SPARKY GOES TO DORIS DAY'S HOTEL at The Porch Club Of Riverton

I am excited to announce the East Coast premiere of my live radio recreation mystery, Sparky Goes to Doris Day's Hotel, which debuts at the Porch Club of Riverton on Saturday, March 8, 2025 at 7 p.m.  This lively, family-friendly radio mystery features vintage costumes, original 1930's radio commercials, sound effects and free refreshments with a superb 8-person cast.  In Sparky, my indomitable amateur sleuth, Miss Iodine Bell, adopts a toy poodle Sparky Bell and brings him to the dog-friendly Cypress Inn, co-owned by Doris Day, in Carmel, California to celebrate.  There she discovers a huge dog show is in swing and when one of the award-winning prize pooches is purloined, Miss Bell is on the case!  My "Miss Bell" mysteries, which were originally short stories, were adapted for radio and performed by Shoestring Radio Theatre in San Francisco, as well as collected in the book Short Miss Bell Mysteries - Volume 1.  Sparky Goes to Doris Day's Hotel at the Porch Club is the first time the show is being performed on the East Coast.  Be prepared to go to the dogs --- in the best way!

Sparky came to fruition on the East Coast when I was reviewing a production by Moorestown Theater Company of The Music Man for Broadwayworld.com and spotted Andrea Drechsler in the ensemble, at the time wearing a big picture hat which is Miss Bell’s signature look.  “That’s my Miss Bell,” I thought and eagerly tried to locate her in the playbill.  My impression was cemented when I appeared in a production of MTC’s The Prom in which Drechsler had the leading role of narcissistic actress DeeDee Allen and demonstrated her delightful chops in singing and comedy.  I then “discovered” Kori Rife in Burlington County Footlighters’ Rocky Horror Show where she was hilarious as the Narrator and as it turned out, every bit the versatile and gifted character actor I perceived her to be. 

The rest of the cast fell in place from there.  Charlene Chamberlain was cast as the sexy “Hitchcock” blonde.  With her rich background in everything from opera and ballet to modeling and songwriting/music (she was a Grammy nominee) and a true Renaissance woman, she seemed well-suited to play the elegant and mysterious woman who owns a fou fou Shih Tzu.  As a prominent member of the Porch Club, Chamberlain has been instrumental in helping get the show together.  

Tracy Brobyn, a doctor and cantor, and her son Alex Kiernan were cast when I saw them in MTC’s Scenes and Songs IV where they both proved to be great actors, vivid presences and wonderful vocalists.  This will be their third theatrical outing together. 

Andrea’s husband Dan Drechsler, also a seasoned member of the Moorestown Theater Company family, is extraordinarily gifted in acting and voices, as well as a go-to technical wizard for sound effects.  He plays numerous characters and mans the identically-dressed chihuahua Mr. Woo. 

Chris Noyes was also discovered in Scenes and Songs IV, taking to the stage like a duck to water in his theatrical debut.  Finally, Karen Goldfarb of New York City is not only funny, but a seasoned journalist and award-winning filmmaker.  Her documentary Fascination about a Holocaust survivor who became a ballroom dancer won Best Documentary at New York’s International Film Festival.  She has been involved in theater and show business on various levels since high school.  This hand-picked cast has a great chemistry together and capture the spirit of live radio at its finest.

W.W.O.W. Radio - Cranston and Spade Theater Company in New York City inspired me to dip my toe into radio originally.  At the time, they staged radio recreations of such classics as War of the Worlds and Ellery Queen and Sherlock Holmes behind a moveable bookcase in Greenwich Village’s now-defunct Partners in Crime bookstore.  The bite-size space was reimagined as an old-time radio station with sound effects onstage and the superb cast in vintage costumes, each show including radio jingles.  You didn’t need a lot of money.  All you needed was a willingness to have your imagination fired.  Although the bookstore closed, W.W.O.W. continues to delight audiences in its new location uptown.  So charmed was I by these shows that I took the plunge into radio myself. 

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