Last night I attended my third live IODW, this time at their new home at Crooners. They performed in the lovely outdoor tented space "The Belvedere" (presumably moving to one of the inside stages for the winter). "The Belvedere" opened in 2021 (after a lifesaving summer of outdoor drive-in concerts in 2020), when we were still worried about air flow and distance. What was born of necessity became a popular outdoor venue - see the full schedule here, including the upcoming "Loons on the Lake" comedy festival. Crooners is a supper club so you can order food and drinks prior to and during the show, but the best thing about Crooners is there's a sign on every table reminding people this is a "listening environment" - you're there to listen to the music, not chat with your friends during the show.
This podcast episode will be available for you to listen to in a few weeks, and it'll be a good one. Joining the radio acting company was Dexieng (Dae) Yang, who told a lovely story about how life's plans change, and Leslye Orr, a legally blind actor who talked about her advocacy for disabled artists (and performed some eerily effective sound effects). Jearlyn Steel was the musical guest, sharing some sweet and funny lullabies she sings for her (very lucky) grandchildren. The featured guest and interview subject was the hilarious Paula Poundstone. I've always liked Paula, but have never been subjected to her humor for an extended period of time. It was an absolute treat; I haven't laughed that hard in a long long time. Sue tried to interview about her life and career (she was the first woman to host the White House Correspondents' Dinner, and told a crazy story about Bush Sr.), but she would go off topic in the most delightful way. I'm looking forward to listening to the show to see what they edited and what they left in.
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| Zippy Laske, Dae Yang, Sue Scott, Paula Poundstone, and Leslye Orr (photo credit: @cherryandspoon Instagram) |