The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Essex pair’s streaming service targets baby boomers
The classics, and new, engaging content is just two clicks away now that an Essex couple launched a new streaming service specifically targeting baby boomers.
Saltbox TV, named for the couple’s classic-style house, is a free platform created last year in the wake of the pandemic by Patty Carver, a professional singer and actor, and her husband, Broadway producer Gerald Goehring after their theatrical endeavors were shut down.
“Connecticut Children’s Theater (which the couple founded) was shut down,” she said. “My live gigs ... were shut down. ‘Be More Chill,’ which is Gerry’s Broadway show, which was running on the West End of London, was also shut down.”
They pair recognized they needed to pivot, Carver said, which led to them filming her one-woman musicals and offering the recordings to retirement homes. In talking to lifestyle directors at those facilities, she said it became clear that senior communities on lockdown and in quarantine needed more than just a show to stay entertained and engaged.
“I went home and said to Gerry, ‘It should be a channel. There should be a platform designed just for communities — just for older adults,”’ she said, “not only during COVID when they are all on lockdown, but for beyond COVID.”
Carver wanted the platform to be designed by people who specialize in elder care. The next day, she said,
Goehring got on the phone, and they eventually created Saltbox TV.
“It’s the first entertainment platform designed specifically for older adults,” 55 and up, Carver said. “From the get-go, we’ve got nothing but positive support and positive response to the idea.”
That support included Hollywood greats such as Ed Asner, who backed the new streaming service and was its spokesperson before his death last Sunday at 91. “There’s something bigger happening here, this isn’t just another channel, it’s something more,” he said in a statement. Asner was known for his performances in “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” and “Lou Grant.”
Carver noted that talent such as Henry Winkler, David Chase, James
Burrows, Doc Severinsen, Didi Conn and Jo Marie Payton, have offered their support. But not just vocal support, she said. They want roles in Saltbox’s original programming.
Carver said the first in-house production Saltbox is doing is a show called “Silver Stars,” which will showcase talented older adults. “We’re really excited about it.”
The company will begin to do in-house programming as COVID-19 restrictions lift. Saltbox also partnered with IN2L, a distribution company, to get its platform in senior communities across the nation.
Salt Box TV is available to stream on Roku and Amazon with no subscription necessary.