Episode 258: A Christmas Special that Overrules a Horrendous Plot

December 23, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Wanted: Santa Claus
Photo by kevin dooley

Yuletide greetings dramatites! We’re delighted to share with you a 2008 retelling of a treasure from the golden age of radio, Norman Corwin‘s “The Plot to Overthrow Christmas,” revamped for you by our good friend Richard Fish.

This 35 minute romp of rhyming verse introduces us to Nero, violining in hell, and co-opted into a plot to assassinate Santa Claus. Except Santa Claus is not all as it seems, and sometimes the cold can do more to warm the heart than the flames of hell…

We give time to celebrate the spirit of Christmas (and please, I hope you laugh as much as I did during the section about the congressional body in hell) and also think about the passing of audio great Norman Corwin, who passed to the next world this year at age 101. His work is as heartwarming about Christmas and as indicting of the odious as it was 73 years ago.

We also have a very special review from comrade Captain Radio, who reviews a suite of retellings of A Christmas Carol – the new Blackstone Audio production (with sound design by We’re Alive‘s co-creator Shane Salk), Quicksilver Radio Theatre‘s, Voices in the Wind and even Lifehouse Theater. It is indeed a classic tale! And the Capt’s splendid review gives you tastes of the range of them, from the rich and embellished, to the spare and haunting.

Finally, we launch a new donation program – FinalRune Fivers (won’t you consider donating $5 to this show?) – and give a special shout-out to our friends at the Wireless Theatre Company. Their ever increasing library of top-notch audio drama this year features some fantastic Christmas radio plays.

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Radio Drama Revival – Episode 258

Filed Under: Classic Retellings, Holiday, Podcast, Radio Drama, Richard Fish

International Mystery Writers’ Festival Celebrates Agatha Chrystie in Style

August 23, 2009 By 4 Comments

August has been a killer month for the Queen of Crime. She took main feature in Audiofile Magazine with their epic feature on the audio legacy of Agatha Christie, and no sooner did I finish reading the mag then did I hear that four — count ‘em four — of her plays were being produced in live performance at the International Mystery Writers’ Festival in Owensboro, Kentucky.

Those shows aired last week (August 15) on WNIN, and wow, what a doozy it was.

It kicked off with the previously unpublished “Butter in a Lordly Dish,” a tale of sweet revenge of Biblical scope, and easily my favorite play of the batch (and, unsurprisingly, the darkest). The show continued with “Three Blind Mice,” a tale of deception and murder that inspired the long-running theater production “The Mousetrap,” then “Personal Call,” of a wife ready to honeymoon with a husband who is not all that he seems, and finally concludes with “Yellow Iris,” an enchanting Hercule Poirot tale set in a London night club.

All the tales were excellent, in no short part due to the exceedingly talented cast and crew, with such names as Phil Proctor, Gary Sandy, and Orson Ossman along with performers from across the country.  Melinda Peterson gets special recognition for her marvelous portrayal of Christie herself – who was used as the narrator/MC of the evening – a delightful way to gain insights about the writer and to give continuity to the stories.  Sound effects were by master Tony Brewer and Preston Ossman.

David Ossman directed the show, which again makes it no surprise that the performance was so exceedingly awesome. Finally, no short praise goes to Zev Buffman and Judith Walcutt for producing the show.

It’s not clear when a CD or digital version of this tale will be out, but keep checking out the International Mystery Writers’ Festival website. Also, WNIN also ran a summer mystery audio drama series, and you can hear several pieces from the previous years’ festival online: http://www.wnin.org/radio/summer-mystery-series.html.

This was the third year of the mystery writers festival, and it seems like they just keep upping the ante. Seeing such an audio drama emphasis at a non-audio specific conference is extremely exciting, and leads me to start researching fares to Kentucky for next summer…

Filed Under: American, International Mystery Writers Festival, News, Richard Fish, WNIN

Episode 126: Haunted by Hayward, and Richard Fish Talks NATF

June 12, 2009 By 2 Comments

Richard Fish, Radio ArtistThis week we talk to an all-out audiofile — Richard Fish, actor, producer, and promoter based in Bloomington, Indiana. Since first inspired by the merry madness of the Firesign Theater, Rich has been transformed by radio and contributed in big ways to the form. This week we talk to him about his long participation in the National Audio Theater Festivals and the awesome experiences (and interesting people) that he’s encountered because of it.

But first, a visit to a small and tainted town in Maine, where the Hayward Sanitarium houses the most strange inhabitants. What’s wrong with their patients and why do they like to go out at night?

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Radio Drama Revival Episode 126 – Rich Fish Talks NATF, Hayward Sanitarium Episode 2

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In a stunning coincedence, Georgia Southern has just posteda trailer for the radio drama documentary Theater of the Mind to YouTube. Our guest today, Rich Fish, talks about the weirdness of talking about radio in video!

I got a chance to screen the video and think it’s great… especially knowing the kind of time frame they had to put this thing together in. ?More to come on that.

Also, don’t miss Rich’s upcoming live broadcast on WFHB (THIS Saturday, June 13, ?at 8PM EST)… And you can listen to many of his previous shows on the WFHB archives.

Filed Under: American, Horror, Interviews, Last Minute Productions, Podcast, Richard Fish