Radio Drama is not a straight play, but actually three old time radio shows: The Death House Rescue, The Threat of the White Legion, and the unforgettable War of the Worlds. Orson Welles was heavily involved in the original broadcasts of these three shows in 1937 and 1938.

The ensemble cast projected well and were quite understandable, even managing to change voices depending on their character. In The Death House Rescue David James played Lefty, a desperate young man who took a job that put him in the wrong place at the wrong time. James projected a very nervous nasally voice that filled the listening audience with agitation. Later in The War of the Words James spoke with an intensity that grabbed the audience’s attention. Denis Romas served as The Shadow/Lamont Cranston in the first two dramas. Roma was quite expressive as he “spoke” as the invisible man to different characters, and was very effective in changing his voice as he interacted with his wife, the police, or the bad guys. Bill Hensel played both Orson Welles and Professor Pierson in The War of the Words. He was successful in being authoritative in his inflections, and later showing panic and excitement as he explored the new world the Martians had left behind.

Dan DeVany’s sound effects kept the play from becoming too mundane. The door slams and gun shots took one back to the “good ol’ days” when sound was the only way to enhance a story and make it come alive.

Overall, the pacing of the evening occasionally dragged. While each individual radio play was interesting, there wasn’t a significant difference between the two Shadow plays. We’d recommend dropping one of them, probably The Threat of the White Legion.

On the whole, Springfield Community Theatre has organized an enjoyable evening of 1930’s radio drama. The visuals were basic, the stories were interesting, but a bit drawn out.

Background Notes

Walter B. Gibson was a freelance writer for many publications, including the popular pulp-fiction magazine “True Detective.” In the early 1930s Gibson introduced a new, intermittent crime fighter known as The Shadow to “True Detective” readers. The became increasingly popular, with increasing demands for more Shadow episodes, which were naturally followed by pulp novellas with The Shadow as the hero. For the rest of the 1930s, Gibson wrote over 200 such Shadow novellas, as well as the story line for the Shadow comic strip and comic books, also immensely popular. Inevitably, th Shadow made the leap to radio. In 1937, young Orson Welles became the voice of Lamont Cranston, alias The Shadow. Our first presentation this evening is Welles’ first episode, broadcast in September 1937 and titled Death House Rescue. Welles was the voice of The Shadow for only one season then moved to larger projects with Mercury Theatre.

Our second presentation this evening “The White Legion,” was Welles’ final Shadow episode, broadcast in May 1938. In Mid-season, Cranston’s companion and confidante, Margot Lane, became a new and permanent character of the series (played by Mercury Theatre Cast member Agnes Morehead). The radio series continued for many years without Welles and Morehead as the leading characters. Welles was already at work on “The War of The World” with co-Producer John Houseman and The Mercury Theatre, and the project was ready for broadcast on Halloween Eve, October 1938.

“The War of the Worlds” is arguably the most famous radio drama ever broadcast, because of th panic it created throughout the nation. Listeners who missed the opening announcement that the broadcast was an adaptation of H.G. Wells novel thought they were listening to live broadcast news broadcasts of an invasion from Mars, and the stories of irrational behavior ar legendary. The radio adaptation was written by Howard koch, who a few years later won the Oscar for his screenplay of “Casablanca,” and was directed by Welles. H.G. Welles was reported to have been unhappy with the liberties Koch and Welles had taken with his novel.

As you view and her our production, try to imagine a time prior to World War II when television was a new invention, not yet markete, and people worldwide depended upon radio and newspapers for all of their news, information, commercials, sports, and entertainment. Try to envision the creativity of other radio industry to bring story lines, vocal energy, and sound effects into millions of homes and offices world wide, without the benefit of pictures and graphics. It was quite a challenge to hold the listeners’ attention. If our production does not contain enough physical activity to suit you, try closing your eyes and letting your imagination take over for a few minutes. And please remember that these broadcasts were entertainment, a diversion from life’s problems. We hope they are as much fun today as they were during the Golden Age of Radio. It’s too bad that we don’t still have Jack Benny, Fred Allen, Fibber McGee and mollie, Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy, Tom mix, Superman, The Green Hornet, Stella Dallas, Jack Armstrong (the list coul go on for pages) on our radios today. We hope you have as much fun in our audience as we have had in rehearsing and perfoming live radio for you.

