Archive for the 'Tim Russell' Category

On the road with again PHC

Published
by
Tim Russell
on March 31, 2009
in News, Prairie Home and Tim Russell
. Closed

I had my maiden voyage last weekend with crutches on a flight to Appleton, WI to do “A Prairie Home Companion” at their beautiful Performing Arts Center. My foot responded by swelling like a Johnsonville Brat with 5 fat sausage toes attached. fortunately we stayed at the boutique Copperleaf Hotel. They have a wonderful spa in the building so I had a massage, which did wonders. The 5pm broadcast show was great and Garrison did a second non-broadcast show at 8:30pm. We finished at 11:20pm so the in-room whirlpool tub was a lifesaver the next morning before checkout.

This Friday we start a three week run at The Town Hall in New York City.

Amy Carlson Gustafson, a writer for The St. Paul Pioneer Press was kind enough to note my return to work in her “Hot Dish” column.

WCCO’s Tim Russell back on air

It’s been six weeks since listeners got their entertainment updates from WCCO radio’s Tim Russell. Blame it on the ice. Last month, Russell took a nasty spill on a patch of ice while taking out the garbage. Not only did he dislocate his left foot, but he also broke two (!) bones in his ankle. It was painful just listening to him describe the incident. As if that wasn’t enough, the ankle surgery preceded prostrate surgery that he underwent earlier this month. (You can read more about his various health issues on his blog.) While he was out recovering, the station was sans an entertainment editor and “Prairie Home Companion” had to do three shows without one of its regulars. Well, we’re happy to report that this week Russell is back behind the mic at WCCO and will be at the “PHC” show in Appleton, Wis., this weekend.  So how did Russell survive weeks of bed rest? “American Idol,” “Dancing With the Stars” and other television shows helped. “I watched Gordon Ramsay’s ‘The F-Word.’ They run that thing constantly on BBC America and his “Kitchen Nightmares,” too. I had never seen Gordon Ramsay before so it’s a revelation,” Russell joked. Check out this amusing video of Russell navigating the WCCO studios with the aid of his “knee walker.”

Posted by Amy Carlson Gustafson in the Pioneer Press on March 24, 2009

Back In The Saddle

Published
by
Tim Russell
on March 23, 2009
in News, Prairie Home and Tim Russell
. 1 Comment

Today was my first day back to work as Entertainment Editor at WCCO Radio. I’m still not comfortable trying to drive, so Judy had to endure the 4 am wake-up to drive me to work. I used my “knee-walker”

Debbie Reynolds

Debbie Reynolds

to scoot around since I’m still Non-weight bearing on my broken ankle. I had a few technical issues trying to get back in the groove, but it felt comfortable after  about an hour or so.The mail slot was full but it was lovely to see all the get well cards-thanks to all of you who sent those the kind and caring sentiments. More physical therapy this afternoon, then followup visits with the Urologist and Orthopedic surgeon later this week.Tuesday morning I’ll be chatting with Debbie Reynolds, hope you’ll tune in.

Broken Ankle Update

Published
by
Tim Russell
on February 25, 2009
in News, Prairie Home and Tim Russell
. 2 Comments

Complications

I had a first look at my ankle repair on Monday when they opened up my original splint, it looks like Frankenstein’s neck, neatly stitched on both sides, no bolts sticking out but more screws than I thought., 9 in all, plus the plate on the outside of the ankle.

Inside of ankle Outside of ankleIt felt very weird, but I am starting to move it a little. They outfitted me with an Aircast, a cast that can be removed to wash the foot and ice it down. Next Monday they will take out the sutures and I can get started with Physical therapy.

AircastI was shocked to see the muscle loss on that calf. I’ve got my work cut out for me.
Complicating everything, my surgery has evidently been the trigger point for a urological issue. I have always had an enlarged prostate but the problem of urine retention has now become something that must be addressed surgically. I will have a Laser Prostate Reduction on March 9th, it’s an outpatient procedure under local anesthesia., with a few days recovery time. Wish me well. The interesting part of all this is I had to learn Intermittent Male Self Catheterization, not for the faint of heart.

Tim Russell Has a Broken Ankle

Published
by
Tim Russell
on February 16, 2009
in News, Prairie Home and Tim Russell
. 4 Comments

I had a nasty slip on the ice taking the garbage out before work at my day job ( as Entertainment Editor for “The Morning News with Dave Lee”, 5-9 am on WCCO Radio). I was walking back up the driveway my right leg slipped out from under me and my left foot, was dislocated, breaking both the tibia and the fibula right at the ankle. It felt like a compound fracture and when I looked at my foot after hitting the ground, it was dangling off to the side at a right angle.

