The two knew each other and spent time together only because their late fathers — Jim Nesmith and Richard Rook — were best friends. But, because Bob was a few years older, they didn’t run in the same circles.
“We really weren’t that close,” Nesmith said. “We got to know each other more as adults.”
Oddly enough, both gravitated to lives on the stage.
“Our dads were anything but theater guys,” he said. “I guess it was just a weird sequence of events.”
Rook said “their dads would be proud” that he and Nesmith are working together again.
Nesmith will play Norbert, a middle-aged toll booth attendant in Florida who is going through a midlife crisis when a new woman, a stripper on the run named Pippi, moves into the Armadillo Acres trailer park, where he lives with his wife, Jeannie.
However, the love triangle you’d expect never materializes and the story grows into one of the empowerment of women.
“When the opportunity came along for us to work together, especially right after this pandemic, it was a no-brainer to have him play this role,” Rook said.
With the comedic timing and the cast, the show promises plenty of laughs.
“It’s a fast-paced, high-energy love story that has something for everyone,” Nesmith said. “It’s a great show to get everyone back to the theater.”
