An 8 part musical comedy podcast from PasticheNYC by Emily King, Grace Under Pressure stars Alice King as Grace, who loses her high-pressured job in the first part and sees her trying to keep her head under water in the remaining episodes.
With each episodes running around 15 minutes, this show runs around two hours in total with each section released weekly.
I opted to review the whole piece together after receiving the first couple of podcasts and feeling that it worked very well in both formats – as something to listen to in segments or as a whole.
The songs are fun, the supporting cast are fine, and although the show was written three decades ago, it feels fresh and energetic. The humour fares well when taken as a whole, but doesn’t always catch in episodic format.
Grace Under Pressure takes a wry glimpse into the world of the well-off singleton flung out into the world to make her own path in the most materialistic and unforgiving of decades. It sets one woman’s story within the issues and attitudes of the day.
Sadly, Alice King died shortly following the completion of this project, making this something of a tribute and celebration to her talents (as Emily King, her cousin, explains in this interview for Hollywood Soapbox).
As Grace struggles to keep her job(s) in true screwball style, King’s acting keeps this moving along (her buddy team-up with Dorian DeMichele’s Trudy in episode 2 is as fun as any 1950s sitcom).
As Grace Under Pressure was originally written (and partly performed) for the stage, it still retains that intimate feel but with advances in audio recording gets a second life as a lively podcast you can enjoy on a jog or snuggled in bed.
The sound quality is excellent throughout without relying on too many quirks and tricks (with incidental sound effects collated during pandemic walks).
You can now listen to all episodes of Grace Under Pressure at https://grace-under-pressure.simplecast.com/.
It definitely deserves to reach a wider audience, if not just to admire the work of the Kings and the story they have doggedly brought to life.
***.5