Tim's left ankle before surgery.

Tim's left ankle before surgery.

Screaming ensued, at that point you think of all the things you wanted to do , clean the garage, move furniture for a sale, start the Nordic Track training again, things that you know are out the window for a while. I had my Cell with me so I called my wife, in bed sound asleep ( it was 4:45am), then I called 911. Some of my neighbors heard the screaming and they called 911 and came by to help. We had to salt the driveway so no one else would be hurt. I was there on the icy driveway for about 20 minutes waiting for the ambulance, it seemed like an hour. I like it when they say “which foot is it?”. That would be the one dangling off to the side, I believe! They loaded me up with morphine and took me to Park Nicollet Methodist Hospital. I cursed every one of those Minnesota potholes while calling the boys at WCCO to tell them I wasn’t going to be around for a while. My wife followed armed with a small Kodak Z16 HD pocket video camera to document the proceedings. The sight of my ankle in the ER is perfect for viewing at family gatherings at holidays… like HALLOWEEN! My first holding room was so small that the personnel kept bumping into my foot; it was a “Three Stooges” routine. After some X-Rays, they reset the dislocated foot. This is where in the old Western movies, they would say “Drink a swig of this and bite down on this leather” but today they have these things called drugs, I didn’t feel a thing. I couldn’t eat or drink before surgery, which finally happened at 8pm, it was 1 hour and 40 minutes long, took 8 screws and a plate and the orthopedic surgeon did a great job.

Tim's ankle with all the new titanium.

Tim's ankle with all the new titanium.

I stayed in the hospital until Thursday afternoon (2/12), resting; being poked and prodded, learning to handle the crutches and the bathroom.

tim-in-hospitalI needed some grab bars installed at home, so my wife arranged the installation for Friday morning. I moved to a transitional care unit near our house Thursday to have an extra day for Judy to get the house ready.

Valentine’s day I went home to my new bed/office/media center. Judy cleared out the area rugs, had the bars installed, moved the furniture around and had everything just right. Luckily, I had a Valentine present sitting in the back seat of my car for a couple of weeks so I had some small way to thank Judy for all the hard work.

I need to stay in bed until Monday (2/23) when the surgeon will open up the splint and wrap to check and hopefully remove the staples and sutures. She would then put a removable cast on and I’m on a non-weight bearing situation for another 4 weeks. She says it will be another 6 months or so before the ankle will be somewhat normal.

The biggest loss in all of this is missing work for a couple of weeks. I so enjoy the camaraderie and good times on the morning show on WCCO, and the movie preview screenings 4 or 5 times a week. I hope to look into an ISDN installation for voice-overs and WCCO, but losing the chance to be on stage live with Garrison Keillor’s “A Prairie Home Companion” is particularly rough.

Fortunately, PHC has a three-week break before a 3/21 show at the State Theater in Minneapolis and by that time I should be hobbling around with skill. I look forward to it.

Tim Russell’s Oscar Blog

Published
by
Tim Russell
on February 4, 2009
in Tim Russell
. Closed

OscarOscar

Hats off to the Academy for putting together a very entertaining show last night. Hugh Jackman proved to be a great pick as  host, kicking things off at 7:3o with a recession shaped musical tribute to the 2009 nominated movies, and later anchoring an overblown big-time production number created by Baz Luhrman with Astaire like grace.”Slumdog Millionaire” was the night’s big winner with 8 statues and it was a joy to see the entire cast hit the stage to accept, especially the adorable child actors who were flown in from India for the event. I had “Slumdog” as Best Film and Danny Boyle as Best Director but overall my picks were not quite as successful. I was skunked on several peripheral categories, I missed with Mickey Rourke as the best actor,  but was impressed with Sean Penn’s acceptance. I had Kate Winslet as Best Actress and even though I thought Amy Adams would win as Best Supporting Actor I was right in saying Penelope Cruz should win, and she did. My pick tabulation: 9 right, 11 wrong, and in four categories I was correct with my “should win” predictions. This is why I stay away from VegasThe attempts at comedy were thankfully more successful than not. Tina Fey and Steve Martin set the bar high with some clever writing, Ben Stiller hot the mark with his parody of a distracted Joaquin Phoenix , and Judd Apatow delivered a clever “Pineapple Express” segment with James Franco and Seth Rogan reprising their stoners in a salute to the Comedies of 2009.I really liked the concept of having past winners deliver their well written tributes to the nominees in each of the major acting categories. The emotions seemed quite heartfelt.The show has it’s legitimate detractors, it’s always too long, but I must say I was very impressed with what seems to be a very successful reworking of the production. Way to go Academy, I’m looking forward to another year of cinema.

