Good Day Uncut: The Sound of America Musical

Welcome in to Good Day Uncut. I'm Greg Payne filling in for Mr. Hank Flynn and where we're at we're at Fringe Bar now Let me just give you a little reference right there You see Columbus Boulevard right above you the Ben Franklin Bridge and right here. We're at Fringe Bar, but over to my left We're not going to be highlighting really Fringe Bar even though they have some great food and drinks Over here to my left hand side This is Fringe Arts and this is where they have a whole bunch of shows and we got a really cool one It has to do with Ben Franklin. It has a little bit of a twist So, I mean first off if you can introduce yourself in the the name of the show. Sure. Hi, I'm Kyle Metzger director of So talk to us a little bit about what is the Sound of America music well Most people don't know that Ben Franklin was actually a rock star America's first rock star and so we're Showcasing his story his journey from Being an indentured servant in Boston all the way to his, you know going to Paris and trying to get France to help us win the Revolution and all told through original songs in different rock styles with a really incredible cast of actor musicians that all Play their own instruments. And yeah, it's a total party So when you said that I almost didn't know whether to believe you or not. So you're not pulling my leg Okay, you got me you got me he wasn't a rock star he didn't play the Wells Fargo Center or whatever it's called now No, but yeah in a lot of ways Any any place he would visit it was you know, you would get like the stage door experience there were you know groupies following him everywhere He also wrote Under the student in poor Richard or these poor Richard all max but for like mega hits and we still say so many of them today like, you know, What's the one about death and taxes? The only only thing in life that certain is death and taxes, you know early to rise early to We yeah, we save them all yeah, well they say the cast says it I just listen, okay I didn't have to learn the script. Okay But yeah, where did you come up with the motivation behind this? I mean, I know I heard your mom she has like a Ben Franklin Well, so, you know the guys that wrote it Randall Lane and Todd Schwartz they've known each other for years That's right, you know Ben Franklin was such a rock star like why is there not a musical about him? so they collaborated wrote the Book the lyrics the music Todd was a musician earlier in his life and so And then I got connected to it later and yeah, I mean my mom is a major Ben Franklin head Like she's got the Ben Franklin tattoo, you know join or die And so yeah when I when I got this job, the first thing I did was call my mom Okay, what so what who cares about Ben Franklin sit down listen Get your get your paper Now we're gonna take a little walk because now you said that the the changing room There's some of the the outfits that these folks would be wearing and while we do that actually I want to see that tattoo mom Can you show us a tattoo? How proud are you of your son directing something about Ben Franklin since you love that? Yeah, I couldn't believe it I got this like 10 years ago, and now he's directing the play about Ben Franklin That's awesome, all right, so we have the outfits back here and while we're heading back here I mean if you could talk a little bit about you know, the show you guys been doing this since what July 1st Yeah, July 1st. We go to August 1st Yeah, we're here Wednesday through Sunday 7 o'clock shows matinees on the weekends at 2 And you know the best thing about being here is the bar that's attached to the building so You know you can get drinks during the show and after if you come for the matinees you can you know they have brunch Available, so it's it's kind of like a full situation over here. Oh, we already got the wigs out Getting into character already So this is where it all goes down putting on the outfits and stuff like that oh You want to show off what you what you got here. Oh, yeah, this is my best right here My favorite my favorite costume piece Yeah We have giant leather aprons. Oh, here's one of them now. You're one of the characters. I mean what what what is your role? Yes, my I am Hugh Meredith. I am Ben Franklin's best friend. I'm a bestie and guitarist for the band So yeah, I'm kind of there as a support and then as the show goes I kind of gain more of my own Autonomy and become my own rock star I I wear a kiss mask and that giant wig which is really cool because I don't have hair in real life So I'm able to live out my hair rock like my headbang fantasies Yeah, you gotta come see In your role what what's your role? Yeah, so I actually I play I play Lord Alexander Wedderburn who is our referee a big booze He's British. He works for the King George and he's actually Scottish But so my costumes have a little different touch obviously a red coat for the red coats, you know, it's very apt we've got the who jacket with the Union Jack the Kings colors Everything's kind of leaning that way and then when I get more rock and roll I get out the leather, too I joined the game. We've got all these crazy. Everything's everything's very patriotic to England and United Kingdom. Well, I know that you're you're essentially the the villain in this. Yeah, I mean I guess you get booed a few times. Are you getting used to the the booing aspect? Yeah, I I play a lot of villains in my career so I've got a lot of I've got a lot of practice being this like kind of you know too big for his britches like Just like I don't care if you boo me I I'm in the right but obviously he's the bad guy and everyone knows It's definitely can't be too. I mean I have all this hair But I wear these these wigs the whole show and look really silly So it's easy for them to at least laugh at me if they're not like yeah, we support the British It was a really tough show on July 4th when everyone's wearing their United States their stars and stripes They're going crazy for Ben and then it's like, you know There's a battle of the bands at the end that the audience vote and they were dead silent when I was going up They did not they were like, I'm not gonna accidentally let this guy win one cheer and he could take the whole cake I think that's totally it We took a lot of the stuff that I do since I'm just such like it's such a classic comedy villain style I have most outrageous lines and scenes like we