David J. Loehr doesn’t appear to be 100 years old. In fact, his actual age is probably somewhere in the range of half that. But his deep love and fascination for the Golden Age of Radio is more typical of someone born in the 1920s, when radio was king, and imagination provided the visual imagery.
“There’s just something magical about it,” explains David, “the ability of the mind to fill in a full universe of sights and sounds and smells, based solely on what’s coming out of a simple radio speaker. I’ve always been fascinated by the phenomenon, and I’ve been creating my own radio performances for several decades now.”
The next live performance of David’s pet project, The Incomparable Radio Theater, will be happening at the Ohio Theater on September 26th at 8PM, with tickets available at MadTixEvents.com, or at the door. It’s a rare opportunity to see the sounds of radio being made, complete with live music, sound effects, and scripted live voice actors.
“The title of this show is Viva Aloha,” says David, “and it’s a kind of mashup between Rockford Files, Magnum P.I. and Simon & Simon, lots of detective-style adventure set in a classic Hawaii environment. There’s murder, music, big waves, and lots of fun and humor holding it all together. It’s essentially a music concert with a story providing the glue. Our shows typically run about 2 hours with the intermission.
“The actors are a bunch of folks I’ve worked with before. Bryan Heath is out of Louisville, he’ll be playing the lead male character. Kelley Hoagland will be the female lead and doing a lot of singing. I voice the private eye part. Jeff Brautigam is a kind of surfer dude persona. And Stephanie Hellman fills the role of Higgins, if you’re familiar with the Magnum P.I. cast.
“The band is a core of Slick River Rockets guys, with a couple of additions. We’re calling them The Hawaiian Eyes for this production. It’s Greg Beach, Chip Binzer, Rick Bennett and Eric Phagan. The music will have a decidedly rockabilly feel, with a hint of surf and cowboy flavor thrown in for good measure.
“People may wonder, Why would I want to sit and watch a radio broadcast? But I can assure you, it can be very entertaining. We really become quite animated and dramatic as we deliver our lines, and it can be amusing and eye-opening to see how some of the sound effects are made. Anyone who attended the live performance of the show O’ Madison, Where Art Thou, which is another production that I wrote, will know what I mean. This new show will be very much in the same style.
“These live performances in Madison are an offshoot of a podcast series that I produce, under the name The Incomparable Radio Theater. We’ve been doing a couple sessions a year for a long time now, and we’ve done live shows in Dublin, Montreal, San Francisco and Spokane, just to name a few.
“This will be the second show in the newly opened Ohio Theater, now with their larger stage and elevated flat floor area. I encourage everyone to come out, see the updated theater, and enjoy a glimpse of what it was like during the Golden Age of Radio. All proceeds from the event go to the Friends of the Ohio Theater, so you’ll be helping to further the renovation process and restore our beloved hometown theater to its former glory. I hope to see a big crowd enjoying this unique and nostalgic experience.”
HOT TIP OF THE WEEK:
Whew, what a weekend we just had! I hope some of you dear readers made it down to the riverfront for the inaugural Unbroken Circle Music Festival. Madison was absolutely full of out-of-towners who made the trip for this very high profile event. I saw license plates from New York, Texas, North Carolina, Michigan … not to mention all the folks from closer by like Indy and Louisville. The weather was fantastic and the music was top tier, as promised. The festival organizers are already talking about next year, so that’s great news! But that’s the past. What’s happening in Indiana’s Music City this week? Well, just the usual … and by that I mean 19 live music listings on the calendar for Friday and Saturday! It doesn’t have to be a crowded festival weekend for you to have a fun musical getaway experience in Madison, every single week of the year.
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