Radio Drama Revival

With the New Year upon us, we seek to capture one last audio gem from 2011: the new illuminated audiobook Swordspoint, directed and produced by Sue Zizza and narrated by the author, Ellen Kushner. This dashing audio adventure is further complemented by a full suite of actors including Dion Graham, Katherine Kellgren, Robert Fass, Nick Sullivan, and Simon Jones. We speak Sue and Ellen to learn more about the genesis of this enchanting title and the peculiarities of combining a single narrator with a full cast, and how you go about picking the best scenes to render when you have 11 hours of material to work with.  The resulting work merit high praise, including these words from Neil Gaiman: "throughout the entire book's soundscapes you will hear the cadences of the marketplace, the music of the drawing rooms, and of course the ring of steel drawn from the scabbard." We even get a taste of swordsplay before our show wraps today.  First up, a review from Captain Radio of the UK sci fi audio serial, Golden Age. Radio Drama Revival - Episode 259

Photo by kevin dooley Yuletide greetings dramatites! We're delighted to share with you a 2008 retelling of a treasure from the golden age of radio, Norman Corwin's "The Plot to Overthrow Christmas," revamped for you by our good friend Richard Fish. This 35 minute romp of rhyming verse introduces us to Nero, violining in hell, and co-opted into a plot to assassinate Santa Claus. Except Santa Claus is not all as it seems, and sometimes the cold can do more to warm the heart than the flames of hell... We give time to celebrate the spirit of Christmas (and please, I hope you laugh as much as I did during the section about the congressional body in hell) and also think about the passing of audio great Norman Corwin, who passed to the next world this year at age 101. His work is as heartwarming about Christmas and as indicting of the odious as it was 73 years ago. We also have a very special review from comrade Captain Radio, who reviews a suite of retellings of A Christmas Carol - the new Blackstone Audio production (with sound design by We're Alive's co-creator Shane Salk), Quicksilver Radio Theatre's, Voices in the Wind and even Lifehouse Theater. It is indeed a classic tale! And the Capt's splendid review gives you tastes of the range of them, from the rich and embellished, to the spare and haunting. Finally, we launch a new donation program - FinalRune Fivers (won't you consider donating $5 to this show?) - and give a special shout-out to our friends at the Wireless Theatre Company. Their ever increasing library of top-notch audio drama this year features some fantastic Christmas radio plays. Radio Drama Revival - Episode 258

This week we have the second installment of the classic The Count of Monte Christo by Alexander Dumas, dramatized for you by Lifehouse Theatre on the Air. With origins in California-based community theatre, LifeHouse Theater On-The-Air is a new effort to create dynamic audio drama to entertain and educate audiences of all ages and walks of life. They produce classic stories from literature, history, the Bible, and the biographies of quotable notables. Visit their website for over a half-dozen exciting titles. In Count, we meet Edmond Dantes, a naïve youth whose promise to his dying mentor sends him to stony imprisonment on Château d'If. In our previous installment, he met "The Mad Priest" who taught him to read and to fight... skills which allow him to escape his prison and sail the seas in search on a fortune on the island of Monte Christo - a fortune which allows him to enact his vengeance. But as we learn, vengeance comes at a high, high price. First up, a delicious Captain Radio review of the new post-apocalyptic sci-fi audio serial, Our Fair City, which combines campiness and cartoonish characters to paint a tainted picture of corporatism. Radio Drama Revival - Episode 257

OK, so we're not quite edging into what would be traditionally called "Holiday Programming" here, but we do have a wonderful treat - the swashbuckling classic The Count of Monte Christo by Alexander Dumas, dramatized for you by Lifehouse Theatre on the Air. With origins in California-based community theatre, LifeHouse Theater On-The-Air is a new effort to create dynamic audio drama to entertain and educate audiences of all ages and walks of life. They produce classic stories from literature, history, the Bible, and the biographies of quotable notables. Visit their website for over a half-dozen exciting titles. In Count, we meet Edmond Dantes, a naïve youth whose promise to his dying mentor sends him to stony imprisonment on the Isle of Monte Christo. First up, a delicious Captain Radio review of the fantastic (in the truest sense of the word) Fruits Baskets radio drama based on the manga. Radio Drama Revival - Episode 256

