- courtesy of Steve and Vicky Farrell
- 15 characters played by a cast of three at Radio Music Theater
In April, Vicky and Steve Farrell plan to open The Joint, a comedy/rock club cum coffeehouse/bar, in that gaping storefront on Argenta’s Main Street. The Farrell’s are new to Little Rock, but they’re no strangers to comedy or theater. They met in the mid-70’s, as college theater geeks, performing in a summer show on a Mississippi Riverboat. They married and acted in conventional plays in Minneapolis before launching two comedy ventures in Houston,Texas. The first of those, The Comedy Workshop, hosted national acts such as Rodney Dangerfield and Robin Williams.
Their North Little Rock venue will borrow from their second Houston venture, Radio Music Theater, a conceptual approach to two act plays, involving a cast of three tackling 20 or more characters. On weekends, The Joint’s large stage will host similarly structured plays riffing on local politics and other topics. But the coffee/comedy fusion is new to the Farrells, and they’re branching out in other ways, too. They plan to have a small stage and a permanent piano in the coffee shop, which will open early and close late, serving wine and beer at night. The space seats up to 30 and will host open mics and informal music. The large stage, in a room which can accommodate 120, will host Wednesday night improv and Thursday night local and national music acts.