WYNN - The Players Barn
I drive by The Players Barn at least two times every day near Peninsula on RT 303, and each time I have the same thoughts. I never went to the Players Barn, or know much of its history. But I know two things at least. One, I wish it was still alive. And two, I know an old one-time local or community theater when I see one. Should be stated up front here, live theater will never die. It has been around for thousands of years and will always find a way. But there have been challenges.
I have never in my life been in the cast or crew of a community theater, or high school play. Surprising because my entire childhood, I was surrounded by it. My mom, brother and sister were all heavily involved in the old Berea Summer Theater growing up which was very popular in Northeast Ohio. My mom wanted me to, but my dad bailed me out. My mom starred in a whole lot of roles around Northeast Ohio many years ago, and my brother went on to be a professional actor for a number of years before becoming a college acting professor and now a Dean of a heavily theater driven college. Then, I was playing tons of organized sports, and had no interest. Still don't.
But the local community theater was a gigantic part of a whole lot of cities, when your friends and neighbors would perform in shows. Others did costumes, and some played in the orchestra. There were chorus parts, lighting, sound, set building, costumes, as it drew many parts of an entire community together. Then, we all went to see those we knew in plays. It was a great system. The strength of it, the backbone of it was, we all knew the people involved with the show. This is not to say these troupes are gone. The Akron area still has a fair amount of them and that's great!
People change, times change, we're busy, we all work, and we're occupied now by more exciting things of all kinds. We don't know our neighbors as much, we have less kids, we travel more, and the sense of local community hacs changed. Not as many have the time to dedicate to such a huge undertaking, in short the world has really changed in what people choose to do with the free time they have.
Some decided doing shows with professional actors was a good idea, and I feel exactly the opposite. Communities seldom come out to support local live theaters to see professionals they didn't know. They come to see their friends, neighbors, workmates, their doctor or dentist, and relatives give their all and be vulnerable in their new roles no matter what they were in or to the production. Truth be told, I went to probably over 100 local theater productions in my life. I saw all the shows, all the musicals and all the performances of my family and other people we knew - or sort of knew. Whether the show was good or not, they always got a standing ovation and curtain call at the end. We were applauding the mighty effort, and dedication, the willingness, and the community more than anything.
Great places like The Players have been victims of the times as have a lot of other community events. The past few decades have not been kind to this kind of thing, and that's too bad. Many colleges have big theater programs now and that's fine. Good for them as they are a community in themselves and the formula of old can and does work there.
If you are lucky enough to be practicing your passion in a community theater group, well done. I bet thousands of people over decades enjoyed The Players Barn. I can see that in my minds eye.
Create Your Flavor?
Serendipity Brands tapped Warner Bros. to do a collab of ice cream and television or movie themes?
The ice cream will each be a creation that represents "Friends", "The Goonies", "Caddyshack" and most importantly to Northeast Ohio
"Christmas Story" it's called Oh, Fudge...
My question is what show or movie would you spoof as an ice cream and what would the ingredients be?
I am thinking:
Three Amigos called El Guapo... a peanut butter ice cream with salty caramel, crushed Whoppers and peanut butter swirl because everything was so dusty in that movie.
Or Major League call it Jobu... a rum, coffee blended into a vanilla bean ice cream. You know to wake up bats... The slogan could be "Yo, bartender Jobu, needs a refill".
Let's hear some of your flavor creations. Email me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
We're Texas Benefit
This weekend should be interesting...
Matthew McConaughey is throwing a benefit show to help those effected by the winter storm disaster that recently happened.
"We're Texas Benefit" will happen March 21st at 8pm EST. He is bringing friends like George Strait, Kelly Clarkson, Miranda Lambert, Parker McCollum, Willie Nelson and many, many more....
Announcing “We’re Texas”, a virtual revival where we can all come together to help Texas recover from the winter storm....
Posted by Matthew McConaughey on Friday, March 12, 2021
WYNN - Wynn At The Movies And Info!
