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1940's Radio Hour by San Diego School of Creative and Performing Arts It’s the night of December 21, 1942, and the part-time singers for small New York radio station WOV begin slowly filtering into the studio from their day jobs to put on this year’s Christmas show – the first one with America fully engaged in World War II. After spending a bit too long in the throes of music-less, pre-broadcast confusion, Walton Jones’s 1940’s Radio Hour finally “strikes up the band,” and the last two-thirds of the 90-minute production is filled with great comedy and music as the radio singers croon out a number of period hits along with a little bit of holiday music and several amusing radio commercials ranging from Maxwell House to soap to laxatives to Chiquita Banana to Pepsi-Cola (with one of the singers accidentally still holding her Coke can as she sings it). Director Bill Doyle, who also accompanies the vocalists on the piano (joined by Charlie Walker on trumpet and Tim Newton on drums), is fortunate to have a number of gifted voices to choose from among his Advanced Musical Theater students – so many in fact that many of the roles are double-cast. His performers include Jason Anderson as radio star Johnny Cantone whose smooth sound brings to life Love is Here to Stay and I’ll Never Smile Again. The show’s biggest diva, Geneva Lee Browne (Rachael Plotkin), turns in nice, sultry work with Hit Me With a Hot Note and I Got It Bad. Most impressive is Lena Hudson who gives her voice a remarkably vintage 1940’s sound when singing That Old Black Magic and the Christmas classic (Have Yourself a) Merry Little Christmas (strangely, she was singing this a year before the first version of the song was written in 1943 for the movie Meet Me in St. Louis). Laura Spafford leads the comedy as the typical “dumb blonde” type, enlivening the stage throughout and giving the most hysterical commercial spot as she begins describing the joys of an Eskimo Pie excitedly enough to melt the ice cream. Brian Crum lends his exceptional voice and comic talents, especially when joining Laura Spafford and beautifully-voiced nice girl Lydia An in a few terrific trios that culminate in Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy when poor Brian has to fill in for the missing girl at the last minute, but soon catches on and begins feeling quite comfortable in his new role as a U.S.O. girl. Elsewhere, the ensemble combines for great renditions of Blue Moon, Strike Up the Band, and I’ll Be Seeing You, Ian Carter plays humorously with accents and a lisp as a peculiar diction coach, Jared Stovell is a capable sound-effects guy, and Adam Covalt is excellent as frustrated and frantic radio show director Clifton A. Feddington whose efforts succeed in making the show a success both for radio listeners everywhere and their studio audience (performed by us, the audience). Performed February 18 – 22, 2004.Rob Hopper ~ Cast ~
Pops Bailey: Shawn Jones Rosie: Sarah Reynolds Kate Richardson Clifton A. Feddington: Adam Covalt Lou Cohn: Jared Stovell Wally Fergusson: Cedric Adams Ginger Brooks: Natalie Hein Laura Spafford Connie Miller: Lydia An Dana Vincent B.J. Gibson: Brian Crum Neal Tilden: Ian Carter Ann Collier: Lena Hudson Kathryn Imler Geneva Lee Browne: Shanda Pierce Rachael Plotkin Johnny Cantone: Jason Anderson Biff Baker: Charlie Weller Zoot Doubleman: Bill Doyle Director/Musical Director: Bill Doyle Stage Manager: Karli Cadel Lighting Designer: K. Aaron Blokker Costume Designer: Lynn Choplin |