The Locher Room

Please join Broadway legend Lee Roy Reams in The Locher Room onto look back at his incredible stage career and share his memories of working opposite the late Lisa Brown in Broadway's 42nd Street. These two talents remained friends for almost 40 years.

Hailed by the New York Times as “Broadway’s song & dance man nonpareil” for his leading Broadway roles in The Producers, 42nd Street, Beauty & The Beast, La Cage Aux Folles, Hello Dolly!, An Evening with Jerry Herman, Applause, Lorelei, Oklahoma and Sweet Charity. On Broadway, he directed the last revival of Carol Channing’s Hello Dolly!, and An Evening with Jerry Herman. His television, concert and cabaret appearances have taken him around the world and to the White House performing before four U.S. Presidents (Carter, Reagan, Bush Sr. and Clinton). Most recently, he played to another sold out house at Broadway’s Feinstein's / 54 Below and made history as the first American male to star as Dolly in an Equity production of Hello Dolly! at the Wick Theatre where he also starred in La Cage Aux Folles. He’s a board member of the Chita Rivera Awards and received the Friars Club Thespian of the Year Award. He also is the proud recipient of an Honorary Doctorate from his alma mater, CCM / University of Cincinnati.

Don't miss the chance to meet this Broadway legend and hear his memories of his friend Lisa Brown.

Original Airdate: 1/27/2022

Judy Shepard will be my guest for a very special Conversations with Alan episode in The Locher Room. Judy will join me to discuss the impact of her son Matthew's murder, which was motivated by anti-gay hate, and the incredible work of the Matthew Shepard Foundation in their efforts to carry on Matthew's legacy. Judy will share what we can all do to make this world a more accepting place for everyone, regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, sex, gender identity and expression, or sexual orientation.

In October 1998, Matthew’s death moved many thousands of people around the
world to attend vigils and rallies in his memory. Determined to prevent others from suffering their son’s fate, Judy and Dennis decided to turn their grief into action and established the Matthew Shepard Foundation to carry on Matthew’s legacy. The Foundation is dedicated to working toward the causes championed by Matthew during his life: social justice, diversity awareness & education, and equality for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people.

Judy Shepard is the founding president of the Matthew Shepard Foundation Board of Directors, and served as its first executive director as well, from 1999 to 2009. In her continuing role as board president, she travels across the nation speaking to audiences. Speaking from a mother’s perspective, Judy also authored a 2009 memoir, “The Meaning of Matthew,” exploring the family’s journey through the prosecution of Matthew’s assailants, the ensuing media coverage, and their continuing work to advance civil rights. Originally trained as a teacher, Mrs. Shepard holds a Bachelor of the Arts degree in Secondary Education from the University of Wyoming where she later pursued some post-graduate studies. She and Dennis continue to make their home in Casper, Wyoming.

Original Airdate: 1/26/2022

Come meet Andy Cosferent, the former Assistant Coach at Navarro College, in The Locher Room. Andy will be here to tell us all about Season 2 of the Netflix hit docuseries, Cheer, and share his personal journey with us all.

Andy currently serves as the President / CEO of CheersSource, LLC and is the Former Assistant Coach of Navarro College working alongside coach Monica Aldama on leading this incredible cheerleading team to victory every chance they can. Andy is a six-time Collegiate National Champion and former three-time athlete Collegiate National Champion with Navarro College himself, a two-time World Champion and a worldwide judge and speaker for the Cheerleading Industry.

Original Airdate: 1/20/2022

The four main cast members of the new web series The Disappointments will sit down with me in The Locher Room to discuss the first season of the series that premiered in late November to rave reviews. Joining me for the hour is the writer, director and star Rich Burns along with his co-stars James Campbell, Trevor LaPaglia and Gedde Watanabe.

These four talented actors will share behind-the-scenes stories of what it was like getting together to make The Disappointments. Perhaps you're one of the viewers who expressed a vocal interest in seeing a second season. You want to know what happened between Ray and Dwight that resulted in the finale's twist. And how Gary's prognosis will turn out? And please God, will James ever get his act together? Come learn how you can help be an integral part of helping to bring Season 2 to life.

