Token Theatre Friends

In this episode Jose talks to Michael Breslin, Patrick Foley and Cat Rodríguez, the creative minds behind Fake Friends, a new theatre/media company where they explore their love for pop culture, theatre and politics, through genre-bending pieces that combine multimedia with "traditional" theater.

Their latest project is Circle Jerk, a hilarious commentary on white gays and cancel culture, which they are streaming live from Oct. 18 through Nov. 7th. Jose talked to Michael, Patrick and Cat about criticism, YouTube influencers, creating theatre during a worldwide pandemic, and Fellini. 

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This week, Diep delivers a rant about the Tony Award nominations, and why it all feels anti-climactic.

This week the Friends welcome one of their favorite people: Heidi Schreck. Schreck was a Pulitzer Prize finalist for her play What the Constitution Means to Me, which ran on Broadway in 2019. Now that play has been filmed and will be released on Amazon Prime Video on Oct. 16. Schreck drops by to talk about the current state of our democracy, becoming a new mom (of twins!), and why it's so hard to film theater.

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On this week’s episode, the Friends react to the Lincoln Project’s ad that compares the president to Evita. It’s called Covita. It’s pretty terrifying. Then they review two shows-turned-movies/TV. The first is Ryan Murphy’s film version of The Boys in the Band, the 1968 play by Mart Crowley, which chronicles the lives of gay men living in New York City pre-Stonewall. It’s on Netflix. Then they talk about The Goes Wrong Show, which is based on The Play That Goes Wrong by Mischief Theatre, which ran on Broadway 2017 to 2019. The show on Amazon Prime 

This week’s guests are Eva Noblezada (Hadestown) and Tony winner Lea Salonga (Miss Saigon, Once on This Island). Eva is starring in Yellow Rose, a new film about an undocumented teenager whose mother is taken away by ICE. Lea plays her aunt. The two actors talk about their love of video games, how they’re both actually a bit introverted, and how they’re making money during quarantine.

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This week the Friends experienced two shows. One was an immersive play for one person for Portaleza by David Israel Reynoso/Optika Moderna, presented by La Jolla Playhouse. The prompt is: Send a message to a person in your life who has died. It's supernatural and kind of sci-fi. Then they review something more high-budget but also similarly technical: Romantics Anonymous, a new musical from Emma Rice, Christopher Dimond, and Michael Kooman. It was live-streamed straight from London's Old Vic Theatre and it was fully staged! The musical is about two socially awkward chocolate makers who fall in love. What do the Brits know that we don't about beating COVID and getting theater back?

This week's guests are playwrights Luis Alfaro (Mojada, Oedipus El Rey) and Alexis Scheer (Our Dear Dead Drug Lord), in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month. The two playwrights talk about theater as alchemy and magic, and how to find your voice as a writer, even when that voice is weirder than everyone around you.

Here are links to the things discussed this episode.

The transcript for this episode will be available at a later date.

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On this week's episode, the Friends talked to musician and actor Josh Groban (Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812), who is about to release a new album called Harmony in November. But before that happens, he's doing a series of live virtual concerts, where he will be performing new songs and taking requests from his back catalogue. The first of those concerts on Oct. 3 will be Broadway themed so get your show-tune requests ready now! Groban called in to talk about creating music and finding faith during the pandemic.

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This week, the Friends talk about two shows. First they discuss Murder at River Crossing Book Club from Live In Theatre Company, which is an interactive murder mystery where the audience get to interrogate witnesses and try to figure out, who killed the richest woman in town? It's real-life Clue! Then the Friends discuss this year's Miscast, MCC Theater's annual gala, where actors perform songs from shows they would never be cast in. Whose performance did the Friends love most? Find out!

This week's guest are actor Denis O'Hare (True Blood, American Horror Story) and director Lisa Peterson (The Waves, Light Shining in Buckinghamshire). The two are longtime friends who collaborated on the award-winning An Iliad and The Good Book. They've figured out to still collaborate with an ocean between them and the newest fruits of their partnership is the new virtual experience: What the Hell Is a Republic Anyway? Beginning live on Sept 22, and going until after the election, Peterson and O'Hare will explore the parallels between the fall of Rome and America today.

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This week, the Friends weren't able to record an intro together. But their guest is pretty epic. They welcomed Tony-winning actor/writer John Leguizamo, who is now adding director to his resume. He's starring in and directing a new film, Critical Thinking, where he plays a chess teacher who helps inspires a group of low-income Black and Latinx high-schoolers to national chess championship victory. Leguizamo drops by to talk about the film, Latin History for Morons (currently on Netflix), and his ongoing work to advance Latinx representation in film and theater.

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This week, the Friends react to the 2020 MTV Video Music Awards and the sudden death of Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman (who was also a playwright!). Then they discuss their experiences at Here We Are, a series of one-on-one plays produced by Theater for One where an actor performs, just for you! It's playing until Sept. 24.

Then Shaun Bengson and Abigail Nessen-Bengson, of the musical duo The Bengsons, call in. They're the duo behind the musicals Hundred Days and The Lucky Ones, and they've created a new work about their lives in quarantine called The Keep Going Song. They also appeared on NPR's Tiny Desk Concert, like NBD. The Bengsons discussed how they've managed to create not just new songs but a whole visual album for it, and what white artists can contribute to this racially charged time.

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The Friends took a break last week because Diep was out of town. But this week, they're coming back in time to talk about the Tony Awards. It's happening! And the Friends have opinions about what the awards ceremony should look like this year.

This week's guest is actor Daniel K. Isaac, who is a recurring character on the Showtime television show Billions. But did you know that Isaac is a big theater nerd? He has multiple binders and drawers dedicated to all the playbills he's collected over his 11 years in NYC and he shares some of his favorites, plus gives tips on how he could afford to buy theater tickets when he was still a struggling artist.

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This week, the Friends talk about Godspell at Berkshire Theatre Group, the first musical to be performed in from of a live audience using union actors. There's a lot of plastic involved, and masks on stage, which is admirable but they can't help but wonder: Who would want to risk their health to go see a show right now?

Then, the Friends review a show that is safe, the Zoom tarot readings currently being presented from Strange Bird Immersive, a Houston-based company that specializes in escape rooms. They can't do escape rooms but their actors are doing tarot readings online which are actually quite unnerving and accurate.

This week's guest is actor Harriett D. Foy, who is currently playing the ultra-religious Patrice in P-Valley on Starz, a new show written by playwright Katori Hall based on her play Pussy Valley. Foy talks about reading mean Tweets online and the upcoming virtual play she's doing to celebrate the centennial of women's suffrage: Finish the Fight by Ming Peiffer, which will premiere on Aug. 18 and is produced by The New York Times, and is about the unsung women of color who helped win women the right to vote. It will be available after the 18th for you to view whenever.

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