Beau at The Bushnell

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hi, this is Vinnie, Vinnie and gravit, bo grab it.
You know I toyed with introducing you as James Garner himself.

Speaker 2 (00:11):
Don't do that well.

Speaker 1 (00:12):
I mean, at the end of the day, he was
so great in that role. I would saying. You know,
I grew up I used to watch The Rockford Files
with my father. That was one of the few TV
shows I watched with my father. We loved Jim Rockford.
And yeah, you know, he's just not a guy that
I saw do a whole lot of film after that.

(00:34):
So when he wound up in the Notebook and you know,
playing the older Noah, I thought it was fantastic. And
in my opinion, Bo, like you're doing the you're doing
the heavy lifting, younger Noah. He gets all the lovey
dovey stuff. You you do the heavy lifting. Your heart

(00:57):
has to get broken in front of an audience every night.

Speaker 2 (01:02):
Wait, how do you know this is true? This is
absolutely true what you're saying. I also want to say
something about James Garner. You should know inside the business,
everybody loved him. He was beloved. He was a great,
great guy.

Speaker 1 (01:14):
Oh I'm sure.

Speaker 2 (01:15):
Nothing bad was ever said about him.

Speaker 1 (01:17):
Yeah, yeah, sure, not surprised to hear that at all.
What my father and I oddly enough, I'm fifty eight
years old and my dad passed long ago. But what
we really seemed to get a kick out of it,
And I don't know if you were a fan of
the show, was Jim Rockford He always got beat up.
You know, it was an era of you know, the

(01:37):
Starsky and Hutch They never even got punched in the face,
never mind Burretta. But Jim Rockford he always got beat
up before he got the bad guy. And you know,
it's just so it was a very endearing character.

Speaker 2 (01:52):
And then you got to love a guy who can
take a good punch, right, That's it. I could take
a punch.

Speaker 1 (01:58):
And isn't Noah Old an endearing character too. I don't know, Bo,
you might want me to navigate this more carefully. Are
you of the belief that people who come to see
the Notebook the musical Bush now like there might be
some who don't know the big reveal at the end,
Like they may not know the story, like don't Yeah,

(02:19):
maybe there are.

Speaker 2 (02:20):
A few I've had, I've had, you know, people write
to me who have come to the show and hadn't
seen the movie, hadn't read the book. I hadn't seen
the musical, so it was brand new to them. So
it is a journey that you know, the end is very,
very powerful, and it's always is every single night. Yeah, yeah,
it's people don't know it.

Speaker 1 (02:41):
It's one of the great reveals. Really, it really was
one of the great reveals.

Speaker 2 (02:46):
Yeah. Yeah, it's a great moment to play. I have
to say, as an actor, it's just actor heaven. When
that moment rolls around, it's you're just in it and
it's so it's so great to play. It's flawless and
really and powerful.

Speaker 1 (03:04):
You know, when I first heard that The Notebook was
making its way to Broadway, and of course we were
getting it here in Hertford. What are the dates that
we got here in Hartford at the bush Nowmber we come?

Speaker 2 (03:16):
We come to the Bushnell on the thirtieth, September thirtieth.
We're only there for a week.

Speaker 1 (03:20):
I know, I saw that it was a shorter run
than I would have liked. But I'll be there pressed
and I can't wait to see it. But my first
thought was, you know, I'm a musical lover, uh and
and I love when when I love movie adaptations. I
BROI a Broadway enthusiasm. You know, the purists, some of
them might not like it. I love it, but my

(03:41):
first thought, my first thought was, this is a tough
one to write songs for. I would think, yeah, particularly
your numbers. I can't imagine you're you know, you're tap
dancing in any of your numbers. Bo.

Speaker 2 (03:58):
There is no cap and it's not something you want
to see. You don't want to see me tapping. There's
no tap dancing, and it's it's like it's a It's
an unusual musical in that it's it's more of a
chamber piece. There isn't It's not a song and dance show.
It's really beautifully woven chamber piece. Ingrid Michaelson is a
brilliant songwriter. She wrote the song and the lyrics, and

(04:18):
they are it's quite something. The way they the way
they're fown together, the way when they come and what
they say and how they say it. It's really it's remarkable.
It was a surprise to me. I will tell you
also that I did not read the book, or see
the movie or see the musical, so it was all
brand new to me. When I walked into the Yeah,
when I walked into the room, it was like all

(04:40):
brand new and it was Ingrid Michaelson. That sort of
turned my head around. She spoke during my audition, and
she spoke to me in it's such a personal, powerful way.
I was like, well, this is a different show, this
is a different game, and and it turned out to
be true. It's it's remarkably well told, well crafted story

(05:02):
that's so much fun to play every night.

