Pulp-pourri Theatre Audio Drama

NBC BEST PLAYS: The Petrified Forest, originally aired 9-20-1953; remade for Sonic Summerstock Playhouse 2023 by the Narada Radio Company In the midst of the Great Depression, Alan Squier, a failed writer, now a disillusioned, penniless drifter, wanders into a somewhat frowzy roadside diner in the remote town of Black Mesa, Arizona, at the edge of the Petrified Forest. Here he meets owner Jason Maple, his daughter Gabrielle, and Gramp, Jason's father, who regales anyone who will listen with stories of his adventures in the Old West with such characters as Billy the Kid. Eventually the diner is overrun by gangsters, headed up by Duke Mantee, who has escaped prison and is being chased down by the law. The Petrified Forest was a 1935 stage play by Robert E. Sherwood, made into a 1936 film that starred the principal actors of the stage play, Leslie Howard (Squier) and Humphrey Bogart (Mantee).  CAST: Darren Rockhold as ANNOUNCER Les Marsden as GRAMP MAPLE Gino C. Vianelli as BOZE HERTZLINGER Bobby Vela as the TE

We present Bone in the Blue, by Fiona Thraille, set in the world of 19th-century English paleontology, and based on actual events. With the voices of Julia Eve, Garethandkath Severn, Alisha Strand-Mueller and Pete Lutz. Originally released in 2018, Fiona's play was an entry in that year's ADPP Scriptwriting Competition.

SONIC SUMMERSTOCK PLAYHOUSE '23: Lux Radio Theatre's production of Kaufman & Hart's You Can't Take it With You, remade by the Narada Radio Company. Tom Konkle as YOUR ANNOUNCER Les Marsden as GRANDPA Laura Mirsky as PENNY Noah Diamond as TONY Amanda Sisk as ALICE Joe Martinez as CECIL B. DEMILLE Victoria Fancki as ESSIE Dana Gonsalves as ED Debby Ramirez as RITA Larry Groebe as PAUL  Scott McKinley AS MR. DEPINNA   Tre Minor as DONALD Pete Lutz as KOLENKHOV Alex Lagase as MR. KIRBY Stephanie Stearns Dulli as MRS. KIRBY John Bell as HENDERSON of the IRS Ian Federgreen as the head J-MAN and Geri Elliff as GRAND DUCHESS OLGA KATRINKA    Additional voices performed by Stephanie Stearns Dulli, John Bell, and Pete Lutz   Xylophone by Andi Lopez Produced & directed by Pete Lutz; mixed & mastered in Corpus Christi, TX by 63audio Recorded over Zoom in July 2023, with actors from Texas, California, New Jersey, New York, and Alabama. Originally released 8/6/23 on the Mutual Audio Netw

SONIC SUMMERSTOCK PLAYHOUSE '23: BBC Radio 1966 production of John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men, remade by the Narada Radio Company. ANNOUNCER: Julia Eve GEORGE was played by Dana Gonsalves LENNIE by Les Marsden with Pete Lutz as CANDY Chuck Wilson as THE BOSS Austin Hanna as CURLEY Victoria Fancki as CURLEY'S WIFE Norman Cline as SLIM Paul Arbisi as CARLSON Doug Fain as WHIT and Carl Thomas as CROOKS Produced & directed by Pete Lutz; mixed & mastered in Corpus Christi, TX by 63audio Recorded over Zoom in June 2023, with actors from England, Texas, California, Kentucky and Illinois. Originally released 7/30/23 on the Mutual Audio Network as a feature of the 2023 Sonic Summerstock Playhouse festival.

