BWW Reviews: Soundstage Productions' Nostalgic Presentation of THE SOUNDSTAGE RADIO HOUR

I've professed my fondness for old time radio before, so it should come as no surprise that I decided to take in Soundstage Productions' presentation of The Soundstage Radio Hour, which pairs an episode of the popular long time comedy series My Friend Irma (which later graduated to both television and motion pictures), with a tale from the long-running soap opera The Romance of Helen Trent (1933-1960!). I'm pleased to report that this production is a delightfully nostalgic romp that's amusing and family friendly.

 

 

My Friend Irma will probably be the most familiar title to audiences due to the fact that the feature film versions of the show are available on DVD, which is mostly due to the presence of white-hot (at the time) co-stars Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. Of course, the real star was Irma herself, Marie Wilson, who ended up having a fairly long and varied career in her own right, but the pairing paid off at the box office and spawned a sequel (My Friend Irma Goes West). The basic set up for every episode revolves around the fact that Irma is a ditzy blonde with a shiftless boyfriend named Al, who she loves in spite of, or maybe because of his crackpot money-making schemes. Her more level-headed roommate, Jane Stacy, is continually embarrassed by Irma's behavior, but things always seem to work out fine in the end.

The Romance of Helen Trent ran for over 7,000 episodes, so there must have been some genuine mass appeal for this popular "sudser", which hilariously ponders whether a woman can find love after 35. Obviously, this was written quite some time before the premiere of Cougar Town.

A game ensemble, that consists of Matt Anderson, Dave Bornholdt, Laura Ernst, Helen Hoepfner, and T. Joseph Reinert, does generally sharp work here with this time-worn material. They also manage to present convincing on-air as well as off-air personalities, lending a little more depth to the proceedings. Most importantly, they seem to be having a good time, and that usually guarantees that the audience will in kind.

Director Kristen Robins keeps the action moving along at a brisk clip, and provides plenty of visual interests, for what could turn into a rather static presentation, by having the actors interact even when they're not at the microphone. This allows for the insertion of some welcome bits of humorous business for the cast to play off of. The costumes and props are close enough to the time periods of both show airings to lend an authentic air, and so does the inclusion of musical interludes and commercials from that era.

This is a really cute idea for Soundstage Productions, and fits in perfectly with their goal to provide a "theatre of the mind" experience. I'd be very interested in seeing this concept continue as a regular series. I can imagine something along the lines of a spooky twin-billing of episodes from Suspense or Inner Sanctum (or something similar in nature) during the Halloween season, with the space completely outfitted with creepy, festive décor. Or, maybe that's just wishful thinking on my part.

The Soundstage Radio Hour continues through March 16, 2010 in the ArtSpace at Crestwood Court.

 

 

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