Interview: Nathan Frizzell's QUEER RADIO HOUR Broadcasting LIVE From Dynasty Typewriter

Nathan Frizzell's Queer Radio Hour, the Halloween Edition plays for one-night-only October 12th at Dynasty Typewriter. Tom Detrinis directs this old radio show spoof with a cast of Joe Conti, Drew Droege, Nathan Frizzell, Tommy Hobson, Mitch Silpa, Cloie Wyatt Taylor, David Tran, and drag legend Sherry Vine. I got the chance to toss out a few questions to Nathan in between his Zoom rehearsals.

Thank you for taking the time for this interview, Nathan!

Thank you, Gil! We're super grateful for the opportunity.

What cosmic forces brought you and Tom Detrinis together for this project?

Tom and I have actually been friends and collaborators for over a decade now. We first met while working for 30 Minute Musicals here in Los Angeles, and then we were Co-Associate Artistic Directors at Celebration Theatre for a number of years. Together, we've produced two off-Broadway shows So Long, Boulder City and Tilda Swinton Answers An Ad On Craigslist. Additionally, Tom has proven to be a genius director so when I came up with Queer Radio Hour, he was my one and only choice to direct.

This Queer Radio Hour segment is actually the second in your Queer Radio Hour series. You did A Queer Radio Hour Christmas last December and this is A Queer Radio Hour Halloween. What was your initial inspiration for QRH? Any specific radio broadcasts?

Sirius XM has a channel called "Radio Classics" that plays old radio shows, and I got hooked listening to this very dated form of entertainment. And while it may be dated, it was super fun and I noticed there was a lot of subversive humor that still plays today. Some specific shows that stood out to me are "Suspense", "Our Miss Brooks" (which was the inspiration for one of our shows in our Christmas "episode" last year), and "The Abbott & Costello Show."

What is your three-line pitch for QRH Halloween?

Queer Radio Hour is a live comedy show that asks what radio plays would have been like if the LGBTQ+ community had been given a show. Part live radio show, part absurd comedy, this month's "episode" is a love letter to Halloween, featuring the talents of the legendary Sherry Vine, Drew Droege, Tommy Hobson, Mitch Silpa, Clioe Wyatt Taylor, Joe Conti and David Tran.

How did you happen on Dynasty Typewriter as your venue?

All credit to Tom for this gem. I had never been to Dynasty until the tech rehearsal for A Queer Radio Hour Christmas, but Tom had done a number of shows there and immediately thought it would fit. And he was correct. Everyone there is lovely, and the aesthetic at The Hayworth Theatre is perfect for QRH.

Aside from Tom, have you worked with any of Halloween's cast or creatives before?

I have been fortunate to work with Drew, Tommy Hobson, and David Tran in theatre around the city. They are all lovely folks. The rest of our cast, and our super talented music/sound designer Matt Glass, were folks that I'd either always wanted to work with or that Tom already knew and brought in.

Who do you play in Halloween?

I am Queer Radio Hour's host, Dick Landon. Dick is your average radio show host from the Golden Age of Radio- outgoing, dynamic and also a bit cringey.

If you were to submit Dick for an online dating service, what qualities of his would you include?

Dick has some charm to him and a sense of humor, whether he realizes it or not. I can see him being a fun first date, maybe the kind of guy who knows everyone at Musso & Frank and gets a round of drinks on the house.

What flaws would you definitely omit?

The fun with Dick is that you get the sense he's right on the edge of some sort of breakdown but still fighting to hold it together. It's fun for the audience to watch him struggle through the show, but that's definitely not an attractive quality for a dating site. Although I have no real success on dating sites, so what do I know?

What gives you more gratification: Writing 'The End' on a new script? Or on stage receiving the curtain call applause?

That's a good question. I'm both a writer and an actor these days, so I find both to be a relief. But if I have to make a call, writing "The End" (or "Lights Out" is my personal favorite) is wonderful but there's still a sense of uncertainty. With a curtain call, you at least have some sense of how your show was received so I'm going to have to choose the curtain call. Although I reserve the right to change my mind.

You started pursuing theatre in your teens. What made you decide to start writing?

I've actually been writing as long as I've been acting. But as a kid, there are more opportunities to act than to have people review your writing. So I started focusing on acting. And thankfully since I moved to Los Angeles from New Orleans, the industry has changed so that you can be and do both things. One no longer has to choose to focus on "just writing" or "just acting."

You must be good at keeping secrets. You voiced David Bowie's character Phillip Jeffries in season three of Twin Peaks. How did you not tell anybody about this gig for a year?

NDAs. Truthfully, this was a super hard secret to keep, but David Lynch likes his projects to be kept under wraps, so I needed to respect that. It's one of the proudest moments of my career, to be a part of Lynch's universe, to have worked with him and to (attempt to) follow in the footsteps of Bowie.

Your mom Lisa Keiffer competed in Survivor: Vanuatu - Islands of Fire.

She did.

How long did you have to wait to find out her standing in the show?

When she returned from Vanuatu, she wouldn't have told me even if I wanted to know (those darn NDAs again), but I told her not to tell me. I could tell from the looks of her she'd been out there for quite a while though, but I ultimately realized it was time for her elimination when she asked me to babysit for my siblings while she and my stepdad went off to New York City for a press tour.

What's in the near future for Nathan Frizzell?

On the same day as Queer Radio Hour (October 12), the second half of Season 1 of a show I am proud to have written on for Disney will drop. It's going to be quite a day! Be on the lookout for Ultra Violet & Black Scorpion. While it's a much more family-friendly show than our innuendo-filled QRH, it's still a fun, sweet and funny show to watch - especially if you have kids. Also, I've got other projects (both acting and writing) in development and I certainly hope to bring back more Queer Radio Hours at Dynasty Typewriter.

Thank you again, Nathan! I look forward to experiencing your QRH Halloween.

Thank you, Gil!

For tickets to his one-nighter October 12, 2022; click on the button below:

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