October’s Old Time Radio Theatre
At Beowulf Alley Theatre
On Tuesday, October 5, 2010 at 7:00 p.m., Beowulf Alley Theatre’s Old Time Radio Theatre Company will present a classic production from the golden days of radio, as well as an original radio play written for us by a member of Old Pueblo Playwrights. (Please note that there will not be a presentation on Tuesday October 19 to prepare for the upcoming main stage production, The Transylvanian Clockworks. The first play to be presented, geared to all age groups, is one of radio’s favorite, long-running serials, Fibber McGee and Molly. This episode, The Census Enumerator was first aired on April 4, 1950 and will be followed by the premiere of Time Travel, Inc., by OPP’s Kelly Hardesty.
“T’ain’t funny, McGee!!” One of radio’s greatest hits and one of the longest running shows in radio history, Fibber McGee and Molly, starring Jim and Marion Jordan as the beloved couple. premiered in 1935 and ran until 1959, long after radio’s golden days had passed. It is considered by many to be the origin of situation comedy itself. In this episode, Fibber becomes an official census taker, enjoying his position as a “Government Official.” Fibber is afraid it may be awfully dull, but Molly reassures him...
FIBBER:
Yeah, and I'm gonna have a circus with it, too. I may switch the questions around a little of course, when I get the hang of it. Liable to sound pretty dull, askin' the same questions all day long.
MOLLY:
Oh, you can handle it, dearie - you've had experience.
FIBBER:
Askin' questions?
MOLLY:
Sounding dull...
During the day, radio provided listeners with excitement and thrills as well as laughs. One of radio’s strangest, spookiest and spine-chilling shows was Lights Out, dedicated to horror and the supernatural. This show, Time Travel, Inc., written for Beowulf Alley Theatre’s Old Time Radio Theatre Company by Tucson playwright, Kelly Hardesty, as part of a new collaboration between BATC and Old Pueblo Playwright’s in the new/old radio format. It will entertain and intrigue the audience in the way shows of the 1930’s and 1940’s once did. It’s a romantic science fiction play, set in the future as time travel becomes a way of life. We will be presenting many more scripts that are original in upcoming shows.
Beowulf Alley Theatre is located at 11 South 6th Avenue, just off-Broadway in Downtown Tucson, Admission is cash at the door, $8 for ages 13 and older and $5 for the first two children in a family, ages 6-12 years. Reservations are not needed. The box office phone number is (520) 882-0555. An evening of Old Time Radio Theatre runs approximately one hour.
Directed by Sheldon Metz, the OTRT’s ensemble includes Jon Benda, Jacob Brown, Janet Bruce, Butch Bryant, Joel Charles, Samantha Cormier, Gerri Courtney-Austein, Laura Davenport, Sydney Flynn, Vince Flynn, Audrey Ann Gambach, Barbara Glover, Bill La Pointe, Elizabeth Leadon, Steve McKee, Mark McLemore, Bruce Morganti, Joan O'Dwyer, Mike Saxon, Ina Shivack, Pat Timm, Jeff Scotland, Jared Stokes, Brian Wees, John Vornholt, and supported by the sound wizardry of Samuel De Jesus.