These were my picks for the 81st Annual Academy Awards as the Entertainment Editor for WCCO Radio:

1.        Best Picture: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “Frost/Nixon,” “Milk,” “The Reader,” “Slumdog Millionaire.”

Should win: Slumdog Millionaire

Will win: Slumdog Millionaire

2.        Actor: Richard Jenkins, “The Visitor”; Frank Langella, “Frost/Nixon”; Sean Penn, “Milk”; Brad Pitt, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”; Mickey Rourke, “The Wrestler.”

Should win: Mickey Rourke

Will win: Mickey Rourke

3.        Actress: Anne Hathaway, “Rachel Getting Married”; Angelina Jolie, “Changeling”; Melissa Leo, “Frozen River”; Meryl Streep, “Doubt”; Kate Winslet, “The Reader.”

Should win: Melissa Leo

Will win : Kate Winslett

4.        Supporting Actor: Josh Brolin, “Milk”; Robert Downey Jr., “Tropic Thunder”; Philip Seymour Hoffman, “Doubt”; Heath Ledger, “The Dark Knight”; Michael Shannon, “Revolutionary Road.”

Should win: Heath Ledger

Will win: Heath Ledger

5.        Supporting Actress: Amy Adams, “Doubt”; Penelope Cruz, “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”; Viola Davis, “Doubt”; Taraji P. Henson, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”; Marisa Tomei, “The Wrestler.”

Should win: Penelope Cruz

Will win: Amy Adams

6.        Director: David Fincher, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”; Ron Howard, “Frost/Nixon”; Gus Van Sant, “Milk”; Stephen Daldry, “The Reader”; Danny Boyle, “Slumdog Millionaire.”

Should win: Danny Boyle

Will win: Danny Boyle

7.        Foreign Film: “The Baader Meinhof Complex,” Germany; “The Class,” France; “Departures,” Japan; “Revanche,” Austria; “Waltz With Bashir,” Israel.

Should win: “Waltz With Bashir”

Will lwin: “The Class

8.        Adapted Screenplay: Eric Roth and Robin Swicord, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”; John Patrick Shanley, “Doubt”; Peter Morgan, “Frost/Nixon”; David Hare, “The Reader”; Simon Beaufoy, “Slumdog Millionaire.”

Should win: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”

Will win: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”

9.        Original Screenplay: Courtney Hunt, “Frozen River”; Mike Leigh, “Happy-Go-Lucky”; Martin McDonagh, “In Bruges”; Dustin Lance Black, “Milk”; Andrew Stanton, Jim Reardon and Pete Docter, “WALL-E.”

Should win: “Frozen River”

Will win: “In Bruges”

10.     Animated Feature Film: “Bolt”; “Kung Fu Panda”; “WALL-E.”

Should win: WALL-E

Will win: WALL-E

11.     Art Direction: “Changeling,” “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “The Dark Knight,” “The Duchess,” “Revolutionary Road.”

Should win: “The Curious case of Benjamin Button”

Will win: “The Curious case of Benjamin Button”

12.     Cinematography: “Changeling,” “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “The Dark Knight,” “The Reader,” “Slumdog Millionaire.”

Should win: “ Slumdog Millionaire”

Will win: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”

13.     Sound Mixing: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “The Dark Knight,” “Slumdog Millionaire,” “WALL-E,” “Wanted.”

Should win: “The Dark Knight”

Will win: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”

14.     Sound Editing: “The Dark Knight,” “Iron Man,” “Slumdog Millionaire,” “WALL-E,” “Wanted.”

Should win: ”WALL-E”

Will  win: “Slumdog Millioaire”

15.     Original Score: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” Alexandre Desplat; “Defiance,” James Newton Howard; “Milk,” Danny Elfman; “Slumdog Millionaire,” A.R. Rahman; “WALL-E,” Thomas Newman.

