“1940s Radio Hour” by Walton Jones is the musical for anyone interested in history, connectedness, musicals or anyone who thinks musicals are cheesy. This is one of the most unique plays I have ever seen, and it was performed beautifully.

The play starts off watching the cast of this radio show prepare for another hour-long segment. The audience member immediately has the feeling they arrived too early, and that they definitely aren’t supposed to be seeing the “behind the scenes” work. This pre-on-air segment of the show gracefully sets up relationships between the characters, and establishes the caricatures that most of the characters seem to be. One of the singers, Ginger, for example, comes out to practice her number wearing what looks like a slip and a feather boa. When everyone asks her if she really wants to rehearse like that, she gets confused and offended. “Like what?” is her constant reaction.

The bulk of the show is spent as part of a live audience watching the studio production of a radio show.

What makes this play unique to an audience member is that it is portrayed as an actual radio hour. The set is complete with applause lights, which flash throughout the play as cues for the audience to clap. The “radio show” is broken up by commercials, and the songs are sung for entertainment purposes. Unlike many musicals, where as an audience you here a line and think, “I think I hear a song coming on,” the songs are almost continuous. They aren’t always grouped with the action, either. Much of the action is actually happening behind the center stage singer.

My personal favorite example of this was when two of the male characters get into an “argument” because the lead vocalist, Johnny Cantone, is paying too much attention to another singer’s girlfriend. All this goes on while someone else just keeps singing at the front of the stage.

Despite that fact that this is a musical, there is no pit orchestra this year. The instrumentalists sit onstage as part actor, part set. While the pit is decent, they still do not match up to the vocal quality of the actors onstage. It is a little sad, because a good set of instrumentalists could have added to the jazz quality of some songs. I wasn’t distracted by the band, nor did they draw attention away from the actors. They just didn’t seem to enhance anything.

What did enhance the experience was the set. The applause signs, the old fashion sound effects table, the old Coke machine – ironic since the actors sing a Pepsi commercial – and the old fashioned microphones all added a sense of believability to the production. It made me feel as though I was part of an actual radio hour. The set is amazingly complex in its detail, but simple in that there is one set for the entire show. It worked very well for me, and really helped suspend my disbelief.

Considering the disconnect of the songs, and how much of the side action was unscripted, the actors did a marvelous job. I was admittedly afraid that the show would lag, but was pleasantly surprised to realize that there was always some side action to entertain me, from the beginning of the show to the end. I thoroughly enjoyed watching it, although I had no idea what to expect when the show started. It is a credit to the chemistry of the cast and the director that the play moved as successfully and was as entertaining as I found it. Whether you appreciate a musical, or think they have a cheesy quality, I guarantee the different style of this musical will be well worth your time.

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