The Disappointments is a hit comedy series about a group of close friends in their 50s who realize that the life they are living today falls far short of what they had imagined for themselves when they were 25. Careers, living situations, family dynamics, romantic relationships: It's all a bust, and the clock is ticking. This is a show about recognizable people taking desperate and funny actions in an attempt to turn their disappointing lives around before they run out of time. literally.

Original Airdate: 1/20/2022

Actress Margaret Colin will join in The Locher Room to look back at her remarkable career. Margaret's career began was cast as Paige Madison on The Edge of Night of Night. Soon after she originated the role of Margo Montgomery Hughes on As the World Turns.

Margaret has worked non-stop for the last four decades appearing on film, in primetime and on Broadway. Movie fans will recognize Margaret for her roles in Something Wild, Three Men and a Baby, The Butcher's Wife, Independence Day, The Devil's Own, Unfaithful and First Daughter. Her primetime roles include Foley Square, Leg Work, Chicago Hope, Now and Again, and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Chicago Med, Shades of Blue, and HBO's hit series Veep. Gossip Girls fans will remember her for her role as Eleanor Waldorf on the hit CW series which she just reprised in the HBO Max update.

Colin met actor Justin Deas when he played her love interest, Tom Hughes, on As the World Turns. They were married in January 1988 and have two sons.

Don't miss the chance to catch-up with this fan favorite.

Original Airdate: 2/19/2022

Go behind the scenes of your favorite daytime dramas with three Emmy Award-winning directors. Joining me today are Bruce Barry, Sonia Blangiardo and Scott McKinsey.

These three talented directors have brought to life some of your favorite stories, characters and moments in daytime television history over the last few decades. The shows they have worked on include All My Children, Another World, As the World Turns, Days of Our Lives, General Hospital, Guiding Light, Love of Life, Passions, Search for Tomorrow, Sunset Beach, Texas and The Young and the Restless to name a few.

Don't miss the chance to meet these three and learn what it takes to direct a full-hour of daytime television 260 days per year.

Original Airdate: 1/14/2022

Three time Emmy Award-winning actress Sarah Joy Brown joined me in The Locher Room to look back at her incredible acting career that began at the young age of 19. Sarah created the role of Carly Corinthos and Claudia Zacchara on ABC's General Hospital. In addition to GH, daytime fans will recognize Sarah from her roles on As the World Turns (Julia Larrabee), The Bold and the Beautiful (Agnes Jones) and Days of Our Lives (Madison James).

Sarah's career began at the prestigious Los Angeles County High School for the Performing Arts and she graduated from both LACHSA’s Theatre Department and Alexander Hamilton’s Academy of Music. Sarah launched her professional career on her nineteenth birthday when she was cast as the series lead on children's series V.R. Troopers which aired in more than 30 countries around the world.

Two years later, Sarah won the lead role of Carly on General Hospital. In five years on GH, Sarah was nominated for four Emmy awards and won three. Since leaving, Sarah has appeared on multiple hit television series and became a series regular on Cold Case. She followed Cold Case with a co-starring role in the blockbuster comedy "Big Mommas House" starring comedy legend Martin Lawrence.

In 2008 Sarah returned to General Hospital in the newly created role of Claudia Zacchara for which she was nominated for another Emmy. In 2015 Sarah was nominated for an Emmy for her starring role in the independent web series Beacon Hill. Sarah currently stars on the Emmy winning series, Studio City, on Amazon Prime, for which she was again nominated for an Emmy in 2021.

Sarah transitioned into directing during the summer of 2021 when she agreed to direct and edit ten episodes of a streaming audio drama from Violet Hour Media, the leading Horror Podcast network. The series is titled Red Ridding Hoods and is currently available across all audio streaming platforms.

Original Airdate: 1/13/2022

Please join the creators and two of the stars from Around the Sun, a new episodic audio drama, in The Locher Room. Joining me are creator Brad Forenza and two of his cast members François Clemmons (Mr. Rogers’Neighborhood) and Maureen Van Zandt (The Sopranos).

Each self-contained episode of Around the Sun explores human connections, made and missed, with an existential New York flare. Whether consumed together or independently, the comedy, tragedy, and soul of Around the Sun embraces one character’s assertion that, “We’re never alone in New York… even if it feels like the opposite is often true.” The series was produced in quarantine, via remote technology. “Around the Sun is a valentine to a city I love, and the transcendent themes that unite us,” says series creator Brad Forenza. “It’s also a celebration of possibility, created amidst the pandemic’s destruction..”

