Inside Penguin Rep Theater: 47 Years of Passion, Plays & Purpose

It’s not every day a hay barn becomes a nationally celebrated theater. But in Stony Point, New York, that’s exactly what happened. In this episode of I Live Here Westchester, host Jim Jockle speaks with Joe Brancato and Andrew M. Horn—the creative minds behind Penguin Rep Theater.

From its founding in 1977 to staging Off-Broadway hits and global tours, Penguin Rep has transformed into a powerhouse of new plays, bold voices, and community connection. Joe and Andrew share how it all began, what drives their mission today, and how they’re tackling big themes—from AI to accessibility—on a small but mighty stage.

You’ll hear:

• The incredible story of converting a barn into a theater
• Penguin’s role in launching major productions like Finding Neverland and The Devil’s Music
• What makes a 108-seat venue more powerful than Broadway
• Why their latest shows—Miracle on South Division Street and Flawless—are striking timely chords

With special guests:
Joe Brancato – Founding Artistic Director
Andrew M. Horn – Executive Director

Learn more:
Visit www.penguinrep.org
Email: info@penguinrep.org

About the Podcast:
I Live Here Westchester is hosted by Jim Jockle, highlighting the people, places, and stories that shape life in Westchester County, NY.

I Live Here Westchester is a production of I Live Here Media.
We spotlight the voices, visionaries, and stories that make Westchester County more than just a place to live—it’s a place to belong.

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Email: jimjockle@iliveheremedia.com
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Transcript

James JockleJoe, Andrew, thank you so much for joining us today. It's really great to meet you both and have an opportunity to chat.



Joe BrancatoWell, thank you for having us, certainly.



Andrew M HornThank you.



James JockleSo Joe, why don't we start with you? Take us back to 1977. Why a theater and why a barn?



Joe BrancatoWell, why a theater takes me back before 1977 because I always had this, I don't know, this desire, this inclination, this special feeling about spaces and where we could escape reality, meaning that back in the Bronx,



in the alleyways between the buildings. At nine, 10 years old, I was staging major shows. And that continued through even my stint in the service where on board the fantel of a ship ⁓ moored off the coast of Nova Scotia, I would stage readings of parts of plays with my crewmates. ⁓ And so I always had this inclination to direct



events, stories, tell stories. And in 1977, I was a teacher at North Rockland High School at the time I had



rediscovered their drama department there. They had just moved into a new building some time before that and I rediscovered their drama department. And off that, offshoot of that, I had a number of students in my classes who were amazing, amazing gifted kids. And I asked them what their background was and it turns out they took me to their residence, which was at



the Stony Point Conference Center in Stony Point, which was a Presbyterian ministry. And these kids, I spotted the truth. They had been ⁓ world traveled, smart as anything, so gifted. And on the grounds there, I saw this beautiful acreage. I saw this abandoned hay barn.



And I approached the minister at the time there, the Reverend, Reverend James Palm, and asked him if in fact I could turn this barn into a theater.



He did say that many, many years ago there were some missionaries in the barn for a summer or two where they would do some events, but turning it into a full-time theater was certainly a stretch ask. But you know, you don't ask, you don't get information. So I did it. And thank goodness for this man, Reverend James Palm, who believed in that young guy and said, go ahead, do it. I mean, those words are so...



liberating and so important for young artists to hear. And we did it. And because of his words, many, many, many, many people across this country and internationally have seen our work because of that man's gift to say to a young person, go for it, do it. We do in fact, this day, try to bring that sensibility to our interns.



who work along professionals at the theater supporting them and exposing them to the arts and believing that, you know, who's the next person? What's the next vision? The very first production I did was Roar of the Grease Paint, Smell of the Crowd by Anthony Newley.



James JockleWhat was the first production?



Joe BrancatoWe did it there at the theater. People sat on aluminum chairs and it was, you know, by the seat of our pants. But there was the passion there. There was the excitement. ⁓ We did a number of works there that were tried and true works for the first couple of years. And then gradually I came to realize that I wanted to...



kind of take it up, step it up a notch, and develop new plays, new works ⁓ by either known or unknown writers and create for ourselves theater. Now, certainly that's a lot riskier, but I knew on some level that it was attracting, or I saw that it was attracting an audience that I felt I could come to rely on and...



meaning that when it came time to support this fledgling not-for-profit...



they would understand that in the Hudson Valley, this is exactly what was needed. What was needed was an opportunity to see plays done, produced, designed by professionals and bringing that to the community rather than much of the tradition in the area was community theaters, which used a beautiful work done by lovely people. I just never had a penchant for seeing my dentist play Tevye.



