Golden Age of Radio: Comedy, horror featured in live performance

View larger image Glen White, right, arranges one of the commercials for the radio broadcast. Cast members Susan O'Kelly and Jacob Goodman take direction. Dennis Grundman/Daily Recommend This Print This Get E-mail News Alerts Buy Photos/Page Reprints * Breaking News If local news is breaking and you know about it: * Call Us: 800-296-5137 * E-mail Us * Upload Your Photos View larger image Betsy Blauvelt, John Schreiner and Don Richards play their roles. Dennis Grundman/Daily View larger image The cast discusses details of the performance. Dennis Grundman/Daily View larger image Betsy Blauvelt plays the role of a cat and a wife. Dennis Grundman/Daily View larger image Veteran broadcaster Don Richards has directed “Radio Mystery Theater” for more than a decade. At a recent rehearsal, he performs the voice of the husband, John, in “Cat Wife,” which will be performed Friday as part of a fundraiser for the Humane Society of Warren County. Dennis Grundman/Daily View larger image David Goodman makes the sound of a closing door at the sound table. Dennis Grundman/Daily View larger image Betsy Blauvelt, Jeffrey Schuartz and Don Richards perform their parts next to the sound table. Dennis Grundman/Daily

By Jessica Wiant -- jwiant@nvdaily.com

FRONT ROYAL -- Don Richards' love of broadcasting goes well beyond his own history as a TV news anchor. In fact, it stretches back to a time before TV, period -- to the Golden Age of Radio.

Richards, a resident of Warren County for many years and a newscaster for many more, said he got the idea about 11 years ago to turn old radio shows into scripts for live theater.
He took recordings of the old '30s and '40s radio programs, mostly in the horror category and from shows like "Lights Out," which featured famous actors like Boris Karloff, and had them transcribed. He and a group of friends have been performing them about once a year ever since, standing around prop microphones and reading from the scripts -- and performing sound effects -- just as they would have during the golden age.

For each show they do, they choose different programs from Richards' bank of scripts, he said.

On Friday, Richards and his fellow cast members will perform what he calls "Radio Mystery Theatre," for the second time to benefit the Humane Society of Warren County. Richards said the Humane Society is always scraping for funds. In years past, the programs have benefited the Blue Ridge Arts Council.

His cast members are hand-picked and have a proven record, Richards said. They include Susan O'Kelly, Betsy Blauvelt, Glenn White, Jacob Goodman, Sally Anderson and Jeff Schwartz. George Hodgkiss serves as the broadcast engineer and chief sound effects artist.

To prepare for the show, the group rehearses once a week for more than a month, Richards said.

The troupe also has performed the shows at meetings of the Washington Quarter Century Broadcasters Club.

Richards was a longtime news anchor for Washington's WTOP-TV Channel 9 -- in fact, he succeeded Walter Cronkite there. He's also been the voice of ad campaigns from local to international.

Friday's show will start off with a recreation of an episode of the comedy "The Bickersons," a show popular in the '40s about a squabbling married couple.
Dinner will follow, then two different horror radio programs, "Cat Wife" and "Fugue in C Minor."

Holiday Inn in Front Royal will host the evening, and a dinner buffet by Houlihan's is included in the $50 ticket.

"That may seem like a lot of money," Richards said, but where else can you get a full evening of live entertainment and a delicious dinner?

A portion of the ticket also is tax deductible, and the proceeds from the event will go toward the Humane Society's budget for things like animal food, vet bills, electricity and payroll, according to executive director Carol Ann Fox.

Richards said the programs are all old enough that they are in the public domain, and no evening is ever the same.

"Cat Wife," from the "Lights Out" series, is about a man whose wife turns into a cat. Richards will perform the husband's voice in the show.

The second program they'll perform is called "Fugue in C Minor," which originally was performed on the "Suspense" radio series. The original broadcast featured Vincent Price as an organist with two small children who suspect him of murdering their mother and hiding her body in the pipes of the organ in their home, according to Richards. It takes place during the Victorian era.

Everything that was done during the original broadcast is emulated for the audience, including live sound effects, Richards said.

That even includes commercials. Different local sponsors have signed on, and the cast will perform live commercials, with the help of some recorded music. These comical commercials are always an audience favorite, according to Richards.

"People just love the commercials because we really jack them up," he said.

Old-time radio shows in general have seen a resurgence, thanks to their availability on the Internet, Richards said. In Warren County in particular, the shows have been popular, with over 100 people attending last year's fundraiser and more expected on Friday.

"Radio Mystery Theatre" is set for 6:30 to 10:30 p.m. Friday in the President's Ballroom at the Holiday Inn in Front Royal. Tickets are limited. For more information, contact the Humane Society of Warren County at 635-4734.