart, not really capable of doing that level of study in undergraduate school. And I'd like to think that I was determined. I used to show up for my exams with a little blue book, and the only thing I would write is due to lack of knowledge, I am unable to complete this exam, sign Bill ranter and get up early and hand it in and go off. And so what was, what was left for a young man like that was the theater I'd seen the great Zero Mostel when I was 14 years old and on stage live, he looked just like my father, and he was funny, and if I Were a rich man, and that's the grade zero must tell. Yeah, and it took about five, no, it took about six, seven years to percolate inside my bread and my brain. In high school, I didn't want to do theater. The cheerleaders and guys who I had didn't happen to be friends with or doing theater. I took my girlfriends to see plays, but when I was 21 I started acting, and I've been an actor ever since. I'm a committee chair on the screen actors guild in Hollywood and Screen Actors Guild AFTRA, and work as a voice actor and collect my pensions and God bless the union.   Michael Hingson ** 11:44 Well, hey, as long as it works and you're making progress, you know you're still with it, right?   Bill Ratner ** 11:53 That's the that's the point. There's no accounting for taste in my business. Michael, you work for a few different broadcast entities at my age. And it's, you know, it's younger people. It's 18 to 3418 years to 34 years old is the ideal demographic for advertisers, Ford, Motor Company, Dove soap, Betty, Crocker, cake mixes and cereals, every conceivable product that sold online or sold on television and radio. This is my this is my meat, and I don't work for religion. However, if a religious organization calls, I call and say, I I'm not, not qualified or not have my divinity degree in order to sell your church to the public?   Michael Hingson ** 12:46 Yeah, yeah. Well, I, I can understand that. But you, you obviously do a lot, and as we talked about, you were Flint and GI Joe, which is kind of cool.   Bill Ratner ** 13:01 Flynn GI Joe was very cool. Hasbro Corporation, which was based in Providence, Rhode Island, had a huge success with GI Joe, the figure. The figure was about 11 and a half inches tall, like a Barbie, and was at first, was introduced to the public after the Korean War. There is a comic book that was that was also published about GI Joe. He was an individual figure. He was a figure, a sort of mythic cartoon figure during World War Two, GI Joe, generic American soldier, fighting man and but the Vietnam war dragged on for a long time, and the American buying public or buying kids toys got tired of GI Joe, got tired of a military figure in their household and stopped buying. And when Nixon ended the Vietnam War, or allotted to finish in 1974 Hasbro was in the tank. It's got its stock was cheap, and executives are getting nervous. And then came the Great George Lucas in Star Wars, who shrank all these action figures down from 11 and a half inches to three and a half inches, and went to China and had Chinese game and toy makers make Star Wars toys, and began to earn billions and billions dollars. And so Hasbro said, let's turn GI Joe into into a team. And the team began with flint and Lady J and Scarlett and Duke and Destro and cover commander, and grew to 85 different characters, because Hasbro and the toy maker partners could create 85 different sets of toys and action figures. So I was actor in this show and had a good time, and also a purveyor of a billion dollar industry of American toys. And the good news about these toys is I was at a conference where we signed autographs the voice actors, and we have supper with fans and so on. And I was sitting next to a 30 year old kid and his parents. And this kid was so knowledgeable about pop culture and every conceivable children's show and animated show that had ever been on the screen or on television. I turned to his mother and sort of being a wise acre, said, So ma'am, how do you feel about your 30 year old still playing with GI Joe action figures? And she said, Well, he and I both teach English in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania school system, and last year, the literacy level of my ninth graders was 50% 50% of those kids could not read in ninth grade. So I asked the principal if I could borrow my son's GI Joe, action figures, comic books and VHS tapes, recordings of the shows from TV. And he said, Sure, whatever you want to try. And so she did, and she played the video tapes, and these kids were thrilled. They'd never seen a GI Joe cartoon in class before. Passed out the comic books, let him read comics. And then she said, Okay, you guys. And passed out notebooks and pens and pencils, and said, I want you guys to make up some some shows, some GI Joe shows. And so they said, Yeah, we're ready. All right, Cobra, you better get into the barber shop, because the barber bill is no longer there and the fire engines are in the way. And wait a minute, there's a dog in the street. And so they're making this up, using their imagination, doing their schoolwork, by coming up with scenarios, imaginary fam fan fiction for GI Joe and she raised the literacy level in her classroom by 50% that year, by the end of that year, so, so that was the only story that I've ever heard about the sort of the efficacy of GI Joe, other than, you know, kids play with them. Do they? Are they shooting each other all the time? I certainly hope not. I hope not. Are they using the action figures? Do they strip their guns off and put them in a little, you know, stub over by the side and and have them do physical battle with each other, or have them hump the woods, or have them climb the stairs, or have them search the trees. Who knows what kids do? Same with same with girls and and Barbies. Barbie has been a source of fun and creativity for lots of girls, and the source of of worry and bother to a lot of parents as   Michael Hingson ** 17:54 well. Well, at the same time, though, when kids start to react and relate to some of these things. It's, it's pretty cool. I mean, look what's happened with the whole Harry Potter movement and craze. Harry Potter has probably done more in the last 20 or 25 years to promote reading for kids than most anything else, and   Bill Ratner ** 18:17 that's because it's such a good series of books. I read them to my daughters, yeah. And the quality of writing. She was a brilliant writer, not only just the stories and the storytelling, which is fun to watch in the movies, and you know, it's great for a parent to read. If there are any parents listening, I don't care how old your kids are. I don't care if they're 15. Offer to read to them. The 15 year old might, of course, say mom, but anybody younger than that might say either, all right, fine, which is, which means you better do it or read, read a book. To me, sure, it's fun for the parent, fun for the kid, and it makes the child a completely different kind of thinker and worker and earner.   Michael Hingson ** 19:05 Well, also the people who they got to read the books for the recordings Stephen Fry and in the US here, Jim Dale did such an incredible job as well. I've, I've read the whole Harry Potter series more than once, because I just enjoy them, and I enjoy listening to the the voices. They do such a good job. Yeah. And of course, for me, one of the interesting stories that I know about Jim Dale reading Harry Potter was since it was published by Scholastic he was actually scheduled to do a reading from one of the Harry from the new Harry Potter book that was coming out in 2001 on September 11, he was going to be at Scholastic reading. And of course, that didn't happen because of of everything that did occur. So I don't know whether I'm. I'm assuming at some point a little bit later, he did, but still he was scheduled to be there and read. But it they are there. They've done so much to help promote reading, and a lot of those kinds of cartoons and so on. Have done some of that, which is, which is pretty good. So it's good to, you know, to see that continue to happen. Well, so you've written several books on poetry and so on, and I know that you you've mentioned more than once grief and loss. How come those words keep coming up?   Bill Ratner ** 20:40 Well, I had an unusual childhood. Again. I mentioned earlier how, what a lucky kid I was. My parents were happy, educated, good people, not abusers. You know, I don't have a I don't have horror stories to tell about my mother or my father, until my mother grew sick with breast cancer and and it took about a year and a half or two years to die when I was seven years old. The good news is, because she was a sensitive, educated social worker, as she was actually dying, she arranged a death counseling session with me and my older brother and the Unitarian minister who was also a death counselor, and whom she was seeing to talk about, you know, what it was like to be dying of breast cancer with two young kids. And at this session, which was sort of surprised me, I was second grade, came home from school. In the living room was my mother and my brother looking a little nervous, and Dr Carl storm from the Unitarian Church, and she said, you know, Dr storm from church, but he's also my therapist. And we talk about my illness and how I feel, and we talk about how much I love you boys, and talk about how I worry about Daddy. And this is what one does when one is in crisis. That was a moment that was not traumatic for me. It's a moment I recalled hundreds of times, and one that has been a guiding light through my life. My mother's death was very difficult for my older brother, who was 13 who grew up in World War Two without without my father, it was just him and my mother when he was off in the Pacific fighting in World War Two. And then I was born after the war. And the loss of a mother in a family is like the bottom dropping out of a family. But luckily, my dad met a woman he worked with a highly placed advertising executive, which was unusual for a female in the 1950s and she became our stepmother a year later, and we had some very lovely, warm family years with her extended family and our extended family and all of us together until my brother got sick, came down with kidney disease a couple of years before kidney dialysis was invented, and a couple of years before kidney transplants were done, died at 19. Had been the captain of the swimming team at our high school, but did a year in college out in California and died on Halloween of 1960 my father was 51 years old. His eldest son had died. He had lost his wife six years earlier. He was working too hard in the advertising industry, successful man and dropped out of a heart attack 14th birthday. Gosh, I found him unconscious on the floor of our master bathroom in our house. So my life changed. I My life has taught me many, many things. It's taught me how the defense system works in trauma. It's taught me the resilience of a child. It's taught me the kindness of strangers. It's taught me the sadness of loss.   Michael Hingson ** 24:09 Well, you, you seem to come through all of it pretty well. Well, thank you. A question behind that, just an observation, but, but you do seem to, you know, obviously, cope with all of it and do pretty well. So you, you've always liked to be involved in acting and so on. How did you actually end up deciding to be a voice actor?   Bill Ratner ** 24:39 Well, my dad, after he was managing editor of Better Homes and Gardens magazine in Des Moines for Meredith publishing, got offered a fancy job as executive vice president of the flower and mix division for Campbell within advertising and later at General Mills Corporation. From Betty Crocker brand, and would bring me to work all the time, and would sit with me, and we'd watch the wonderful old westerns that were on prime time television, rawhide and Gunsmoke and the Virginian and sure   Michael Hingson ** 25:15 and all those. Yeah, during   Bill Ratner ** 25:17 the commercials, my father would make fun of the commercials. Oh, look at that guy. And number one, son, that's lousy acting. Number two, listen to that copy. It's the dumbest ad copy I've ever seen. The jingles and and then he would say, No, that's a good commercial, right there. And he wasn't always negative. He would he was just a good critic of advertising. So at a very young age, starting, you know, when we watch television, I think the first television ever, he bought us when I was five years old, I was around one of the most educated, active, funny, animated television critics I could hope to have in my life as a 56789, 1011, 12 year old. And so when I was 12, I became one of the founding members of the Brotherhood of radio stations with my friends John Waterhouse and John Barstow and Steve gray and Bill Connors in South Minneapolis. I named my five watt night kit am transmitter after my sixth grade teacher, Bob close this is wclo stereo radio. And when I was in sixth grade, I built myself a switch box, and I had a turntable and I had an intercom, and I wired my house for sound, as did all the other boys in the in the B, O, R, S, and that's brotherhood of radio stations. And we were guests on each other's shows, and we were obsessed, and we would go to the shopping malls whenever a local DJ was making an appearance and torture him and ask him dumb questions and listen obsessively to American am radio. And at the time for am radio, not FM like today, or internet on your little radio tuner, all the big old grandma and grandpa radios, the wooden ones, were AM, for amplitude modulated. You could get stations at night, once the sun went down and the later it got, the ionosphere would lift and the am radio signals would bounce higher and farther. And in Minneapolis, at age six and seven, I was able to to listen to stations out of Mexico and Texas and Chicago, and was absolutely fascinated with with what was being put out. And I would, I would switch my brother when I was about eight years old, gave me a transistor radio, which I hid under my bed covers. And at night, would turn on and listen for, who knows, hours at a time, and just tuning the dial and tuning the dial from country to rock and roll to hit parade to news to commercials to to agric agriculture reports to cow crossings in Kansas and grain harvesting and cheese making in Wisconsin, and on and on and on that made up the great medium of radio that was handing its power and its business over to television, just as I was growing As a child. Fast, fascinating transition   Michael Hingson ** 28:18 and well, but as it was transitioning, how did that affect you?   Bill Ratner ** 28:26 It made television the romantic, exciting, dynamic medium. It made radio seem a little limited and antiquated, and although I listened for environment and wasn't able to drag a television set under my covers. Yeah, and television became memorable with with everything from actual world war two battle footage being shown because there wasn't enough programming to 1930s Warner Brothers gangster movies with James Cagney, Edward G   Michael Hingson ** 29:01 Robinson and yeah   Bill Ratner ** 29:02 to all the sitcoms, Leave It to Beaver and television cartoons and on and on and on. And the most memorable elements to me were the personalities, and some of whom were invisible. Five years old, I was watching a Kids program after school, after kindergarten. We'll be back with more funny puppets, marionettes after this message and the first words that came on from an invisible voice of this D baritone voice, this commercial message will be 60 seconds long, Chrysler Dodge for 1954 blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And I watched hypnotized, hypnotized as a 1953 dodge drove across the screen with a happy family of four waving out the window. And at the end of the commercial, I ran into the kitchen said, Mom, mom, I know what a minute. Is, and it was said, it had suddenly come into my brain in one of those very rare and memorable moments in a person's life where your brain actually speaks to you in its own private language and says, Here is something very new and very true, that 60 seconds is in fact a minute. When someone says, See you in five minutes, they mean five times that, five times as long as that. Chrysler commercial, five times 60. That's 300 seconds. And she said, Did you learn it that that on T in kindergarten? And I said, No, I learned it from kangaroo Bob on TV, his announcer, oh, kangaroo Bob, no, but this guy was invisible. And so at five years of age, I was aware of the existence of the practice of the sound, of the magic of the seemingly unlimited access to facts, figures, products, brand names that these voices had and would say on the air in This sort of majestic, patriarchal way,   Michael Hingson ** 31:21 and just think 20 years later, then you had James Earl Jones,   Bill Ratner ** 31:26 the great dame. James Earl Jones, father was a star on stage at that time the 1950s James Earl Jones came of age in the 60s and became Broadway and off Broadway star.   Michael Hingson ** 31:38 I got to see him in Othello. He was playing Othello. What a powerful performance. It was   Bill Ratner ** 31:43 wonderful performer. Yeah, yeah. I got to see him as Big Daddy in Canada, Hot Tin Roof, ah, live and in person, he got front row seats for me and my family.   Michael Hingson ** 31:53 Yeah, we weren't in the front row, but we saw it. We saw it on on Broadway,   Bill Ratner ** 31:58 the closest I ever got to James Earl Jones. He and I had the same voice over agent, woman named Rita vinari of southern Barth and benare company. And I came into the agency to audition for Doritos, and I hear this magnificent voice coming from behind a closed voiceover booth, saying, with a with a Spanish accent, Doritos. I thought that's James Earl Jones. Why is he saying burritos? And he came out, and he bowed to me, nodded and smiled, and I said, hello and and the agent probably in the booth and shut the door. And she said, I said, that was James Earl Jones. What a voice. What she said, Oh, he's such a nice man. And she said, but I couldn't. I was too embarrassed. I was too afraid to stop him from saying, Doritos. And it turns out he didn't get the gig. So it is some other voice actor got it because he didn't say, had he said Doritos with the agent froze it froze up. That was as close as I ever got to did you get the gig? Oh goodness no,   Michael Hingson ** 33:01 no, you didn't, huh? Oh, well, well, yeah. I mean, it was a very, it was, it was wonderful. It was James Earl Jones and Christopher Plummer played Iago. Oh, goodness, oh, I know. What a what a combination. Well, so you, you did a lot of voiceover stuff. What did you do regarding radio moving forward? Or did you just go completely out of that and you were in TV? Or did you have any opportunity   Bill Ratner ** 33:33 for me to go back at age 15, my brother and father, who were big supporters of my radio. My dad would read my W, C, l, o, newsletter and need an initial, an excellent journalism son and my brother would bring his teenage friends up. He'd play the elderly brothers, man, you got an Elvis record, and I did. And you know, they were, they were big supporters for me as a 13 year old, but when I turned 14, and had lost my brother and my father, I lost my enthusiasm and put all of my radio equipment in a box intended to play with it later. Never, ever, ever did again. And when I was about 30 years old and I'd done years of acting in the theater, having a great time doing fun plays and small theaters in Minneapolis and South Dakota and and Oakland, California and San Francisco. I needed money, so I looked in the want ads and saw a job for telephone sales, and I thought, Well, I used to love the telephone. I used to make phony phone calls to people all the time. Used to call funeral homes. Hi Carson, funeral I help you. Yes, I'm calling to tell you that you have a you have a dark green slate tile. Roof, isn't that correct? Yes. Well, there's, there's a corpse on your roof. Lady for goodness sake, bring it down and we laugh and we record it and and so I thought, Well, gee, I used to have a lot of fun with the phone. And so I called the number of telephone sales and got hired to sell magazine subscriptions and dinner tickets to Union dinners and all kinds of things. And then I saw a new job at a radio station, suburban radio station out in Walnut Creek, California, a lovely Metro BART train ride. And so I got on the BART train, rode out there and walked in for the interview, and was told I was going to be selling small advertising packages on radio for the station on the phone. And so I called barber shops and beauty shops and gas stations in the area, and one guy picked up the phone and said, Wait a minute, wait a minute. Wait a minute. Are you on the radio right now? And I said, No, I'm just I'm in the sales room. Well, maybe you should be. And he slams the phone on me. He didn't want to talk to me anymore. It wasn't interested in buying advertising. I thought, gee. And I told somebody at the station, and they said, Well, you want to be in the radio? And he went, Yeah, I was on the radio when I was 13. And it just so happened that an older fellow was retiring from the 10am to 2pm slot. K I S King, kiss 99 and KD FM, Pittsburgh, California. And it was a beautiful music station. It was a music station. Remember, old enough will remember music that used to play in elevators that was like violin music, the Percy faith orchestra playing a Rolling Stone song here in the elevator. Yes, well, that's exactly what we played. And it would have been harder to get a job at the local rock stations because, you know, they were popular places. And so I applied for the job, and   Michael Hingson ** 37:06 could have lost your voice a lot sooner, and it would have been a lot harder if you had had to do Wolfman Jack. But that's another story.   Bill Ratner ** 37:13 Yeah, I used to listen to Wolf Man Jack. I worked in a studio in Hollywood. He became a studio. Yeah, big time.   Michael Hingson ** 37:22 Anyway, so you you got to work at the muzack station, got   Bill Ratner ** 37:27 to work at the muzack station, and I was moving to Los Angeles to go to a bigger market, to attempt to penetrate a bigger broadcast market. And one of the sales guys, a very nice guy named Ralph pizzella said, Well, when you get to La you should study with a friend of mine down to pie Troy, he teaches voiceovers. I said, What are voice overs? He said, You know that CVS Pharmacy commercial just carted up and did 75 tags, available in San Fernando, available in San Clemente, available in Los Angeles, available in Pasadena. And I said, Yeah. He said, Well, you didn't get paid any extra. You got paid your $165 a week. The guy who did that commercial for the ad agency got paid probably 300 bucks, plus extra for the tags, that's voiceovers. And I thought, why? There's an idea, what a concept. So he gave me the name and number of old friend acquaintance of his who he'd known in radio, named Don DiPietro, alias Johnny rabbit, who worked for the Dick Clark organization, had a big rock and roll station there. He'd come to LA was doing voiceovers and teaching voiceover classes in a little second story storefront out of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles. So I signed up for his class, and he was an experienced guy, and he liked me, and we all had fun, and I realized I was beginning to study like an actor at 1818, who goes to New York or goes to Los Angeles or Chicago or Atlanta or St Louis to act in the big theaters, and starts acting classes and realizes, oh my goodness, these people are truly professionals. I don't know how to do what they do. And so for six years, I took voice over classes, probably 4050, nights a year, and from disc jockeys, from ex show hosts, from actors, from animated cartoon voices, and put enough time in to get a degree in neurology in medical school. And worked my way up in radio in Los Angeles and had a morning show, a lovely show with a wonderful news man named Phil Reed, and we talked about things and reviewed movies and and played a lot of music. And then I realized, wait a minute, I'm earning three times the money in voiceovers as I am on the radio, and I have to get up at 430 in the morning to be on the radio. Uh, and a wonderful guy who was Johnny Carson's staff announcer named Jack angel said, You're not still on radio, are you? And I said, Well, yeah, I'm working in the morning. And Ka big, get out of there. Man, quit. Quit. And I thought, well, how can I quit? I've always wanted to be a radio announcer. And then there was another wonderful guy on the old am station, kmpc, sweet Dick Whittington. Whittington, right? And he said at a seminar that I went to at a union voice over training class, when you wake up at four in the morning and you swing your legs over the bed and your shoes hit the floor, and you put your head in your hands, and you say to yourself, I don't want to do this anymore. That's when you quit radio. Well, that hadn't happened to me. I was just getting up early to write some comedy segments and on and on and on, and then I was driving around town all day doing auditions and rented an ex girlfriend's second bedroom so that I could nap by myself during the day, when I had an hour in and I would as I would fall asleep, I'd picture myself every single day I'm in a dark voiceover studio, a microphone Is before me, a music stand is before the microphone, and on it is a piece of paper with advertising copy on it. On the other side of the large piece of glass of the recording booth are three individuals, my employers, I begin to read, and somehow the text leaps off the page, streams into my eyes, letter for letter, word for word, into a part of my back brain that I don't understand and can't describe. It is processed in my semi conscious mind with the help of voice over training and hope and faith, and comes out my mouth, goes into the microphone, is recorded in the digital recorder, and those three men, like little monkeys, lean forward and say, Wow, how do you do that? That was my daily creative visualization. Michael, that was my daily fantasy. And I had learned that from from Dale Carnegie, and I had learned that from Olympic athletes on NBC TV in the 60s and 70s, when the announcer would say, this young man you're seeing practicing his high jump is actually standing there. He's standing stationary, and the bouncing of the head is he's actually rehearsing in his mind running and running and leaping over the seven feet two inch bar and falling into the sawdust. And now he's doing it again, and you could just barely see the man nodding his head on camera at the exact rhythm that he would be running the 25 yards toward the high bar and leaping, and he raised his head up during the imaginary lead that he was visualizing, and then he actually jumped the seven foot two inches. That's how I learned about creative visualization from NBC sports on TV.   Michael Hingson ** 43:23 Channel Four in Los Angeles. There you go. Well, so you you broke into voice over, and that's what you did.   Bill Ratner ** 43:38 That's what I did, darn it, I ain't stopping now, there's a wonderful old actor named Bill Irwin. There two Bill Irwin's one is a younger actor in his 50s or 60s, a brilliant actor from Broadway to film and TV. There's an older William Irwin. They also named Bill Irwin, who's probably in his 90s now. And I went to a premiere of a film, and he was always showing up in these films as The senile stock broker who answers the phone upside down, or the senile board member who always asks inappropriate questions. And I went up to him and I said, you know, I see you in everything, man. I'm 85 years old. Some friends and associates of mine tell me I should slow down. I only got cast in movies and TV when I was 65 I ain't slowing down. If I tried to slow down at 85 I'd have to stop That's my philosophy. My hero is the great Don Pardo, the late great   Michael Hingson ** 44:42 for Saturday Night Live and Jeopardy   Bill Ratner ** 44:45 lives starring Bill Murray, Gilder Radner, and   Michael Hingson ** 44:49 he died for Jeopardy before that,   Bill Ratner ** 44:52 yeah, died at 92 with I picture him, whether it probably not, with a microphone and. His hand in his in his soundproof booth, in his in his garage, and I believe he lived in Arizona, although the show was aired and taped in New York, New York, right where he worked for for decades as a successful announcer. So that's the story.   Michael Hingson ** 45:16 Michael. Well, you know, I miss, very frankly, some of the the the days of radio back in the 60s and 70s and so on. We had, in LA what you mentioned, Dick Whittington, Dick whittinghill on kmpc, Gary Owens, you know, so many people who were such wonderful announcers and doing some wonderful things, and radio just isn't the same anymore. It's gone. It's   Bill Ratner ** 45:47 gone to Tiktok and YouTube. And the truth is, I'm not gonna whine about Tiktok or YouTube, because some of the most creative moments on camera are being done on Tiktok and YouTube by young quote influencers who hire themselves out to advertisers, everything from lipstick. You know,   Speaker 1 ** 46:09 when I went to a party last night was just wild and but this makeup look, watch me apply this lip remover and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, no, I have no lip.   Bill Ratner ** 46:20 You know, these are the people with the voices. These are the new voices. And then, of course, the faces. And so I would really advise before, before people who, in fact, use the internet. If you use the internet, you can't complain if you use the internet, if you go to Facebook or Instagram, or you get collect your email or Google, this or that, which most of us do, it's handy. You can't complain about tick tock, tick tock, tick tock. You can't complain about tick tock or YouTube, because it's what the younger generation is using, and it's what the younger generation advertisers and advertising executives and creators and musicians and actors are using to parade before us, as Gary Owens did, as Marlon Brando did, as Sarah Bernhardt did in the 19 so as all as you do, Michael, you're a parader. You're the head of the parade. You've been in on your own float for years. I read your your bio. I don't even know why you want to waste a minute talking to me for goodness sakes.   Michael Hingson ** 47:26 You know, the one thing about podcasts that I like over radio, and I did radio at kuci for seven years when I was in school, what I really like about podcasts is they're not and this is also would be true for Tiktok and YouTube. Primarily Tiktok, I would would say it isn't as structured. So if we don't finish in 60 minutes, and we finish in 61 minutes, no one's gonna shoot us.   Bill Ratner ** 47:53 Well, I beg to differ with you. Now. I'm gonna start a fight with you. Michael, yeah, we need conflict in this script. Is that it The Tick Tock is very structured. Six. No,   Michael Hingson ** 48:03 no, I understand that. I'm talking about podcasts,   Bill Ratner ** 48:07 though, but there's a problem. We gotta Tone It Up. We gotta pick it up. We gotta there's a lot of and I listen to what are otherwise really bright, wonderful personalities on screen, celebrities who have podcasts and the car sucks, and then I had meatballs for dinner, haha. And you know what my wife said? Why? You know? And there's just too much of that. And,   Michael Hingson ** 48:32 oh, I understand, yeah. I mean, it's like, like anything, but I'm just saying that's one of the reasons I love podcasting. So it's my way of continuing what I used to do in radio and having a lot of fun doing it   Bill Ratner ** 48:43 all right, let me ask you. Let me ask you a technical and editorial question. Let me ask you an artistic question. An artist, can you edit this podcast? Yeah. Are you? Do you plan to Nope.   Michael Hingson ** 48:56 I think conversations are conversations, but there is a but, I mean,   Bill Ratner ** 49:01 there have been starts and stops and I answer a question, and there's a long pause, and then, yeah, we can do you edit that stuff   Michael Hingson ** 49:08 out. We do, we do, edit some of that out. And I have somebody that that that does a lot of it, because I'm doing more podcasts, and also I travel and speak, but I can edit. There's a program called Reaper, which is really a very sophisticated   Bill Ratner ** 49:26 close up spaces. You   Michael Hingson ** 49:28 can close up spaces with it, yes, but the neat thing about Reaper is that somebody has written scripts to make it incredibly accessible for blind people using screen readers.   Bill Ratner ** 49:40 What does it do? What does it do? Give me the elevator pitch.   Michael Hingson ** 49:46 You've seen some of the the programs that people use, like computer vision and other things to do editing of videos and so on. Yeah.   Bill Ratner ** 49:55 Yeah. Even Apple. Apple edit. What is it called? Apple? Garage Band. No, that's audio. What's that   Michael Hingson ** 50:03 audio? Oh,   Bill Ratner ** 50:06 quick time is quick   Michael Hingson ** 50:07 time. But whether it's video or audio, the point is that Reaper allows me to do all of that. I can edit audio. I can insert, I can remove pauses. I can do anything with Reaper that anyone else can do editing audio, because it's been made completely accessible.   Bill Ratner ** 50:27 That's great. That's good. That's nice. Oh, it is. It's cool.   Michael Hingson ** 50:31 So so if I want, I can edit this and just have my questions and then silence when you're talking.   Bill Ratner ** 50:38 That might be best. Ladies and gentlemen, here's Bill Ratner,   Michael Hingson ** 50:46 yep, exactly, exactly. Now you have won the moth stories. Slam, what? Tell me about my story. Slam, you've won it nine times.   Bill Ratner ** 51:00 The Moth was started by a writer, a novelist who had lived in the South and moved to New York City, successful novelist named George Dawes green. And the inception of the moth, which many people listening are familiar with from the Moth Radio Hour. It was, I believe, either late 90s or early 2000s when he'd been in New York for a while and was was publishing as a fiction writer, and threw a party, and decided, instead of going to one of these dumb, boring parties or the same drinks being served and same cigarettes being smoked out in the veranda and the same orders. I'm going to ask people to bring a five minute story, a personal story, nature, a true story. You don't have to have one to get into the party, but I encourage you to. And so you know, the 3040, 50 people showed up, many of whom had stories, and they had a few drinks, and they had hors d'oeuvres. And then he said, Okay, ladies and gentlemen, take your seats. It's time for and then I picked names out of a hat, and person after person after person stood up in a very unusual setting, which was almost never done at parties. You How often do you see that happen? Suddenly, the room falls silent, and someone with permission being having been asked by the host to tell a personal story, some funny, some tragic, some complex, some embarrassing, some racy, some wild, some action filled. And afterward, the feedback he got from his friends was, this is the most amazing experience I've ever had in my life. And someone said, you need to do this. And he said, Well, you people left a lot of cigarette butts and beer cans around my apartment. And they said, well, let's do it at a coffee shop. Let's do it at a church basement. So slowly but surely, the moth storytelling, story slams, which were designed after the old poetry slams in the 50s and 60s, where they were judged contests like, like a dance contest. Everybody's familiar with dance contests? Well, there were, then came poetry contests with people singing and, you know, and singing and really energetically, really reading. There then came storytelling contests with people standing on a stage before a silent audience, telling a hopefully interesting, riveting story, beginning middle, end in five minutes. And so a coffee house was found. A monthly calendar was set up. Then came the internet. Then it was so popular standing room only that they had to open yet another and another, and today, some 20 years later, 20 some years later, from Austin, Texas to San Francisco, California to Minneapolis, Minnesota to New York City to Los Angeles. There are moth story slams available on online for you to schedule yourself to go live and in person at the moth.org as in the moth with wings. Friend of mine, I was in New York. He said, You can't believe it. This writer guy, a writer friend of mine who I had read, kind of an avant garde, strange, funny writer was was hosting something called the moth in New York, and we were texting each other. He said, Well, I want to go. The theme was show business. I was going to talk to my Uncle Bobby, who was the bell boy. And I Love Lucy. I'll tell a story. And I texted him that day. He said, Oh man, I'm so sorry. I had the day wrong. It's next week. Next week, I'm going to be back home. And so he said, Well, I think there's a moth in Los Angeles. So about 15 years ago, I searched it down and what? Went to a small Korean barbecue that had a tiny little stage that originally was for Korean musicians, and it was now being used for everything from stand up comedy to evenings of rock and roll to now moth storytelling once a month. And I think the theme was first time. And so I got up and told a silly story and didn't win first prize. They have judges that volunteer judges a table of three judges scoring, you like, at a swim meet or a track beat or, you know, and our gymnastics meet. So this is all sort of familiar territory for everybody, except it's storytelling and not high jumping or pull ups. And I kept going back. I was addicted to it. I would write a story and I'd memorize it, and I'd show up and try to make it four minutes and 50 seconds and try to make it sound like I was really telling a story and not reading from a script. And wish I wasn't, because I would throw the script away, and I knew the stories well enough. And then they created a radio show. And then I began to win slams and compete in the grand slams. And then I started submitting these 750 word, you know, two and a half page stories. Literary magazines got a few published and found a whole new way to spend my time and not make much   Michael Hingson ** 56:25 money. Then you went into poetry.   Bill Ratner ** 56:29 Then I got so bored with my prose writing that I took a poetry course from a wonderful guy in LA called Jack grapes, who had been an actor and a football player and come to Hollywood and did some TV, episodics and and some some episodic TV, and taught poetry. It was a poet in the schools, and I took his class of adults and got a poem published. And thought, wait a minute, these aren't even 750 words. They're like 75 words. I mean, you could write a 10,000 word poem if you want, but some people have, yeah, and it was complex, and there was so much to read and so much to learn and so much that was interesting and odd. And a daughter of a friend of mine is a poet, said, Mommy, are you going to read me one of those little word movies before I go to sleep?   Michael Hingson ** 57:23 A little word movie, word movie out of the   Bill Ratner ** 57:27 mouths of babes. Yeah, and so, so and I perform. You know, last night, I was in Orange County at a organization called ugly mug Cafe, and a bunch of us poets read from an anthology that was published, and we sold our books, and heard other young poets who were absolutely marvelous and and it's, you know, it's not for everybody, but it's one of the things I do.   Michael Hingson ** 57:54 Well, you sent me pictures of book covers, so they're going to be in the show notes. And I hope people will will go out and get them   Bill Ratner ** 58:01 cool. One of the one of the things that I did with poetry, in addition to wanting to get published and wanting to read before people, is wanting to see if there is a way. Because poetry was, was very satisfying, emotionally to me, intellectually very challenging and satisfying at times. And emotionally challenging and very satisfying at times, writing about things personal, writing about nature, writing about friends, writing about stories that I received some training from the National Association for poetry therapy. Poetry therapy is being used like art therapy, right? And have conducted some sessions and and participated in many and ended up working with eighth graders of kids who had lost someone to death in the past year of their lives. This is before covid in the public schools in Los Angeles. And so there's a lot of that kind of work that is being done by constable people, by writers, by poets, by playwrights,   Michael Hingson ** 59:09 and you became a grief counselor,   Bill Ratner ** 59:13 yes, and don't do that full time, because I do voiceovers full time, right? Write poetry and a grand. Am an active grandparent, but I do the occasional poetry session around around grief poetry.   Michael Hingson ** 59:31 So you're a grandparent, so you've had kids and all that. Yes, sir, well, that's is your wife still with us? Yes?   Bill Ratner ** 59:40 Oh, great, yeah, she's an artist and an art educator. Well, that   Michael Hingson ** 59:46 so the two of you can criticize each other's works, then, just   Bill Ratner ** 59:52 saying, we're actually pretty kind to each other. I Yeah, we have a lot of we have a lot of outside criticism. Them. So, yeah, you don't need to do it internally. We don't rely on it. What do you think of this although, although, more than occasionally, each of us will say, What do you think of this poem, honey? Or what do you think of this painting, honey? And my the favorite, favorite thing that my wife says that always thrills me and makes me very happy to be with her is, I'll come down and she's beginning a new work of a new piece of art for an exhibition somewhere. I'll say, what? Tell me about what's, what's going on with that, and she'll go, you know, I have no idea, but it'll tell me what to do.   Michael Hingson ** 1:00:33 Yeah, it's, it's like a lot of authors talk about the fact that their characters write the stories right, which, which makes a lot of sense. So with all that you've done, are you writing a memoir? By any chance, I   Bill Ratner ** 1:00:46 am writing a memoir, and writing has been interesting. I've been doing it for many years. I got it was my graduate thesis from University of California Riverside Palm Desert.   Michael Hingson ** 1:00:57 My wife was a UC Riverside graduate. Oh, hi. Well, they   Bill Ratner ** 1:01:01 have a low residency program where you go for 10 days in January, 10 days in June. The rest of it's online, which a lot of universities are doing, low residency programs for people who work and I got an MFA in creative writing nonfiction, had a book called parenting for the digital age, the truth about media's effect on children. And was halfway through it, the publisher liked it, but they said you got to double the length. So I went back to school to try to figure out how to double the length. And was was able to do it, and decided to move on to personal memoir and personal storytelling, such as goes on at the moth but a little more personal than that. Some of the material that I was reading in the memoir section of a bookstore was very, very personal and was very helpful to read about people who've gone through particular issues in their childhood. Mine not being physical abuse or sexual abuse, mine being death and loss, which is different. And so that became a focus of my graduate thesis, and many people were urging me to write a memoir. Someone said, you need to do a one man show. So I entered the Hollywood fringe and did a one man show and got good reviews and had a good time and did another one man show the next year and and so on. So But writing memoir as anybody knows, and they're probably listeners who are either taking memoir courses online or who may be actively writing memoirs or short memoir pieces, as everybody knows it, can put you through moods from absolutely ecstatic, oh my gosh, I got this done. I got this story told, and someone liked it, to oh my gosh, I'm so depressed I don't understand why. Oh, wait a minute, I was writing about such and such today. Yeah. So that's the challenge for the memoir is for the personal storyteller, it's also, you know, and it's more of a challenge than it is for the reader, unless it's bad writing and the reader can't stand that. For me as a reader, I'm fascinated by people's difficult stories, if they're well   Michael Hingson ** 1:03:24 told well, I know that when in 2002 I was advised to write a book about the World Trade Center experiences and all, and it took eight years to kind of pull it all together. And then I met a woman who actually I collaborated with, Susie Florey, and we wrote thunder dog. And her agent became my agent, who loved the proposal that we sent and actually got a contract within a week. So thunder dog came out in 2011 was a New York Times bestseller, and very blessed by that, and we're working toward the day that it will become a movie still, but it'll happen. And then I wrote a children's version of it, well, not a children's version of the book, but a children's book about me growing up in Roselle, growing up the guide dog who was with me in the World Trade Center, and that's been on Amazon. We self published it. Then last year, we published a new book called Live like a guide dog, which is all about controlling fear and teaching people lessons that I learned prior to September 11. That helped me focus and remain calm.   Bill Ratner ** 1:04:23 What happened to you on September 11,   Michael Hingson ** 1:04:27 I was in the World Trade Center. I worked on the 78th floor of Tower One.   Bill Ratner ** 1:04:32 And what happened? I mean, what happened to you?   Michael Hingson ** 1:04:36 Um, nothing that day. I mean, well, I got out. How did you get out? Down the stairs? That was the only way to go. So, so the real story is not doing it, but why it worked. And the real issue is that I spent a lot of time when I first went into the World Trade Center, learning all I could about what to do in an emergency, talking to police, port authorities. Security people, emergency preparedness people, and also just walking around the world trade center and learning the whole place, because I ran an office for a company, and I wasn't going to rely on someone else to, like, lead me around if we're going to go to lunch somewhere and take people out before we negotiated contracts. So I needed to know all of that, and I learned all I could, also realizing that if there ever was an emergency, I might be the only one in the office, or we might be in an area where people couldn't read the signs to know what to do anyway. And so I had to take the responsibility of learning all that, which I did. And then when the planes hit 18 floors above us on the other side of the building, we get we had some guests in the office. Got them out, and then another colleague, who was in from our corporate office, and I and my guide dog, Roselle, went to the stairs, and we started down. And   Bill Ratner ** 1:05:54 so, so what floor did the plane strike?   Michael Hingson ** 1:05:58 It struck and the NOR and the North Tower, between floors 93 and 99 so I just say 96 okay, and you were 20 floors down, 78 floors 78 so we were 18 floors below, and   Bill Ratner ** 1:06:09 at the moment of impact, what did you think?   Michael Hingson ** 1:06:13 Had no idea we heard a muffled kind of explosion, because the plane hit on the other side of the building, 18 floors above us. There was no way to know what was going on. Did you feel? Did you feel? Oh, the building literally tipped, probably about 20 feet. It kept tipping. And then we actually said goodbye to each other, and then the building came back upright. And then we went,   Bill Ratner ** 1:06:34 really you so you thought you were going to die?   Michael Hingson ** 1:06:38 David, my colleague who was with me, as I said, he was from our California office, and he was there to help with some seminars we were going to be doing. We actually were saying goodbye to each other because we thought we were about to take a 78 floor plunge to the street, when the building stopped tipping and it came back. Designed to do that by the architect. It was designed to do that, which is the point, the point.   Bill Ratner ** 1:07:02 Goodness, gracious. And then did you know how to get to the stairway?   Michael Hingson ** 1:07:04 Oh, absolutely. And did you do it with your friend? Yeah, the first thing we did, the first thing we did is I got him to get we had some guests, and I said, get him to the stairs. Don't let him take the elevators, because I knew he had seen fire above us, but that's all we knew. And but I said, don't take the elevators. Don't let them take elevators. Get them to the stairs and then come back and we'll leave. So he did all that, and then he came back, and we went to the stairs and started down.   Bill Ratner ** 1:07:33 Wow. Could you smell anything?   Michael Hingson ** 1:07:36 We smelled burning jet fuel fumes on the way down. And that's how we figured out an airplane must have hit the building, but we had no idea what happened. We didn't know what happened until the until both towers had collapsed, and I actually talked to my wife, and she's the one who told us how to aircraft have been crashed into the towers, one into the Pentagon, and a fourth, at that time, was still missing over Pennsylvania. Wow. So you'll have to go pick up a copy of thunder dog. Goodness. Good. Thunder dog. The name of the book is Thunder dog, and the book I wrote last year is called Live like a guide dog. It's le

