Strange Fruit #219: Behind The Scenes With Actors Theatre's 'Skeleton Crew'

A trio of tight-knit auto workers in 2008 always have each other's backs. They're family, operating under the watchful eye of Faye, a butch factory worker-turned-mother figure to the skeleton crew. But this is 2008. The auto industry. And Detroit. So you can probably guess things won't be idyllic for long. Playwright Dominique Morisseau tells the story of what happens to their relationships when rumors circulate that the factory will close. The show is called "Skeleton Crew," and it's running at Actors Theatre of Louisville until Dec. 10. Actor Madelyn Porter, who plays Faye, and the show's director Steve Broadnax join us on this week's show to talk about the story, and what it has to teach us about blue-collar America. And a special guest joins us for Juicy Fruit this week! Levi Haines first discovered Strange Fruit while he was hiking the Pacific Crest Trail through the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range. He sent us a message that he'd listened to over a hundred hours of our show and it kept him feeling connected to his Louisville home.  Levi is in town now between hikes, and we couldn't resist inviting him to the studio! We think you'll love this intrepid fruitcake as much as we do, and you'll be just as amazed at the hiking feat he has planned next.