S2 E6 - The Girl With the Silver Eyes - Part Two In this thrilling conclusion to the latest two-part adventure, our nameless sleuth finally meets the "girl" in question -- only to find out that she's left a trail of dead men behind her, and she wouldn't mind a bit if the Tec was just one more corpse to step over. Starring The Narada Radio Company. Adapted by Pete Lutz from the story by Dashiell Hammett. CAST: ANNOUNCER: Darren Rockhold Pete Lutz as THE TEC Geri Elliff as the HOTEL SWITCHBOARD OPERATOR Mark Kalita as DICK FOLEY and TIN-STAR JOPLIN Rhiannon McAfee as JEANNE DELANO Jason D. Johnson as R. F. AXFORD Jeff Moon as TAG KILCOURSE John Bell as PORKY GROUT Frank Gugliemelli as THE VOICE IN THE CROWD and the BANK TELLER Ian Federgreen as ROACH Dana Gonsalves as BURKE PANGBURN and Joe Stofko as THE OLD MAN Theme and incidental music by Dr. Ross Bernhardt, other music sourced from the Public Domain Mixing and sounds by Fishbonius Sound Design This production was supervised by Pete Lutz

S2 E5 - The Girl With the Silver Eyes - Part One Our nameless sleuth is called in by a lovesick young poet to find his runaway fiancee -- but soon finds that his client is in too deep. Is it love, or...something else? Starring The Narada Radio Company. Adapted by Pete Lutz from the story by Dashiell Hammett. CAST: ANNOUNCER: Darren Rockhold Pete Lutz as THE TEC Dana Gonsalves as BURKE PANGBURN Rhiannon McAfee as JEANNE DELANO  Jason D. Johnson as R. F. AXFORD Geri Elliff as MRS. CLUTE Daniel French as MR. CLEMENT Angela Young as the TRANSFER COMPANY CLERK and the DETECTIVE AGENCY CLERK Frank Guglielmelli as the ELEVATOR BOY and the BANK TELLER Ian Federgreen as MR. FALL John Bell as PORKY GROUT and Joe Stofko as THE OLD MAN Theme and incidental music by Dr. Ross Bernhardt Mixing and sounds by Fishbonius Sound Design    

Old-Time Radio Essentials is back with episode 39, the 2nd installment of Season 4! Pete, Paul and Patte present an episode of the syndicated series Diary of Fate. This time it's newcomer Patte's pick, suggested by Essential Listener Ted, called "The Trina Crowley Entry"!  Will Pete enjoy it? Will Patte shed tears of regret at the thought of continuing as our co-host? Will Paul ever stop mentioning Harry "Red" Bever? Tune in and find out! 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-ninth number (but 2nd official episode of S4), this episode of Diary of Fate, from 3/9/48. We'll introduce the show, play it in its entirety, then discuss it at

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! 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 t

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 – Messen

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,

THE MAN WITH NO FACE, originally released in April 2020 on the Mutual Audio Network, is an adaptation by Pete Lutz of a short story by G. M. Benson, originally published in the 1920s. This tale of psychic phenomenon has been brought into the present day, and has suffered not a bit, we believe, by its slight modernization. NARADA RADIO COMPANY CAST IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE: THE DOCTOR: Julia Eve MRS SMITH: Angel Leigh McCoy MR SMITH: Pete Lutz MUSIC COMPOSED BY Dr. Ross Bernhardt

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

"Burn" was adapted for audio and directed by Pete Lutz, from a story in Eerie Tales #1, a one-shot comic book publication from 1959. First released in April 2020 on Mutual. (SUSPENSE) Our cast consisted of the following players: Rich Frolich as CHICK HEALY Pete Lutz as MAC O'MALLEY and JOJO

Old-Time Radio Essentials is back with episode 37, the Season 3 finale! Pete, Paul and Dave present an installment of the long-running series "Counterspy". The usual free-wheeling discussion follows, with Paul, Dave and Pete weighing the merits of this particular episode. Will they love it, or hate it, or try to waterboard it? Tune in and find out! 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-seventh number (but 12th -- and penultimate -- official episode of S3), this episode of Counterspy, from 1945. We'll introduce the show, play it in its entirety, then discuss it at length. Thanks for joining us, and we hope you enjoy it!  Please show yo