James JockleHahaha.



Joe BrancatoThat



was not for me. But quite frankly, it was an opportunity that I believed and I believe we were proven correct that the community wanted this, needed this, and were willing to support it. And we've developed over these years, James, ⁓ a beautiful, beautiful audience who are not only interested in our productions, but in our reading series of new plays, which we continue through the season as well. ⁓



Andrew M HornI'm



James JockleWell,



Andrew M Hornin June.



James JockleI mean, you're absolutely right. How many times can you see Pippin? know, so Andrew, let me let me bring you in here. You know, when did you come on board? Yeah.



Andrew M HornWell, when I was working



add one thing, when Joe



started the theater, it was truly a barn. There weren't fixed seats, there wasn't really a stage. The barn was neither heated nor air conditioned nor insulated. And power came from a building nearby, and yet audiences came. And the theater started at the beginning really as a summer operation. And as the seasons grew and as audiences came,



You know the theater would start in the spring when it was cold Be during the summer when it was hot and into the fall and you know, we'd have blankets. We'd have fans We would try all these things and then the ninth year we Approached the center about renovating and winterizing the theater and that's really when the theater Operation became more expanded the theaters air-conditioned now. It has beautiful upholstered theater seats. It's



accessible to wheelchairs. So it really not only did the kind of focus of the theater change, but the venue certainly ⁓ stepped up a notch as well.



James JockleAnd how many seats went from when you started to where you are today? Because it's a very intimate space.



Andrew M HornIt's 108 seats. We always wanted to keep it intimate. No seat is more than 30 feet from the stage. Every row is raked so you can see and hear well from ⁓ really any place in the theater. And I think that's one of the things that is unique and that has attracted audiences. ⁓ You go to Broadway shows now and your knees are in your mouth. You're crammed in. Here it's a much more comfortable



you know, albeit intimate environment.



James Jockleblame Disney for the state of Broadway ⁓ today. I think something happened back when all of a sudden it was Beauty and the Beast and the renovation of 42nd Street where it would just be became so commercial. It's no longer the triple threat. need to be the musician and the orchestra as well in terms of maximizing production cost.



Joe Brancatothat.



You



mentioned that the idea of a theater star, mean, perhaps you and I went to theater to see we knew theater stars, but now it's another whole brand. And that means with it comes a huge price tag because they're not creating theater stars that you go to see simply because you know them from theater. But a large, not all audiences, of course, but many go to see their TV star, their movie star.



in something that, you know, they don't, it's fine. They may fall asleep during it, but they got to see up close and personal their favorite star, you know, which is a joy, but I agree with you. The theater, what we're able to bring is an experience. ⁓



That's amazing and yes, we're blessed when we have quote, stars come and do shows for us like Edie Falco did Bratz for us last year, the star of Soprano and Nurse Jackie. And we do have people who are Broadway pros, Karen Zemba, Tony Winner.



Now we have Liz McCartney starring in our new show, Straight Off a Funny Girl. ⁓ So we do that. But our intention is to make sure that we hear voices, meaning playwrights' voices and visions of how to navigate this world that we find ourselves in. I personally...



do not see my role in theater as a sociologist or analyzing the world and responding to it. But as a human being, I do. And so inevitably, I find myself picking shows, even let's say this season, opening with a terrific comedy. I mean, it's just terrific. You'll laugh.



But ultimately, there's a lesson in it, and it moves you in terms of human, of tolerance of people.



And boy is that short circuited today with this sense of tolerance for the others. And ⁓ so it does speak to that in the most enchanting and comedic way that Tom Dudzik is noted for, the playwright Tom Dudzik. ⁓ So, you know, we try our best to bring it all. And I think that's why we've engaged a faithful audience, I hope.