Finally, our thanks and appreciation to John Holt, station engineer at WAMU, for the use of his vintage microphones from his personal collection, and to Mark and Marsha Bush for th loan of some of our Foley sound effects, also from their personal collection. Finally, thanks to John Reiser for the loan of his sound mixer and his technical sound assistnce, as well as to Rob Henshaw for the use of part of his vintage magazine collection. Enjoy.

Donald Neal, Producer

Cast: The Death House Rescue

• The Shadow/ Lamont Cranston: Denis Roma
• Network Announcer: Brian Bochicchio
• Lefty: David James
• Red: Donald Neal
• Grace: Bridget Myers
• Gordon: Paul Rubenstein
• The Warden: Bill Hensel
• Voice Ensemble: Cathy Gallagher, Mary Whipple, Jeff Whipple, Brandon Brylawski

Cast: The Threat of the White Legion

• Network Announcer: Brandon Brylawski
• Devens: Brian Bochicchio
• Judge: Bill Hensel
• The Shadow/Cranston: Denis Roma
• Margot Lane: Bridget Myers
• Alton Parker: Brian Bochicchio
• Helen Parker: Cathy Gallagher
• Hartney Clays: David James
• Voice Ensemble: Mary Whipple, Paul Rubenstein, Donald Neal

Cast: The War of the Worlds

• Network Announcers: Brian Bochicchio and Brandon Brylawski
• Orson Welles/ Professor Pierson: Bill Hensel
• Carl Phillips: Paul Rubenstein
• Mr. Wilmuth/The Stranger: David James
• Voice Ensemble: Cathy Gallagher, Mary Whipple, Jeff Whipple, Bridget Myers, Denis Roma, Donald Neal

Crew

• Director: Dan DeVany
• Producer: Donald Neal
• Light Designer: Chris Hardy
• Sound Design: Dan deVany
• Assisted by: John Holt, Martha and Frank Bush and John Reiser
• Production Assistant: Anita Gardner

Disclaimer: Springfield Community Theatre provided two complimentary media tickets to ShowBizRadio for this review.

• Heroes, December 2009
• The Taffetas, April 2010
• Radio Drama, May 2010

Schedule is subject to change due to performance rights conflicts or other issues.

SCT’s production of Edgar Lee Masters’ Spoon River Anthology, conceived, adapted and arranged by Charles Aidman, was an entertaining look at some of the lives of the people buried in the fictional town of Spoon River, Illinois. Originally a collection of poems written in 1915, Aidman added music and reordered the presentation of the poems. SCT performed the anthology well, with Jon Roberts on guitar, Maria Mercedes Benzie as the lead singer, and the rest of the cast (Cassandra Newman, Alexander Green, Calvert Whitehurst, Don Williams, and Mollie Wise) playing multiple roles.

The intimate space of the black box theater of the New School in Fairfax, Virginia was used effectively by Adriana Hardy, the production’s director. Actors made eye contact with the audience as they told their stories, making us feel like we were hearing deep, dark secrets (and occasionally we were!) Costumes by Farrell Anne M. Hartigan were a significant accomplishment. They were mostly earth tones, with splashes of color for emphasis. With most actors playing at least eight different characters, the costumes were a huge help in defining each role. The actors did excellent work in interpreting each character. Costume, vocal inflections, and other decisions helped each role to be unique.

The second act started with a very funny song, “Drunk as I Can Be” (or “Three Nights Drunk”) sung by a trio of men and pair of women. But this humorous song was the exception, as most of the scenes were more serious. Indeed, it would have been useful to have had more time to reflect on each scene before the next scene began. Unfortunately, by the time you’ve absorbed one scene, the next scene has already started. The live performance of these poems does lose some of its impact by losing the ability to reflect on the passages. But SCT has given an admirable effort at sharing these stories.

Cast

• Maria Mercedes Benzie (Lead Singer)
• Cassandra Newman
• Alexander Green
• Jon Roberts (Guitarist)
• Calvert Whitehurst
• Don Williams
• Mollie Wise

Crew

• Producer: Don Neal
• Director: Adriana Hardy
• Co-Producer: Anita Gardner
• Costume Designer: Farrell Anne M. Hartigan
• Lighting Designer: Chris Hardy
• Lighting Technicians: Robert and Amanda Kraus
• Box Office Assistant: Laura Newman

The Fantasticks is a musical with book and lyrics by Tom Jones and music by Harvey Schmidt. The story concerns two fathers who put up a wall between their houses to ensure that their children fall in love, because they know that children always do what their parents forbid. After the children do fall in love, they discover their fathers’ plot and they each go off and experience things in the world. After experiencing Life, they return to each other and to the love they had. The Fantasticks ran on Broadway for over 42 years, with 17,162 performances.