Box Office – Raya and the Last Dragon #1 Tom And Jerry #2
New This Week – Drive Ins - Many open this weekend (Story)
New In Theaters (List)
The Oscars - Nominations are out and you don't know any of the movies (Story)
The Grammys - Worst ratings ever last Sunday night, down 60% from last year (Story)
Golden Globes - More horrible ratings for them too this year (Story)
On Netflix - You can watch a documentary on the last ever Blockbuster store in Bend, Oregon
Eddie Murphy - Is working on a third Coming to America movie. (Story)
Tracy Morgan - May portray Louis Armstrong in a new movie about the Jazz great's life. (Story)
This Weekend – Check out my Country Music Memory Lane (link)
My Other Articles This Week -Joe, Michael, And The Coliseum / This Is Pretty Cool / The Diamond Grille
A Charcuterie Board For Your Birthday!
What a great idea this is. Who wouldn't want to celebrate their birthday with a board full of sweet treats?!? Birthday charcuterie boards let you enjoy a variety of your favorite treats, cupcakes, macarons, chocolate covered pretzels, you name it! Watch the video for inspiration and click here for even more ideas and how to's from Homebody Eats!
WYNN - WEEKENDS WITH WYNN!
The WEEKEND is here! Live well, live right, and do it without breaking the bank!
Expected Weather
Saturday - Sunny 58
Sunday - Sunny 63
SPRING BEGINS - Saturday - March 20 - at 537AM
Music
Read My Country Music Memory Lane This Week - (Tanya Tucker)
Wynn's Weekend Breakfast!
Cold weekend, how about a delicious breakfast (Corned Beef Hash)
Food And Drink
Wynn's Wine Of The Weekend - Meiomi (Cab) Very Good! (Great Story)
Wynn's Cheese Of The Weekend - Smoked Cheese - And I'm Doing This Soon!! (Must SEE)
Wynn's Weekend Menu - PIck Something Off This GREAT List (OMG)
Treat Yourself This Weekend Or Next (Diamond Grille)
Saturday is - Ravioli Day (Great Recipe)
Sunday is - Crunchy Taco Day (How To)
Viewing
In Theaters - This Theater has all the movies you can see to give you ideas (Tinseltown)
HBO Max - New This Week And Month
Netflix - New This Week And Month
Prime - New This Week And Month
New Disney Plus - New This Week And Month
Weekend Golf? -
Courses Improving Quickly - We Played Pine Hills This Week (Great Track)
This Weekend - Playing Briarwood (link)
Sports
NASCAR -In Atlanta
The Tribe - All Weekend (Live TV)
The Blue Jackets - Play Saturday (Local TV)
Cavs Play - At home Friday and Sunday (Local TV)
PGA Tour - The Honda Classic in Florida (Golf Channel and Local TV)
Have a GREAT weekend!
Follow Me On Instagram / Twitter / @Scott Wynn Radio
WYNN - COUNTRY MUSIC MEMORY LANE - Tanya Tucker
Jenny wondered if I could feature her favorite singer this week. In these stories I always look for the gift artists gave us in addition to their music. If you grew up listening to Leann Rimes, Taylor Swift, Scotty McCreery or even Kippi Brannon (in the early 1980's) you know they were all very young teens with country recording deals and songs. But before any of them, long before, there was the incredible Tanya Tucker. She has been recording since 1973 when she was 14, and is still a musical force and winning awards at 60 plus. I grew up with Tanya Tucker, in some way most of us did. Yeah, you know Delta Dawn, but there is way more to Tanya.
First Number One 1973 She was about 14 - Arrangement and Song Indicative Of The Era
Tanya Tucker is one of the best, most unique singers ever. Blessed with a voice that cuts through any kind of music and arrangement, and was light years more mature than most at 14. A voice so distinctive, so different, so - her. Over her career, especially early on she was on and off the country charts with her music, and with her image. One of her many gifts was she was Outlaw Country and proud of it. Pretty rare for a woman then. She then dumped the long dresses and gigantic hair most of the stars were wearing then, and invented a new image for herself. Shortly there after, most of the rest dumped the huge dresses and bouffant hair. She changed that game. In short, there were many, many stages of her career, and personal life, just like the rest of us. Difference is, the world didn't watch every move we made.