Andrew M HornThe play



that Joe's referring to is Miracle on South Division Street. We start performances tomorrow. And Penwin did the original production 16 years ago. And what is interesting is in some ways the play is even more timely now than it was when we originally did it. And Tom is unusual among playwrights in that he does make a living from his work. And Miracle on South Division Street has been produced in 2017.



seven states. It's theaters in Canada. Most recently, it's sort of mind boggling, it's been in India, it's gonna be done in South Africa. It's played Israel twice. So it's sort of a very interesting what's happened and how the play resonates to different audiences. I mean, one thing Joe mentioned, and you mentioned about Broadway, one of the things that's sort of, I think, made Broadway



prohibitive now is the cost. ⁓ The cost of going to the city and everything else. And one of the things that's very important to us, you know, as a nonprofit theater is trying to make what we do accessible. Joe mentioned the reading series, which is available without charge. ⁓ You know, so people can come, they can experience what's involved with the development of a play. Plays are read by professional actors. The playwright is there. The audience gets to weigh in.



So it is getting an understanding of how the creative process works. For the shows we do season tickets, know, and prices. I think, you know, we have something new this year called Cheap Thrills Fridays, tickets are $26. So we really try to make things very affordable because for us we have a very diverse audience. We have people who do go to the city and see lots of things.



other end we have people for whom we represent their only exposure to live theater. So you know it is trying to make sure that both in terms of programming and cost that we're accessible.



James JockleHmm.



And Andrew, when did you join the theater?



Andrew M HornI joined the theater during its third season. I auditioned for a play called Equus. I was cast, ⁓ loved the theater, and I've stayed ever since.



James JockleThat's amazing. And so I'm just curious, know, in your 47 year history, you know, what are some of the past productions that really stand out as milestones or works that were just, you know, resonate with you forever?



Joe BrancatoWell, there are a few that have for me. Certainly when we did ⁓ a production of Tom Jones by David Rogers, that opened up special doors for us, meaning New York writers and...



just more of it. That was a terrific romp that was very successful for us and for myself personally in developing as a director. Beyond that, certainly our production of Cobb by Lee Blessing about the infamous baseball player Ty Cobb. We've actually revived that even recently. That show went from us to an off Broadway theater. ⁓



called the melting pot and then from beyond that it was produced.



off Broadway at the Lucille Lortel Theater, and then it went to Los Angeles to Gary Marshall's theater out there. And that was a big step. And then of course, The Devil's Music written by Angelo Parra, which is about Bessie Smith starring Mickey Braden. That show with a kick-ass band, a jazz band, that show did wonders. I mean, we played it in New York.



We nominated for drama desk, all that sort of stuff. And then ⁓ we went to the Montreal Jazz Festival with it, which they normally do not take plays, but they wanted this. And then we were in Canada at the Manitoba Theater Center and across the country to the West Coast, et cetera. So that was a wonderful opening. And then of course, Daniel's husband more recently by Michael McKeever, which we did at our theater and then. ⁓



moved down to the Cherry Lane Theater ⁓ with cooperation from the primary stages who co-produced that and then it went to



venue off Broadway. so there are certain that stick out and ⁓ for me recently I have a big heart for two shows that were written or co-written by Cary Gitter. One ⁓ is the Sabbath Girls musical that he co-wrote with Neil Berg.



also actually a NIAC resident, ⁓ terrific composer. And we did the Sabbath Girl at the theater, moved it directly off Broadway, and now we're pursuing opportunities to take it through Florida and to other venues hopefully. And then now coming up, Carrie's work, which is Gene and Gilda, based on Gene Wilder and Gilda Radner.



We did it here and then we did it at the George Street and now we're taking it, opening it this summer off Broadway at 59E59, a beautiful theater which is kind of our sister space. We're very proud.



James JockleThat's amazing.



And what was the penguins role in finding Neverland?



Andrew M Horn⁓ Yeah. We commissioned the writing of a play about J.M. Barrie, the author of Peter Pan. The playwright was Alan Nee, and we produced the premiere of that. It was called The Man Who Is Peter Pan. And subsequently, that play...



Joe Brancatothat's interesting. I'll pass that to Andrew.