Speaker 1 (05:05):
And you know, Ingrid Michaelson, I know, has been involved
in a lot of interesting shows and films. I can't
think of other Broadway shows that she's written the music for.

Speaker 2 (05:16):
Though I don't know she has her own solo career.
She's a I think, yeah, you know, all kinds of
awards and she's sold a million records and she's got
quite a career. I think this was her her only foray.
It's a Broadway and I don't don't quote me on that,
but I think this is her her Broadway. Her Broadway
show is Yes, the Notebook.

Speaker 1 (05:36):
That wouldn't surprise me, you know when you first said
her name. I'm a former Top forty guy, my tope,
my Top forty years began in nineteen ninety six, and
I did Top forty until about two thousand and five,
and she was on the chart quite a bit at
that time, I think, I think, but I think I
even Bo interviewed her in the nineties for her a

(06:02):
record that was coming out because I was doing a
lot of writing for some national music magazines. Yeah, so
that's interesting to get her on board too. Now, another
thing the Notebook's very well known for, and again wrong
with Bo Gravitt, Am I getting the last name right?

Speaker 2 (06:19):
You've got it?

Speaker 1 (06:20):
The last name you might know him seeing some of
the TV credit talk about the Spectrum Trapper John MD.
I love that show Law and Order. Of course, I
just finished binge watching Gossip Girl with my daughter, who
will be on my arm at the Notebook she will
be on. Were you on Gossip Girl regularly enough that

(06:43):
I could drop your character's name to her and children?

Speaker 2 (06:46):
No, no, No, I did a guest since on that show.
That was that was a crazy, crazy experience.

Speaker 1 (06:53):
I'm sure I was a regular, Yeah, I'm sure. But
playing older Noah the Jim Gardner role James Carner roll
in the Notebook when it comes to the Bushnell here
and again, that is September thirtieth through October fifty. You
know another thing the movie is very well known for
is you know, one of the arguably biggest scenes takes

(07:16):
place at this beautifully shot fair or carnival or what
have you, and I know the Bushnell goes the distance
when it comes to its stages. Is that recreated that
kind of story you're.

Speaker 2 (07:29):
Asking me, You're asking me to reference something I haven't seen.
I haven't seen the musical, but I will tell you
that there are effects there are the middle of the show,
the middle Alley and Noah Kerry sort of the adult, romantic,
passionate part of the love story, and that you know,
it has, it has, the rain, it has it's so

(07:53):
beautiful to see. I don't want to give too much away,
but they do a great job in recreating that romantic
moment when when those two people find each other. It's
beautiful to look at. And yeah, the Bushnell will will
definitely put that on. It'll be there for the people
to see.

Speaker 1 (08:11):
You're right that that's easily the scene you're alluding to,
right there is easily the most identifiable one. But both, Yeah,
at one point, young Noah, when you were younger and
more spry. He climbed, he climbs up a ferris wheel.
Uh for this woman, And I guarantee you, I guarantee
you that the Bushnell goes the distance and recreates that

(08:37):
there'll be so it's a sizable stage too.

Speaker 2 (08:41):
Yeah. Yeah, I don't know. I don't you know, I
don't know that we'll have a ferris wheel. I mean,
you know that the set has to travel from theater
to theaters, so true enough, you might don't be disappointed.

Speaker 1 (08:52):
I've seen some you know, I've seen some really ambitious
stages there in the past, so it's going to be
interesting to see how they recreated.

Speaker 2 (09:00):
Yeah, you know, the Bushnell is a it's a major
theater there. It's a big It's well known across the country,
the Bushnell. So you know, I can't wait. I've never
played there. I can't wait to go there. A lot
of my friends have toured there. I have friends who
toured in Wicked and they all they all talk about
the theater there.

Speaker 1 (09:16):
Yeah, well, you know, break a leg looking forward to
seeing the show again. It's Bo Gravitt. He's playing older
Noah in The Notebook, which again comes to the Bushnell
and Hartford what a great night out in Hartford. It
is from September thirtieth through October fifth, and I appreciate
you calling in this morning.

Speaker 2 (09:35):
Good luck, my pleasure, many great to talk to you.

Speaker 1 (09:38):
Take care about