1940's Radio Hour Review

Quote of the Day:  Radio can be like that - people adopt you - and he became friend and family to so many people. from the obituary of Tom Keith in the Minneapolis Star Tribune, a quote by his friend and co-worker Dale Connelly

C.J. Anderson playing Lou Cohn in the GLAPA production of

1940's Radio Hour.

He dedicated his performance to Tom Keith, sound guy extraordinaire for Garrison Keillor's A Prairie Home Companion, a man he met and admired.

I admired and marveled at the sound effects table, and artist, in this show.

That toilet plunger was too much.

I was cackling at this scene!

I think he's making a storm.

Doesn't this look like fun?!

I want to be the sound "guy" some day.

The 1940's Radio Hour was community theatre at its finest up in Pequot Lakes this weekend. I attended the Sunday afternoon show, which can be more subdued than an evening performance, but it wasn't. It was full of life and energy, beautiful costumes, and interesting scenery. I love it when the band is on stage, as in this show, so that they are part of the effect. They are cast members. Three cheers and a hand massage for the pianist. I know how hard you had to work! The music and musicians were phenomenal.

I don't care how old you are or what era you grew up in, this show has something for everyone from sentimental songs to ridiculous sight gags that the "radio" audience couldn't see. It felt like we got a behind the scenes look at live radio, with the wit and whimsey like in Noises Off, and the lively pace of A Prairie Home Companion. You might blush as Ginger Brooks (Wendy DeGeest) delivers her ad for Eskimo Pies, oh my. One of the band members is playing his last show before going off to war (the setting is WWII). When he's about to exit, the stage manager asks if he wants to take his guitar. He says, "You take care of it for me until I get back." This, after songs like Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, and I'll Be Seeing You. (Goodness, I'm wiping a tear even as I type this.) Those were highly emotional times, portrayed accurately by this talented cast.

Some of these set pieces are real, some are made with styrofoam, by the talented "Mr. Syrofoam" Tim Leagjeld.  Can you tell which is which?

Don't miss your chance to support your local community theatre and watch your friends and neighbors in a new role.  When they aren't on stage, they're filling important roles in our community as teachers, students, business owners, employees, parents, and grandparents. They do all this work (and, it IS work, I burned calories just watching them) for the love of the art. The younger actors who played Connie Miller and B.J. Gibson were so cute.  They danced together like Bobby and Sissy on the old Lawrence Welk Shows (grandparents, please explain this to the youngsters).

The best part about community theatre is that people are out there having a good time. They get to do their art for a while and leave those other roles at the stage door. They're escape is our entertainment. Thank you, GLAPA, and all the people behind the scenes. I had a lovely afternoon in your company.

Click here for more info on GLAPA and next week's performance schedule of The 1940's Radio Hour.  You'll be glad you went.

I'd love to get my fingers on this typewriter and start clacking away.

My grandma had one like this.

I loved the sound of it and how the keys would stick together if you pushed more than one at a time.

Go. Create. Inspire!

Journaling Prompt:  Plan out the sound effects to something you're writing or creating. Look around your house. What could you use? Make a sound effect recording, just for fun.