1940’s Radio Hour to celebrate bygone era
FOR RELEASE: Tuesday, October 25, 2005
Huntington, Ind. "The Huntington University Theatre Company will present Walton Jones' 1940's Radio Hour on November 10-12, 2005. Showtime for the musical is set for 7:30 p.m. in the Zurcher Auditorium of the Merillat Centre for the Arts. A Saturday matinee will take place at 2 p.m. We do a musical every year and do a rotation of styles. Some years, we do big productions like 'Oklahoma!' and 'Hello, Dolly!' This time, we're featuring a smaller cast. This production is ensemble-driven. It's not a heavy show. It will provide a fun, relaxing evening at the theatre, said Mike Burnett, chairman and director of the University's theatre program.
Directed by David Shamburger, assistant professor of theatre arts at Huntington University, 1940's Radio Hour will take the audience back to a live broadcast of The Mutual Manhattan Variety Cavalcade from the Hotel Astor's Algonquin Room on December 21, 1942.
The spirit of that bygone era when the world was at war and pop music meant Strike Up the Band and Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy will be captured as the harassed producer copes with a drunk lead singer, the delivery boy who wants a chance in front of the microphone, the second banana who dreams of singing a ballad, and the trumpet player who chooses a fighter plane over Glenn Miller.
The Huntington University cast includes Brent Watts, Matthew Philip Kaestner, Jonathan M. Huffman, Josh Lee, David Magnus, Randy Weade, Christopher Betz, Kristen Lynne Kohaut, Laura Lee Brautigam, Carmen L. Schlatter, Amber Nicole Patrick, Ben Kendall, and Matt Schownir. Schownir and Keeley Lewis will serve as understudies.
Production staff includes David Shamburger, director; Terry Hurst, assistant director; Becca Rodgers, production stage manager; Deanna Repic and Rebekah Posegate, assistant stage managers; Mike Burnett, scenic and lighting designer; Zarin Barnes, assistant scenic designer; Josh Christenson, assistant lighting designer; Ella Burnett, costume designer; Ashleigh Lewis, assistant costume designer; Brad DeYoung, sound designer; Cara Bussis, assistant sound designer; Kylie Edmonds, make-up designer; Bekah Bachman, props master; Kari Clark, hand props master; Lyndsay Stalf, set dressing; Sharon Voss, live sound effects creator; Maria VanderWeide, props assistant; Cassandra Quinn, master electrician; Hayley Johnson, light board operator; Hannah Krauskopf and Meghan McClaine, follow-spot operators; Nikki Barger, house manager; Abi Alwein, wardrobe mistress; and Amanda Carr and Laura Feldner, dressers.
Tickets for 1940's Radio Hour are $8 for the general public, $6 for seniors and HU faculty and staff, and $4 for students. For more information, contact the Merillat Centre for the Arts Box Office at (260) 359-4261 or log on to www.huntington.edu/mca. In honor of Veteran's Day, members of the Armed Forces who present proof of their military involvement will receive one free ticket to the Friday evening performance when reserved in advance.
