Fred Raker and Bruce Tallerman have been friends for 45-plus years. They’re writers who, between them, have done stand up, television, short stories and theater. One thing they hadn’t done was write something together.
“We were having drinks one night, and I told Bruce I had an idea for a musical,” says Raker. The “idea” was just a title: Kickstarter the Musical.
“We actually started a Kickstarter for it,” Tallerman interjects, “until Kickstarter found out and made us take it down.”
What they ended up with was the musical comedy Pet Lingerie. Ross Valley Players selected it as their 2025 New Works production, and the Gary Stanford, Jr.-directed show opens March 21.
So what exactly is Pet Lingerie?
“It is pure entertainment,” Raker says. “It’s really funny, with great characters.”
Tallerman agrees, saying, “The characters are relatable. It’s really about making connections in modern times.”
“But it ain’t Hamilton,” Raker adds seriously before both men laugh.
In truth, Pet Lingerie is about love, dreams and really bad crowdfunding that somehow involves the pope as a puppet, a rabbi dreaming of becoming a playwright and ChatGPT.
The fact that the two writers have a great sense of humor is readily apparent, so it might be tempting to think comedy would be easy. But the script, 10 years in the making, has undergone numerous revisions.
“We did two staged readings,” Tallerman explains. “After each, we made changes.”
“Bruce added more songs, for instance,” Raker says, “and of course we had to keep updating the technology jokes.
“It was odd,” Tallerman adds. “No one cared if we were working on it; no one made us do it. We would get tidbits of encouragement, but we just did it for ourselves.”
For the two, that sense of doing something for themselves was one of the things that made the project worthwhile. “You have so much more control over your story,” Raker says. “You can sell a screenplay, then watch the movie two years later and wonder who wrote it. The whole production team at Ross has been so supportive and collaborative. It’s nice.”
“They aren’t even going to make us buy a ticket to watch them stumble through,” Tallerman says with a laugh.
So, if one is looking for something to take their mind off of, well, everything, they may consider Pet Lingerie. If the script is half as entertaining as a conversation between Tallerman and Raker, it should be hilarious.
‘Pet Lingerie’ runs March 21-April 6 at the Barn Theatre in the Marin Art and Garden Center, 30 Sir Francis Drake Blvd., Ross. Thurs.-Sat., 7:30pm; Sun., 2pm. $20–$35. 415.456.9555. rossvalleyplayers.com.