Director Kelly Van Oosbree guest-hosts, plus an interview with ‘Shucked' actor Ryan Fitzgerald and the Top 10 Colorado Headliners What's the big deal if actors don't show up for an audition slot? Plenty, says Kelly Van Oosbree, who joins hosts Toni Tresca and Alex Miller to talk about that and all she's up to with shows at the Aurora Fox and Platte Valley Theatre Arts as well as her new role as artistic director at Performance Now Theatre Company.Later in the episode, Alex catches up with actor Ryan Fitzgerald — a graduate of the Denver School for the Arts now in the touring Broadway production of the musical comedy Shucked. After getting his start at Jester's Dinner Theatre in Longmont, Fitzgerald has been on the road for years, with an international tour of West Side Story and this tour of Shucked, which plays at the Denver Center Oct. 7-19 and ends next June in Las Vegas.Also in the episode we run down our list of the Top 10 Colorado Headliners — upcoming shows that might be worth checking out. This week's list, in no particular order:First Date, Vintage Theatre, Aurora, Sept. 29-Oct. 23The Vampire of Cripple Creek, The Butte Theater, Cripple Creek, Oct. 3-Nov. 2A Fine Monster You Are, Impossible Players, Pueblo, Oct. 3-18A Case for Black Girls Setting Central Park on Fire, Local Theater Company, Boulder, Oct. 2-25The Pumpkin Kid, Ballyhoo Table & Stage, Denver, Oct.     4-25Misery, Westcliffe Center for the Performing Arts, Oct. 3-12Dracula, Colorado Ballet, Denver, Oct. 3-12Hamlet, Merely Players, Durango, Oct. 3-12Alabama Story, Firehouse Theater at John Hand Theater,     Denver, Sept. 27-Oct. 26.Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Denver Center Theatre Company, Oct. 3-Nov. 2

