Radio Drama Double Feature

September 28, 2018 — Every fall for the past few years, the Winnipesaukee Playhouse in Meredith, New Hampshire, has presented a reproduction of an old-time radio broadcast on their stage, with all the players and sound effects technicians clearly visible. Actors, seated on folding chairs, step up to the microphone when required by their roles and read directly from the scripts, but not without a generous amount of emotion, mugging and hamming-it-up. These shows in the past have been near Halloween, but this year's production was a little earlier. But still, as always, the subject matter was of the creepy variety.

This show was a double feature, consisting of "Journey to the Center of the Earth" by Jules Verne and "The Lost World" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Both were adapted by John de Lancie (you may know of him. He had the recurring role of "Q" in "Star Trek: The Next Generation") from scripts by Nat Segaloff and de Lancie.

More laughs than Verne and Doyle ever intended were written into these versions. The sound effects were the star of the show, designed and executed by sound designer and performer Lord Adam Young, ably abetted by the sound apprentice, his son, Luke Young. With their huge battery of sound-producing equipment, along with their own voices, they reproduced gunshots, the flapping of pterodactyl wings, prehistoric animals, rattling cages, crashing bridges, etc.

"The Lost World" was the better of the two features. With its prehistoric creatures, primitive tribes and variety of action, it had more to work with. The actors seemed to be enjoying themselves, and that always inspires the audience. The entire show was directed by Margaret Lundberg and produced by Jim Rogato. I'll name all the actors, but not their parts. With many appearing in multiple roles, it's too complicated to go into here. The actors were Andrew Burke, Leigh Webb, Stephen Hird, Christina Mason, Laurel Briere, Charles Fray, Kayla Pingree, John Piquado and Gail Ledger. Hope I didn't miss anyone. Thanks to all for a very entertaining evening.