There is a place where one can share their accomplishments with the world from the comfort of their warm Midwestern home. One can sing songs, tell stories and recount tales of a life well lived.
It's known as the podcast. And actor Jeff Daniels has one of his own called "Alive and Well Enough," distributed by Audible.
WPR's "BETA" spent some time talking with Daniels about the podcast and the rich life experience from which he draws his material.
Initially, Daniels felt like there were enough podcasts out in the world, and the last thing anyone needed was another one. But his agent talked him into it, and Daniels found "Alive and Well Enough" an excellent way to share his vast performance skills.
"It became this kind of one-man audio adventure that included how I got started, what acting is for me and what songwriting is to me. It just became this grab bag of everything I do and can throw into it, and I'm thrilled that people are responding to it," he said.
Bringing theater to Michigan
In the 1970s, Daniels performed in numerous plays on and off Broadway. In 1980, he appeared in the films "Ragtime" and "Terms of Endearment," and in 1985, he starred along with Mia Farrow in Woody Allen's "The Purple Rose of Cairo."
But Jeff Daniels might best be known for his role in the movie "Dumb and Dumber" and also for his role as news anchor Will McAvoy in HBO's "Newsroom."
In 1986, Daniels decided to move to his hometown of Chelsea, Michigan, and in 1991, he opened the Purple Rose Theater Company, named after "The Purple Rose of Cairo."
"I was in New York for 10 years. The movies started to happen, and we could live anywhere. I knew I could pull this living in the Midwest and still being in the movie business. But after a few years, creatively, I was going to sleep," Daniels said. "I remembered my days at Circle Repertory Company in New York City off-Broadway, where I started. And I wanted to create my version, which included living, breathing, playwrights, walking around the green room, and rewriting a second act."
"I wanted to see if I could drop a professional theater company that I envisioned acting with a medium close-up film acting style on stage in front of 170 seats. See if I could create that with the people that were still around (Michigan). And 32 years later, we're still here."
One reason Daniels created the Purple Rose Theater Company was to attract audiences that had never thought live theater performances were for them. That was until the success of a comedy Daniels wrote called "Escanaba In The Moonlight."
"I had done 'Dumb and Dumber,'" Daniels recalls, "and we knew 12-year-old boys would flock to it. It would be their Citizen Kane. But when the demographic came in from 8 to 80, it was like, 'How do I get those people into my theater?' Theater is always viewed as elitist."
"It's just the great unwashed never bothered to go and, in some cases, shouldn't. I mean, why bother? And I said, 'How do I reach them?' So I came up with an idea to write a play set in the Midwest, about five guys in a deer camp in the Upper Peninsula. And I included a 10-minute flatulence joke that riveled old Mel Brooks and Blazing Saddles, and we had people flocking to the theater. We had groups of 12, all wearing their hunting gear, orange vests, and hunting licenses pinned to their backs. I mean, it just became like a little 'Rocky Horror Picture Show' thing."
Bringing characters from movies to podcast
"Alive and Well Enough" allows Daniels to draw on his years as a performer, sing original songs, share experiences and highlight milestones from his vast performing career. In one episode, Daniels recreates a scene from "Escanaba in the Moonlight," playing all five characters simultaneously.
But Daniels makes sure to include something for fans of all of his best-known performances.
"Well, I knew I had to get 'Dumb and Dumber' in there and attract those fans because there are a lot of them," Daniels said. "I needed to get that into the podcast somehow. And I came up with the idea that Harry Dunn from 'Dumb and Dumber' would have his own interview show, and he was going to call it 'Snack Time with Harry Dunn,' where Harry this week would be interviewing the actor who played him in the movie, Jeff Daniels."