Should win:” Slumdog Millionaire”

Will win: “Slumdog Millionaire”

16.     Original Song: “Down to Earth” from “WALL-E,” Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman; “Jai Ho” from “Slumdog Millionaire,” A.R. Rahman and Gulzar; “O Saya” from “Slumdog Millionaire,” A.R. Rahman and Maya Arulpragasam.

Should win:”Down to Earth”

Will win: “Sown to Earth”

17. Costume: “Australia,” “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “The Duchess,” “Milk,” “Revolutionary Road.”

Should win:” The curious Case of Benjamin Button

Will win:” The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”

18. Documentary Feature: “The Betrayal (Nerakhoon),” “Encounters at the End of the World,” “The Garden,” “Man on Wire,” “Trouble the Water.”

Should win: “ Man on Wire”

Will win: “ Trouble the Water”

19. Film Editing: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “The Dark Knight,” “Frost/Nixon,” “Milk,” “Slumdog Millionaire.”

Should win:”Slumdog Millionaire”

Will Win: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”

20. Makeup: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “The Dark Knight,” “Hellboy II: The Golden Army.”

Should win: “ The Curios Case of Benjamin Button”

Will win: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”

21. Visual Effects: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “The Dark Knight,” “Iron Man.”

Should win:” The Curious Case of Benjamin Button “

Will win:” The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”

Sue Scott and Tim Russell on You Tube!

Published
by
Sue Scott
on January 27, 2009
in News, Prairie Home, Sue Scott and Tim Russell
. 1 Comment

Yes, Tim and I can now be heard AND seen doing our thing each week on A Prairie Home Companion.  Various sketches from the radio show are now being video taped and uploaded to YouTube.  You can peek in on what we’re doing live on the air for listeners all across the globe! Check out the videos of our APHC scripts posted on You Tube. Just to get you started, here we are (with Garrison and Tom Keith) in “Ruth Harrison: Reference Librarian”… Enjoy!

Tim Russell is cast in new Coen Brothers Film

Published
by
Tim Russell
on September 18, 2008
in Tim Russell
. Closed

I was cast as a Detective, circa 1967, in the new Coen Brothers Film “A Serious Man”, now shooting in Minneapolis, St. Paul, MN. I auditioned for casting agent Rachel Tenner August 5 and had a callback on the 12th with the Coen Brothers. It’s a small speaking part but it’s a thrill to be involved.

On August 23 I met with Mary Zophres, the costume designer for a wardrobe fitting. There was a large room filled with every conceivable outfit, male and female, from the late’60’s, a look I remember very well. I received a nice dark suit, skinny tie black shoes and socks, white shirt and a “Blues Brothers” hat. I had a nice chat with Debbie DeLisi, the extras casting director. She worked on the Robert Altman film “A Prairie Home Companion” with me and brought me up to date on what the producers and crew had been up to.

September 1, Labor Day, took me to the floor of the Republican National Convention as part of my day job with WCCO, a CBS radio station, and “The Morning News with Dave Lee”. I’m the Entertainment Editor as part of the morning show, but during the convention I served as a roving reporter ambushing the big names with my trusty Flash Mic, a portable digital Microphone with a built in flash memory. I Talked with Laura Bush, NBC’s Meredith Vieira, Rep. Ron Paul, Face the Nation’s Bob Shieiffer, former Governor Jesse Ventura, CNN’s John Roberts and many others. The security was intense, but since we arrived at 4am each morning it was smooth sailing getting in and out.

After the last day, September 4, my wife and I left for vacation in Buenos Aires, Argentina The Coen Brothers had some concerns about our planned return date of September 15th since my shooting day was to be the 16th, so we arranged to come back on the 13th, traveling back through Houston.

Buenos Aires Filete paintingArgentina was great, good food, great people, and fine architecture. Hurricane Ike was of some concern through our week there, so we moved our return to September 11th, arriving in Houston on the 12th. It became a race with the clock, when we arrived in Houston our 11am flight had been canceled; they were closing the airport at Noon. We were able to rebook getting the last two seats on the 7:10am flight to MSP, but had just 20 minutes to make the flight. We were very lucky. Judy’s cousin Patty lives in Houston and said we could stay in their guest room if we got stranded. Ike hit in the wee hours of Saturday the 13th and later that day we got a call from Patty that a tree had smashed through their roof right into the guestroom that had been prepped for us. We were very, very lucky.

