The 1940’s Radio Hour

OPENING: October 7, 1979

CLOSING: January 6, 1980

Seen: December 1979

LOCATION: St James Theater

By the close the of 1970’s, the experimental age of Broadway was drawing to a close.

That’s not to say it was over; almost forty-five years later, there are still experiments. This upcoming season will (Hopefully) see the opening of Here Lies Love which is essentially turning the Broadway Theatre into a nightclub and in 2022 we were blessed with Michael R. Jackson’s A Strange Loop. But the trend of pushing the envelope was most definitely starting to cool. And then another trend started to arise – the nostalgic trend. And that’s where our next show comes in. A show called The 1940’s Radio Hour.

The 1940’s Radio Hour was exactly what it sounded like – it was an hour long show, set in a radio station, meant to show the backstage drama of…..wait for it….a 1940’s radio station. It seems to be a combination a musical revue and an early version of the modern jukebox musical. Musical standards from the 40’s dominated this musical, bringing back a sense of nostalgia for audience members who had lived through the 40’s. Remember – in 1979, 1940 was only 39 years previously, meaning some of the older audience members would have loved to be taken back to their youth, just like everyone I know who is my age gets a glassy, contented look when reminded of the early days of Britney Spears or the rivalry between N’Sync and the Backstreet Boys (Team JT, always).  

It’s funny, though – readily available information on this show is limited so in normal circumstances, I would say it’s a forgotten musical. However, a few years ago I saw a lot of audition notices for it, so perhaps the lack of information is not necessarily from lack of interest, but perhaps the plot was just that – a throwback to the wartime era where the music was front and center.

The 1940’s Radio Hour ran from October 1979 to January 1980, which also enforces my theory that it was meant to be nothing more than a walk down memory lane. Think about it – what would have been a better holiday present than taking Mom and Dad to a show that featured the sounds of their youths?

When I was organizing the Playbills for this blog, one of my biggest finds was a one-sheet program for what looks like a concert in some fancy ballroom. I didn’t recognize any of the names on it, so I took a closer look at it.

It was from Christmas, 1942.

This means that this program was NOT from my dad or my aunt. Neither of them were born yet. Furthermore, my grandfather was away at war at this point. Which means that this mysterious program had to be from my grandmother. How did it end up in my dad’s box? I have absolutely no idea. But what it does tell me is that she was a music lover. I can’t ask her about it; she died in 2000. The playbill for The 1940’s Radio Hour was from December of 1979 – I would put money down that my grandfather bought the tickets and took whoever in the family was able to go as a present to her. I am also not going to struggle to figure out who these people were, so there is no entry on it.

And as far as reception – Walter Kerr loved the performances, but it seems he hated everything else. Again, this leads me to believe that it was a night of fun without much substance to it. And the Tony nods back this up as well – six nominations, no wins.

A part of me is sad that I didn’t submit to any of those 1940’s Radio Hour auditions I saw pop up in the past few years – but I am recently coming to terms with the fact that as far as performing goes, I am a screwballer. Even just this week, one of my coaches and I were discussing how songs like Stupid Cupid look much more natural on me than songs like Walking After Midnight. In non-theater terms? I probably wouldn’t have booked any of them. But there is clearly some magic in this show – and someday, whether onstage or off, I would like to experience it.

CAST: REPLACEMENT

POP’S BAILEY: Arny Freeman

STANLEY: John Sloman

CLIFTON A. FEDDINGTON: Josef Sommer

ZOOT DOUBLEMAN: Stanley Lebowsky

WALLY FERGUSSON: Jack Hallett

LOU COHN: Merwin Goldsmith

JOHNNY CANTONE: Jeff Keller

GINGER BROOKS: Crissy Wilzak

CONNIE MILLER:Kathy Andrini

B.J. GIBSON: Stephen James

NEAL TILDEN: Jerry Zaks

ANN COLLIER: Mary-Cleere Haran

GENEVA LEE BROWNE: Dee Dee Bridgewater

BIFF BAKER: Lynn Stafford

UNDERSTUDIES AND STANDBYS: Susan Elizabeth Scott (Standby for Ann Collier and Ginger Brooks); Etta Green (Standby for Geneva Lee Browne); Bob Freschi (Standby for Johnny Cantone and Neal Tilden); Ron Martin (Standby for Wally Fergusson, Biff Baker, Stanley); James Lockhart (Pops Bailey, Lou Cohn Clifton A Feddington); Jo Speros (Connie Miller); and John Sloman (B.J. Gibson).

Bordman, Gerald. “American Musical Theatre: A Chronicle.” New York: Oxford University Press, Inc., 1978.

Kerr, Walter. “Theater: ‘1940’s Radio Hour”. New York Times, October 8, 1979. https://www.nytimes.com/1979/10/08/archives/theater-1940s-radio-hour-getting-on-the-air.html?searchResultPosition=2