Opening night brought a fair amount of enthusiasm and a pretty good crowd to the black box theatre that is the current home of Springfield Community Theatre. The first act moved a bit slowly, but the second act was much more engaging and fun.

El Gallo, the Narrator was played convincingly by George Willis. Willis’ slick portrayal and attitude allowed him to weasel his way into the story. The two young lovers Matt and Luisa were played well by Andrew Ennis and Christina Kidd. Kidd had a real innocence about her. She was sweet, with a pretty voice that carried well. Andrew Ennis as Matt was equally love struck. Although his character was also innocent in the first act, but he did some growing up in the second. Ennis appeared to have a little trouble with his singing voice, it didn’t seem to carry as well. He and Kidd appeared to have a good connection with each other.

Jon Roberts as Matt’s father Hucklebee and Joe LeBlanc as Luisa’s father Bellomy were excellent choices for the roles. Their different body types contrasted well, adding a layer of visual interest to their duets. They were both at ease on stage and moved well, if not always together. The remaining cast members were made up of Henry the Actor (Fred Lash), Mortimer, The Woman Who Dies (Eleni Aldridge) and the Mute (Pat Jannell) who was silent, yet quite expressive. Although they did not have big roles, they were integral to telling the story and each committed entirely to their parts.

The set was minimal, made up of a few triangular banners stretching from the high ceiling to the floor, and two 6 foot step-ladders. I was a bit concerned for the actors’ safety as they negotiated the ladders, especially Christina Kidd in her high heeled shoes in the second Act. The Set Designer was also the show’s director Donald Neal.

The Act II song Round and Round, sung by El Gallo and Luisa, was very well performed. El Gallo took Luisa on a tour of the world, and as she saw the terrible things of the world he gave her a mask she used to hide those things from herself. The staging of the atrocities was creative and gripping.

This show is entertaining in it’s simplicity. You will have an enjoyable time. The Fantasticks ran two hours with one intermission and is playing through Saturday March 14. Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm and Sunday matinees on March 1st and 8th at 2 pm at the New School of Northern Virginia in Fairfax, Virginia.

Once you’ve seen The Fantasticks, please share your thoughts about it. We’d also like to invite you to join our free mailing list so you can stay informed with theater happenings in the DC region.

And now, on with the show.

Director’s Notes

We hope you enjoy the style and costuming of this production. We have used a “minimalist” approach to the material, depending upon the music to tell us the story, and without a set or extensive props. Jones and Schmidt prescribe a “commedia dell’arte” presentation, which we have attempted to achieve. I wish to thank and comment Elaine Topodas, Farrell Hartigan, Chris Hardy, and Gary Fitzgerald for their exemplary contributions to the choreography, costumes, lighting, and music. They are all pros, even though this communtiy theater. Thank you for your support, and enjoy the show as much as we enjoy presenting it.

Cast

• El Gallo: George Willis
• Luisa, The Girl: Christina Kidd
• Matt, The Boy: Andrew Ennis
• Hucklebee, The Boy’s Father: Jon Roberts
• Bellomy, The Girl’s Father: Joe Le Blanc
• Henry, The Actor: Fred Lash
• Mortimer, The Woman Who Dies: Eleni Aldridge
• The Mute: Pat Jannell

Crew

• Director/Producer: Donald Neal
• Music Director/Accompanist: Gary Fitzgerald
• Choreographer/Assistant Director: Elaine Topodas
• Fight Choreographer: Kevin Robertson
• Assistant Fight Choreographer: Sarah Daniels
• Lighting Design: Chris Hardy
• Set Design: Donald Neal
• Costumes: Farrell Hartigan
• Light board Operator: Robert Kraus
• Properties and Set Dressing: Cast and Staff
• Program Design & Production: Elaine Topodas
• Photography: Elaine Topodas

Saturday and Sunday ticket sales look great, but tonight – Halloween – not so much. So! I’m offering free tickets!!

***Availability is limited*** – and it’s for Halloween only. Please email me at WCorder@Yahoo.com.

The show is subtitled Song Stories About People and Their Pets. It’s very cute, funny, touching . . . and short. Plus, Springfield Community Theatre is using a wonderful new 40 seat black box theater. This is a great chance to check it out!

