Moonlight Audio Theatre

Project Audion revisits one of the funniest, most beloved radio comedies of the 20th century. Fibber McGee and Molly tickled the radio audience for so long - more than a quarter of a century - that it spawned the very first-ever spinoff shows... and recurring gags like Fibber's hopelessly overstuffed closet, and quips like Molly's "t'ain't funny, McGee", remained part of shared American pop culture long after the series left the airwaves. Part vaudeville act, part sitcom, the series stared real-life couple Jim and Marion Jordan who were indeed former vaudeville comics. Don Quinn's scripts and a large cast of supporting characters who stopped by 79 Wistful Vista kept the laughs rolling.

Now, Robert L. Mills (former comedy writer for Bob Hope) has wonderfully recreated the style of the show at its peak in a new script penned just for Project Audion. In it, Fibber thinks he's come up with a brilliant and practical new invention - for once, does his boasting have merit? Listen to our transcontinental cast and laugh!

Our cast:

Fibber McGee: John Bell, AL

Molly / Teeny: Holly Adams, NY

Harlow Wilcox: Ken Jeffries, CA

Wallace Wimple: Dana Gonsalves, TX

Mayor LaTrivia: Bob Beaumont, CA

Doc Gamble: Frank Guglielmeli, PA

Old Timer: Harry Middlebrooks, CA

Gildersleeve: Larry Groebe, TX

Leroy: Carolyn Threlkeld, KY

Produced, directed, and mixed by Larry Groebe

Old-Time Radio Essentials is back with episode 38, the Season 4 Premiere! Pete, Paul and Dave present an installment of the long-running series "The Fred Allen Show". This time it's Pete's pick, a double-feature of Fred and the gang, with both episodes featuring Orson Welles as guest-star! Will Dave, who leaves us for greener grass after this episode, love it? Will Paul, through his bitter tears, express his continuing hatred of Orson? Tune in and find out! (NARADA RADIO COMPANY)

And since we're on the subject of finding things out, while you listen you'll learn if we feel this entry meets the following criteria:

1. Is it truly representative of that series? (Can anyone point to it and say, "Yes, that is what [NAME OF SERIES] was all about.")

2. Is it an episode worthy of inclusion in any and every OTR aficionado's private collection?

So with this in mind, we three bring you, as our thirty-eighth number (but first official episode of S4), these episodes of Fred Allen, from 1942 and 1946. We'll introduce the shows, play them in their entirety, then discuss them at length. Thanks for joining us, and we hope you enjoy it!

Please show your support of the podcast by doing any of the following...

To comment on how we might improve OTR-E, or give suggestions for future discussions, please write to us at [email protected] . Put the word "Essentials" in the subject line.

Your feedback means a lot to us! A review at iTunes or at your usual podcatcher would be appreciated.

Next Time: Our new "third co-host" Patte will bring us something very interesting, I'm sure!

ALICE THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS, a new production of Voices in the Wind Audio Theatre, is set to launch on Tuesday, May 30th, 2023, to all the online retail sites, including Amazon, Audible, Apple Store, Ratuken Kobo, Barnes & Noble, Downpour, and Walmart.

Listen here to a scene from this production and please support this excellent production company by making your purchase of their dramatization of Lewis Carroll's timeless classic.

ALICE THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS - By Lewis Carroll

Adapted for audio by Diane Vanden Hoven – Directed by George Zarr

Post Production: David Farquhar

Release Date: May 30, 2023, Everywhere Audiobooks Are Sold.

Cast In Order of Appearance:

GEORGIA LEE SCHULTZ - Alice

NOELLE DUPUIS – White Queen

PETE LUTZ – White King

SKYE GOULBOURNE – Tiger Lily

TRISHA ROSE – Rose

ASHLEY BANKER – Red Queen

GEORGE ZARR – Conductor

ROB TYMEC – Paper Man

HEIDI STEWART – Beetle

ELLIN WALLIN – Owl

BILL CRAVEN – Tweedle Dum

KEITH BURNETT – Tweddle Dee

JOHN JARVIS – Humpty Dumpty

JEFF DUPUIS – Messenger

MICHAEL CROUCH – White Knight

S2E4: The House in Turk Street

While on the search for a missing boy, the Tec inadvertently runs afoul of some crooks, who think he's after them. Full of crosses and double-crosses! Starring The Narada Radio Company.

Adapted by Pete Lutz from the story by Dashiell Hammett.

CAST:

ANNOUNCER: Darren Rockhold

THE TEC: Pete Lutz

MRS. QUARRE: Geri Elliff

MR. QUARRE: Paul Arbisi

HOOK: Mark Kalita

ELVIRA: Rhiannon McAfee

TAI: Jeff Moon

THE OLD MAN: Joe Stofko

OTHER VOICES: Daniel French

Theme and incidental music by Dr. Ross Bernhardt

Mixing and sounds by Fishbonius Sound Design

Project Audion recreates an extraordinarily rare and early lost episode of the classic audio drama Suspense. When CBS premiered the the show in June 1942, it wasn't immediately evident that it would become one of the all-time great radio dramas, running for 20 years and nearly 1000 stories. Indeed, in this (just Suspense's fifth-ever episode, from July 15, 1942), while all the typical ingredients are in place (in this instance, a murder aboard a moving train) the show hadn't quite yet settled into the style that would soon define classics like 1943's "Sorry, Wrong Number." Heard for the first time in 80 years, our recreation of this lost Suspense episode -- "The Witness on the Westbound Train" -- is taken from the single known surviving script. It features the same transcontinental cast of vocal actors who appeared in Project Audion's very first episode, along with additional talented voices who have appeared in Project Audion shows during the past three years.