took a lot from like Pantos and like, you know theater for young adults and stuff and like I have a like a sting a sound sting every time I enter that's like It's like evil. He's evil everybody. So it's good to see the crowd getting involved I love to kind of get everyone to revert to their most like childlike wonder and excitement and You know just rock out and if they boo me that just means they're paying attention. So I'm for it So we met two of the characters. We met the villain here. We don't even want to show the villain anymore But good day uncut we'll be right back we're gonna take a quick break Welcome back to good day uncut We're talking about a unique story about Ben Franklin and before we start talking to Ben, you know with every great man There is a woman that's alongside him. This is Deborah Deborah. You are the wife of Ben Franklin. I mean What's what's kind of your role in in this show though? Other than being the wife? What's your character? Partner in life She's also part of the motivation and kind of the brains behind But yeah behind like you said behind every man there's a great woman Now we're gonna pick your brain Deborah, what are some things that we don't know about then, you know Ben does at home that you know, we don't know. Oh, she's a baddie She held down the floor while he was out, you know doing his voyages During the stamp act she held down, you know, the Franklin home with a shotgun to defend, you know Franklin name her hubby What were you doing Ben we got Ben over here Ben Ben what were you doing? Yeah, I'm asking for Deborah I was hanging out in Paris, man. I was chilling in Paris I mean I was concerned and whatnot, but I was just kind of doing my own thing over there Yeah, I found out about Parmesan cheese and I blew my mind That's real What do you love about this world so much everything? It's it's just I'm a history nerd. So like getting to learn all of this crazy stuff about this guy is so much fun You know don't know research and everything and then getting to take the take the image of what people know about Ben Franklin It's like the you know balding bigger heavier set dude with the cane like Taking that and turning it into like an Elvis Presley type character has been really cool for me I would imagine Ben's looking right now. He's like, yeah, I would actually want to be more like you than probably what I look Thank you very much, man. I Hope so, I'm having too much fun with it with the cape and everything Well, I know you guys are gonna play some music So if you guys can set up and then we're gonna go back over to the director over here. And so I mean With this with this show I mean if you could talk to us a little bit about how things have gone thus far because I think you're your first show It was uh, it was July 1st. So how has the the crowd really been, you know taking to the show? Yeah, I think the biggest change from the first performance on Wednesday to Sunday is It's that calibration that the cast has to do with an audience for the first time, right? like we kind of created the show in the vacuum and then you finally have people that are Responding and engaging you to see who that's really hitting or they miss that joke And just realizing how hungry the audience is to interact with with them So yeah as the weeks gone on I think, you know, just kind of giving the cast permission like play play with them They they want to talk to you. They want to have fun with you come into the audience mess with us You know, and that's that's also the thing about doing a show like this. That is more rock concert than traditional You know narrative musical is that you get to break out of the theatrical form a little bit and you get to Offer an audience something that maybe they an experience they haven't had before I don't know what it is Something about this venue you do almost like even just like sitting here right now. You feel close to the action Yeah, yeah And I mean that's why we wanted to Do the show in this space as well Like it really lends itself to this style like that this you have the stadium seating, you know for for the arena rock show And and yeah having the intimacy like this It's an intimate show and I mean like I don't know about you, but I usually can't afford You know the VIP tickets to a rock show like I would love to be up close and personal But I'm usually in the nosebleeds So, you know having the opportunity to be this close to live music is really exciting and I think they feel the energy All right. So what's the what's the first song you guys gonna perform for us? We'll get a little clip of you guys going here We're gonna do a song called poor Richard Basically is talking about Benjamin Franklin's alias that he used to write when he was young under the name poor Richard He also he had about he had a lot of different names He would write under poor Richard was the most famous and most well-known No one knew who Ben Franklin was at the time, but everyone in America. I Mean everyone knew poor Richard All right, hit it. Let's go Oh, it's a nose out what you say, but what you do But you know the best and best what you learn This made some shoes I Let you go before I take the break Oh Folks we can listen to Ben Franklin and his crew playing all day. Well, we're gonna take a quick break good day uncut We'll be right back. Keep going Welcome back to good day uncut. We're here at fringe bar But this is fringe arts and we're highlighting a very special show that has a unique twist about Ben Franklin And I got Ben Franklin right here next to me, but Ben Franklin you you got some doughnuts now What's the deal with the doughnut? Oh, man. I got some goodies here. It's my favorite flavor. It is a cake batter flavor of plum and A sugar ginger on top and it got a little it's got a little edible Ben right there Little rock star Ben that you can munch down very yummy. It was a Ben Franklin's favorite flavors So they turned it into a doughnut and they're really good. That's sick. So you guys got this custom-made for for the show itself Yes, sir. Yes, sir And now did I hear something about the proceeds? Did they go to a certain group or something like that with the proceeds for all all the proceeds are going to? a teen cancer in America With sir, Roger Daltrey. He's our royal governor for the show. He's been working with us and collaborating. I'm collaborating with us And so all the proceeds are going to his foundation to help cure teen cancer