ShowBizRadio’s review is here.

This is the Show Biz Radio Review of PetPourri, performed by the Springfield Community Theatre in Fairfax, Virginia. We saw the performance on Sunday afternoon, October 26th, 2008.

PetPourri is acabaret musical celebrating our furry, feathered and scaly friends and their owners, by DC’s own Debbie LaPuma and Andrea Dodds. Recommended for music-lovers and anyone who has ever owned a pet.

This was a variety show complete with tap dancing, the tango, and talented singing. The performers all did a fine job of making their pets seem like part of the family. This was a fun production, showing that a simple musical idea can be quite entertaining.

The four singers, Janice Rivera, Peter Halverson, Kittie Milan, and Mark Hildago all had a nice blend of voices and an exuberance that the audience enjoyed. They played various roles including, a child, a therapy group, a gay couple, and a divorced couple.

The songs also ranged from joyful to sad. There was a tap dance number performed by Mark Hildago, a tango by Mark Hildago and Janice Rivera, and a sorrowful solo sung by Kittie Milan that brought an audible sigh from the audience.

All of the props were brought on and off the stage skillfully. The host of the show (James Ginther, Richard Hildebrand, or Dan Stapula, varies each performance) provided interesting pet-related anecdotes throughout the performance. Sometimes the lighting cues did not always match up with the host’s face and stayed on a bit too long.

PetPourri ran an hour and eighteen minutes with one intermission. It is playing for one more weekend. This Friday and Saturday at 8 pm and a Sunday matinee at 2 pm at the New School in Fairfax, Virginia.

Once you’ve seen the show, please feel free to leave a comment here on our website at ShowBiz Radio.net. We’d also like to invite you to join our free mailing list so you can stay informed with theater events in the DC Region.

And now, on with the show.

Directors Notes

I will always remember the time I first saw PetPourri. It was in the Fall of 1997 at Arena Stage’s Old Vat Room. The house was packed, and excitement was very high. I must have been the most excited, because the show was composed by my friend, Deborah Wicks La Puma.

We had just finished our starring roles in The Who’s: Tommy at Elden Street Players (my first big lead!). She was incredible as Mrs. Walker to my Mr. Walker; but I had no idea what a fantastic composer she was until the lights went down and George Fulginiti-Shakar began the intro to “Opening Fugue.” Every neuron in my body fired jolts of electricity in excitement.

I’m delighted to be joined in this production by a couple of wonderful friends. It seems like a full circle of sorts to have Janice Rivera in my cast since she starred in Tommy with me – the second time around. Kittie Millan and I have been close friends since Larry Baird’s Pippin all the way back in 1990. I knew, or knew of, both Peter Halverson and Mark Hidalgo a bit through mutual friends, but this has been my first time working with them. It has been great fun to get to know them both. I cant’ wait to see what they do next.

It has been an honor, privilege and lots of fun, to work with all of them.

Sadly, my partner Richard and I did not know when we started planning this project that we were to lose the heart of our own home. Our precious greyhound, Bailey went to the rainbow bridge in June. I dedicate this performance to the memory of the love she brought to us. We will forever miss her. She was wonderful.

Cast

• Alto: Janice Rivera
• Baritone: Peter Halverson
• Soprano: Kittie Millan
• Tenor: Mark Hildago

Crew

• Co-Producers: Wade Corder, Mary Beth Smith-Toomey
• Director: Wade Corder
• Music Director: Evelyn Boesenberg
• Choreographer: Elaine Topodas
• Tap Dance Break: Suzie Celentano
• Rehearsal and Show Pianist: Susan Maher
• Stage Manager: Robert Knight
• Set Design: Wade Corder
• Lighting Design: Susan Riegner
• Assisted by Charles Agyeman
• Set Dressing: Pat Jannell
• Properties: Pat Jannell
• Costumes: The Cast
• Hair/Makeup: The Cast
• Graphic Design: Bobbie Clark
• Photography: Shelia Price
• Program: Mary Beth Smith-Toomey

• PetPourri, Fall 2008
• The Fantasticks, Winter 2009
• Spoon River Anthology, Spring 2009

Schedule is subject to change due to performance rights conflicts or other issues.

Richard Cory, by A.R. Gurney, will be performed as a staged reading. This play is directed by Adriana Hardy, a teacher-director and a specialist in BBS (Breath, Body and Sound). Actors will come away from this experience having learned to effectively use their bodies, voice and acting techniques in the most effective way. Call 703-978-7650 for further information.

