Information, reviews, and miscellaneous shorts focusing on professional, nonprofit theater—from a Southeast Minnesota perspective.

Saturday, December 7, 2013

It’s 1936 Radio at Masonic Temple


Christmas Radio Show: "The Mystery of the Puzzling Patient"

Written and directed by Steve Anderson
Theater du Mississippi

When I agreed to run sound for Theatre du Mississippi’s Winter offering, I didn’t know that I would be working with one of the pioneers of the revival of old time radio performance, Steve Anderson. Anderson’s play, “the Mystery of the Puzzling Patient,” is live theatre with very few nods to any technology from the 2nd half of the Twentieth Century. (As the sound designer, I have some leeway in technology, but I have to keep it mostly out of sight). Steve, a long-time player in the Twin Cities theatre scene has a love of old radio shows. His productions pre-date A Prairie Home Companion. In fact, Tom Keith, the A Prairie Home’s long-time sound effects man, borrowed Steve’s sound effects collection each weekend for the first couple years of the show.

Steve also is a fan of old telephones, so I found myself accompanying him to the Shangri-La of vintage phones: Phoneco in Galesville, WI. As we were driving over there, he told me that he had stumbled across the place in the 70s and had been there once since, probably 20 years earlier. I had my doubts that it would still be there. But there it was: the old phone company building in Galesville, now collecting and restoring old telephones. Who buys old telephones? Well movie and theater production companies do. And people who simply like the feel and elegance of holding and talking into a work of art.

It has been an interesting trip. And tonight, I find myself near the ceiling of the Masonic Temple, waiting for the start of the second performance of the Radio Show. It is really a great show, watching the sound effects guys perform is worth the price of admission. And each night, the mystery baffles me: who is that man? I can see why live radio shows are so intreaguing to Steve—I’m hooked. I’m even thinking I should probably downgrade my home telephone to something with some semblance of style!

You can still get in if you are looking for a place to go on a cold December night. You can come tomorrow afternoon, too.
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Left, The basement storage area of Philco in Galesville, WI. The basement went on and on and on. Phones and phone parts to the ceiling! Right, restored vintage pay phones ready to go. (My apologies for the fuzzy cell phone pics; I didn’t expect the trip to be a photo opp.)

Theatere Du Mississippi and Winona Radio presents “Christmas Radio Show: The Mystery of the Puzzling Patient.” December 6, 7, 8