RSC artistic directors Reed Martin and Austin Tichenor discuss their return to Merrimack Repertory Theatre with the company's 11th show, The Comedy of Hamlet! (a prequel) as MRT's 300th production. Reed and Austin reveal the RSC's deep connections to New England; how this will be the RSC's third show to premiere at MRT (after The Complete World of Sports (abridged) and The Ultimate Christmas Show (abridged) and seventh visit overall; and share insights into the creation of the show and why they changed the title; how the show's roll-out and script development got interrupted by the pandemic; what milestone anniversary will be celebrated by our first MRT performance; and how creating a prequel to Shakespeare's greatest play brought unexpected emotional connections to the characters. (LENGTH 18:24)

Candice Handy, associate artistic director of Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, discusses her production of Lanie Robertson's Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill at Merrimack Repertory Theatre, and reveals how she first connected to the material and how the play lands differently now. Candice shares her background as both an actor and musician; Billie Holiday’s connection to Lowell; how actors are doctors to the soul; the wonder of discovering things you didn’t know you knew; the danger of silencing artists; the value of art in troubled times; and the importance of giving a play the grit it requires to deliver the transcendence it deserves. (Length 24:05)

Successful playwrights and television writers (and married couple) Barbara Wallace and Tom Wolfe are playing successful playwrights (and married couple) Charlotte and Arthur Sanders in the Waterfront Playhouse production of Paul Slade Smith's The Angel Next Door through February 8, 2025. Friends of the pod Barb and Tom make their first joint appearance to talk about their return to the stage as “eccentric artists” playing eccentric artists; being directed by Waterfront Playhouse artistic director Patrick New; help from Chicago actor (and friend of the pod) Laura T. Fisher and the LineLearner app; the importance of reading a script’s “funny type;” a possible new play called Terror at Four Feet; finding out one’s musical chops are out of tune; and how much acting is actually involved for two successful writers playing two successful writers. (Length 21:06)