1.jpgTuesday the 16th I arrived at the base camp of the Coen Brothers Film at 9am, got into my costume and waited for my call. The base camp is a Lutheran Church in Bloomington, a postwar suburb with the right look for the period. The block of homes that serves as the exterior set was hit with straight line winds a few years back so all these ramblers had newly planted trees making it look like 1967. We I got the call for my scene after a great film set meal, I was blown away by the time travel aspect of the one story houses with mid 60’s cars in every driveway.

11.jpgI play Detective #1 and my partner, Detective#2 is played by Guthrie Theater actor, Jim Lichtscheidl. We looked like Jake and Elwood, The Blues Brothers, in our hats so the Coen Brothers decided to ditch the hats. We blocked the scene then waited 20 minutes for them to set the camera and lights. The props department had just given us badges to use…”Badges! Badges! I don’t need no stinking badges!” I used the time practicing whipping my badge out of my suit coat pocket with authority.

We did four takes, shooting us from inside the house through a screen door, with minor adjustments each time. The brothers were very nice and seemed pleased with the results. They even thanked me for coming back from my vacation early. When I told them about our close call Ethan said, “I guess we saved your life then”. We return on October 13th to film the scene again from our viewpoint of the scene, the exterior of the house looking in to the living room.

It’s about 30 seconds, so I don’t think I’ll be submitted for anyone’s consideration come Oscar time, but it was a big thrill. I just hope I escape the cutting room floor.

Washington Post on our Presidential Candidate Voices

Published
by
Tim Russell
on May 17, 2008
in Prairie Home and Tim Russell
. Closed

The Washington Post has been listening to “A Prairie Home Companion” the last couple of weeks and thought we were ahead of the curve with our impersonations of the current presidential candidates:

McCain Might Not Like the Sound of This

By Amy Argetsinger and Roxanne Roberts
Friday, May 16, 2008; C03

The man’s been the presumptive GOP nominee for two months already, so it’s about time someone mastered a John McCain impression.

Tim Russell performing Bush 5-2008That person is voice actor Tim Russell, a 16-year veteran of Garrison Keillor‘s “A Prairie Home Companion” public-radio show, who in a skit last week showed off a delightfully husky Bill Clinton and a somberly resonant Barack Obama– but whose McCain voice was so eerily evocative you’d think the Arizona senator himself stepped in for a cameo. (With all due respect to Darrell Hammond, who recently debuted a solid McCain on “SNL.”)

“Let me tell you something, my friend,” Russell-as-McCain warned the show’s Hillary Clinton ( Sue Scott). “When you and the skinny guy get done cutting each other up, I’m waiting for the winner in the parking lot.”

How does he get that voice so right? “It’s a little bit of Ronald Reagan,” Russell told us on the phone from Minnesota, “a little bit of Carol Channing, and Liberace.”

Carol Channing?! “It’s the ‘s’ [sounds] — there’s a little sibilance involved. It’s the nasality that comes from Liberace. From Reagan, it’s just that breathy tone.”

Plus, there’s McCain’s trademark verbal tic. “I saw him doing a town hall meeting and I was struck by the number of times he said, ‘my friend.’ I thought, ‘Holy cow, there’s a hook.’ We always have our ears open to that kind of thing.”

McCain is easy, he said, compared with Obama, whose tics are subtler, as Russell demonstrated for us: “He only talks [pause] in two or three words [pause] at a time.” And he contracts “you know” to “yo.”

Russell’s big concern: That Minnesota’s own Gov. Tim Pawlenty may end up as McCain’s VP pick. “He’s got a good talk-show-host voice, very straight, nothing to pick up on,” he said. “Anyone who’s normal is always trouble.”

Vintage Tim Russell (with hair)

Published
by
Tim Russell
on May 16, 2008
in Tim Russell
. 2 Comments

This is a spot I did some 30 years ago with Heidi Lynch (actress Kelly Lynch’s little sister). I told them I could ride a motorcycle ( a Honda 50cc) but I could barely control this big 600cc beast. Radio acting on “A Prairie Home Companion” is much safer.