This week Harrison will review "Cat on A Hot Tin Roof (1958)" starring Paul Newman, Elizabeth Taylor, and Burl Ives and directed by Richard Brooks#catonahottinroof #paulnewman #elizabethtaylor #richardbrooks #reelyoldmoviesJoin my Discord!: https://discord.gg/VWcP6ge2Donate to my Streamlab here: https://streamlabs.com/sl_id_ff883caf-a8d0-3d7b-980b-9557565e1fe3/tipSocial Media Links: https://linktr.ee/reelyoldmovies

Day 2 of the MLB draft wrapped up Monday, and now several Louisiana college ballplayers know where they'll be continuing their careers. Nine  LSU prospects were selected along with three from Tulane, and a handful more from Southern, Southeastern and Louisiana Tech – but some of the picks took baseball experts by surprise. Koki Riley covers LSU baseball for The Baton Rouge Advocate. He joined us to break down the selections. The Pulitzer-Prize winning drama, “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,” continues the  10th anniversary season at the Tennessee Williams Theatre Company. This production is complete with the seldom-produced original Broadway ending. Co-Artistic Directors Augustin Correro and Nick Shackleford give us the details behind this performance. A high-profile jailbreak in May drew nationwide attention to the lockup in Orleans Parish. But one research group says this isn't the first time the jail has had problems — and they might know why. The Gulf States Newsroom's Kat Stromquist spoke to Rebecca Mowbray with the Bureau of Governmental Research to learn more.___Today's episode of Louisiana Considered was hosted by Diane Mack. Our managing producer is Alana Schrieber. We get production and technical support from Garrett Pittman, Adam Vos and our assistant producer, Aubry Procell.You can listen to Louisiana Considered Monday through Friday at noon and 7 p.m. It's available on Spotify, Google Play and wherever you get your podcasts. Louisiana Considered wants to hear from you! Please fill out our pitch line to let us know what kinds of story ideas you have for our show. And while you're at it, fill out our listener survey! We want to keep bringing you the kinds of conversations you'd like to listen to.Louisiana Considered is made possible with support from our listeners. Thank you!

RNIB Connect Radio's Toby Davey is joined again by Vidar Hjardeng MBE, Inclusion and Diversity Consultant for ITV News across England, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Channel Islands for the next of his regular audio described theatre reviews for 2025. This week Vidar was reviewing the musical ‘Marie & Rosetta' at the Wolverhampton Grand Theatre which tells the story of the pairing of Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Marie Knight, one of the most remarkable and revolutionary duos in music history with description by professional Audio Describer Sue Reading. About ‘Marie & Rosetta'   Sister Rosetta Tharpe, the roof-raising ‘godmother of rock ‘n' roll', influenced countless musicians from Elvis to Johnny Cash. This sparkling, intimate portrait of Rosetta and her beloved singing partner, Marie Knight, restores these forgotten musical heroines to the spotlight as one of the most remarkable and revolutionary duos in music history. Mississippi, 1946. Sister Rosetta has changed the face of gospel music with her exuberant, electric guitar-playing style. Shunned by strait-laced church folk for performing in nightclubs and glorying in rhythm and blues, she's persuaded the saintly young singer Marie to join her on a tour of the segregated southern States. But first she has to convert Marie's pure Sunday sound into something that has just a little more swing… Written by George Brant & Directed by Monique Touko Sister Rosetta Tharpe, the roof-raising ‘godmother of rock ‘n' roll', influenced countless musicians from Elvis to Johnny Cash. This sparkling, intimate portrait of Rosetta and her beloved singing partner, Marie Knight, restores these forgotten musical heroines to the spotlight as one of the most remarkable and revolutionary duos in music history. Featuring a wealth of joyous rock and gospel hits including Didn't It Rain and Peace in the Valley, the show will feature live musicians accompanying Olivier Award-winning West End star Beverley Knight (Memphis, The Drifters Girl, Sylvia, Sister Act) as Rosetta Tharpe. Joining Beverley Knight is Ntombizodwa Ndlovu (Cat On a Hot Tin Roof, The Space Between Us, Mixtape, Nothing, and The Mountain Top – Royal Exchange Theatre), an up-and-coming talent making her London stage debut as Marie Knight, Rosetta's protege and musical partner. ‘Marie & Rosetta' will be at Chichester Festival Theatre from mid June to mid July and more details can be found by visiting - https://www.cft.org.uk For more about access at the Wolverhampton Grand Theatre do visit the access pages of their website - https://www.grandtheatre.co.uk/access/ (Image shows RNIB logo. 'RNIB' written in black capital letters over a white background and underlined with a bold pink line, with the words 'See differently' underneath)

The battle may be over, but the shadows haven't lifted yet. As the cult fleet retreats, a chase begins—leading our crew to the moon's dark side, where whispering crystals hide dangerous secrets. One wrong move, and something from beyond the stars is ready to strike...

