Ridgewood Podcaster Recreates World Of 'Pogo' Comic Strip Creator

RIDGEWOOD, NJ — A Ridgewood resident is producing a podcast recreating the "hysterical and imaginative" world of a well-known cartoonist, and featuring actors and singers from across the U.S.

Frank Farrell is the host of "Songs of the Pogo", a podcast based on Walt Kelly's 1956 book of the same name, and he tells the stories that preface each of the 30 songs in the book, mixing in Kelly's personal memoirs and interviews.

Kelly's songbook was inspired by his long-running comic strip "Pogo" — a political satire that featured an opossum as the title character, and other anthropomorphic animals.

Host Farrell also lends his voice to different characters in the podcast episodes, as do other performers from across the country, including Norm Boucher, Danny Crawford, Aishas de Haas, and Karen Eterovich, Richard Henzel, Elizabeth Kelly, Jennifer Kim, Zander Kirby, Julia Maish, Ashley Oviedo, Darren Stephens and Jeanette Schwaba.

"'Songs of the Pogo' is truly my passion project," Farrell said on the podcast website. "I hope you enjoy all of the content I offer. Perhaps you'll discover what exhilarates you as well."

The eight-episode podcast series, hosted by Farrell and Ben Masterson, is available for listening via most providers.