This Song Is Long - But Watching The Video, You'll Get A Sense Who She IS
Tanya's 9th album, TNT raised tons of eyebrows in 1978. (BTW, she was 20 and had 9 albums and tons of hits songs already.) It was country-rock, it was new and very different, plus this album cover, (that would be pretty tame by today's standards) caused a real stir. It was very racy for its time and was not really accepted by the country world. Her career hit a wall, and chart success was slipping. Her personal life was the stuff of tabloids and she was tied or rumored to be in romantic relationships with Merle Haggard, Don Johnson, Andy Gibb, and Glen Campbell over the course of a number of years. She became more known for all of this - sometimes more than her music. But a massive reinvention was coming.
From TNT - Big Song! Controversial Album Cover
In 1986 Tucker began a long run of the best music she ever recorded. She was working with great people and rattled off a line of huge hit songs that went on for about the next 12 years. Many of these songs are country classics and are still loved today. Downloading a Greatest Hits album from her is a very good idea. She has recorded, sung and collaborated with about everyone you can think of. She performed at halftime of the 1996 Superbowl, and has played about every venue there is to play. In short, Tanya Tucker is a star. I've played every Tanya Tucker song she put on the country charts and proud of it.
This Song Is Universally Loved
Yes, we feature her music in this article, but she's more than that. Tanya Tucker was, and is a star. She's known by generations of people. And she has managed to keep herself relevant and out front. Some remember Delta Dawn, some remember her romance with Glen Campbell, some remember her TV days, her tumultuous days, and now others are discovering the Grammy Winning music she records today. You see, that's a star. When everyone knows your name. And everyone does. In one way or another, you know who she is. She's a game changer. She was the first to be so young and really make it. She, about single-handedly changed the image for women in country. Granted, it was not instant, but the change did come, and the fashion of Loretta was gone forever, never to return.
Mid 80's - Sounds Great Even With A More Pop Sound
And her voice. Her sensational, distinct, a few notes lower than most voice. When everything around Tanya was changing, or confusing, successful, or going fast or slow for her or the rest of us, there was that constant of her gift - her voice. She still sounds great, and there is still no doubt who is singing, even with your eyes closed. She was also famous for being who she is. She's Tanya Tucker by God. 88 singles, 40 in the top 10, 15 number one songs, and 25 million albums sold over a career that has lasted her lifetime. And she needs to be in the Country Music Hall Of Fame. Even though her road was tough at times, she's on a short list of being one of the biggest difference makers we've ever had.
Big Song - During Her Great 80's - 90's Run
We watched her grow up right in front of us, not many have to endure that, but she did. She blazed a trail that wasn't even there, and in the end, she got it right, rewarding us with decades of amazing versatile music and clearly it was not always easy.
But true greatness seldom is. Someone always has to be first, and she was.
Read About A Whole Lot Of Other Great Country Women Right Here!
WYNN - The Diamond Grille
Monday night I had the chance to eat at one of Akron's most Iconic restaurants, The Diamond Grille and I'm glad I did.
What a great, fun place.
The food was amazing. I mean really amazing. This is a place that really cares about the quality of the food, and afterwards you know you have eaten a great meal. I can't wait to go back. Great food, great service. Just fun.
What A Salad
Located downtown on Market Street, it's been there since 1935. It is a throwback kind of place and you feel that. I love places like that. You can feel the history, but the menu is certainly up to date, and what we had was terrific! I had the Longbone Steak, a huge bone-in rib-eye that took up the entire plate. I also had green beans, fantastic breads, and a salad that had to be experienced to be described.
The Longbone Steak
Plus the Crab Cocktail was magnificent as an app. I enjoyed every single bite and I look forward to my next trip there hopefully soon. May take Windy there for her birthday
Dogs Are Like Kids
In some cases dogs are like kids. We all say they are part of the family. You love and nuture both children and pets.
You have to feed them, bath them, clean up after them, maybe dress them and they bark out info at the most inopportune times...
This video made me laugh because it is on par with what my child would do in this situation.
WYNN - This Is Very Cool!
I saw this last week when a friend and fellow pro, Chris Brooks, who does mornings in North Carolina at WMGV posted this on Facebook. This is a very cool thing. Click on this for something really different!
This shows you how imaginative people can be in the world. I love off the beaten path stuff, and this is certainly that. Great way to show support for fireman and first responders in general.
Thanks Chris, and well done. I'm buying something today!