Charlie is a native Pittsburgher and a proud graduate of Carnegie Mellon University, where he studied Acting. As an actor, select stage credits include the NY Public Theatre's “Shakespeare in the Park” (All's Well That Ends Well, Measure for Measure), the Pearl Theatre Company (Richard II), the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival (King Lear, The Three Musketeers, Romeo and Juliet, Love's Labour's Lost), The Shakespeare Theatre of DC (Richard II, Henry V, As You Like It, Mrs. Warren's Profession), Middlebury Actor's Workshop (Cat on a Hot Tin Roof), The Arts Center of Coastal Carolina (The Unexpected Guest), and Chautauqua Theatre Company (Much Ado About Nothing, Vaidehi, Ah, Wilderness!).  In 2015, Charlie co-founded Esperance Theater Company — a company that produced classical-based work here in NYC. With Esperance, Charlie produced and performed in 12th Night, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, and Breitwisch Farm. As a teacher, Charlie has been working with MTCA (Musical Theater College Auditions) for over 20 years, where he is now a Director of the company alongside Leo Ash Evens. Charlie has also taught for Texas State University, PACE University, The Performing Arts Project (TPAP), Broadway Dreams, the City University of New York, Carnegie Mellon's Pre-College program, and the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival. As a Teacher and Director, he is able to do two of his favorite things in life: help students to find their authentic selves as artists, and help them find their best fit in their collegiate journey. Charlie also hosts the “Mapping The College Audition” podcast, where he continues that work, and helps demystify this daunting audition process for listeners around the world. Charlie is also the proud father to a precocious toddler, partner to an amazing Tony-nominated + Grammy-winning Actress, and a humble Broadway Show League Softball MVP. Want to try our Broadway fitness program for free? ⁠⁠⁠www.builtforthestage.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Charlie is a native Pittsburgher and a proud graduate of Carnegie Mellon University, where he studied Acting. As an actor, select stage credits include the NY Public Theatre's “Shakespeare in the Park” (All's Well That Ends Well, Measure for Measure), the Pearl Theatre Company (Richard II), the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival (King Lear, The Three Musketeers, Romeo and Juliet, Love's Labour's Lost), The Shakespeare Theatre of DC (Richard II, Henry V, As You Like It, Mrs. Warren's Profession), Middlebury Actor's Workshop (Cat on a Hot Tin Roof), The Arts Center of Coastal Carolina (The Unexpected Guest), and Chautauqua Theatre Company (Much Ado About Nothing, Vaidehi, Ah, Wilderness!).  In 2015, Charlie co-founded Esperance Theater Company — a company that produced classical-based work here in NYC. With Esperance, Charlie produced and performed in 12th Night, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, and Breitwisch Farm. As a teacher, Charlie has been working with MTCA (Musical Theater College Auditions) for over 20 years, where he is now a Director of the company alongside Leo Ash Evens. Charlie has also taught for Texas State University, PACE University, The Performing Arts Project (TPAP), Broadway Dreams, the City University of New York, Carnegie Mellon's Pre-College program, and the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival. As a Teacher and Director, he is able to do two of his favorite things in life: help students to find their authentic selves as artists, and help them find their best fit in their collegiate journey. Charlie also hosts the “Mapping The College Audition” podcast, where he continues that work, and helps demystify this daunting audition process for listeners around the world. Charlie is also the proud father to a precocious toddler, partner to an amazing Tony-nominated + Grammy-winning Actress, and a humble Broadway Show League Softball MVP. Want to try our Broadway fitness program for free? ⁠⁠⁠www.builtforthestage.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

U Guys, star of the stage and screen, and cast member of the upcoming Broadway musical Just In Time, Emily Bergl is here! Emily Bergl is a true Broadway vet, having done eight Broadway shows, from classic works like Cat On a Hot Tin Roof, to playing opposite Sean Hayes in the critically acclaimed play Good Night, Oscar as June Levant. In this episode, we dive into her amazing career, as she shares about her experience as an actor both on the Broadway stage and in front of the camera on shows like The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Shameless, and Desperate Housewives. She touches on the importance of learning as you grow, and how her life has changed since becoming a mother. We talk about working alongside your idols, and how to cultivate longevity in a career in the arts. Emily is truly one of the best, U don't wanna miss this episode! Follow Emily on Instagram: @emilybergl Follow the pod on Instagram: @ohmypoduguys Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dana and Tom with 13x guest, Kieran B (Host and Creator of the Best Picture Cast; @bestpicturecast) discuss the adaptation of John Steinbeck's famous novel, The Grapes of Wrath (1940) for its 85th anniversary: directed by John Ford, written by Nunnally Johnson, ainematography by Gregg Toland, music by Alfred Newman, starring Henry Fonda, John Carradine, and Jane Darwell.Plot Summary: The Grapes of Wrath, directed by John Ford and based on John Steinbeck's novel, follows the Joad family, struggling to survive during the Great Depression. After being evicted from their Oklahoma farm, they journey west to California in search of work and a better life. Led by Tom Joad (Henry Fonda), the family faces hardship, exploitation, and disillusionment as they encounter the harsh realities of migrant labor. Despite suffering immense loss, their resilience endures, with Ma Joad (Jane Darwell) embodying the family's unwavering hope. The film is a poignant exploration of poverty, injustice, and the strength of the human spirit.Guest:Kieran B (10x Member Club)Host and Creator of the Best Picture Cast; @bestpicturecast on X, IG, Letterboxd - BPC, Letterboxd - PersonalPrevious Episodes: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1957), Lost in Translation (2003), Gran Torino (2008), Stalag 17 (1953), Shane (1953), A Fistful of Dollars (1964), The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) Revisit, 12 Angry Men (1957) Revisit, The Shawshank Redemption (1994) Revisit, Saw (2004), Up in the Air (2009), Bad Day at...

NEWS 00:00:00SickBaking and yard workNemeth Jr vs PunkSpeedball coming to AEW!Taskmaster Live!Q 00:33:50Weekly fantasy update! - first 5 star bonusONEY LORCONNECT RETURNSREVIEWS: 00:57:57Dynamite / CollisionPaul endures more WWE (Ricky Saints and Big Brother Dwayne)MOVIES 01:49:20The ApprenticeSeptember 5I'm Still HereAnora A Real PainTV 02:07:00Taskmaster s14SeveranceThe White LotusSeverance S2ParadiseShrinkingMy Wife and KidsGAMES 02:19:40Avowed

Episode 091: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof by Tennessee Williams Host: Douglas Schatz Guest: Arifa Akbar Welcome to The Play Podcast where we explore the greatest new and classic plays. Each episode we choose a single play to talk about in depth with our expert guest. We'll discuss the play's origins, its themes, characters, structure and impact. For us the play is the thing. Tennessee Williams's third great play Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is a blistering drama of family conflict and repressed sexuality. The play opened on Broadway in 1955 to rapturous reviews, and the film that followed with Elizabeth Taylor and Paul Newman was a box-office hit, despite its egregious watering down of the play's sexual trauma and family strife. As we record this episode a stunning new production of the play is on at the Almeida Theatre in London, and I am delighted to talk about this classic with Arifa Akbar, the Guardian newspaper's chief theatre critic.

Tyler discusses and reviews the Best picture winner Gigi as well as the best pic nominees, Auntie Mame, Seperate Tables, The Defiant Ones and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

Dana and Tom with frequent guest, Kieran B. (Host and Creator of the Best Picture Cast), discuss Bad Day at Black Rock (1955): directed by John Sturges, written by Millard Kaufman and John McGuire, music by Andre Previn, starring Spencer Tracy, Robert Ryan, Walter Brennan, Ernest Borgnine, and Lee Marvin.Plot Summary: In Bad Day at Black Rock, director John Sturges crafts a taut, sun-scorched thriller that unfolds with the precision of a coiled spring. When John J. Macreedy (Spencer Tracy), a stoic, one-armed stranger, arrives in a remote desert town, his quiet inquiries about a man named Komoko rattle the fragile veneer of its close-knit community. Suspicion and hostility mount as the town's residents, led by the menacing Reno Smith (Robert Ryan), close ranks to protect a dark secret buried beneath the dusty, desolate landscape.Guest:Kieran BHost and Creator of the Best Picture Cast; @bestpicturecast on X, IG, Letterboxd - BPC, Letterboxd - PersonalPrevious Episodes: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1957), Lost in Translation (2003), Gran Torino (2008), Stalag 17 (1953), Shane (1953), A Fistful of Dollars (1964), The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) Revisit, 12 Angry Men (1957) Revisit, The Shawshank Redemption (1994) Revisit, Saw (2004), Up in the Air (2009)Chapters:00:00 Introduction and Welcome to Kieran02:35 Cast and Recognition for Bad Day at Black Rock04:15 Relationship(s) with Bad Day at Black Rock10:09 What is Bad Day at Black Rock About?14:14 Is Historial Context Needed to Appreciate the Film?22:04 Plot Summary for Bad...

Megan is the founder of Glass Bottom Games, as the lead developer on SkateBIRD, Hot Tin Roof, Spartan Fist, and Jones on Fire. She's now working on BIRDahoy. Early in her career she was a programmer on LEGO Universe. Part 2 of 2. Music by Danny Baranowsky

Megan is the founder of Glass Bottom Games, as the lead developer on SkateBIRD, Hot Tin Roof, Spartan Fist, and Jones on Fire. She's now working on BIRDahoy. Early in her career she was a programmer on LEGO Universe. Part 1 of 2. Music by Danny Baranowsky

One of this month's hottest tickets in London is a new production of the Tennessee Williams play CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF at the Almeida Theatre. This new staging of the classic American play, directed by Rebecca Frecknall (Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club, A Streetcar Named Desire) stars Daisy Edgar-Jones as Maggie and Kingsley Ben-Adir as Brick. Check out this full review to find out what Mickey-Jo thought of the new production, and whether we might see it transfer to the West End... • 00:00 | introduction 01:43 | the play 10:01 | the production 19:20 | the performances • About Mickey-Jo: As one of the leading voices in theatre criticism on a social platform, Mickey-Jo is pioneering a new medium for a dwindling field. His YouTube channel: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠MickeyJoTheatre⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ is the largest worldwide in terms of dedicated theatre criticism, where he also share features, news and interviews as well as lifestyle content for over 60,000 subscribers. Since establishing himself as a theatre critic he has been able to work internationally. With a viewership that is largely split between the US and the UK he has been fortunate enough to be able to work with PR, Marketing, and Social Media representatives for shows in New York, London, Edinburgh, Hamburg, Toronto, Sao Pãolo, and Paris. He has also twice received accreditation from the world renowned Edinburgh Festival Fringe. His reviews and features have also been published by WhatsOnStage, for whom he was a panelist to help curate nominees for their 2023 and 2024 Awards as well as BroadwayWorldUK, Musicals Magazine and LondonTheatre.co.uk. He has been invited to speak to private tour groups, at the BEAM 2023 new musical theatre conference at Oxford Playhouse, and on a panel of critics at an event for young people considering a career in the arts courtesy of Go Live Theatre Projects. Instagram/TikTok/X: @MickeyJoTheatre

It's the rape trial that has shocked the world. Gisèle Pelicot's ex-husband Dominique was sentenced yesterday to 20 years in prison for her rape, alongside 50 other men. We hear Gisèle's own words, and Anita Rani was joined by the BBC's Andrew Harding who has covered the trial from the beginning, and French journalist and founder of The Women's Voices website Cynthia Illouz. Anne-Marie Duff joined Nuala McGovern to talk about her latest stage role in The Little Foxes at London's Young Vic Theatre. It's a family drama where she plays Regina Hubbard, an ambitious woman who is thwarted by her position in Alabama society in the early 1900s, where her less financially savvy brothers have the power and autonomy to run the family business. Anne-Marie discusses playing ruthless characters and the stage roles that place women front and centre.A recent report by the National Council for the Training of Journalists found that 91% of UK journalists come from white ethnic groups. This has increased by 3% since last year. Amid large numbers of job cuts within the sector, what can be done to help keep female black and minority ethnic journalists within the profession? Nuala was joined by Habiba Katsha, a freelance journalist considering an alternative career, and award-winning writer and journalist Afua Hirsch.Daisy Edgar-Jones and her co-star Paul Mescal rocketed into the public gaze in the BBC adaptation of Sally Rooney's novel Normal People. Following a couple of notable film performances Daisy is now on stage as the formidable, if unhappy, Maggie in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. She joined Anita Rani live in the Woman's Hour studio.Noel Streatfield's classic children's book Ballet Shoes was written in 1936, and had never been staged - until now. The National Theatre's production of Ballet Shoes is directed by Katy Rudd and tells the story of the three Fossil sisters, Pauline, Petrova and Posy, who were given their name because they were all “discovered” as babies on the travels of adventurer Great Uncle Matthew and then abandoned to his Great Niece Sylvia, or Garnie, played by Pearl Mackie. Anita was joined by Katy and Pearl to discuss this children's classic.Would you ask your friends to describe you in one word? Comedian Sophie Duker did. She joined Nuala to talk about their responses and how it influenced her new standup show, But Daddy, I Love Her.Presenter: Anita Rani Producer: Annette Wells Editor: Rebecca Myatt

Daisy Edgar-Jones and her co-star Paul Mescal rocketed into the public gaze in the BBC adaptation of Sally Rooney's novel Normal People. Following a couple of notable film performances Daisy is now on stage as the formidable, if unhappy, Maggie in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. She joins Anita Rani live in the Woman's Hour studio.It's the rape trial that has shocked the world. Gisèle Pelicot's ex-husband Dominique was sentenced yesterday to 20 years in prison for her rape, alongside 50 other men. We hear Gisèle's own words, from the BBC's Andrew Harding who has covered the trial from the beginning, and French journalist and founder of The Women's Voices website Cynthia Illouz. Anita then speaks to Dr Caroline Copeland, senior lecturer in pharmacology and toxicology at King's College London, about the term chemical submission, which has gained more recognition during the trial.Hundreds of women in labour are being diverted from their birth hospital of choice. Exclusive research done by the Health Service Journal found some were sent hundreds of miles from home to different hospital Trusts. The main reason was because of staff shortages or because midwifery teams lacked the right skill-mix for a delivery to be safe for the baby and the mother. Anita is joined by Health Service Journal Senior Correspondent Emily Townsend who carried out this investigation and Gill Walton, Chief Executive of the Royal College of Midwives, to discuss.Bryony Page, Olympic medallist and trailblazer for British gymnastics, made history at the Paris 2024 Olympics by winning Team GB's first ever trampoline gold. Known for her resilience and determination, she reflects with Anita on the achievements and challenges of her career, and shares her hopes for the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.

Boyd Hilton and Arifa Akbar join Tom to review: Better Man, the Robbie Williams biopic with a twist – he's depicted as a Monkey. Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, the Almeida theatre's new production of Tennesee Williams' play with Daisy Edgar-Jones and Kingsley Ben-Adir.And How to Make Millions before Grandma Dies, a new film from Thai director Pat Boonnitipat about family relationships, memories, death and inheritance. Presenter: Tom Sutcliffe Producer: Corinna Jones

What We've Been Watching - Sparkle: Breaker Morant available on Amazon Prime and MaxThe Big Heat available on CriterionHow the Grinch Stole Christmas available on PeacockA Very Merry Muppet Christmas available on PeacockMuppet Christmas: Letters to Santa available on Disney+Mississippi Masala available on Max and CriterionEvita available for rentalHot Frosty available on NetflixThe Christmas Toy available on Peacock Twin Peaks available on Paramount+Arcane available on NetflixDune: Prophecy available on MaxEvil available on Paramount+   Joel: They Drive By Night available on Max and CriterionThe Man Who Wasn't There available for rentalAnora available in theatersWicked available in theatersCat on a Hot Tin Roof available for rentalWaiting for John available on Kanopy Man on the Inside available on Netflix

Dana and Tom with returning 5x Club members Kieran B (Host and Creator of the Best Picture Cast) and Peterson W. Hill (Co-Host of the War Starts at Midnight podcast) discuss Up in the Air (2009) for its 15th anniversary: written and directed by Jason Reitman, with Sheldon Turner, music by Rolfe Kent, starring George Clooney, Vera Farmiga, Anna Kendrick, JK Simmons, and Zach Galifinakis.Plot Summary: Ryan Bingham (George Clooney) is a corporate downsizer who spends most of his life traveling for work, reveling in the freedom of a rootless existence. Obsessed with achieving a coveted ten-million-mile frequent flyer goal, Ryan avoids emotional entanglements and personal commitments. However, his carefully constructed life is disrupted when a young efficiency expert, Natalie Keener (Anna Kendrick), proposes a cost-cutting plan that could ground his lifestyle. Simultaneously, Ryan begins an unexpected relationship with fellow traveler Alex Goran (Vera Farmiga), forcing him to confront the emptiness of his transient life. Up in the Air is a poignant exploration of connection, loneliness, and the value of relationships in a disconnected world.Chapters:00:00 Introduction and Welcome to Our Guests07:58 Cast and Recognition for Up in the Air09:25 Relationship(s) with Up in the Air13:37 What is Up in the Air About?21:00 Why Isn't Up in the Air More Popular?28:42 Plot Summary for Up in the Air29:51 Did You Know?31:36 First Break35:39 What's Up with Kieran and Peterson42:27 Ask Dana Anything48:26 Best Performance(s)01:04:06 Best/Favorite/Most Indelible01:17:55 Second Break01:18:36 In Memoriam01:20:56 Best/Funniest Lines01:26:20 The Stanley Rubric - Legacy01:35:02 The Stanley Rubric - Impact/Significance01:42:47 The Stanley Rubric - Novelty01:51:50 The Stanley Rubric - Classicness01:57:05 The Stanley Rubric - Rewatchability02:04:30 The Stanley Rubric - Audience Score and Final Total02:06:08 Remaining Questions02:23:07 Thank Yous to Our Guests and Final Thoughts02:28:24 CreditsGuests:Kieran BHost and Creator of the Best Picture Cast; @bestpicturecast on X, IG, Letterboxd - BPC, Letterboxd - PersonalPrevious Episodes: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1957), Lost in Translation (2003), Gran Torino (2008), Stalag 17 (1953), Shane (1953),