Andrew M Hornwas adapted into the movie Finding Neverland and also into the Broadway musical Finding Neverland. So that was an unusual project in that we conceived of the idea and went to a playwright, which has happened a couple of times. Devil's Music, Joe conceived for a particular actress ⁓ and brought on board Angelo Parra as the playwright. One of the plays that Joe didn't mention was we



did a play called Drop Dead Perfect, which was sort of an homage to The Ridiculous Theater. And it played at Penguin. It did incredibly well. And then it moved to Off-Broadway two summers in a row. It New York Times Critics pick. ⁓ So a lot of the work that we do at Penguin, ⁓ audiences get to see first before they're done across the country, around the world. ⁓



Joe Brancatoyou're breaking up, unfortunately you're freezing.



Andrew M HornA



of the plays that we developed or originally produced have been published by either Concord, which used to be Samuel French, or Dramatist Play Service, or Play Scripts. And that's certainly exciting for us to contribute in that way. Last year we were invited to be a resident co-op company at 59 East 59, and Gene and Gilda, think, will be our eighth production there. So for a small theater,



budget is well under a million dollars, we certainly punch above our weight.



James JockleAnd why would you say actors and playwrights, mean, obviously you've cultivated deep relationships. What keeps them coming back?



Joe Brancatowhat keeps them coming back, ⁓ you know, to work, to have a space that you can fall on your face and maybe bump your head and go, what was I thinking? And also a place where perhaps in this ⁓ very, you know, commercial ⁓ kind of...



business in terms of will I will it make money where do you find a producer who's going to take a risk on something places like playwrights horizon places like MTC places like penguin rep Atlantic Theatre Company these are companies that



do take a chance, do step out. For us personally, attracting our playwrights, it's a place that I need to do a delicate balance of reaching beyond and also delivering something savory for people who are new to theater. So it's that very delicate balance.



And I think that one of the things that I know from Playwrights having an opportunity, I mentioned to a number of them, we're going to do a reading series this year again. And response is so positive from very busy Playwrights, like, yes, I want to be part of that. Yes.



I mean, for you, you must realize that for someone to write a play, it's not a novel, it's not a novella, it's not a poem. It's a play which is nothing until it's read by actors and then of course produced. So the fact that someone from the Midwest to Hell's Kitchen, New York, submits plays to a theater like Penguin.



Exponentially, this is done across the country to so many theaters and so many people. That sense of faith or belief that somehow I want to play done is kind of miraculous that people really feel this way and want this done.



⁓ Because as I said, it's not like you do an oil painting or you write a book or a short story and it's there, you're finished. It's not finished until people collaborate, until actors deliver it. So it's an interesting role and it sets it apart, I feel, from so many other artistic ventures.



James JockleAnd what would you say, where is the theater today? Obviously, we live in this TikTok, social media world, short attention spans, but yet the long story form seems to be emerging. But we kind of touched on the change in Broadway being so commercial, almost expecting.



Joe Brancatoyeah.



James Jocklea TV like experience night after night, you know, how is it changing?



Joe BrancatoWell, it's interesting because when you say the long story and sitting for something...



I may disagree with that completely. look at these episodes, these endless Netflix episodes that go on and on and redundant plots written just to get those 12 episodes in when you know it could be done shorter. So I think people will engage or get hooked, if you will, when you consider that time in front of the screen or time in front of a stage.



is the difference is that the challenges that we face now and



always up for a challenge. I don't forget, we went through and survived 9-11 as a theater company. We went through and survived Reagan tax laws in 1988 when everything changed for tax deductible donations. We went through COVID and we survived. So we're game for a battle and a fight. But that said, the particulars of this situation where you have someone could sit at home and this was born of COVID and



order in some delicious Chinese food or deli and sit there on your couch and watch a TV episode and



economically and physically and lack of inter-social because let's face it, this goes from the cell phone on up. It's not all the teens. There's attacking teens on this. We may want to protect them, but they're not the only ones. And this sense of isolation and experiencing art in the most comfortable place in your home without having to go out and blah, blah. Well, we have



James JockleHmm. Yeah.



Joe Brancatowhere we could become easily victims of that. I must tell you, James, that I stay close in touch with my box office queen, who is Jeannie. She's amazing at the box office and her assistant, Isabelle. But they, I am on them always to see what does box look like. And I'm very happy to report that our season, upcoming season...



⁓ If the early orders are any ⁓ indication, people want this. There are people who want it. The point is once they taste it, they come back. It's like a bag of potato chips. But you gotta get the potato chip in their mouth.