Laura: Sunday evening we saw Springfield Community Theatre‘s production of Children in Annandale, Virginia.

Mike: Children is a play by A. R. Gurney. It takes place at the family’s Summer home in Massachusetts, 4th of July weekend 1970. The family is getting together to celebrate the holiday. The mother has some news to share that will change their lives forever.

Laura: I thought this was a good show. It was a slice of life in America, however things aren’t all that they appear. As the play goes on you find out secrets that the mom has been hiding for many years as well as the daughter. Even the brother and his wife have been keeping secrets from each other. It’s a slice of life that has a sort of twisted dark side to it. But I enjoyed it very much.

Mike: This was a good show. It was really pretty simple. It all took place in one day. There was a lot of tension within the family. Especially when they got the news that Pokey was going to be coming up. Pokey is their brother who hadn’t been there for five years. All of a sudden he decided he needed to come up and see the house and the family. I think everybody did well with their parts. It’s not a real complex show, however at the end when people started falling apart it did get more complicated and involved. I think they were all able to work very well together and the simple set helped keep the focus of the audience on the actors not on anything extra.

Laura: Barbara the daughter was played by Poppy Pritchett. She did a good job. I liked how she was trying to assert her independence even thought she did have children to care for. She was divorced and trying to find a new life for her down at the summer home. The end scene was interesting when everything fell apart and she realized that things were going to change from now on. I liked her emotions.

Mike: Randy, the sports loving brother was played by Wade Corder. He did a pretty good job. He was pretty convincing as the tennis player focusing his life on tennis and keeping fit and and doing sports. At one point in the play they found a book that listed all the games they had played from years ago. I loved the determination that showed on his face when he was remembering the games from years ago. It seemed like he was missing a lot of what was happening right under his nose.

Laura: Barbara and Randy’s mother was played by Susan Garvey. She gave a very strong performance. She was very suave, calm, cool, and collected. Always wanted to keep the family together. She had a good scene at the end when some secrets were told that really impacted how they all feel about each other, but she held it together.

Mike: Randy’s wife Jane was played by Karn Henderson. She was the most complex character in the show. She started out being very supportive of Randy and being, not lovey dovey, but very supportive of the whole family. She had a nice relationship with Barbara her sister-in-law. As the show progressed she started getting frustrated. In the second act she let it boil over. That was fascinating scene. It’s not often you hear someone call themselves a jerk. It was a pretty effective scene when she finally stood up for herself by saying she doesn’t want to do such and such. I think she had the largest change in a character through this show. She was still supportive, but she stood up for herself. That was a nice change for the show. A lot of the conflict came from the other brother, Pokey who showed up. I don’t want to give any of that plot away, but everybody was kind of walking on eggshells around him. I think that contributed a lot to her frustration and her standing up for herself.

Laura: The set for Children was quite effective. The Set Designer was Charlie Brown. You had some wicker chairs and a table and a bench area. It looked like a back porch that you would see in a summer home. I thought it was really well done. Simple but effective.

Mike: The show was two hours long with one intermission. It is playing at the Immanuel United Methodist Church in Annandale, Virginia through Sunday the 13th. Shows are Friday and Saturday night at 8 PM and Sunday the 13th at 5 PM.

Laura: And now, on with the show.

Cast

• Barbara: Poppy Pritchett
• Randy: Wade Corder
• Mother: Susan Garvey
• Jane: Karn Henderson
• Pokey: Steven Haber

Crew

• Director: Adriana Hardy
• Producer: Anita Gardiner
• Stage Manager: Laura Newport
• Props & Set Dressing: Steven Haber
• Master Carpenter: August Kruesi
• Set Designer: Charlie Brown
• Set Construction: August Kruesi, Dick Garey, Anita Gardiner
• Set Painters: Ruth Miller, Anita Gardiner
• Lighting Designer: Chris Hardy
• Lighting Technicians: Mary Brick, Bob Timmerman, Laura Newport
• Sound Designer: Dan Stapula
• Sound technician: Dan Stapula
• Sound Recordings: Linda Ray Leader, Ron Fields, Steven Haber, Susan Garvey, Poppy Pritchett, Karn Henderson, Wade Corder
• Program & Flyer: Lorraine Penn
• Publicity Assistant: Karen Fountain