Dana and Tom with returning guests Kieran B (Host and Creator of the Best Picture Cast) and Jaylan Salah Salman (Film Critic for In Session Film, Geek Vibes Nation, and Keith Loves Movies) discuss the horror film Saw (2004) for its 20th anniversary: directed by James Wan, written by Leigh Whannell, music by Charlie Clouser, starring Cary Elwes, Danny Glover, and Ken Leung.Plot Summary: Saw is a horror film that takes a grim pleasure in its own sadism, positioning itself as both a grisly thriller and a twisted morality tale. At its core, the movie revolves around two men, Adam and Dr. Lawrence Gordon, who wake up in a dingy bathroom, chained to opposite sides of the room. They soon discover they are the latest victims of a deranged figure known as Jigsaw, a serial killer with a perverse mission: he doesn't just murder his victims—he forces them into life-or-death games where survival is determined by how far they are willing to go to save themselves.Director James Wan revels in pushing the audience's discomfort, presenting a relentless series of traps that are as much about mental anguish as physical pain. The characters' desperation is palpable, yet their choices feel less like genuine human decisions and more like pawns being moved by the screenwriter's hand. The result is a film that thrives on tension and shock but leaves little room for reflection.Chapters:00:00 Introduction to the Podcast and Guests02:47 Cast and Recognition for Saw04:54 Relationship(s) with Saw12:00 What is Saw About?20:45 Why Do People Like Horror Movies?28:37 Are There Any Good Horror Sequels?32:23 Plot Summary for Saw34:06 Did You Know?35:17 First Break36:10 What's Happening with Kieran and Jaylan39:46 Ask Dana Anything51:12 Best Performance(s)01:02:36 Best/Favorite/Indelible Scene(s)01:09:42 Second Break01:10:41 In Memoriam01:14:58 Tom Rant01:16:46 Best/Funniest Lines01:20:23 The Stanley Rubric - Legacy01:30:38 The Stanley Rubric - Impact/Significance01:38:05 The Stanley Rubric - Novelty01:41:58 The Stanley Rubric - Classicness01:50:48 The Stanley Rubric - Rewatchability01:57:43 The Stanley Rubric - Audience Score and Final Total02:00:18 Remaining Questions for Saw02:10:10 Thank You to Our Guests and Final ThoughtsGuests:Kieran BHost and Creator of the Best Picture Cast; @bestpicturecast on X, IG, LetterboxdPrevious Episodes: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1957), Lost in Translation (2003),

Dana and Tom with returning guest, Kieran B (host, Best Picture Cast) revisit The Shawshank Redemption (1994): written and directed by Frank Darabont, score by Thomas Newman, cinematography by Roger Deakins, starring Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman, Bob Gunton, and Clancy Brown.Plot Summary: In the somber corridors of Shawshank Prison, where hope is a rare commodity and despair is a constant companion, Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins), a quiet and introspective banker, finds himself wrongfully convicted of the brutal murder of his wife and her lover. Sentenced to life in the unforgiving confines of Shawshank, he is thrust into a world where the human spirit is tested daily.Andy's journey is one of quiet resilience and unyielding hope. He befriends Ellis “Red” Redding (Morgan Freeman), a seasoned inmate known for his ability to procure contraband. Through Red's eyes, we witness Andy's transformation from a man broken by circumstance to a beacon of hope for his fellow prisoners. Andy's ingenuity and determination lead him to uncover the corrupt practices of the prison warden, using his financial acumen to expose the rot within Shawshank's walls.In the end, Andy's journey is not just a tale of escape, but a testament to the enduring power of hope and friendship. His story delves into the depths of human suffering and emerges with a profound sense of resilience and triumph.Guest: Kieran BHost and Creator of the Best Picture Cast; @bestpicturecast on X, IG, LetterboxdPrevious Episodes: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1957), Lost in Translation (2003), Gran Torino (2008), Stalag 17 (1953), Shane (1953), A Fistful of Dollars (1964), The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) Revisit, and 12 Angry Men (1957) Revisit.Chapters:00:00 Introduction and Guest Introductions03:59 Cast and Recognition for The Shawshank Redemption10:17 Relationship(s) to The Shawshank Redemption16:53 What is The Shawshank Redemption About?19:07 Why is The Shawshank Redemption so Universal?23:54 Is The Shawshank Redemption the Best Film of 1994?26:25 Plot Summary for The Shawshank Redemption28:19 Did You Know?29:49 First Break30:29 What's Up With the BPC?34:09 Ask...