Andrew M HornI



I think Joe



is touching upon something that is unique to theater is that from an artistic point of view, it's collaborative. Novelists can write a book by themselves and it's completed. Poets can write a poem and it's completed. Playwright writes a play and it's bare bones. And until it comes to life and brought to life by actors and designers and a director ⁓ and is put before an audience, the experience is not complete.



complete. From an audience point of view, there is a sense of community that doesn't necessarily exist when you're sitting at home and watching TV. You put a group of people who don't know each other together in a dark room and they experience something which is never exactly the same each time and that's ephemeral. It exists in people's memories after that point. I think that's one of the things that for a lot of audiences,



they're coming back to and that they treasure ⁓ that sense of community. ⁓ That sense, you know, one of things we do to sort of augment the shows is we do discussions, we do a tasting beforehand. And I think post COVID, more and more, we are seeing people wanting to go out and interact with other people. You know, and that's certainly one of the things I think Penguin offers ⁓



without people, know, the average distance people come to our shows is like 35, 40 minutes. So people do travel a bit, ⁓ but.



you know, people will come because of that experience. The barn is lovely. It's, you know, it's comfortable. We have lovely grounds. We have a lovely staff, not only Jeannie and Isabelle, but, you know, our house managers. So I think people respond to that more and more. And I think Joe also was right. I mean, we have people who've been coming to the theater for 40 years. You know, it's sort of amazing to have that kind of loyalty ⁓ from an audience.



James JockleThe one thing that I was personally have always been drawn to is the immersive experience. There is no phone. It is that sense of community and the lights come down in the house and it's you're in this universe. You're a voyeur of whatever the story is being presented. And I personally think there's nothing like it.



Joe BrancatoYeah. Well, with that voice, I would say maybe you should go back to the stage.



Andrew M HornYeah.



James JockleI



couldn't figure out how to make a living at that point. So let's talk about 2025. We talked about bringing back Miracle on South Division Street. Tell us about working with Liz McCartney in the show.



Joe BrancatoBye.



Andrew M HornYeah.



Joe Brancato⁓ that was great. What happened was we were in casting and straight up with you, we had cast the show and the woman who was cast, unfortunately, for health reasons had to leave the show and leave the possibility of doing the show. So we had to reach out to people and she was on the first one on our dream list that we made and sent it to Liz. had just funny two weeks prior to that.



had bumped into her in a...



in a lobby of an office in New York. I was coming down from a reading of something else and I saw her and I said, Liz, thank you so much for a number of years ago, about four or five years ago, she sang at my mother's memorial service. My mother loved Rosemary Clooney and Liz McCartney is known for her Rosemary Clooney show. And she came up to the barn and she said, ⁓ of course, it was great to see you. And I thought of her and I...



Put the script out to her at about...



six o'clock at night. The next morning I get a text at seven just saying, hey, I think I'm in on this if you want me, you know. So it really worked out great. She came into the rehearsal process and we began rehearsals. And over these four weeks, we've seen such a beautiful cast assembled with everybody. It's an ensemble cast and everyone giving 100 percent. And, you know, Liz comes from the Broadway stage. I mean, my fair lady. And she just was in the funny girl



disaster as I call it. ⁓ But yeah, she's just amazing and she's finding this woman, Clara, this very relatable woman from Buffalo, New York and she's bringing heart, soul and balls to it. Yeah, she really is.



James JockleMm-hmm.



Yeah, that's the thing. Going back to the funny girl thing, it's like, why make such fundamental changes? If you're going to do a revival, stick with it. The one that got me was ⁓ the last version of Company. Why would you change Bobby?



Joe Brancato⁓ No, well, it's interesting



that you bring that up and perhaps we could talk about that is because when I saw that, you know, okay, fine, you're going to make it a girl. I'm ready. I'm in. But why give? And I think the point was, okay, let's give a female the lead. Fine. Fine. That's where we want to go with it. Fine. But in doing that, for that particular show, all of the best songs are sung



in the original production by women. Another 100 people, Barcelona, they're all sung by women.



Andrew M HornMmm.



Joe Brancatothis production, because you put a woman in the lead, this production took all those roles away from amazing women and gave it to men, which is fine. If you want to do that, you do that. But I thought, what is going on? And then, of course, because of that insightful criticism that you just made about it, you then, what do you do? You make her a drunk. She's got a bottle in her hand. I'm like, well, that changes everything because that's why nobody wants to date her. She's a drunk.



