YAY!!! a good review! who'd athunk it?! yes I know I'm not mentioned but so is the life of the the directors assistant/artistic advisor... and all aroud go to girl. so what if I have 4 mentions int the program...? anyway please read. pictures to follow also scaned copy of program.
Thursday, December 12, 2002
'1940s Radio Hour' gets a great big V for victory
By CATHY NELSON PRICE, Special to Press Herald
Copyright � 2002 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.
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REVIEW
"1940s Radio Hour"
Written by: Walton Jones
Directed by: Linda Sturdivant
Where: Schoolhouse Arts Center, Standish
When: through Dec. 15
Tickets: $10-$14
Call: 642-3743
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Somebody forgot to tell the cast of Schoolhouse Arts Center's "1940s Radio Hour" that they're in an amateur production. They look and sound as if they've stepped from vintage newsreels, re-creating an era most of them - and their parents - aren't old enough to remember. And they do it with a polish their professional colleagues would do well to copy.
With charm and skill throughout, this show ranks as a must-see for the holiday season. It's Dec. 21, 1942. After a lengthy prologue in which we learn a bit about the lives of the personnel at radio station WOV ("V for Victory") in New York, the "Musical Cavalcade" goes on and plays in real time, complete with applause signs, on-air mishaps, commercials and jingles. No ingredient is overlooked, from the beleaguered sound-effects man to the studio musician in uniform, to the egos and jockeying for position among the performers.
Commercials ("Sal Hepatica, for our boys on the front"), comedy sketches, crooners and tap-dancing cuties, all staples of that type of program, are brought vividly and authentically to life under the skilled direction of Linda Sturdivant. But what puts this show in the upper echelon is the attention to the musical numbers, directed by Sara Sturdivant, with Jeff Orwig credited for the close harmonies we hear now only on scratchy 78s.
Slices of Glenn Miller arrangements (including "Jingle Bells" from the Chesterfield broadcasts), torchy ballads a la Sinatra and a live studio orchestra ("Zoot Doubleman on piano and Biff Baker on tenor sax") flavor the mix. "Blue Moon," "Candy," "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" and "5 O'Clock Whistle" are included among the tunes. (One note: Though the show is family-friendly, it does run just under two hours and there's no intermission. Plan accordingly, because you will laugh a lot.)
The cast is marvelous. It's an amazing array of talent, each of whom creates a vibrant, touching character who's heartbreakingly real without venturing into caricature. Remember this cast: Keith Halliburton, Mike Harris, Jerry Walker, Bill Ellis, Ted Tocci, Todd Hutchisen, Mike Dupre, Chris Thiele, Janelle LoSciuto, Allison Sproul, Meghann Connell and Mindy Paterson.
And the orchestra: Kevin Smith, Josh Witham, Jon May, Dustin Levasseur, Sean Diette, Brandon Turner, Darrell Whidden, Craig Ouellette. Whoever taught these performers their craft ought to be very proud of them.
But they wouldn't be as effective without the technical talent that is both style and substance of this production. Set designer Laurie Downey, costumer Eileen Avery and choreographer Vicky Lloyd have combined talents to enhance the realism of this period piece, evoking a fresh-faced innocence that we need to believe was there.
Make time in your holiday schedule for this production. It's a feel-good experience that multiple generations will enjoy.
Cathy Nelson Price is a theater critic who lives in Cape Elizabeth.
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