"From Steel Pulse to Wu-Tang: A Festival of Musical Diversity"Larry Mishkin discusses a review of various experiences and performances, starting with a cannabis event called "Miracle in Mundelein," which took place over the past weekend. The main focus of the review is a discussion of a Grateful Dead show from September 9, 1987, at the Providence Civic Center in Rhode Island. The show was notable for being the second night of a three-show run, marking the opening of the Grateful Dead's 1987 East Coast fall tour.Key highlights include:"Hey Pocky Way" Performance: This was the first time the Grateful Dead performed the song "Hey Pocky Way," which is originally by the Meters, a New Orleans funk band. The song became a fan favorite, primarily due to the influence of Brent Mydland, the band's keyboardist. However, the song fell out of rotation after Brent's death in 1990."Jack Straw" Performance: Another song featured was "Jack Straw," a Grateful Dead classic written by Bob Weir and Robert Hunter. It was originally performed in 1971 and became a staple in the band's setlists. The song was performed in the second spot of the setlist during the 1987 show, indicating the band's tendency to feature it early in their concerts.Music News Segment: The transcript also includes a segment on music news, which starts with a brief history of the band Cheap Trick, particularly their song "I Want You to Want Me."Review of the Miracle in Mundelein Festival: The review shifts to discussing the recent "Miracle in Mundelein" festival, where several acts performed:Steel Pulse: A roots reggae band from Birmingham, England, who delivered a lively and energetic performance.The Soul Rebels: A New Orleans brass band known for their energetic live shows and collaborations with major artists. Their set featured Raekwon and GZA from the Wu-Tang Clan, adding a strong hip-hop element to the performance.Wiz Khalifa: The headliner of the event, Wiz Khalifa, is praised for his stage presence and connection with the audience. The review notes his strong advocacy for cannabis and how his music resonated well with the crowd.Overall, the review captures the blend of nostalgia with the Grateful Dead's classic performances and the fresh, dynamic energy of the Miracle in Mundelein festival, highlighting both the music and the culture of cannabis.https://www.cheaptrick.com/ Grateful DeadSeptember 9, 1987 (37 years ago)Providence Civic CenterProvidence, Rhode IslandGrateful Dead Live at Providence Civic Center on 1987-09-09 : Free Borrow & Streaming : Internet Archive Second night of a three show run, the opening shows of 1987 East Cost fall tour.  INTRO:                                 Hey Pocky Way                                                Track #1                                                :35 – 2:03 First time ever played Hey Pocky Way was written by George Porter Jr., Leo Nocentelli, Art Neville & Joseph Modeliste, founding members of The Meters, an American funk band formed in 1965 in New Orleans by Modeliste (drums), Porter Jr. (bass), Nocentelli (guitar) and Neville (keyboards). The band performed and recorded their own music from the late 1960s until 1977 and played an influential role as backing musicians for other artists, including Lee Dorsey, Robert Palmer, Dr. John, and Allen Toussaint. Song was released on Rejuvenation the band's fifth studio album in 1974. In 2003, the album was ranked number 138 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time,[6] and 139 in a 2012 revised list. Beginning with this show, the Dead began to feature Hey Pocky Way, usually as a show opener.  Sung by Brent who really got into it with both his keyboard playing and strong singing, it  became a fan favorite.  But as a Brent influenced tune, it died when he did. Played:  25 timesFirst:  September 9, 1987 at Providence Civic Center, Providence, RI, USALast: July 22, 1990 at World Music Theatre, Tinley Park, IL, USA (Brent's second to last show)  SHOW No. 1:                    Jack Straw                                                Track #2                                                4:00 – 5:50 "Jack Straw"  written by Bob Weir and Robert Hunter. The track first appeared on the album Europe '72. The song was first performed in concert on October 19, 1971, in Minneapolis, Minnesota at new keyboardist Keith Godchaux's first appearance with the band. In the song's earliest performances (c. 1971–72), Weir sang all of the vocals. By the time the 'Europe 72' version was recorded, (at the Olympia Theater in Paris on 5-03-72), Weir and Jerry Garcia were switching up the vocals - as they had on April 26th when 'Hundred Year Hall' was recorded. The song appeared in both the first and second sets until the band's short hiatus in 1974-1975. After re-forming, the song almost exclusively appeared in the first set. After Brent Mydland joined the band in 1979, the song almost exclusively opened the band's first set. The band also often extended the jam after the second verse after Mydland's joining, often extending the song to over six minutes. Dead and Company have also further extended the song, often adding an abstract opening jam prior to the song's first verse.[1] Bob Weir stated in a 2004 interview that the song's lyrics were partly based on John Steinbeck's novel Of Mice and Men.[2] The song's themes include riding the rails, the Great Depression, and hobo (homeless) camps of the era. Jack Straw is also—perhaps coincidentally—the name of the original plantation owner, who lived controversially with his gay lover, Peter Ochello, in Tennessee Williams's play Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.[3] Always a great song to hear in concert, the fans loved it and it was always an omen of good things to come in the show. Played:  477 timesFirst:  October 19, 1971 at Northrop Auditorium, Minneapolis, MN, USALast:  July 8, 1995 at Soldier Field in Chicago MUSIC NEWS Miracle In Mundelein – second year of the festival in Mundelein a suburb northwest of Chicago.  Missed last year with JRAD but made it this year on Saturday with my sons Jonathan and Daniel, Jonathan's fiancé, Bella and Daniel's buddy AJ.  Different theme to this year's music focusing on hip hop and rap, not part of my regular music, but certainly a key genre for Daniel and AJ who filled me on details during the show. Acts:Steel Pulse - Steel Pulse are a roots reggae band from the Handsworth area of Birmingham, England. They originally formed at Handsworth Wood Boys School, and were composed of David Hinds (lead vocals, guitar), Basil Gabbidon (lead guitar, vocals), and Ronald McQueen (bass); along with Basil's brother Colin briefly on drums and Mykaell Riley (vocals, percussion). Steel Pulse were the first non-Jamaican act to win the Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album. They were initially refused live dates in Caribbean venues in Birmingham due to their Rastafarian beliefs. During the popularization of punk rock in the mid-1970's, Steel Pulse began to play punk venues such as the Hope and Anchor in London and The Electric Circus in Manchester in 1976.[1] Aligning themselves closely with the Rock Against Racism organization and featuring in its first music festival in early 1978, they chose to tour with sympathetic elements of the punk movement,[1] including the Stranglers and XTC. Eventually they found a more natural home in support slots for Burning Spear, which brought them to the attention of Island Records. Fun set that was in progress when we arrived, great sound and lots of energy that kept the crowd moving. The Soul Rebels - The Soul Rebels (also Soul Rebels Brass Band, Soul Rebels or The Rebels) are an eight-piece New Orleans based brass ensemble that incorporate elements of soul, jazz, funk, hip-hop, rock and pop music within a contemporary brass band framework.  Starting out as a local New Orleans favorite, The Soul Rebels have evolved into collaborating live with major artists in all worlds of music including:Katy PerryNasMetallicaGreen DayTrombone ShortyProdigyString Cheese IncidentUmphrey's McGeeGalacticSuzanne VegaEurythmicsLettuceGov't Mule                                               And many more The band has built its career around an eclectic live show that harnesses the power of horns and percussion in a funky party-like atmosphere. The band routinely plays over 250 shows a year. They have been described by the Village Voice as "the missing link between Public Enemy and Louis Armstrong.  The Soul Rebels consist of percussionists and founding members Lumar LeBlanc and Derrick Moss, trumpet players Julian Gosin and Marcus Hubbard, trombonists Corey Peyton and Paul Robertson, saxophonist Erion Williams, and sousaphonist Manuel Perkins Jr.                                                 On Saturday, they featured Raekwon and GZA from Wu Tang Clan.                                      RAEKWON - Corey Woods[2] (born January 12, 1970),[3][4] better known by his stage name Raekwon (/reɪˈkwɒn/, ray-KWON), is an American rapper. He rose to prominence as a founding member of the hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan, which achieved mainstream success following the release of their debut album, Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), in 1993. Raekwon would subsequently pursue a solo career, releasing his first solo album, entitled Only Built 4 Cuban Linx..., in 1995. The album received critical acclaim, and is regarded by many critics as one of the greatest hip-hop albums of all time, as well as a staple of 1990s rap.                                     Raekwon attributes the name Raekwon to the Five-Percent Nation, an offshoot of the Nation of Islam, when he was a "young kid."[11] He converted to Islam in 2009.                                     Growing up, he witnessed his mother being hit and abused by different men, an experience which he said "affected [him] a lot."[10] As a young man, his mother kicked him out of their Park Hill home when Raekwon got into an argument with her boyfriend and his mother sided with the boyfriend. During this time, he spiraled into a pattern of hopelessness and violent behavior.[8] He became addicted to cocaine and crack cocaine until he became aware of how the crack epidemic was affecting those around him, at which point "it was an automatic stop."[10]Raekwon and rap partner Ghostface Killah attended junior high school together on Staten Island.[14] Raekwon attended New Dorp High School, where he befriended rappers Remedy, Method Man and Inspectah Deck.[15]             Woods first rapped as Sha Raider. In 1992, he joined the Wu-Tang Clan, an originally nine-member rap group drawing mainly from the Staten Island but also from the Brooklyn boroughs of New York City. He rapped as Raekwon The Chef, and also used the aliases Lex Diamonds, Shallah Raekwon, and Louis Rich. After being caught in a crossfire and accidentally shot four times, Raekwon began rapping in earnest. He later described being shot as an "important eye opener." In September 2009, MTV ranked Raekwon tenth among "hottest" rappers. In December, HipHopDx's 2009 awards named Only Built For Cuban Linx... Pt. II album of the year, calling it "the Hip Hop equivalent to The Godfather 2, with Rae as revitalized as Marlon was". Raekwon won Emcee of the Year—the prior year, Nas won—while HipHopDX staff explained, Raekwon brought it back to lyrical, dope rap. He released an album that spoke to teens, twenty-somethings, thirty-somethings, and beyond. Without compromising, the Chef made an edgy Hip Hop record that refused to bastardize the catalog he laid down 15 years ago. On top of that, Rae (along with Ghostface) was a go-to for numerous rappers making albums, ranging from the Playaz Circle to Jadakiss to BK One. That's beyond real, as was a year filled with performing in arenas, clubs and even churches. When it came to mastering the ceremony, Rae had 'em all following the leader.[28]— HipHopDX GZA - Gary Eldridge Grice[2] (born August 22, 1966), better known by his stage names GZA (/ˈdʒɪzə/JIZ-ə) and The Genius,[3] is an American rapper. A founding member of the hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan, GZA is the group's "spiritual head", being both the first member in the group to receive a record deal and being the oldest member.[4] He has appeared on his fellow Wu-Tang members' solo projects, and has maintained a successful solo career starting with his second album Liquid Swords (1995). His lyrical style often dismisses typical rap story lines in favor of science and wide-ranging philosophies and has been characterized as "armed with sharp metaphors and a smooth flow".[5][6][7][8] An analysis of GZA's lyrics found that he has the second largest vocabulary in popular hip hop music.[9][10] He teamed up with an education group to promote science education in New York City through hip hop. In 1992, GZA joined the Wu-Tang Clan, a group of nine, formed by his cousin RZA. GZA had some high-profile appearances on the group's debut album, Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) (1993), including a solo track, "Clan in da Front".[22] This, combined with appearances on other Clan members' albums such as Return to the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version (1995) and Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... (1995) brought him much recognition. According to Method Man, "we form like Voltron and GZA happens to be the head".                         The combination of the Soul Rebels beat and Raekwon's and GZA's rapping made for an exceptional set of music that caught me off guard but was worth the price of admission.  With lots of cannabis references scattered throughout their lyrics and stage talk, they were a perfect match for this festival. Wiz Khalifa - Cameron Jibril Thomaz (born September 8, 1987),[2] better known by his stage name Wiz Khalifa, is an American rapper from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He signed with the local independent label Rostrum Records to release his debut studio album, Show and Prove (2006). His contract entered a short-lived joint venture with Warner Bros. Records the following year. His Eurodance-influenced 2008 single, "Say Yeah" received urban radio airplay and entered both the Rhythmic Top 40 and Hot Rap Songs charts, becoming his first minor hit.[3] Outside of music, Thomaz has delved into acting with television roles in Dickinson and The Eric Andre Show, the lead role alongside Snoop Dogg in the 2012 stoner comedy film Mac & Devin Go to High School, and voice roles in the animated series American Dad!, Duncanville, and Big City Greens. Thomaz founded the record label Taylor Gang Entertainment in 2008, through which he has signed artists including Juicy J, Ty Dolla Sign, and Berner. Known for his abundant usage of cannabis, Thomaz launched his own cannabis brand, Khalifa Kush, in 2016, which expanded for release in nationwide dispensaries in 2022. His stage name is derived from Khalifa, an Arabic word meaning "successor", and wisdom, which was shortened to Wiz when Khalifa was a young boy.[10] Khalifa stated to Spinner.com that the name also came from being called "young Wiz 'cause I was good at everything I did, and my granddad is Muslim, so he gave me that name; he felt like that's what I was doing with my music." He got a tattoo of his stage name on his 17th birthday.[11][12] By the age of 15, he was regularly recording his music at a local studio called I.D. Labs.[13] Impressed by the young teen's talent, E. Dan, the owner of the studio offered Khalifa an intern job at the studio in exchange for free recording time. Dan, being a veteran of the Pittsburgh hip-hop scene, would help develop and mentor the young artist early on in his career. He was the headliner and lived up to the billing.  Great tunes, great stage presence, great spokesperson for cannabis.  My first experience with his music and it was very positive. A great musical education for me with my tutors, Daniel and AJ. More in MJ News  Herbie Flowers  RIPJerry Miller  RIPGoose this week at the Salt Shed, Thursday and Friday   SHOW No. 2:                    Greatest Story Ever Told                                                Track #9                                                3:25 – end                                                 INTO                                                 Devil With a Blue Dress                                                Track #10                                                0:00 – 1:33 Greatest Story – written by Hunter/Bobby/Mickey, originally called “The Pump Song” on Mickey Hart's 1972 album Rolling Thunder.  As the opening tune of Ace, it is called Greatest Story Ever Told.  But this isn't about that song.  Here, it is the lead-in to a first set couple of “extras” thrown in for some fun. "Devil with a Blue Dress On" (also known as "Devil with the Blue Dress") is a song written by Shorty Long and William "Mickey" Stevenson, first performed by Long and released as a single in 1964. A later version recorded by Mitch Ryder and The Detroit Wheels in 1966 peaked at No. 4 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.  "Devil with the Blue Dress" was originally released as Shorty Long's debut single on Motown in 1964, but the single failed to chart. The song describes a femme fatale in a blue dress and not an actual devil.[2] Two years later, Mitch Ryder and The Detroit Wheels recorded the song at Bell Sound Studios in New York City[3] as a medley with an original arrangement of Little Richard's "Good Golly, Miss Molly". Their version, released on their album, “Breakout . . . . !”,  was notably more up-tempo than Long's more blues-influenced rendition.[2] Reaching No. 4 on the Hot 100, their version of the track would end up becoming their most well-known and highest charting hit in the United States. Rolling Stone Magazine ranked it No. 428 on their list of Top 500 Songs of All Time. Basically, another great cover to showcase Brent's singing and keyboard skills.  This was the first of 3 times the Dead covered the song.  Another fun diversion by the band that kept the Deadheads guessing and not wanting to ever miss a show. The transition out of Greatest Story is seamless and makes it so you can't hear the end of Greatest Story without hearing the signature beat of Devil making it a “natural” fit. Played – 3 timesFirst:  September 9, 1987 at Providence Civic Center, Providence, RI, USALast:  October 4, 1987 at Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View, CA, USA  SHOW No. 3:                    Good Golly Miss Molly                                                Track #11                                                0:00 – end                                                 INTO                                                 Devil With a Blue Dress                                                Track #12                                                0:00 – 0:51"Good Golly, Miss Molly" is a rock 'n' roll song first recorded in 1956 by American musician Little Richard and released in January 1958 as single on the Specialty label, and later on the album, Little Richard in July 1958.[1] The song, a jump blues, was written by John Marascalco and producer Robert "Bumps" Blackwell. Although it was first recorded by Little Richard, Blackwell produced another version by the Valiants, who imitated the fast first version recorded by Little Richard, not released at that time. Although the Valiants' version was released first (in 1957), Little Richard had the hit, reaching No. 4.[2] Like all his early hits, it quickly became a rock 'n' roll standard and has subsequently been recorded by hundreds of artists. The song is ranked No. 92 on the Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. Little Richard first heard the phrase "Good golly, Miss Molly" from a Southern DJ named Jimmy Pennick.[4] He modified the lyrics into the more suggestive "Good golly, Miss Molly/You sure like to ball." Little Richard himself later claimed that he took Ike Turner's piano intro from his influential 1951 rock and roll song "Rocket 88", and used it for "Good Golly, Miss Molly".[5] "I always liked that record," Richard recalled, "and I used to use the riff in my act, so when we were looking for a lead-in to 'Good Golly, Miss Molly', I did that and it fit." In 1966, Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels incorporated "Good Golly Miss Molly" into their version of "Devil with a Blue Dress On". Their version scored a major hit, not only in Ryder's native Detroit, but nationwide, placing at No. 4 on the Billboard Top 100. As with Devil, a Brent thing.  Unfortunately, it was only around for a month.  Then vanished from the Dead's playlist thereafter.  Played:  3 times, makes senseFirst:  September 9, 1987 at Providence Civic Center, Providence, RI, USALast:  October 4, 1987 at Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View, CA, USA  MJ NEWS:             Miracle in Mudelein – a great event sponsored by Rise Dispensaries and Rhythm cultivators.  Second year, featuring great music, excellent food and drink and too many booths for dabbing from various types of rigs including a Studenglass Gravity Bong – my first time using one and it is not your father's four foot Graffix bong!  Daniel and AJ were all over it and as it turned out, the wait in line was well worth the experience.  Rather than try to explain it to you, just Google Gravity Bong and see for yourself!  Great high.             Miracle is that Lake County, a more conservative leaning county, and Mundelein permitted the event.  Attendees can bring in their own flower or extracts (supposedly only if purchased at an Illinois dispensary), smoking accessories, etc.  Rise also was selling products at the show.             A wonderful thing to attend an event and not have to hide and smuggle in your cannabis.  People lighting up everywhere, offering to share, talking strains, etc.  Police were there to keep order and otherwise let it all go on.  Very professional.             Excellent mellow crowd (what else would you expect?).  Well run.  Shot joints out of a canon.  A wonderful day and experience for those who enjoy cannabis, especially not having to hide it or pretend you don't have any when everyone knows attendees are smuggling it in anyway.             A great way to promote cannabis and help normalize it within the community.  And a fun event to be able to share with my boys, Bella and AJ.  Fun had by all.  SHOW No. 4:                    Not Fade Away                                                Track #24 (NOTE – this song is listed as Track #23 AND #24, be sure to use #24)                                                0:00 – end "Not Fade Away" is a song credited to Buddy Holly (originally under his first and middle names, Charles Hardin) and Norman Petty (although Petty's co-writing credit is likely to have been a formality[3]) and first recorded by Holly and his band, the Crickets. Holly and the Crickets recorded the song in Clovis, New Mexico, on May 27, 1957, the same day the song "Everyday" was recorded.[1] The rhythmic pattern of "Not Fade Away" is a variant of the Bo Diddley beat, "Not Fade Away" was originally released as the B-side of the hit single "Oh, Boy!" on 10.27.1957 and was included on the album The "Chirping" Crickets (1957). The Crickets' recording never charted as a single. In 2004, this song was ranked number 107 on Rolling Stone's list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". The song is closely associated with the Grateful Dead as one of their signature tunes—one which the band transformed from Holly's 1950s boy/girl romanticism to one reflecting the 1960s' more spiritual universal love. Their 1971 recording of the song is included on their second live album, Skull and Roses, paired with Going Down The Road Feeling Bad, a regular happening in the early ‘70's. Primarily a second set tune that used to show up in the second half of the second set after Drums-Space.  Beginning in 1983, the Dead began to play it as the second set closer, trailing off with “Love is real will not fade away” as they exited the stage.  A few years later, the Deadheads starting chanting the line as the Dead left the stage and in some cases, kept it up until the band reappeared for their encore, when the band would pick back up on the beat and play it for another minute or so before their encore tune, such as with this show.    Great example of the Deadheads making their mark on the show and the band being tuned in enough to play along with it.  Although sometimes if the Dead took too long to come out for the encore, the chanting would start to fade off.  And sometimes even when the chant made it all the way to the band's return on stage, the band would ignore it and just dive straight into their encore.  Fun when it all came together like this show. Played:  561 timesFirst:  February 19, 1969 at Fillmore West, San Francisco, CA, USALast:  July 5, 1995 at Riverport Amphitheatre in Maryland Heights, MO (St. Louis) OUTRO:                               The Mighty Quinn                                                Track #25                                                2:11 – 3:48 Bob Dylan wrote and first recorded the song in 1967 during the Basement Tapes sessions, but did not release a version for another three years.  The song's first release was in January 1968 as "Mighty Quinn" in a version by the British band Manfred Mann, from their album Mighty Garvey, and became a great success. A demo of 14 of the 1967 Basement Tapes recordings, including the first of two takes of "Quinn the Eskimo (The Mighty Quinn)", was produced in 1968, but was not intended for release. Recordings taken from the demos began appearing on bootlegs, starting with Great White Wonder,[7] a double-album bootleg that came out in July 1969. The first official release of the song was in 1970 on Dylan's Self Portrait album,[14] a live recording from 1969's Isle of Wight Festival. The live version (titled "The Mighty Quinn (Quinn the Eskimo)") was also selected in 1971 for the second compilation of Dylan's career, Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits Vol. II. Covered by:  the Hollies, Leon Russell and Phish, among others. Although they never played the song with Bob Dylan, the Grateful Dead started playing "The Mighty Quinn" in concert in 1985. It became a favorite encore among the Grateful Dead's fans, and remained so to the end of their career. Last verses, end with, “when Quinn the Eskimo gets here, everybody's gonna want to doze” but the Deadheads heard it as “dose” and always gave it a big cheer. Played:  59 timesFirst:  December 30, 1985 at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena, Oakland, CA, USALast:  July 2, 1995 at Deer Creek Music Center, Noblesville, IN, USA  Shoutouts: Lary Vinocur – birthdayElena Mishkin – birthday .Produced by PodConx Deadhead Cannabis Show - https://podconx.com/podcasts/deadhead-cannabis-showLarry Mishkin - https://podconx.com/guests/larry-mishkinRob Hunt - https://podconx.com/guests/rob-huntJay Blakesberg - https://podconx.com/guests/jay-blakesbergSound Designed by Jamie Humiston - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamie-humiston-91718b1b3/Recorded on Squadcast

pWotD Episode 2687: James Earl Jones Welcome to Popular Wiki of the Day, spotlighting Wikipedia's most visited pages, giving you a peek into what the world is curious about today.With 1,070,030 views on Monday, 9 September 2024 our article of the day is James Earl Jones.James Earl Jones (January 17, 1931 – September 9, 2024) was an American actor known for his film roles and for his work in theatre. Jones has been described as "one of America's most distinguished and versatile" actors for his performances on stage and screen. He has also been called "one of the greatest actors in American history". He was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 1985. He was honoured with the National Medal of Arts in 1992, the Kennedy Center Honor in 2002, the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award in 2009, and the Honorary Academy Award in 2011.Born in Arkabutla, Mississippi in 1931, he had a stutter since childhood. Jones said that poetry and acting helped him overcome the challenges of his disability. A pre-med major in college, he served in the United States Army during the Korean War before pursuing a career in acting. His deep voice was praised as a "stirring basso profondo that has lent gravel and gravitas" to his projects. Jones made his Broadway debut in 1957 in Sunrise at Campobello (1957). He gained prominence for acting in numerous productions with Shakespeare in the Park including Othello, Hamlet, Coriolanus, and King Lear. Jones worked steadily in theatre, winning the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his role as a boxer in The Great White Hope (1968), which he reprised in the 1970 film adaptation, earning him Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations.Jones won his second Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his role as a working class father in August Wilson's Fences (1987). He was a Tony award nominee for his roles as the husband in Ernest Thompson's On Golden Pond (2005) about an ageing couple, and as a former president in the Gore Vidal play The Best Man (2012). His other Broadway performances included Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (2008), Driving Miss Daisy (2010–2011), You Can't Take It with You (2014), and The Gin Game (2015–2016). He received a Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2017.Jones made his film debut in Stanley Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove (1964). He received a Golden Globe Award nomination for Claudine (1974). Jones gained international fame for his voice role as Darth Vader in the Star Wars franchise, beginning with the original 1977 film. Jones' other notable roles include parts in Conan the Barbarian (1982), Matewan (1987), Coming to America (1988), Field of Dreams (1989), The Hunt for Red October (1990), The Sandlot (1993), and The Lion King (1994). Jones reprised his roles in Star Wars media, The Lion King (2019), and Coming 2 America (2021). On television, Jones won two Primetime Emmy Awards for his roles in TNT thriller film Heat Wave (1990) and the crime series Gabriel's Fire (1991). He was Emmy-nominated for East Side West Side (1963), By Dawn's Early Light (1990), Picket Fences (1994), Under One Roof (1995), Frasier (1997), and Everwood (2004). He also acted in Roots (1977), Jesus of Nazareth (1977), and Homicide: Life on the Street (1997).This recording reflects the Wikipedia text as of 08:28 UTC on Tuesday, 10 September 2024.For the full current version of the article, see James Earl Jones on Wikipedia.This podcast uses content from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.Visit our archives at wikioftheday.com and subscribe to stay updated on new episodes.Follow us on Mastodon at @wikioftheday@masto.ai.Also check out Curmudgeon's Corner, a current events podcast.Until next time, I'm neural Gregory.

Lynn & Carl first speak to theater royalty from The Tennessee Williams Festival St. Louis (8/8-18) - Kari Ely & Peter Mayer about "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" and director Brian Hohlfeld about the festival's "Life Upon a Wicked Stage." Next, R-S Theatrics partners with the Showboat Community Theatre & Half Act Theatre Company to start the Riverside Theatre Project, for their first season, they will be producing The Sound of Music at the historic Showboat Theatre in Hermann, Missouri (thru 8/4). They speak with Christina Rios, Molly Stout & Bryce Miller from the production.