Old-time Radio Essentials continues its 3rd season with an episode of Let George Do It – "There Ain't No Justice"! This one's Dave's pick, and it sparks quite an animated discussion? Who will like it? Will anybody hate it? Why wonder? Tune in and find out! 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-sixth number (but 11th -- and penultimate -- official episode of S3), this episode of Let George Do It, from syndication, likely 1954 or '55. We'll introduce the show, play it in its entirety, then discuss it at length. Thanks for joining us, and we hope you enjoy it!  NOTE: Please stay with us after the regular show for a very special interview

PROJECT AUDION #38 -- The Jack Benny Program, "Mutiny on the Bounty" Premiered Jan 13, 2023 Think you've heard almost every Jack Benny radio show? Try one that was just written! Project Audion presents a recreation newly penned by Robert L. Mills, former staff writer for Bob Hope. Project Audion has gathered the classic Benny gang, guest stars Charlie McCarthy and Edgar Bergen, and a virtual studio audience for a half hour of laughter, including a send-up of "Mutiny on the Bounty." Our transcontinental cast of voice actors even recorded this show live via Zoom on a Sunday night at 7.  Featuring the talents of... JACK BENNY: Scott R. McKinley, NJ CHARLIE MCCARTHY / EFFIE KLINKER / MR. KITZEL: Duane Noch, NJ EDGAR BERGEN: Larry Groebe, TX MARY LIVINGSTONE: Denise Cline, KY PHIL HARRIS: Norman Cline, KY DENNIS DAY / FRANK NELSON: Bob Beaumont, CA STAGE HAND / SHELDON LEONARD / MEL BLANC: Pete Lutz, TX  DON WILSON: Ken Jeffries, CA ...and produced and directed by Larry Groebe

S2E3: One Hour The Tec is called in when a print shop owner is run down in the street by a stolen car. He goes looking for the perps, and when he finds them, the secret they're keeping may cost our hero his life! Adapted by Pete Lutz from the story by Dashiell Hammett. CAST: ANNOUNCER: Darren Rockhold THE TEC: Pete Lutz RICHMOND: Noah Diamond CROSTHWAITE: Paul Arbisi COFFEE: Jeff Moon SOULES: Mark Kalita THE OLD MAN: Joe Stofko OTHER VOICES: John Bell Theme and incidental music by Dr. Ross Bernhardt Mixing and sound design by Fishbonius Sound Design

We proudly present the Narada Radio Company and their solitary holiday offering -- but it's a lulu, kiddies! Based on the hit stage play by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart, and adapted for radio several times in the 1940s (and from two of which productions ours is derived), The Man Who Came to Dinner is a rollicking comedy that tells the story of a tyrannical celebrity who gets injured around Christmastime in a small town in Ohio; and of his eventual comeuppance by his friends and loved ones. Filled with colorful characters and comical situations, this is a Holiday Treat that can't be beat. Adapted from the 1949 Hotpoint Holiday Hour and 1950 Lux Radio Theatre broadcasts, directed and produced by Pete Lutz. For entertainment purposes only, no infringement is intended. Our Narada Radio Company players were...  Darren Rockhold as Your Announcer Les Marsden as Sheridan Whiteside Victoria Fancki as Maggie Rhiannon McAfee as Lorraine Sheldon Geri Elliff as Mrs. Stanley Duane Noch as Mr. Stanley Rachel Pulliam as

Old-time Radio Essentials continues its 3rd season with an episode of Birds Eye Open House – "Groucho Brings a Turkey for Thanksgiving Dinner"! This one's Pete's pick, or rather, that of his special guest, Essential Listener Noah Diamond*. Noah's an actor, author, podcaster, Marxian Scholar, and off-Broadway Groucho impersonator, not to mention a very funny guy, so you can imagine the discussion of this episode's merits by Noah and our three co-hosts will be sparkling and rapid-fire and exceptionally funny. But why imagine it? Tune in and find out! 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-fifth number (but 10th official episode of S3), t