Around the Sun’s celebrated ensemble includes: David Alan Basche (The Exes), Joanna Bonaro (Good ‘n Screwed), Dolores Catania (Real Housewives of New Jersey), François Clemmons (Mr. Rogers’Neighborhood), Lilli Cooper (Tootsie), Veanne Cox (Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella), David LaRosa (Clandestine), Marsha Mason (The Goodbye Girl), Christine Nagy (106.7 Lite FM), Vincent Pastore (The Sopranos), Austin Pendleton (My Cousin Vinny), Alysia Reiner (Orange is the New Black), Sally Struthers (Gilmore Girls), Maureen Van Zandt (The Sopranos), BD Wong (Mr. Robot), Ryan Wotherspoon (Fogg), and Brad Forenza (A Case of Blue)… all playing New Yorkers, yearning to connect.

Around the Sun (#AroundTheSunPodcast) is a Best Version of Yourself production, written/directed by Brad Forenza, co-produced by Suzanne Ordas Curry (Equity) and Brian Dashew (Breaking Points).

Original Airdate: 1/12/2022

Please join author / actress Deborah Goodrich Royce for An Author's Afternoon in The Locher Room. Daytime fans will recognize Deborah from All My Children where she played Silver Kane, the sister of the legendary Erica Kane. Deborah will be here to discuss her second novel, Ruby Falls.

Deborah made her debut as an author in 2019 with Finding Mrs. Ford. She also worked as a story editor for Miramax Films, and was instrumental in the development of such films as Emma, The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain, and A Wrinkle in Time. With her husband, she restored and reopened the Avon Film Center, a 1939 landmark in Stamford, CT, which now operates as a not-for-profit dedicated to independent, classic, foreign, and documentary films.

RUBY FALLS:

On July 12, 1968, six-year-old Ruby suffered a shattering loss: her father. She remembers holding his hand and trying heartily not to be afraid while standing in the pitch-black dark, with the sound of roaring water and feel of dank air surrounding her. They were in a cave—in the middle of a clump of tourists visiting Ruby Falls in Lookout Mountain, Tennessee. Then, Ruby remembers her Daddy letting go of her hand... and disappearing. How could a full-grown man simply vanish—and worse, abandon his little girl, his own flesh and blood child?

Yes, that terrible day and the mystery of what happened to her father took a toll. But, with the help of her strong, devoted mother and therapy, that little girl survived—and vowed to leave Ruby behind. Transformed into Eleanor Russell, she finds fame in her early 20s as a daytime soap opera star in New York City. Then, on the cusp on her 26th birthday, she loses her job over some sort of controversy. To avoid publicity, Eleanor flees to Rome and, after a whirlwind six-week romance, returns home with a dashing husband, Orlando Montague. The son of an English aristocrat and Chinese refugee, Orlando is an antiques dealer—like her Daddy was. Determined to start anew in Los Angeles, Eleanor finds and snaps up a storybook cottage in the Hollywood Hills. She lands a plum role—the lead in a remake of Rebecca, keeping all the mystery of Hitchcock’s rendition of Daphne Du Maurier’s classic, but revamping up the horror. With the perfect husband, perfect home, and perfect career boost, Eleanor should be perfectly happy. And she is—or so, she keeps telling herself—even when Orlando begins acting “unkind,” at best.

Keeping the tension mounting and the shockers coming, Ruby Falls follows Eleanor as she begins to suspect that her perfect husband is a liar with sinister motives. Then, her work on the set of a chilling movie starts to blur with her life at home. Is Eleanor trapped in a dangerous marriage? Or is the horror and pain of her childhood coming back to destroy her?


Original Airdate: 1/7/2022

Actress Anne Sayre will join me in The Locher Room to reminisce about her time playing Mitzi Matters on As the World Turns. Mitzi was first introduced to Oakdale through her best friend, Rose D'Angelo (Martha Byrne). Mitzi and Rose were both showgirls from the great state of New Jersey.

Anne ran away with this role making As the World Turns fans fall in love with Mitzi Matters.

Original Airdate: 1/6/2022