The Cast:

MARK: Pete Lutz, TX

JOE: Doug Fain, KY

DORIS: Patte Rosebank, Canada

CONDUCTOR: Denny Thompson, CO

LAWRENCE / RANDOLPH: John Mauldin, TN

BILL / BAGGAGEMAN: Dick Huitema, FL

ANNOUNCER / WAITER: Robert Stevenson, IN

DIRECTION / PRODUCTION / SOUND: Larry Groebe, TX

PROJECT AUDION #41: Life With Luigi - "Luigi's Toothache"

This month Project Audion recreates a classic radio comedy based on a timeless premise. As a nation of immigrants, the clash of old and new cultures in America has offered authors an unending supply of humorous situations. "Life with Luigi" mined this comedic vein from 1948 to 1953. Each week, small-town Italian Luigi Basco struggled to navigate the complexities of his new American life, supported by his friends from Italy, Germany, Eastern Europe, and Scandinavia. It's full of charming stereotypes with broadly entertaining accents, it's-a great, innocent fun. In this episode, Luigi's aching tooth leads him into the unfamiliar world of medical specialists...

Luigi: Jacob Palka, IL

Pasquale: Pete Lutz, TX

Schultz: Larry Groebe, TX

Announcer / Horowitz / Man: Ken Jeffries, CA

Olson / Doctor: Paul Arbisi, IL

Miss Spaulding / Rosa: Donna Patton, TN

Directed by Mr. Palka and produced by Mr. Groebe

PROJECT AUDION 9 - Lights Out: "Little Old Lady"

Project Audion premieres our recreation of the classic supernatural radio show "Lights Out" - a 1943 episode entitled "Little Old Lady." It's a ghostly story written and directed by the master of spooky stories, Arch Oboler. It's a tale truly made for radio, where you close your eyes and let your imagination run wild.

Our transcontinental cast, hooked together via Zoom, includes

Angela Young

Kristin James

Denise Cline

Brad Oxnam

Larry Groebe and

John Mauldin of the Inexplicable Dumb Show in Tennessee.

We hope you'll listen in...with the lights out!

PROJECT AUDION 4 - Gunsmoke: "The Guitar"

Project Audion presents a recreation of the vintage radio show Gunsmoke. Gunsmoke, one of the classic "adult Westerns", had a ten-year run on radio and an astounding 20+ years on television. This early episode, "The Guitar", originally aired December 26, 1953 and was later remade on both the television and radio series. A simple man with an unexpected talent is taunted by town bullies, with tragic results.

Project Audion is a collaboration of radio theatre actors from across North America recording OTR shows live via Zoom. This Audion episode features the talents of

Dennis Thompson in Colorado,

Doug Fain in Kentucky,

Paul Arbisi in Illinois,

Dan Keenan in Colorado,

Norman Cline in Kentucky,

Pete Lutz in Texas,

Denise Cline in Kentucky,

Dick Huitema in Florida,

Tim Burns in Kansas,

Darren Rockhold in Illinois, and

Larry Groebe in Texas.

Doug Fain directed and Larry Groebe produced it.

PROJECT AUDION - THE NEW ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES: "Murder in the Casbah"

Sherlock Holmes is such an iconic figure, and so well-suited for radio, that the detective was on the air for over 20 years (starting in 1930) and portrayed by a half dozen actors. None, however, were better than Nigel Bruce and Basil Rathbone, who owned the roles from 1939-1946. Project Audion recreates an episode from December 3, 1945 entitled "Murder in the Casbah" which was sponsored by Petri Wine. Audion's transcribed-live edition features a cast of voice actors performing from England, Hollywood, and multiple locations in between.

Holmes: David Ault, UK

Watson: Paul Arbisi, IL

Announcer: Lec Zorn, IN

Miss Tretfield: M J Cogburn, TX

Col. de Brisson: Trevor Rines, CA

Rafi: Jacob Palka, IL

Leaming/Commissioner: Joe Mendell, UK

Ayisha: Grace Wagner, IL

Milton: John Mauldin, TN

Waiter/ Dr. Porter: Robert Mills, CA .

..and produced and directed by Larry Groebe in Texas

PROJECT AUDION - The Lineup: "The Scared Schoolmarm Scrape"

Project Audion's newest cross-country OTR recreation is an episode of the police drama "The Lineup" which hasn't been heard since it was originally broadcast in January 1952. The Lineup was added to the CBS radio schedule after Dragnet became a massive hit, and ran for four years on radio, plus six years on television and a 1958 movie.

The lead cop role (which was portrayed in 1952 by Bill Johnstone, who was a former "Shadow" and "Whistler") is here played by Ed Dennis, an actual law enforcement officer for four decades. He even used his own handcuffs in the show's final scene.

Our full cast: Ed Dennis / Illinois

Dan Keenan / Colorado

Chris Marcellus / Utah

Angela Young / Florida

John Bell / Alabama

Barry Katz / Florida

Kim Titus / Texas

Denny Thompson / Colorado

Tom Wilkins / Illinois

Ken Raney did SFX from Texas, Denny Thompson directed, and Larry Groebe produced the show.