in America in Philly. Um Pretty exciting. That's cool to be a part of it. Yeah, I was about to say that's touching I mean, you know, how cool is it that you know, you're not only performing to entertain the public, but you're also giving that Yeah, it's a it is a cool feeling. Um, there's a there's a moment in the show I don't want to say too much but there's a moment in the show near the end where it's kind of like a little Cameo with Roger Daltrey and every time we kind of present it as a cast It's always kind of special to you know, hear the cheers coming from because I'm facing I'm facing away from the audience So hearing the cheers from behind me for it is special because it's like yeah, you know We are doing a good thing here. And you know, this people are We're all given and it's going to a good cause Ben did I put you in a weird position because now you're facing the stage You're used to looking out and now you're like looking at your group. I know Hey guys What do you hey, shouldn't you be direction right? Yeah I've never been here before the seats are pretty comfy. Honestly How has the relationship developed with you know, the different cast members here because I heard of course there were auditions But like you guys walking in here. It seems like you guys known each other your entire life or have you know We've known each other since 17. Oh six, man That's only man, you know each other for a while. No, it's great working with with them It's weird because you guys are right here. It's great working with you guys. It's really special working with y'all I mean since day one Day one we were already goofing around and you know, we're all musicians as well So who will be throwing songs and little guitar bits here and there to each other and just laughing and carrying on Well, we'll hang out outside of rehearsal and have some jam sessions and just kind of hang out and talk about the show and whatnot Yeah, it's so great working with everyone and Kyle and every every single person that's been involved with this production Has has put something into it. That is like made a huge impact like it has been such a Such a group effort and it's been really special to be a part of since the beginning You guys like that making Ben talk you guys up, you know, you guys are liking this you want me to keep going Yeah, keep talking good about that We're gonna take a quick break we will be right back to wrap things up Welcome back into good day uncut. We're here at fringe bar, but this portion is fringe art Look at this beautiful venue that they have here. They have a really cool show That's going on that features Ben Franklin and tells a different story just for a reminder Tell folks what the name of the show is. Yes, the sound of America the musical very good So premier and we've been talking with you know You're cast here and of course there was a an audition process and I was mentioning, you know Talking with Ben the fact that it seems like these folks have known each other for so long What about this group made you be like, this is the crew that I need absolutely well I'll start by saying that like Philly has a really incredible pool of talent to draw from and this show is really complicated because It's a new piece so you need people that can work really quickly on their feet all the actors have to self-accompany on guitar and not just like three chords like Doing really complicated, you know guitar playing and sing and act And The fact that we had a ton of people audition who had all those skills that live in Philadelphia is just like It says a lot about the city but these folks, you know, not only were they super talented and Everyone was that we saw but I also yeah, I cast for vibes you know like these are people that I have to spend five week with five weeks with and the audience has to spend five weeks with and I'm always looking to work with people that are you know, generous and kind and Creative and collaborative problem solvers And so you have the energy in the room for all these all these wonderful people just it felt like yeah This this person is gonna be a great collaborator. Not just a great Nice and actually one of the cool things that you just mentioned all these folks. They're all local including yourself. Yeah, that's right Yeah, and the design team's all local as well We have a bunch of temple alum in the cast from like different generations And I adjunct there and I've worked with Jameson on a show last summer Called once that was down at DTC with new light theater. Yeah, it's uh, it's I love working with people again Like I've a lot of the designers Kit Longo and Amy Haneczewski The costumes and set productions, you know when you work with someone that you really vibe with and connect with Yeah, you just want to continue the collaboration What does that say when you look at this crew here? I mean, what does it say about the art scene here in the city? It's rich and like I I lived in New York for about a decade and moving here I I just feel like the talent in Philly People are so Unique and and so many of the artists wear so many hats Like, you know, we have actor musicians, you know I know people that are like direct and perform and write their own material and It's a gritty scrappy city. And I think the talent here really Really shows that too. Yeah. All right. So give us all the details once again wins the next show Yeah, so next show is tomorrow Wednesday at 7 o'clock We're running through August 1st Wednesday through Sunday Saturday and Sunday. We have two o'clock performances There's a bar attached to the theater so you can get drinks before and during and after they do brunch on the weekends You know make a whole day of it come hang out with us Very good and is there an Instagram page or anything like that or would it be a Fringe bar that Instagram that they can follow to get the schedules and stuff like yeah. Yeah, we have an Instagram It's sound of America musical And then the website you can find all the information about tickets is sound of American musical.com You can also go to the fringe arts website. They have all our info, too But yeah, please come on down hang out come to the rock show. Yeah Sound of America. Well, let's hear some sounds one more time We'll get the group going one last time to close this out in this show. Come on guys Yeah All right, you hear him right there sound of America Fringe bar good day uncut as I always say we are out of here