In this episode of St. Louis In Tune, we have a conversation about the Tennessee Williams Festival-St. Louis with guests Carrie Houk, the festival's Executive Artistic Director, and Tom Mitchell, Scholar in Residence and Associate Professor Emeritus from the University of Illinois. The festival, founded in 2015 and recognized with 13 awards from the St. Louis Theater Circle, offers a rich array of events. Highlights include a discussion about Williams's works, his influence, and the upcoming festival events, including performances of 'Cat on a Hot Tin Roof' and 'Lie Upon the Wicked Stage.' The episode also touches on how Williams's life and experiences shaped his writing, and the significance of maintaining live theater.[00:00] Introduction to the Tennessee Williams Festival[00:35] Meet the Hosts and Guests[01:13] Carrie and Tom's Journey with Tennessee Williams[03:22] Tom's Early Interest in Tennessee Williams[08:17] Exploring the Festival's Productions and EventsCAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF - Directed by Michael Wilson. August 8-18, 2024; Grandel Theatre; 7:00 pm Thursday-Saturday, 3:00 pm Sunday.LIE UPON THE WICKED STAGE-ONE ACTS BY TW - Directed by Brian Hohlfield. August 10-18, 2024; Curtain Call Lounge, Grand Center, 1:00pm and 3:00pm Saturday and Sunday[10:12] The Scholars Panels and Walking TourSCHOLARS PANELS - Presented by resident scholar Tom Mitchell August 10, 2024; Beginning at 9:00amWalking Tour of the Grand Avenue Theatre District Sunday, August 11 at 10:00am; Meeting place: Front of Grandel TheatreTennessee Williams Festival OPEN MIC Sunday, August 11 at 7:00pm; Curtain Call Lounge, Grand Center[13:59] Parking and Venue Details[17:49] Carrie's Reflections on the Festival's Success[23:37] Tom's Background and Connection to Tennessee Williams[26:22] Exploring Tennessee Williams' Language[26:59] Revisions and Rewrites: Williams' Process[29:34] Impact of Performers on Williams' Work[30:47] Upcoming Events and Festival Highlights[33:50] Fun Facts and Observances[40:58] Closing Thoughts and FarewellTWStL Facebook PageTennessee Williams Biography from TWStLTennessee Williams FestivalThis is Season 7! For more episodes, go to stlintune.com#twstl #tennesseewilliams #playwrights #stlouistheatre #theatre #catonahottinroof #oneactplay #tennesseewilliamsfestival

This week on the Pixel Pizza Podcast we bird up

Hillsborough Mayor Mark Bell spoke with 97.9 The Hill's Andrew Stuckey on Tuesday, July 2. He discussed some recent business news, including the owners of downtown restaurant Nomad taking over the space formerly occupied by Hot Tin Roof. He also discussed summer activity possibilities in Hillsborough, and more. The post Hillsborough: Nomad Takes Hot Tin Roof Space, Summer Activities in Hillsborough, and More appeared first on Chapelboro.com.

Today TTP is thinking about...Pride Month In honor of Pride month, We are re-running a podcast from 2021 - Theater before and after Stonewall. Mark Spina and Harry Patrick Christian share their observations about changes in theater and film over the course of their lifetimes.Credits:Thanks for listening to this episode of “The Theater Project thinks about”.   Our Audio Engineer was Gary Glor and Our Theme music was by Gail Lou and Demien De SandiesVisit TheTheater Project.org to sign up for our mailing list, as well as check out all the links and resources in the show notes. And if you enjoyed what you heard, please consider leaving a comment on our FB or IG page.That's all for this episode, we'll see you next time!References:https://www.history.com/topics/gay-rights/the-stonewall-riotshttps://www.pridecenter.org/The Drag: https://stageagent.com/shows/play/22881/the-dragThe Nance: https://www.dramatists.com/cgi-bin/db/single.asp?key=4884Cat on a Hot Tin Roof: https://www.sparknotes.com/drama/cat/character/brick/A Streetcar Named Desire: https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/streetcar/quotes/theme/sexuality/Picnic: https://stageagent.com/shows/play/6305/picnicSeparate Tables: https://www.concordtheatricals.com/p/8967/separate-tablesTea And Sympathy: https://www.concordtheatricals.com/p/1038/tea-and-sympathyWho's Afraid of Virginia Woolf: https://www.dramatists.com/cgi-bin/db/single.asp?key=1623Take Me Out: https://www.dramatists.com/cgi-bin/db/multiple.asp?indexm=25&start=1&limitResult=all&options=all&limitResult1=allgenres&total=all&male=all&female=all&keysearch=take%20me%20outThe Front Runner: https://www.amazon.com/Front-Runner-Patricia-Nell-Warren/dp/0964109964Christopher Durang: http://www.christopherdurang.com/Nicky Silver: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicky_SilverWill And Grace: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Will_%26_GraceThe Boys in the Band: https://www.concordtheatricals.com/p/2499/the-boys-in-the-band-original-versionRoots: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roots_(1977_miniseries)Bent: https://www.concordtheatricals.com/p/2618/bentAngels in America: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angels_in_America_(miniseries)Michael Riedel: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Riedel_(journalist)The Inheritance: https://theinheritanceplay.com/

Hillsborough Mayor Mark Bell spoke with 97.9 The Hill's Andrew Stuckey on Tuesday, May 7. He gave an update on the ongoing projects to upgrade Internet access in Hillsborough, which has resulted in crews working throughout town. He also talked about the closing of Hot Tin Roof, sharing that there have been several applications for businesses to go into that space. He talked about the general health of downtown businesses, and more. He also talked about Orange County Sportsplex and more. The post Hillsborough: Fiber Update, Downtown Businesses, Sportsplex appeared first on Chapelboro.com.

Welcome to the Instant Trivia podcast episode 1142, where we ask the best trivia on the Internet. Round 1. Category: Dead Precedents 1: In 1943 the Supreme Court overruled a 1940 decision and said students couldn't be required to salute this. the flag. 2: In 1987 the Supreme Court overruled an 1861 decision that courts couldn't do this, order a suspect handed over to another state. extradite. 3: Agostini v. Felton reversed a 1985 ruling that prohibited public school teachers from teaching in these schools. parochial. 4: 1961's Mapp v. Ohio overturned a 1949 ruling and said this amendment bars illegally seized evidence from state courts. the 4th Amendment. 5: This controversial 2010 decision overruled a precedent that had barred certain political contributions. Citizens United. Round 2. Category: Hot Films, Cool Films 1: George Kennedy won an Oscar in part for beating the heck out of Paul Newman in this movie. Cool Hand Luke. 2: A brutal murder is solved in this 1967 Oscar winner. In the Heat of the Night. 3: Judith Anderson played Big Mama Pollitt, the matriarch of a greedy Southern family, in this film. Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. 4: After "Body Heat" steamed up the screen, Lawrence Kasdan cooled down and directed this movie next. The Big Chill. 5: As Rev. Clayton Brooks, Dick Van Dyke led a townwide effort to quit smoking in this 1971 film. Cold Turkey. Round 3. Category: Take The Kids! 1: Toon Lagoon at Universal Studios Florida boasts a white-knuckle raft ride named for Bluto and this sailor. Popeye. 2: In part of Disney's Animal Kingdom, no glass separates you from the giant fruit type of this flying mammal. Bat. 3: The kids love "Pecos Goofy's Frontier Revue" at this Asian city's Disneyland. Tokyo. 4: At Nepal's Royal Chitwan National Park, watch out for the marsh-mugger type of this gator relative. Crocodile. 5: This West Coast city boasts museums devoted to Asian art, cartoon art and cable cars. San Francisco. Round 4. Category: I Learned It Online 1: freetranslation.com taught me "Your eyes shine like oysters" in this language--"I suoi occhi brillano come le ostriche". Italian. 2: wendys.com informed me that the "3/4 lb. triple with" this has 980 calories, but plenty of calcium. cheese. 3: americanheart.org tells us that a "hands-only" version of this procedure is fine --no need for rescue breaths. CPR. 4: howstuffworks.com told me each Apache one of these can carry 16 Hellfire missiles--cool. a helicopter. 5: The "This Day in History" feature on history.com taught me Dec. 25 is the day in 1991 when he quit as Soviet leader. Mikhail Gorbachev. Round 5. Category: 2 Types Of China 1: Shallow 7-letter dish used to serve food; maybe we should have served you the clue on one. a platter. 2: It's the animal of the Chinese year beginning in 2008. the rat. 3: In the Chinese Civil War, 1945 to 1949, it was the Communists versus these. the Nationalists. 4: In 1998 this Chinese org. abbreviated PLA was ordered to sell off all its non-defense assets. the People's Liberation Army. 5: Henry James compared his character Miss Pansy Osmond to a China figurine from this German city. Dresden. Thanks for listening! Come back tomorrow for more exciting trivia!Special thanks to https://blog.feedspot.com/trivia_podcasts/ AI Voices used

Tennessee Williams hated this adaptation of his play Cat on a Hot Tin Roof so much that he went up to people standing in line for it and said, “This movie will set the industry back 50 years. Go home!” Our episode won't do that, but we agree with him on the movie. It's been awhile since we had a flick where the Hays Code made it completely pointless to even try, but rarely with such incredibly good looking people as Paul Newman and Elizabeth Taylor.

Michael Lavine is a Broadway Performance Coach and Sheet Music Expert. He has also worked as a musical director, pianist, vocal coach and singer all over the world. He is very much; a Music Man!Michael gives master classes on auditioning in New York, Los Angeles, Australia and Martha's Vineyard. He has worked several times at the Shanghai Theatre Academy. Accompanying many artists, he has worked regularly with Heather MacRae on her show about her father, Gordon and has accompanied Broadway and television star Bryan Batt in New Orleans, at 54 Below, Feinstein's and the Metropolitan Room. He musically directed Bryan's show Batt on a Hot Tin Roof at the Adelaide Cabaret Festival in Australia, touring subsequently to Melbourne and Sydney. Michael regularly plays for the Outer Critics Circle Awards and musically directed the Broadway Cares Teddy Bear Auction for its entire 15-year run. Michael has conducted orchestras in Wichita, Kansas, Traverse City, Michigan, and Beverly, Mass., among other cities. He co-produced and musically directed the American premiere recording of HONK! at the York Theatre. Michael served as musical director for the Comden & Green musical Billion Dollar Baby starring Kristin Chenoweth, Marc Kudisch and Debbie Gravitte and the Burton Lane/Alan Jay Lerner musical Carmelina. He has shared the stage with Mimi Hines and Peter Howard (his mentor) at the Kennedy Center in a Rodgers & Hart revue, This Funny World. Michael is known for owning one of the largest privately held sheet music collections in the world, and is frequently called upon for his extensive knowledge, and is celebrated for preserving and archiving the musical theatre and American songbook.The STAGES podcast is available to access and subscribe from Spotify and Apple podcasts. Or from wherever you access your favourite podcasts. A conversation with creatives about craft and career. Follow socials on instagram (stagespodcast) and facebook (Stages).www.stagespodcast.com.au

Some of the finalists of last year's THINK FAST competition sit with Mark Spina to give us their take on the pros and cons of these programs.Credits:Audio Engineer Gary GlorOne Heartbeat Away is provided to The Theater Project by Gail Lou References:THE PANELISTS:Teddy Durgin https://www.facebook.com/teddy.durgin  Michael Towers  https://www.facebook.com/michael.towers.395/Curt Stricklandhttps://pwcenter.org/profile/curt-stricklandhttps://curtsview.com/Helen Chang Maohttps://www.linkedin.com/in/helencmaoCindy Samson Braffhttps://www.facebook.com/cindi.sansonebraffOTHER PLAY COMPETITIONS:Short and Sweet Play Festivalhttps://shortandsweet.org/New City Playershttps://newcityplayers.org/labRated S Sketch Comedyhttps://www.stagecoachtc.com/rated-s-sketch-comedy/Secret Theatrehttps://secrettheatre.com/Play Submission Helperhttps://playsubmissionshelper.com/New York City Playwrightshttps://www.nycplaywrights.org/Think Fast Festivalhttps://www.thetheaterproject.org/think-fast-short-play-competitionSpark Theatrehttps://emergingartiststheatre.org/spark/Playwright's Centerhttps://emergingartiststheatre.org/spark/Manhattan Repertory Theatrehttps://www.manhattanrep.com/Baltimore Playwright's Festivalhttps://www.baltplayfest.org/International Playwriting Festivalhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Playwriting_FestivalSilver Spring Stagehttps://www.ssstage.org/OTHER REFERENCES:Lesley's Playwriting Mastershttps://lesley.edu/academics/graduate/creative-writingFell's Point Corner Theatrehttps://www.fpct.org/Rachel Feeney-Williamshttps://www.facebook.com/search/top?q=rachel%20feeney%20williamsAugust Wilsonhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/August_WilsonLloyd Richardshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lloyd_RichardsTennessee Williamshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tennessee_WilliamsElia Kazanhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elia_KazanThe Glass Menageriehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Glass_MenagerieA Streetcar Named Desirehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Streetcar_Named_DesireCat on a Hot Tin Roofhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat_on_a_Hot_Tin_Roof

How does the owner of an animal that caused damage by eating pay for that damage? Specifically when the animal turns its head to eat from the side - even though it's a public domain kind of damage. Also, a new mishnah: what happens when a dog or a goat jump from a roof and damage vessels upon landing? What if they fell, instead of jumping? What if they had no option to land elsewhere? Who, if anyone, is liable for damages?

