The Front Row Network

On this episode of Original Broadway Cast, our very own Gus Gordon sits down with the wonderful, Diana Rogers. Diana's credits include Mame. Thénardier in the National Tour and Broadway productions of Les Misérables. Other productions include Menopause the Musical, Beauty Queen of Leenane, A Skull in Connemara, Rabbit Hole, Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up?, Nunsense, Sound of Music, Romeo and Juliet, Steel Magnolias and several productions of Always Patsy Cline. Diana also enjoys writing and composing. Coupled The Musical has been seen at the Orlando Fringe Festival.

"Put the blame on Mame, boys". Front Row Classics welcomes Ben Burke of The Hollywood Babylonians podcast. Brandon and Ben discuss Gilda from 1946. This film noir classic cemented Rita Hayworth as one of the true icons of the 1940s. The movie, directed by Charles Vidor, was a rarity that gave depth to femme fatale leading lady. We discuss the incredible love/hate chemistry between Hayworth and Glenn Ford. The hosts also dissect the insane plot and naughty subtext that somehow got past Hollywood censors.

Welcome back everyone to MCU HQ; your hub for all things Marvel on the Front Row Network on NPR Illinois.

Marvel is once again king of the box office as James Gunn's triology finale Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 has hit theaters to the tune of $120+ milliion in its opening weekend. As such we've assembled our own rag-tag group to give our spoiler-filled review. This film contains a ton of heart, a ton of action, one of the best villains of the entire MCU and emotional send-off to our Guardians that none of us were ready for. If you saw it this weekend give our full spoiler review a listen and let us know what you thought!

FEATURING: Jeremy Goeckner, Sara Baltusevich and Brandon Davis

"Life is a Cabaret" this week on Front Row Classics. We're taking a look at 1972's Cabaret as Emmett Stanton returns to discuss Bob Fosse's musical masterpiece. Brandon and Emmett break down the legendary performances of Liza Minnelli, Joel Grey and the rest of the impressive cast. Topics also include: the inventive musical numbers, the dark themes which are still relevant today and how Cabaret went toe-to-toe with The Godfather at the 1973 Oscars.

Many past Front Row Classics guests were in attendance at the 2023 TCM Classic Film Festival. Two-time guest, George Stevens Jr. was on hand to present his father's 1941 film, Penny Serenade. The film was presented alongside director, Alexander Payne, in a brand new restoration. Brandon got to sit down with Stevens for a short discussion of the film and importance of film preservation.

Brandon is back from Hollywood and ready to recap his time at the Turner Classic Movies' Classic Film Festival. Craig McFarland joins Brandon to recall the memorable experiences and screenings he experienced. Being around so many other classic film devotees, including several Front Row Classics guests, made for one memorable four-day festival.

Brandon is heading to the TCM Classic Film Festival! Earlier this week, he sat down with TCM Host Ben Mankiewicz for a preview of what is to come.Topics include the opening night presentation of Rio Bravo, Warner Brothers' 100th anniversary celebration and some of Ben's favorite aspects of the festival.

Ben Mankiewicz is the primetime host of Turner Classic Movies. When he made his TCM debut in September 2003, he became only the second host hired in the network's history.

During his career at TCM, he has introduced thousands of movies on the air. Additionally, he's become one of the best interviewers in the business, leading thoughtful and entertaining long-form conversations with more than two hundred of the industry's top talents, including Mel Brooks, Bruce Springsteen, Sophia Loren, Martin Scorsese, Warren Beatty, Ava DuVernay, Annette Bening, Robert Redford, Quentin Tarantino, Jodie Foster, Brad Bird, Faye Dunaway, Lou Gossett, Jr., and Michael Douglas.

Mankiewicz is the host of TCM's first podcast, The Plot Thickens. Each of the four seasons, I'm Still Peter Bogdanovich, The Devil's Candy, Lucy and Here Comes Pam were met with outstanding reviews and industry awards.

Since 2019, Mankiewicz has served as a contributor to the Peabody and Emmy-winning news magazine, CBS News Sunday Morning, and has hosted the American Society of Cinematographers Awards since 2018.

Prior to TCM, Mankiewicz worked as a reporter and anchor in Charleston, SC, and Miami, FL, twice being named Best Anchor in South Florida by The New Times. Additionally, he contributes to The Young Turks, an online political show he co-founded with Cenk Uygur in 2002.

Mankiewicz moved to Los Angeles nearly 75 years after his grandfather, screenwriter Herman Mankiewicz ("Mank" to his all his friends), headed west to work in the movie business. Soon after arriving, Herman cabled his friend Ben Hecht in New York, "There are millions to be grabbed out here and your only competition is idiots. Don't let this get around." His grandson is now proudly one of those idiots.

He's a graduate of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, Tufts University, and Georgetown Day High School in Washington, DC, the school with the worst mascot in recorded history: the Grasshoppers.

Mankiewicz lives in Santa Monica with his beautiful wife, their beautiful daughter, one perfect dog, and one other dog, who's available for adoption at any time. Seriously, please take him

Front Row Classics is pleased to welcome Scott McGee back to the podcast. Scott is the Senior Director of Original Programming for Turner Classic Movies. Brandon and Scott discuss his journey up the ranks at TCM and the many projects he has been involved with including the TCM Classic Film Festival. The importance of the community surrounding classic film fans is also discussed. McGee also mentions some favorite moments from past TCM Film Festivals.

Starring Rosa Speaker, Tom Brown, Zach Boblitt, and Steve Sykes! Did Larry retain the crown or did one of these four unseat him?

A big thank you to all of our loyal listeners of Front Row Classics. Brandon is giving us a look at what's ahead for the next couple weeks on the podcast. He also announces an exciting change to win a bundle of digital movies in conjunction with Warner Bros. 100th anniversary.