James JockleYou



Joe BrancatoI mean, didn't anybody see that? No, no, it's just fun and it's different and it's come on. So I.



James JockleI would



have loved to have heard what Elaine Stritch thought about that.



Joe Brancato⁓



yeah, yeah, I'm certainly you would have. certain you would have been. She would have told us. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, it's fun. mean, innovative is great. I think the newly innovated Sunset Boulevard is ambitious and fabulous and fun. And the leading lady is terrific. ⁓ Can you hear me?



James JockleYou're



still recording, but I... Hold on. I accidentally hit my microphone. So you're still recording, but we will absolutely... We got that. Okay. Sorry about that. Sorry to completely digress there as well. I'm getting you in a different speaker. Okay. Yep, we're...



Joe BrancatoSure.



That's okay.



No, no problem.



Okay. Okay. Cool.



James Jockle⁓ We are... We are good. Sorry. Okay.



Joe BrancatoAnd this



is new fangled stuff, podcasts, zooming. Can we have a, I mean, most of my meetings now with my production team are zoom. And I like it. It's good. We're all there. Everyone attends because how do you say I can't make a zoom, but you know, there'll be in a car, there'll be in a this and it's, it's taken away a certain glamour or romance.



James JockleYeah.



Joe Brancatome, which I so savor. love sitting in a diner with my designers over a napkin drawing designs on a napkin, but just that ain't the way. So even this whole notion of how many years ago was it where we would have never thought that



that you would be calling us and saying, let's do a ⁓ podcast by Zoom. I mean, it's amazing how fast things are developing, changing, or devolving as it were, but it's so interesting, isn't it?



James JockleYeah,



you know, and it's funny, you bring up technology and even just being able to do this and the affordability of technology now. mean, you think about buying a microphone and recording equipment is very prohibitive. Are you finding ⁓ challenges in terms of introduction of technology in the theater at this point?



Joe BrancatoWell, the benefits certainly are there in terms of this, you know, our...



Staff is largely young men and women who are out of school and starting their careers technically, and they're savvy about certain things like we hired last year and we'll be using again for Son of Zeus. This amazing projection designer, Brian Pichelli, who's just worked on the Broadway show Gypsy. ⁓ There is ⁓ a talent and ⁓



and a shorthand that they use that I have to catch up to and I have to listen clearly to. And quite frankly, it excites me because I'm learning. As soon as you stop learning, forget about it, you're gone. So I kind of learn while I'm listening to them about options for video or projections or... ⁓



ways in which to do it. scares the shit out of me is the AI. And in fact, that's one of the reasons why one of the plays this season, Flawless by John Wooten, is being done because we're premiering it. It's about two writers and it's a fun, sexy comedy, but it has at its heart the question of the place of AI now and in the future for creative writing. ⁓



In schools now, many teachers are insisting that their students write in class. That's the only way to prevent it. I have to see you writing it. So it's a whole new thing going on. It's a whole new world. Golda. Golda.



James JockleYeah, and it takes me



to the Hollywood strike with the writers and AI and what they're doing with video. ⁓ know, it's always amazing. Like, you you think about how many videos are uploaded to YouTube ⁓ on any given minute. But, you know, there's only the cream of the crop go viral. And I think the artistry, the expertise and whatnot, you know, that really, you know,



season playwrights or season actors, you can't replace that, right? You know, there's so much noise.



Joe BrancatoWell, you can't.



But I do think that, James, the more dangerous aspect of it perhaps is not in our careers, is in the ⁓ state of government and the world ⁓ in terms of what one can sell in lies and what one can sell in controlling a population.



And historically, that was always the method. You came up with stories and you lied, whether it was about a people or you lied about certain people eating animals and like what? That's not going to work, is it? It does. And so with AI, you can now enhance that by actually presenting visuals that prove the lie.



creating a scenario where you're watching someone do something that you say they did when they didn't. And that to me is really a big problem. But as I said, I'm only a theater director. Leave me alone. But I can point it out. It's going to be a very telling time for the next generation.



James JockleWell, I think producing a show like Flawless that's kind of exploring that is hopefully gonna get people to think. ⁓ because even now, it's like, I use AI all the time, but it's also making sure I have my brain and I test and go down the rabbit holes that are real rather than the ones that are being presented.