This week we are thrilled to be featuring work by Grammy-nominated dramaturge Yuri Rasovsky, whose 2012 production The Mark of Zorro is up for Best Spoken Word Album of the Year. We hear a teaser from that new work available either through Blackstone Audiobooks or on Audible. Also in this edition is Captain Radio, with a taste of Lifehouse Productions' Count of Monte Christo. And then week 4, the bloody culmination of Yuri's 2007 production, Sweeney Todd and the String of PearlsSweeney Todd and the String of Pearls. Week 4 runs a starving pie shoppe baker, a curious kid and the gallant Martin Gestry into diabolical confrontation - and conclusion. The sensation of 19th century London has returned in plays, film, and now, audio drama, in this masterful rendering by radio great Yuri Rasovsky. Yuri proves that audio drama offers storytelling tools unavailable in any other medium, mixing in grisly violence, unsettling performances, and sonic interludes. With permission from the producer, here is Blackstone Audio's release of . If you like what you hear, find almost 2 dozen other titles by Yuri also available through Blackstone. Part 4 of 4 Radio Drama Revival - Episode 255

Week 3 continues our foray into 19th century London, where Fleet Street is home to the "Demon Barber" Sweeney Todd, a snickering, dour man whose customers mysteriously disappear, only to reappear in pies at the neighboring pie shoppe. But when a man bringing word of Martin Gestry - a lovesick sailor - disappears along with a string of precious pearls, inquiring minds look deeper into the goings-on of Sweeney's shop. The sensation of 19th century London has returned in plays, film, and now, audio drama, in this masterful rendering by radio great Yuri Rasovsky. Yuri proves that audio drama offers storytelling tools unavailable in any other medium, mixing in grisly violence, unsettling performances, and sonic interludes. With permission from the producer, here is Blackstone Audio's release of Sweeney Todd and the String of Pearls. If you like what you hear, find almost 2 dozen other titles by Yuri also available through Blackstone. Part 3 of 4 Radio Drama Revival - Episode 253

We return again to 19th century London, where Fleet Street is home to the "Demon Barber" Sweeney Todd, a snickering, dour man whose customers mysteriously disappear, only to reappear in pies at the neighboring pie shoppe. But when a man bringing word of Martin Gestry - a lovesick sailor - disappears along with a string of precious pearls, inquiring minds look deeper into the goings-on of Sweeney's shop. The sensation of 19th century London has returned in plays, film, and now, audio drama, in this masterful rendering by radio great Yuri Rasovsky. Yuri proves that audio drama offers storytelling tools unavailable in any other medium, mixing in grisly violence, unsettling performances, and sonic interludes. With permission from the producer, here is Blackstone Audio's release of Sweeney Todd and the String of Pearls. If you like what you hear, find almost 2 dozen other titles by Yuri also available through Blackstone. Part 2 of 3 Radio Drama Revival - Episode 253

On Fleet Street in Olde London there once lived a barber called Sweeney Todd, whose greatest pleasure was "polishing off" his customers who found themselves first bereft of wordly goods and then shuffled off this mortal coil. Those unlucky enough to go in for a shave found themselves ground up into some famous meat pies... A secret that continues for years until Sweeney is wrapped up in a story of a mournful lover and a lost precious string of pearls. The sensation of 19th century London has returned in plays, film, and now, audio drama, in this masterful rendering by radio great Yuri Rasovsky. Yuri proves that audio drama offers storytelling tools unavailable in any other medium, mixing in grisly violence, unsettling performances, and sonic interludes. With permission from the producer, here is Blackstone Audio's release of Sweeney Todd and the String of Pearls. If you like what you hear, find almost 2 dozen other titles by Yuri also available through Blackstone. Part 1 of 3 Radio Drama Revival - Episode 252

Just because we don't feel that we get quite enough spooky programming during the month of October, we're continuing our tradition of re-upping the spooky tales for the month of November. This week, it's our esteemed friend Roger Gregg, who produced a spooky ghost number with the Gaiety School of Acting's 2010 class (a Dublin, Ireland based advanced theatre training school). The show is Scene from Horror Hotel: Episode 1, and by the end of it, you'll start to wonder where all the other episodes went... The show is masterfully stylized, and not quite a satire of the modern ghost classics such as The Shining. Come on, every haunted hotel needs to have a bath tub, right? Stay tuned for a special secret track at the end... Before we get into our main feature, Captain Radio is back with a review of Demon Eyes by John Ballentine's Campfire Radio Theater. Radio Drama Revival - Episode 251 Some notes from Roger on the production: The scene features wonderful performances by Margaret McAuliffe and Genevieve Hulme-Beaman. For location realism, Margaret got in her bathing suit and we filled the bath to record this scene. The scene was recorded with a portable HD recorder and a Rode Stereo Microphone. Draining the bath was recorded wild in situ. The other bath sounds were created naturally by the actors in the scene, rising from the bath and so forth. The scripts were taped to the walls of the bathroom to faciliate maximum free movement.