Las Cruces Newspaper Interview With Tim and Sue

Published
by
Tim Russell
on May 15, 2008
in Prairie Home, Sue Scott and Tim Russell
. Closed

picture-1.png

“A Prairie Home Companion’: From Lake Wobegon to Las Cruces
By S. Derrickson Moore/Sun-News reporter

LAS CRUCES — The folks of Lake Wobegon are coming for the first-ever Las Cruces live broadcast of “A Prairie Home Companion” from New Mexico State University’s Pan American Center on May 31.
Here on the Southwestern prairies, fans are eagerly awaiting the event, according to David O’Neill, “PHC’s” marketing director.
“We are very excited to be coming to Las Cruces and from the moment that Garrison (Keillor) made mention of our coming there in a New Year’s Eve special, we have been hearing from folks telling us how excited they are — we honestly have been given an incredible welcome have received a ton of the nicest messages from people in and around Las Cruces,” O’Neill said.
In phone interviews this week from their home base in Minneapolis, longtime cast members Tim Russell and Sue Scott talked about what it takes to bring the beloved PBS show to its fans every week.
“Usually we come into town the day before the show,” said Russell, whose motley crew of characters have been described by legendary show host and author Keillor as “the mafioso, callow youth, Yale smoothie, prickly curmudgeon, Paris boulevardier, Russian artiste, Swedish sourpuss and cowpoke president.”
This year, Russell has added some new voices to his repertoire.”Because it’s political season, I’m also doing John McCain and Barack Obama in addition to the current occupant” of the White House. “And sometimes I still bring out Al Gore,” said Russell, breaking into character to announce that “I didn’t really invent the Internet.”
He has a Monday through Friday show on a Minneapolis radio station and spends most weekends on the road with “PHC.”
“We’ve been on the road for the last six weeks,” said Russell, adding that broadcasts from the Midwestern environs envisioned by most “PHC” fans are rare these days.
“We actually do most of our shows on other locations: maybe 10 or 12 in the twin cities (Minneapolis-St. Paul) and all the rest, 24 or so, are on the road. I love to travel and enjoy going to museums in whatever city we’re in,” Russell said.
He said the show is full of surprises for the cast and rewrites continue until just before broadcast time.
“Garrison is a genius and what makes it fun for us is that we really don’t have to think about it. The writing is so good everything just falls into place. We’re always in hog heaven,” said Russell, who has been with the show since 1994.
There are also perks like the chance to hobnob with a highly diverse group of celebrities that range from legendary musicians to movie stars.
“Leon Redbone was just on the show,” said Russell.
He and Scott also have fond memories of the 2006 movie based on the show with an all-star cast that included Meryl Streep, Lily Tomlin and Lindsay Lohan.
“Lindsay calls me grandpa,” Russell reports.
Scott, a native of Tucson, Ariz., said she is looking forward to a visit to desert country. She’s been with the show since 1992 and said she has “the best job in show business. We are truly like a family. Some people have been with the show for 33 years, since the beginning. Garrison writes brilliant dialog and at 65 going on 66, he seems to have more energy and gets busier all the time.”
She has recently added Hillary Clinton to a list of characters that Keillor describes as “Lutheran lunch lady, grizzled waitress, supermodel, suburban mom, bimbo, harridan, harpy and siren.”
She and Russell also team as Barb and Jim, the popular Ketchup Advisory Board couple.
“I say that they are all my favorites because I don’t want any of my characters to feel left out. Tim is great with impersonations and I would say that I am more of a character actress. I try to find some kind of hook. Laura Bush is easier because of her thick Texas accent. Hillary is harder. I try to pick up something from her stump speeches,” she said.
Her adventures with “PHC” have included theme cruises with the cast and live broadcasts from exotic locales like Iceland.
“We broadcast to about 5 million fans in the United States but we’re aired in other English-speaking countries, on the BBC in London and in Ireland, Australia and New Zealand,” she said, and Internet streaming is making “PHC” a worldwide phenomenon.
She said an 18-wheeler with sets and equipment will roll into Las Cruces a few days before the May 31 broadcast, and a cast and crew of about 25 will gather for rehearsals on May 30.
“Garrison keeps doing rewrites and the script keeps evolving until broadcast time,” she said.
The “PHC” Web site recently announced that the musical guest will be Grammy Award-winning mandolin player and vocalist Chris Thile.
“We’ve been working to get this show here for three years. I’m really excited about this,” said Bobbie Welch, Pan Am’s special events coordinator, who reports that 3,000 of 4,500 available tickets were sold by this week.
“That includes almost all of the top-end tickets,” she said, adding that Pan Am officials are considering whether to open up additional seating areas to a maximum capacity of 5,300 seats for the show.