Joe BrancatoYeah.



Of course, of course, that takes ⁓ talent and integrity.



James JockleSo let me ask you question. You're coming up on 50 years. So what's next for Penguins?



Joe BrancatoWell, ⁓ hopefully what we can do is ⁓ continue. We have a couple of years to go yet till we get there. But to continue by putting our nose to the grindstone and exciting playwrights to come up with works that an audience will appreciate. can't overshoot. We don't know.



with all these things that we've discussed in this lovely conversation, we don't know, but we do know one thing, what we do do, and what we do well, and what we do that has been received well. So I think there's something grand in that and saying, you know what?



us continue until we can't. as far as the subjects, the subjects will change. Who would have ever thought two seasons ago I would produce a play, the Penguin would produce a play, then I would direct a play called Flawless about AI. I mean, that alone is a big shift from what we would have done, right? So we'll see what the world is like and how we respond to it, but how we respond to playwrights' words and interpretations and opportunities



getting people to again return to live theater and to find the beauty in it and the excitement in it. We have so many people who are excited to come back to the barn. I mean, that's great. So like Mickey and Judy in a barn that has really grown up and they still kind of like us.



James JockleAnd how can new fans get involved or attend a show? Anybody listening to this, how do we get them to the Penguin?



Joe BrancatoYeah.



Well, first of all, we are a welcoming, welcoming theater in that sense that if you call and you ask at the box office, you ask questions. Where are we located? What shows are we doing? When we do what discounts are available to us, et cetera. You will get that information. You can go to our website, of course, and say, but I would suggest just come visit. And when you come to the theater, if it's your first time at the theater, Andrew is there.



there, house managers are there welcoming you. Tell us it's your first time.



Andrew M HornBut people



can find out more about us by going to the website which is www.penguinrep.org. P-E-N-G-U-I-N-R-E-P dot org. And it has information about where the theater's located, directions, when the shows are, what the shows are, ticket prices. And people can also just email us at info at penguinrep.org if you have a question. ⁓



We are used to having new people all the time.



Joe Brancatothe time. Especially some of them come



with a basket of sandwiches and a caraf of your drink and we have a beautiful lawn area to the side with picnic tables. Before ⁓ a show you could eat out there and enjoy your afternoon completely or attend one of the many restaurants that support the theater and those are listed on our website as well. Yeah, it's a full day.



Andrew M HornRight. ⁓



James Jockleknow,



one thing I would say, you know, to our listeners, and this was a great experience for me, like ⁓ when I was growing up, family, my mom and dad, we had a little small house in Manchester, Vermont, and ⁓ in Weston, which was next kind of town over, had the Weston Playhouse. we went, my parents would get tickets for the season. And it was amazing because, you know, we didn't...



they didn't have the scrutiny of going, I think Jimmy would like this or not like this. It was like, see it all. And it was so accessible and so many shows. And it really created a love of theater for me at a very, young age. So I just share that because I wouldn't sit here and say, Miracle in the South Division retreat doesn't seem like for me. I want to see Flawless. No, go see them all.



Joe BrancatoExactly. Come see it all because, you know, it's different tastes at different times, it's different characters. We introduce characters to an audience that are fresh, interesting, ⁓ maybe controversial, maybe will make you smile, will stir the gray matter, who knows, but it's great. And the person sitting next to you will be a new friend.



Andrew M HornRight.



Joe BrancatoI guarantee you, the chatting in the audience is, you're here, it's your first time, blah, blah, blah. It's so welcoming. And James, we need this very, very much these days.



James JockleWell, Joe, Andrew, I wanna, yeah.



Joe BrancatoThat's the answer to why we, when you



said what's in the future, the commitment comes from both Andrew, myself and our board of trustees who are so faithful to the theater and its future, just believing this is what's important right now for people.



James JockleJoe, Andrew, I want to thank you so much for taking us through the history, the thought process. And a lot of times you don't hear the voices and the passion behind the theater. We just observed the product. But clearly, for almost 50 years, ⁓ this is something that clearly is in your heart. So thank you.



Joe BrancatoThank you, James. We look forward to welcoming you and thank you for this opportunity. We appreciate it.



Andrew M HornThank you.



James, thanks.



James JockleJust pause.