Halloween not... ground you up already? Still fresh enough for some new ghoulery? Well, good! In a rare move, we have a double-double feature, courtesy of Scott Hickey with The Grist Mill. We feature two previously never-heard Grist Mill episodes in this special bonus episode, #250, which seemed an apropos way to mark the milestone. These two delights were both written and produced by Jeff Adams (leader of the soon to be arriving Transcontinental Terror night train), and featuring George Ledoux, is THE DARK RIDE. What happens when a stranger arrives to a run-down traveling fair, offering too sweet a deal to let him open up an old ride? Followed by AS YOU WISH.COM. The internet is a wonderful thing. Some say it can even grant all of your wishes. But, the real question is - do you really want it to? Part 2 of 2 of our 2011 Halloween audio horror story special. Radio Drama Revival - Episode 250

It is HALLOWEEN my freakish audio fan folks, and to celebrate we have a positively gushing font of blood and chills this year. Fresh off the mixing deck, I'm proud to release the new collaboration of Aural Stage Studios and FinalRune Productions - Intensive Care by James Comtois. The show involves Alex, a young man who finds himself in a run-down New England hospital following a car accident. Strange conversations from patients and staff make Alex realize that no one ever seems to make it out of the hospital alive... time is running out for him to make his escape. And where the hell is his girlfriend Elizabeth? Following this spooktacular new work, we have another special treat: from the special collection of Richard Fish, we have an episode of Sci Fi Channel's gone but not forgotten Seeing Ear Theatre (wonderfully eulogized by SFF Audio). The show, written by none other than J. Michael Straczynski and starring Steve Buscemi, is called "The Damned are Playing at Godzilla's Tonight," which asks the essential question... What IS it truly worth sacrificing to live out your dreams? We also give a shout-out to our much-loved producer David Accampo of Wormwood, who is working on a new graphic novel called Sparrow and Crowe. Listen, and shriek! A special bonus Episode 250 goes with today's trick or treat. Radio Drama Revival - Episode 249

In a backwater town in 19th century New England, a trio of professors from Miskatonic University uncover something dreadful. Something invigorated by this book, the Necronomicon... To commemorate their third anniversary, 19 Nocturne Boulevard is featuring this four-part audio nightmare by grand master HP Lovecraft: The Dunwich Horror. We feature the first of four episodes, as well as take a moment to reflect on Norman Corwin's passing, talk up this weekend's Friends of Old Time Radio convention, and savor another promo for FinalRune and Aural Stage's upcoming horror feature, Intensive Care. And if all that wasn't quite good enough... we have a Captain Radio review of the third season of Mask of Innana! We are rich in audio, folks. Radio Drama Revival - Episode 248

Late at night at a local shopping plaza, some serious labor violations are taking place. Crooked management and intimidated store owners go beyond hiring illegal workers - they employ a cadre of the living dead. So begins "The Late Shift," part of Dreadtime Stories, a collaboration between Carl Amari and Fangoria Entertainment and introduced by Malcolm McDowell. You can go to Fangoria each month for a new show, available for free as an ad-supported stream or as a $1.99 pristine quality download. We'll have it hear for you through October 31. Other tasty treats include a promo for FinalRune and Aural Stages' new collaboration, Intensive Care by James Comtois, and Captain Radio's review of Mr. Bronze. Enjoy these macabre morsels! COMMITTED TO THE RADIO DRAMA REVIVAL ARCHIVES. Visit Fangoria's Dreadtime Stories website to listen...

It’s October again, and as ever, is it HORROR-ible! OH yes, folks, we’ve got a 5 week stretch of terrifying audio goodies for you, starting this week with a fresh work by radio drama living legend Tom Lopez. ZBS says of “Recipe for Murder” The stories were recorded on location in Montreal, in the bistros, [...] The post Episode 246 – Horror Arrives with a Deadly Meal appeared first on Radio Drama Revival.