In "Radio Mystery 1949 " by Dennis Richard, a post-WWII radio murder mystery is outdone by real-life drama when a mysterious actor carries what may or may not be a bomb into a sound stage during a live performance. The nail-biting production is directed by Richmond Shepard. Clarion Theatre, John P. Greene and Fae Simmons will present the piece tonight, September 15 to 26 at the Clarion Theatre, 309 East 26th Street, Manhattan.
This period play recalls the pre-TV days when mystery radio stories ruled the airwaves. These purely acoustic performances, with gruesome stories and sound effects, were narrated by storytellers with sinister voices and acted by a mixture of unknowns and stars. Their suspenseful tales left an impression on the mind's eye through the powers of voice acting, music, live sound effects and suggestion. The spell was so complete that listeners could visualize even the look of the characters in these crime stories while the twists and turns of the stories struck fear in their souls.
In Dennis Richard's noiresque drama, a group of actors gather in a studio in New York to perform a live murder mystery radio program. On this day in 1949, tensions are high because the mystery radio series has declining audiences and nervous sponsors. The producer has impulsively fired two cast members and hired an untried actor as a replacement. That actor, who calls himself Radio Nick, arrives just as the show starts and places a duffle bag at his feet. Once the radio hour is underway he reveals, live on the air, that whatever it is that is that bag may be ticking. Everyone on stage draws their own conclusions as to the content of the bag. With this unanticipated and bizarre act, Radio Nick hijacks the production into a drama that is much greater than the one in the script, presenting a deeper and more urgent mystery than the cast or its listeners could ever imagine.
While it has all the hallmarks of a period piece, the play introduces a modern sensibility in the character of its villain, Radio Nick. Playwright Dennis Richard is calling our attention to an uncertainty that is peculiar to our times. We are barraged with stories of unexpected bombings and mass murders, but we never know the real reasons behind these acts. Their perpetrators tend to either kill themselves or plead insanity, leaving society gasping for explanations that never come. This mindset is unlike former times, when the motivation for every antisocial act seemed explicable, at least in the simplicity of dramatic fantasies like radio dramas.
The actors are Dan Burkarth, Lisa Landino, Stacy Ayn Price,
Nate Steinwachs, Richard M. Steele and
Alexander Reed.
Dennis Richard is author of 49 plays, including "The Game against Bobby Fischer" (
www.BobbyFischer-theplay.com), which premiered in Los Angeles at the Secret Rose Theatre in 2015, and "Oswald - the Actual Interrogation" (
www.Oswaldtheplay.com), which opened in New York in 2011 and had additional productions in Los Angeles, Chicago, San Pedro and Fort Worth, where it was part of the 50th anniversary commemoration of the Kennedy assassination. His other plays include "The Park Keeper" and the "The Gargoyle" (American Center for the Performing Arts, Boston), "A Suite of Rooms" and "The Sea Listeners" (86th Street playhouse, NYC), "Territory" (American Theater for Actors, NYC), "Twisted Steel" (Burbage Theater , L.A) and "Wreck" (
Richmond Shepard Theater, NYC). He is a member of the
Dramatists Guild and the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.
Director
Richmond Shepard (
www.richmondshepard.com) is a veteran and multi-talented mime, actor, writer, director and producer who has been active in theater and film for over 60 years. He performed in over 100 television shows and many films and produced over forty plays, directing or starring in many of them. He won a Dramalogue award for directing "The Transfiguration of Benno Blimpie" by
Albert Innaurato. His musical directing credits include "The Sound of Music" (two productions) and "Brigadoon." He taught musical theater for six years at the Los Angeles Civic Light Opera. He directed and performed with the improvisational comedy troupes The L.A.Cabaret (1967-77) and Noo Yawk Tawk (1988-2005). He has directed 30 short films and two features, the last being "Gurneyman," co-starring
David Arquette. He directed Sartre's "No Exit" and directed and co-starred (with Dan Burkarth) in
Ronald Ribman's "Cold Storage." He was trained in Mime by
Alvin Epstein and Etienne Decroux and he started America's first ensemble Mime troupe. He teaches Mime and privately coaches comedians. In the last five years, he has created and performed with Mime troupes in Jakarta, Shanghai, Armenia, Istanbul and Derry, Ireland. Shepard was editor of "Performing Arts Insider" for nine years and has been a theater journalist and critic during most of his professional career. His current reviews may be found at
http://lively-arts.com. He has directed seven plays by Dennis Richard, including "Oswald - the Actual Interrogation" (NYC, 2011 and Los Angeles, 2012).
Producer John P. Greene co-produced the world premiere of "Oswald - the Actual Interrogation" by Dennis Richard in New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Fort Worth and San Pedro. He was the producer of the World Premier of "The Game Against Bobby Fischer" by Dennis Richard in Los Angeles in 2015. He is an avid fan of the theater and is involved in media marketing and management and Web/technology development.
Producer Fae Simmons has been involved in the entertainment business most notably in musical theater as an accomplished singer and she is also involved in graphic design. She was Associate Producer of the world premiere of "The Game against Bobby Fischer" in Los Angeles in 2015.
