Jeff Daniels' Comedy with Songs, Panhandle Slim, Gets Cast Album

By Kenneth Jones
September 23, 2008

The Purple Rose Theatre Company has released an original cast recording of Jeff Daniels' recent comedy with songs, Panhandle Slim & The Oklahoma Kid.

The album features cast performances of six original songs and one traditional hymn as well as original demo recordings (performed by Daniels), plus a "Making Of" commentary by Daniels and PRTC artistic director Guy Sanville.

CDs are $15 and are now available for purchase at the PRTC box office and through the PRTC web site at www.purplerosetheatre.org.

Purple Rose is the resident Equity company founded by Daniels in his hometown, Chelsea, MI, 60 miles west of Detroit.

The summer 2008 world premiere (which began June 19 and ends Sept. 27) features "scoundrels, six-guns and a horse named Buttermilk."

The recording from Panhandle Slim & The Oklahoma Kid features the vocal talents of former PRTC apprentice Jessica Garrett, PRTC resident artist Phil Powers, and PRTC associate artists John Seibert and Tom Whalen, with guitar accompaniment by Jeff Daniels and John Seibert.

Panhandle Slim & The Oklahoma Kid is Daniels' 12th play. The "winsome comedy tells the fateful tale of a prairie showdown between a vagrant outlaw and a singing cowboy," according to PRTC notes. "Thrown together by unfortunate circumstances, Panhandle Slim and The Oklahoma Kid argue the virtues of mayhem, music and the meaning of life."

The PRTC world-premiere production is directed by PRTC artistic director Guy Sanville and includes set design by Dennis G. Crawley, lighting design by Reid G. Johnson, costume design by Christianne Myers, prop design by Danna Segrest and sound design by Quintessa Gallinat. Michelle DiDomenico stage manages with Stephanie Buck as assistant stage manager.