A Visit to the Golden Age of Radio
(2007)

WRITTEN BY: various people
PERFORMED AT: Samuel Clemens Center- Elmira, NY
PERFORMED ON: January 19 (7:30pm), 20 (2pm & 7:30pm) & 21 (2pm), 2007
DIRECTED BY: Gary Yoggy
SPONSORED BY: Elmira Little Theater, Elmira
CAST:
The Big Show:
* ANNOUNCER- Andy Parker
* TALLULAH BANKHEAD- Jane Fastiggi
* GROUCHO MARX- Jody Davis
* MEREDITH WILSON- Jim Wellington
* MARILYN MONROE- Judy Born
* ETHEL MERMAN- Christine Gill
* FANNY BRICE/BABY SNOOKS- Mia Filippetti Wise
* HANLEY STAFFORD/DADDY- Denis Kingsley
* JUDY GARLAND- Sarah Schleuter-Eisman
* GORDON McCRAE- Greg Conlon
* FRED ALLEN- Ken Corey
* BABY IRENE- Jane Daum
* JULIE LONDON- Barb Griswold
* GARDEN OF EDEN NARRATOR- Doug Born
* MAE WEST/EVE- Judy Mordue
* DON AMECHE/ADAM- David A. Scott
* THE SNAKE- Joe Edkin
* THE ANDREWS SISTERS- The Boogie Woogie Girls:
-Marilyn Filippetti
-Mia Filippetti-Wise
-Kathy Gill
* BOB ELLIOTT- Bob Boell
* RAY GOULDING- Bill Young
* KATE SMITH- Beverly Kennedy
Abbott & Costello:
* BUD ABBOTT- Carl Proper
* LOU COSTELLO- David Siskin
* WESTERN UNION BOY/FRANK NELSON- Andy Parker
* MARILYN MAXWELL/STORE CUSTOMER- Kathy Wilcox
The Lone Ranger:
* ANNOUNCER/NARRATOR- Jerry Holleran
* THE LONE RANGER- Graham Howard
* TONTO- Phil Kruk
* CLARABELLE- Carolyn Kruk
* DAN REID- Jon Provost (special guest star)
* CAPTAIN REID- Joel Wilbur
* BUTCH CAVENDISH- Clarence "Barnie" Parker
* COLLINS- Cy Leveen
* SPARKS- Stu Luther
* CHEERIOS SINGER- Felisha Noble

PLOT: Various plots, all from comedy and drama programs originally broadcast over radio in the 1940's/1950's.

HISTORY: The 20th anniversary edition of director Gary Yoggy's radio show recreations presented, as its first act, a variation on the 1950's program "The Big Show", with the cast portraying era radio and movie stars like Fanny Brice, Groucho Marx, Tallulah Bankhead, Judy Garland, and others. After a successful audition, I was cast as Don Ameche's "Adam" character in an "Adam & Eve"-based sketch originally performed by Ameche with Mae West.
As a ninety-minute first act, our "Big Show" segment was indeed that, bursting with sketches and music, showcasing the wealth of local talent that existed in our area. Personal highlights included Sarah's rendition of "Over the Rainbow", and Joe Edkin's portrayal of the Snake in "Adam & Eve". During the final performance, Joe's Snake had everyone laughing so much, that I blanked on a line, then spontaneously quipped in defense, "I thought I saw a snake taking off with our show."
Proper and Siskin hit a home run in Act Two with their Abbott & Costello revival, which was followed by Graham as the Lone Ranger. Hired as the guest performer for the "Ranger" segment of Act Two was Jon Provost, best known as Timmy on the 1950's "Lassie" TV series, which I had seen many times, in reruns on Nickelodeon, as a kid. NOTE: The "Lone Ranger" segment, which Jon appeared in, was originally to have been announced by Norm Stull, who had to bow out due to medical circumstances.
Before the show's run, National Public Radio (91.1 FM in our area) produced a local segment on the show, even mentioning my name! Later on, 1350 AM in Corning, and 1230 AM in Elmira, aired our versions of "The Big Show" and "The Lone Ranger" on March 4th, from 6-8pm, as part of Gary's weekly radio show. "Abbott and Costello" were played the following week.