Podcast Summary: "Laurie Metcalf Stars In 'Little Bear, Ridge Road'"

Podcast: All Of It
Host: Alison Stewart (WNYC)
Episode Date: November 7, 2025
Guests: Laurie Metcalf (actor), Micah Stock (actor), Sam Hunter (playwright)
Play: Little Bear Ridge Road, running at the Booth Theater

Overview

This episode centers on the new Broadway play Little Bear Ridge Road, written by Samuel D. Hunter and featuring Laurie Metcalf and Micah Stock. The conversation delves into the play's unusual focus on an estranged aunt and nephew, rural isolation in Idaho during the pandemic, and what it means to explore family wounds, class, and incremental connection against a minimalist set.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Play & Characters

• Plot Premise & Character Setup (00:03–04:45)
  The play follows Sarah, a fastidious nurse in rural Idaho, whose life is disrupted when her estranged nephew Ethan arrives to settle his late father’s estate, just as the COVID-19 pandemic begins.

  • Laurie Metcalf on Sarah: "She's definitely cleaning...fighting with her bosses about how many shifts she's going to get that week at the hospital. And she's watching a lot of TV." (01:38)
  • Micah Stock on Ethan: "[Ethan is] making his way slowly back home to deal with the mess that his family left him and sleeping in his car...which is very difficult given that the pandemic has just begun." (02:03)

• Relationship Dynamics (04:16–10:55)

  • The relationship is tense: Sarah hasn't had company in years, and Ethan would rather be anywhere else. Both carry heavy, unspoken familial baggage.
  • Laurie Metcalf: "She's very set in her way. Not too happy about sharing her space." (04:19)
  • Micah Stock: "He has to lean on her in any regard is just disgusting." (04:45)

• Playwright's Choices (05:22–07:46)

  • Sam Hunter originally conceived the relationship as a mother and son, but found an aunt-nephew dynamic "wide open" and dramatically rich due to the mixture of closeness and distance.
  • Sam Hunter: "If they share that much history, there's not a lot of new stuff...what's interesting about an aunt and a nephew is there's not a lot of preconceptions...it could be vaguely parental or not." (06:17–07:32)

Themes and Artistic Decisions

• Naming and Setting (07:48–08:00)

  • Names hold no symbolic meaning by design, to avoid distracting metaphor.
  • The pandemic isn't the play’s subject, but a device to force close proximity.

• Class & Money (22:11–24:43)

  • Ethan's difficult relationship with money and privilege is highlighted by his interactions with James, a well-to-do academic. The contrast between Ethan's financial reality and others' ease underscores tension and resentment.
  • Sam Hunter: "When I first moved to New York...money didn’t exist [in plays]...I really want money in my plays to be real." (23:28–24:34)
  • Micah Stock: “[James] may as well have said 5 million... triple digits is just not in his lexicon.” (24:34–24:39)

The Minimalist Set

• The Couch as Co-Star (11:14–13:15)

  • The set is mostly "a couch in a void," representing both comfort and isolation.
  • Laurie Metcalf: "It's absolutely a gorgeous set in its sparseness...the audience can use their imagination to fill in where we are." (11:33)
  • The couch alone transforms into various settings, almost a character itself, offering actors creative space.
  • Micah Stock: "It becomes almost a dance that we get to do with it. It spins, it flips, it transforms like a transformer." (13:19)

• Back Wall & Lighting (14:09)
  The "rough hewn wall" signifies the vastness and emptiness around the characters—"two tiny lives in the vastness of the universe."

  • Sam Hunter: "When that back wall comes up, it's just like...the universe shows up." (14:11)

Character Growth & Connection

• Change Over Time (15:50–18:52)
  • Growth is slow and unsentimental—very real, with both characters only inching forward.
  • Laurie Metcalf: "You’re rooting for them to find a path towards each other...it's very tender...they bring it out in the open after all these years." (15:50)
  • Sam Hunter: "If a full-on redemption is a mile, Ethan goes 20 ft. Which to me is real life. It's inching forward." (18:08)

Humor and Tone

• Finding Laughter Amidst Pain (18:52–21:24)
  • Despite the weight of the subject matter, there’s surprising humor, often coming from mundane lines, timing, and character quirks.
  • Laurie Metcalf: "One of my favorite lines is, I'm gonna check on that band saw." (19:02)
  • Sudden shifts from humor to darkness create a "whiplash effect" that keeps the play dynamic.
  • Sam Hunter: "There’d be a big laugh line...and then three lines later, one of the darker moments…that kind of whiplash effect." (20:23)

Audience Response & Impact

• Audience Engagement (21:01–22:11)

  • The polarized audience reactions (from laughter to shock) become part of the play’s experience.
  • Micah Stock: "As much fun as we both have...we can't let it get away from us...It's on the head of a pin, really." (21:07)

• Takeaways and Resonance

  • The play’s realism about class, family, and emotional wounds resonates across ages and backgrounds.
  • Laurie Metcalf: "[The play's] resonated with [audiences], whether it’s something that they’re going through personally or a family member...in such an honest, unsympathetic way." (24:50)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Family Tension:

  • Micah Stock: "She never showed up for him, never saved him, never did anything for him...to lean on her in any regard is just disgusting." (04:45)

• On Minimalism:

  • Laurie Metcalf: "With minimal things that the couch does, we're transported to different environment...the audience can use their imagination to fill in where we are." (11:33)

• On Redemption & Realism:

  • Sam Hunter: "If a full on redemption is a mile, Ethan goes 20 ft. To me, that's real life. It's inching forward. It's not leaps and bounds." (18:08)

• On Money and Class:

  • Sam Hunter: "When I first moved to New York...money didn’t exist [in plays]...I really want money...to be real." (23:28)

• On Audience Connection:

  • Laurie Metcalf: "Everyone that has stayed afterwards, it’s resonated with them...in such an honest, unsympathetic way." (24:50)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Plot and Characters Introduced: 00:03–04:45
• Family Baggage & First Encounter: 04:16–07:46
• Set Design & Minimalism: 11:14–14:09
• Character Evolution: 15:50–18:52
• Humor and Whiplash: 18:52–21:24
• Class, Money, and James: 22:11–24:43
• Audience Connection & Resonance: 24:50–25:46

Tone & Language

The conversation is candid, witty, and grounded, much like the play itself. There’s warmth, dark humor, and a persistent realism throughout—no easy resolutions, but honest insights into family, loneliness, and the small salvations possible even between wounded people.

This summary captures the essence and richness of the episode, for listeners and non-listeners alike, preserving the original voices while organizing the major themes and moments for easy reference.