"Ruby's Groovy Journey: Cannabis, Music, and the Deadhead Show"Larry Mishkin  shares his excitement about the birth of his granddaughter, Ruby. He discusses how the song "Ruby Waves" by the band Phish may have inspired her name and how the family is already introducing her to great music. Larry also dives into Grateful Dead, sharing details about a 1979 concert from the Spectrum in Philadelphia and highlighting the song "Jack Straw."Larry then talks about recent Grateful Dead releases and encourages listeners to consider subscribing to annual releases for access to exclusive content. He provides insights into the song "Jack Straw," its lyrics, and the band's performance of it throughout the years. The episode also features the Jerry Garcia Band's song "Rubin and Cherise" and its connection to the love story of Ruby..Produced by PodConx  Deadhead Cannabis Show - https://podconx.com/podcasts/deadhead-cannabis-showLarry Mishkin - https://podconx.com/guests/larry-mishkinRob Hunt - https://podconx.com/guests/rob-huntJay Blakesberg - https://podconx.com/guests/jay-blakesbergSound Designed by Jamie Humiston - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamie-humiston-91718b1b3/Recorded on Squadcast  INTRO:                  Ruby Waves                                Phish                                July 14, 2019                                Alpine Valley, East Troy, WI                                Phish - 7/14/2019 - Ruby Waves - YouTube                                0:09 – 1:35                 Part of today's show is in honor of my first grandchild, Ruby, born late last month in Georgia.  My son Matt  is a huge Phish fan and his wife Elena enjoys them too if not quite to the same degree.  But they both love this song which may or may not have been the inspiration for their daughter's name.  Regardless, Ruby is wonderful and her father is already playing this clip by her bassinet – she lays there and smiles! Phish first played the song on June 18, 2019 at the Budweiser Stage in Toronto.  Of the 164 Phish shows since that debut, the band has only performed it a total of 27 times (less than 2% of the Phish shows played since its debut), most recently October 11, 2023 at the Erwin Nutter Center on the campus of Wright State University in Dayton, OH.  So not only was seeing this song a rarity, but this version is particularly well known as it is from a legendary show at Alpine Valley a few years ago. This particular version of Ruby Waves runs an incredible 38 minutes and was only one of the many highlights from that show (which featured a huge Olivia's Pool breakout among other big moments).  Check out the clip, check out the show, and when you hear Ruby Waves think of little Ruby making her appearance into the world. DeadAlso featuring the Dead from The Spectrum in Philly 44 years ago today.  A year of big transition, Jim Marty's first Dead show, and some almost under the radar amazing shows, including this one.  An eleven song first set followed up by a four song second set (plus drums and space;  who do these guys think they are, Phish?) and strong encore.  Here is how it all started SHOW #1:                           Alabama Getaway                                                Track No. 1                                                0:10 – 1:35                 This is only the second time the Dead played this song in concert, the first being two nights earlier on Nov. 4th at the Providence Civic Center in Rhode Island.  Song would first be released six months later (4.28.1980) on Dead's album, Go To Heaven.  Ultimately played by the Dead 143 times, with an almost five year gap from 1990 – 1994, Jerry brought it back to the stage for a handful of performances in 1995, including the last one on June 2, 1995 at Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, CA.                  Great cultural references to Alabama's complicated legacy, Bill Bojangles, the Twenty Third Psalm from the Bible and more. Great up-tempo tune usually played as a show opener, although it was known to move around from time to time.                 Extended this clip to catch the Brent breakout during the jam.  Still new to the group Brent was not shy and made his presence known with authority even in the first year.  SHOW #2:                         Jack Straw                                          Track No. 10                                           3:16 – 4:47                 One of the highlights of this show, fantastic version of this crowd pleaser and great jamming tune.  Brent again jumping into the mix with his backing vocals and his strong keyboard work filling in the gaps.                 Written by Bobby and Robert Hunter, was never released on a studio album but was released on Europe '72 album.                Originally, Bobby sang all the vocals, but at a show in Paris on May 3, 1972, Bobby and Jerry began trading off vocals on different verses and it stayed that way until the end.  The song appeared in both the first and second sets until the band's short hiatus in 1974-1975. After re-forming, the song almost exclusively appeared in the first set. After Brent Mydland joined the band in 1979, the song almost exclusively opened the band's first set. The band also often extended the jam after the second verse after Mydland's joining, often extending the song to over six minutes. Dead and Company have also further extended the song, often adding an abstract opening jam prior to the song's first verse. Bob Weir stated in a 2004 interview that the song's lyrics were partly based on John Steinbeck's novel Of Mice and Men.[2] The song's themes include riding the rails, the Great Depression, and hobo (homeless) camps of the era. Jack Straw is also—perhaps coincidentally—the name of the original plantation owner, who lived controversially with his gay lover, Peter Ochello, in Tennessee Williams's play Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.                 Long a staple of live Dead shows, the song was first heard live on October 19, 1971 at Northrop Auditorium in Minneapolis (another legendary show due to it being Keith Godchaux's first show with the band AND the large number of breakout tunes including Tennessee Jed, Mexicali Blues, Comes  A Time, One More Saturday Night, and Ramble On Rose – continuation and new wrinkles to their Americana style that began a year earlier with the releases of American Beauty and Workingman's Dead and now reflected Keith's newly introduced input from the grand piano).                 Ultimately played by the Dead a total of 476 times putting it very high up on the list of most played Dead tunes.                Last played on July 8, 1995 at Soldier Field in Chicago.  Time for more Ruby SHOW #3:                        Ruben and Cerise                                         Grateful Dead                                         March 17, 1991                                         Cap Center, Landover, MD                                         Grateful Dead Live at Capitol Centre on 1991-03-17 : Free Borrow & Streaming : Internet Archive                                         2:05 – 2:29               Sweet Ruby dressed in Red is one of the main characters in this Garcia/Hunter song that was first released in April as the opening tune on the JBG's only studio album, Cats Under The Stars (Run For The Roses is considered a “studio album”). Although played with some frequency by the Jerry Garcia Band (76 times), the Grateful Dead only played it four times in concert, this clip being their breakout.  Last played on June 19, 1991 at Buckeye Lake Music Theater in Thornville, OH.  A classic tale of love found and lost set in the Carnival season in New Orleans.  Beautiful lyrics for a sad and cautionary tale.  Sorry to say I never saw it live by the Dead or JGB.  I have seen it since by Phil, JRAD and others. Nice but not close to the same.  Back to the Dead SHOW #4:                        Terrapin Station                                         Track No. 12                                         8:00 – 9:31               Beautiful Hunter/Garcia epic mulit-part suite with Hunter composing the lyrics during a single sitting one night during a rare Bay Area lightning storm.On the same day, driving across the Richmond–San Rafael Bridge, lead guitarist Jerry Garcia was struck by the idea for a singular melodic line. He turned his car around and hurried home to set it down in notation before it escaped him. Hunter said "When we met the next day, I showed him the words and he said, 'I've got the music.' They dovetailed perfectly and Terrapin edged into this dimension."[10] Hunter based the lyrics for the "Lady with a Fan" section on a traditional English folk song known variously as "The Lady of Carlisle", "The Bold Lieutenant" and "The Lion's Den". The ballad is No. 396 on the Roud Folk Song Index. It is also O 25 on the Laws list, which synopsizes "The lady decides to choose between two brothers who love her by determining which is braver. She tosses her fan into a lion's den and asks them to retrieve it."[11] Hunter, who was also influenced by Sir Walter Scott, had composed "Terrapin Station" in two parts, the second never recorded or performed by the Grateful Dead.Drummer Bill Kreutzmann ironed out the arrangement, explaining "We sat down and mapped it out. I said, 'This is how the song goes.' I showed [Mickey] all the parts that I felt worked really well, he added a couple, and that's what the song is today. We went back into the studio the next night and got it right. With the drum parts worked out, everything else snapped together like puzzle pieces.            As the opener of a four song second set, this is a strong version, jammed out, but not too much is a show highlight.  Barely two years old (Terrapin Station album released on July 27, 1977, first performed a few months earlier on Feb. 26, 1977 at the Swing Auditorium in San Bernardino, CA) at this point, you can still hear Garcia playing around with the timing of the lyrics. Ultimately played in concert by the Dead 303 times with the last rendition on July 8, 1995 in Chicago.         An song for fans of fun tales of all ages, I suspect young Ruby will become quite familiar with this tune over time!  OUTRO:                      Goodbye Ruby Tuesday                                    Rolling Stones                                    Live – 1991                                    The Rolling Stones - Ruby Tuesday (Live) - Official 1991 - YouTube                                         1:52 – 3:12

[ For full episode catalogue please subscribe to our Patreon at Patreon.com/BestActress ] The year is 1959 and the nominees are: 1. Susan Hayward - I Want to Live! 2. Deborah Kerr - Separate Tables 3. Shirley MacLaine - Some Came Running 4. Rosalind Russell - Auntie Mama 5. Elizabeth Taylor - Cat on a Hot Tin Roof - In 1959 Susan Hayward won the Oscar for her portrayal of alleged murder accomplice Barbara Graham and her eventual execution in a gas chamber. Hayward was known for delivering top shelf performances dealing with dark subject matter and she does not disappoint in, I Want to Live! Baby Shirley MacLaine received her first Oscar nomination for Some Came Running playing an uneducated naive girl from Chicago who falls in love with Frank Sinatra. Deborah Kerr gave a brief but memorable performance in Separate Tables, one of two films this year that had to be adjusted for the Hollywood Production code as to avoid discussing topics of homosexuality (Cat on a Hot Tin Roof being the second). Rosalind Russell delivers an amazing performance as the eccentric aunt (perhaps a precursor to Travels with my Aunt with Maggie Smith) known for her quirky lifestyle and outgoing personality. Finally, Elizabeth Taylor plays Paul Newman's wife desperately trying to get him to love her again (even physically (same girl)) in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Who do you think should have won? Join host Kyle Brownrigg with guest host Joe Arsenal as they discuss.

When it comes to creative partnerships, Standard Issue fave Helen Lewis is more interested in The Krankies than Beyoncé and Jay Z. In this week's podzine, she got on the Zoom with Hannah to talk about the second series of her Radio 4 show Great Wives, as well as the upcoming 2024 US election. Meanwhile, Mick chats to theatremaker Elisabeth Gunawan about dark clowning, mail order brides, cultural stereotypes and her award-winning play, Unforgettable Girl. In Jenny Off The Blocks, there's World Cup fever, as well as the cycling world championships. And in Rated or Dated, a melodramatic masterpiece and some objectifiable eyes, as the team revisits 1958's Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Plus there's dodgy policing and dated Disney in the Bush Telegraph.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Get your beer (or scotch or coffee) and popcorn or peanuts and join us as we discuss A Friend in Deed.  We chat about Rosemary Murphy's career, the Riviera Club, Future Shock, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and more.    Other books & magazines & movies we discussed: -A Delicate Balance -Cat on a Hot Tin Room -Looking for Mr. Goodbar -Man of La Mancha   We have EXCLUSIVE content available on Patreon!  Get video recordings of the podcast & monthly updates & behind the scenes. Head to https://patreon.com/trenchcoatcigar to join today!   If you'd like to add to our conversation, you can email us at trenchcoatcigar@gmail.com.  Follow us on Instagram at @trenchcoatcigar to see photos from today's episode.   Get podcast merch on RedBubble: https://www.redbubble.com/people/trenchcoatcigar/shop?asc=u  

Book Vs. Movie: Cat on a Hot Tin RoofThe 1955 Play Vs. the 1958 Classic FilmThe Margos are feeling very Southern in this episode devoted to the work of Tennessee Williams and his personal favorite work--Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. The 1955 play was based on his 1952 short story “Three Plays of a Summer Game” and won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama during its Broadway debut. The story of the Pollitt family in the Mississippi Delta and their personal grievances and torturous secrets was considered incredibly raw and racy for the conservative 1950s. The 1955 play was directed by Elia Kazan and starred future Dallas star Barbara Bel Geddes as Maggie “The Cat” Pollitt and Ben Gazzara as Brick Pollitt. Burl Ives (“Big Daddy”) and Madeleine Sherwood (“Sister Woman”) would go on to star in the film adaptation in 1958. Bel Geddes and Kazan were nominated for the Tony Award in the original production, and the themes of homophobia, family bonds, and sexism excited audiences then and to this day. The film was directed and adapted by Richard Brooks during a time known as the “Hays Code,” which meant the homosexual yearnings expressed by Brick Pollitt (played by Paul Newman in the movie) for his recently deceased best friend Skipper had to be downplayed. Also, the character of Maggie (Elizabeth Taylor in an Academy Award-winning performance) is more toned down and “likable” to ensure not to offend movie-goer sensitivities. What are the other differences between the original play and the film? Which version did the Margos like better? Have a listen!In this ep the Margos discuss:Playwright Tennessee Williams and how this particular story evolvedThe censoring of the original work to filmWhy the play endures.The cast of the 1958 film: Elizabeth Taylor (Maggie Pollitt,) Paul Newman (Brick Pollitt,) Burl Ives (“Big Daddy” Pollitt,) Jack Carson (Gooper Pollitt,) Judith Anderson (“Big Momma” Pollitt,) Madeleine Sherwood (“Sister Woman” Pollitt,) Larry Gates (Dr. Baugh) and Vaughn Taylor as Deacon Davis.Clips used:Maggie & Brick talk about SkipperCat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958 trailer)Ben Gazarra and 1955 clip Cat on a Hot Tin RoofBrick and Big Daddy“Mendacity”Music: Charles Wollcott Book Vs. Movie is part of the Frolic Podcast Network. Find more podcasts you will love Frolic.Media/podcasts. Join our Patreon page “Book Vs. Movie podcast”You can find us on Facebook at Book Vs. Movie Podcast GroupFollow us on Twitter @bookversusmovieInstagram: Book Versus Movie https://www.instagram.com/bookversusmovie/Email us at bookversusmoviepodcast@gmail.com Margo D. Twitter @BrooklynMargo Margo D's Blog www.brooklynfitchick.com Margo D's Instagram “Brooklyn Fit Chick”Margo D's TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@margodonohuebrooklynfitchick@gmail.comYou can buy your copy of Filmed in Brooklyn here! Margo P. Twitter @ShesNachoMamaMargo P's Instagram https://www.instagram.com/shesnachomama/Margo P's Blog https://coloniabook.weebly.com/ Our logo was designed by Madeleine Gainey/Studio 39 Marketing Follow on Instagram @Studio39Marketing & @musicalmadeleine This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/5406542/advertisement

That scene between Brenda and Kelly felt so intense that Tori and Jennie reveal what was going on BTS that likely added to the TENSION! Inspired by the Cat on a Hot Tin Roof auditions, we get some insight in to what auditioning was like for Tori and Jennie IRL and a little acting class. And we get the answer to this question, who would you have cast in the play....Brenda, Kelly or Laura?! Speaking of Laura, do we like her with Steve or does it just seem weird? And, our award for most ludicrous...the fight scene at the hotel party with Brandon!  What in the world!??!?!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Marja Harmon plays Angelica Schuyler on the "And Peggy" tour of Hamilton. Her Broadway credits include Book of Mormon, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, and New York City Center's Merrily We Roll Along. She starred as Nala in the national tour of The Lion King, as well as regional productions of Aida, Ragtime, Hairspray, Dreamgirls, Grease, and more. Her TV appearances include God Friended Me, Murphy Brown, and Jessica Jones. Stay up-to-date with Marja by visiting her @marjaharmony on Instagram or her website at marjaharmon.me.

In this episode speak with author Charles Casillo regarding his book "Elizabeth and Monty: The Untold Story of Their Intimate Friendship". Violet-eyed siren Elizabeth Taylor and classically handsome Montgomery Clift were the most gorgeous screen couple of their time. Over two decades of friendship they made, separately and together, some of the era's defining movies--including Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, The Misfits, Suddenly, Last Summer, and Cleopatra. Yet the relationship between these two figures--one a dazzling, larger-than-life star, the other hugely talented yet fatally troubled--has never truly been explored until now. Doug Hess is the host!

It's Easter! The world has the children down. Drusilla takes a date to Forest Lawn Cemetery because of The Loved One. It's a country club for dead people.  Drusilla watched Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. They play down the homosexuality so much! She also watched Martin Scorsese's Mean Streets for the first time. Josh did a mini marathon of movies from 1980: Cruising, which brought out his internalized homophobia, and then they go on a Brian De Palma Dressed to Kill rant. Josh also watched The Fog, one of John Carpenter's best films.  From wiki: “ Only Lovers Left Alive is a 2013 fantasy comedy-drama film written and directed by Jim Jarmusch, starring Tilda Swinton, Tom Hiddleston, Mia Wasikowska, Anton Yelchin, Jeffrey Wright, Slimane Dazi and John Hurt. An international co-production of the United Kingdom and Germany, the film focuses on the romance between two vampires, and was nominated for the Palme d'Or at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival.In 2016, the film was ranked among the BBC's 100 Greatest Films of the 21st Century by 177 critics around the world.[5] In late 2019, it was named the fourth greatest film of the 2010s by The Hollywood Reporter's chief film critic Todd McCarthy.[6] NEXT WEEK: Night Tide (1961) Website: http://www.bloodhauspod.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/BloodhausPodInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/bloodhauspod/Email: bloodhauspod@gmail.com         Drusilla's art: https://www.sisterhydedesign.com/Drusilla's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hydesister/Drusilla's Letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/drew_phillips/ Joshua's website: https://www.joshuaconkel.com/ Joshua's Twitter: https://twitter.com/JoshuaConkel  Joshua's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joshua_conkel/Joshua's Letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/joshuaconkel  

We finally read a play by Volunteer State Williams! Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is a rumination on a family falling apart in the South. It's also an interesting example of how revisions and rewrites can shape a story's legacy. Our theme music was composed by Nick Lerangis. Advertise on OverdueSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 9, 2022 is: bilious • BILL-yus • adjective Bilious has several meanings, including "angry or bad-tempered" and "sickeningly unpleasant to look at." Its earliest use describes things that are "of or relating to bile." // The actor has come under fire for his bilious commentary. // The new homeowners immediately painted over the bilious color scheme. See the entry > Examples: "Inserting a character inspired by Big Daddy Pollitt in Tennessee Williams's 'Cat on a Hot Tin Roof' into a scenario patched together from three William Faulkner works, Orson Welles so thoroughly dominates 'The Long, Hot Summer' as Will Varner, the bilious magnate of Mississippi small town, that the other actors struggle to make themselves known." — Scott Tobias, The New York Times, 11 Oct. 2022 Did you know? Bilious is one of several words whose origins trace to the old belief that four bodily humors (black bile, yellow bile, phlegm, and blood) control temperament. Just like phlegmatic ("of a slow and stolid phlegm-driven character"), melancholy ("experiencing dejection associated with black bile"), and sanguine ("of a cheerful, blood-based disposition"), bilious suggests a personality associated with an excess of one of the humors—in this case, yellow bile. Such a personality may also be described as unreasonable, peevish, or ill-tempered, as typified by Charlotte Brontë in her 1849 novel, Shirley: "These two men, of hard, bilious natures both, rarely came into contact but they chafed each other's moods."