It’s 1942 in New York, and radio station WOV is broadcasting hits including “Strike Up the Band,” “I’ve Got a Girl in Kalamazoo,” “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy,” and the sexy “Blues in the Night.” It’s also the second year that American troops have shipped out to Europe to fight in World War II, and the little station works hard to cheer everyone on.
Now, No Square Theatre is staging “The 1940s Radio Hour” Dec. 5-20 at its home in Legion Hall, former home of American Legion Post 222. “Our venue really fits the story this time,” said artistic director Bree Burgess Rosen.
A one-act production, it stars Saif Eddin as Johnny Cantone, the velvet-voiced, perennially drunk Frank Sinatra wannabe.
Lasting 90 minutes, it will be followed by a cabaret where Eddin, the “Radio Hour” cast and audience join in a sing along. “I’m happy to invite anyone to join in,” he said.
Eddin, 55, has performed internationally but is known locally as a founding member of “Lagunatics,” for ‘80s gigs at the former Main Street Bar, a pocket-sized local nightclub, and Cabaret Nights at the former Laguna Nursery.
Burgess Rosen will join the cabaret, with the exception of Dec. 20, her son’s birthday.
Immersed from childhood in the show tunes loved by his parents, Eddin taught himself to play piano, largely eschewing the music of his contemporaries. “I am an old soul when it comes to the standards, and I love the tight harmonies of ‘40s music,” he said.
Show director Joe Lauderdale invited Eddin to perform the lead in the show and play piano for the cabaret. “This is not your standard musical in so far that there are no character songs,” explained Lauderdale, which propel the story. “The show takes place on Dec. 3, 1942, and there is the controlled chaos of a real radio show, everyone actually sings into a mike, and there are commercials.”
The story moves to music by Walton Jones, enlivened by 11 singing and dancing cast members including Jack Aldridge as Stanley, and Rebecca Butkivich as Ann, a role that Burgess Rosen played at the Laguna Playhouse in 1992.
“The show had stayed on my mind since then, and ‘Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,’ one of Ann’s solos, is still my favorite song,” she said. Gary Green will star as Lou, Joe Herrera as Pops, Sharon Jewell as Ginger, Glenn Koppel as Clifton, Dustin Nguyen as Wally, Tara Waldschmidt as Connie and Chris Yeschenko as BJ.
Diane King Vann directs vocals, Ellen Prince choreographed dance moves, Brigitte Harper designed the costumes and Joe Mulroy directs the band.
Burgess Rosen explained that Lauderdale cast solid singers who could hold their part during the lush, thick harmonies and connect with each other and open up to the audience. “The show is built around people who work together all the time. They really know each other and so have a wonderful familiarity, which carries over to the audience,” she said.
Adjusting costumes that include slinky ‘40s-style dresses, short narrow skirts and vintage men’s wear bodies posed a challenge to Harper, a local resident who worked previously with Lauderdale at Laguna Playhouse and designed outfits for “Lagunatics.”
“I had to work on a tight budget, but that fits right into those times when material was really scarce and skits were getting shorter and tighter,” she said.
Reflecting on the show and the season, Burgess Rosen said by e-mail, “ ‘Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas’ is such a poignant moment in the show, a reflection on life and the longing we all have for more time with those we love. ‘Someday soon we all will be together, if the fates allow…’
“The older I get the more bittersweet those beautiful lyrics become, reminding me to take note of the little things, to make memories.”
