Among the other amazing features, Sonic Summerstock is proudly highlighted in this Fairfax Independent article by long time friend of the show and journalist Mark Dreisonstok! From Rachel Pulliam’s “The Furnished Floor” to Jeffrey Billard’s adaptation of “A Wind is Rising” and the Amigos Collectives’ efforts in the recreation of “Temple of Vampires”, audio drama thrives in the brightest time of the year! Print graphic provided with permission from the Fairfax Independent. Go get your copy today!
It is now early January. Do you want to go briefly “Back for Christmas?” The loosely holiday-themed story by John Collier of that name may be just for you! “Back for Christmas” is a classic mystery tale which was dramatized on the legendary television series “Alfred Hitchcock Presents” and “Roald Dahl’s Tales of the Unexpected.” The thriller was presented no less than three times on the radio series “Suspense” as well. This is the version Sole Twin Audio Network director Rachel Pulliam dramatizes in her new audio production.
The restrained sound effects and atmospheric music, like the acting, evoke a suspenseful mood throughout the production.
In this memorable tale of a seemingly conventional, middle-class English couple, Hermione, wife of botany professor, Herbert Carpenter, plans a get together with friends before they depart for the professor’s lecture tour to America. Espying a far more compatible and romantic relationship with bookseller Marion Markham on the horizon, Herbert is at wit’s end with Hermione, who has over-managed his every step in their married life. “You need companionship,” says Miss Markham, “someone sympathetic with your work—but the last thing on earth you need is a manager.” “How well you put it,” Herbert says to her, as he begins to contemplate the murder of his wife and intones malevolently: “The last thing on earth.”
As the macabre plot unfolds, Herbert tells his intended victim, Hermione: “I’ve managed to get hold of the spores of several, unclassified wild orchids. In their wild state, they bloom under damp masses of leafmold. The Aurucanian Indians call them devil-flowers because they appear to bloom under the ground.” These “devil-flowers,” to be planted in a dark and dank cellar, turn out to be part of Herbert’s devilish plot to escape his henpecked status under Hermione and perhaps begin a new life in America with Marion. As for what all this has to do with the holidays and the various meanings of “Back for Christmas,” the listener will have to settle back and hear the surprise ending of this “tale well calculated to keep you in suspense,” as announcer Dean T. Moody effectively evinces the earlier series.
Jerry Kokich is wonderful in the part of Professor Carpenter, sounding, at moments, erudite and professorial, meek in his interactions with Hermione, and finally sinister in Herbert’s determination to do away with his wife. Mel Rose is excellent as a demanding and insistent Hermione, yet conveying some sympathy for her character as well. Alexa Chipman turns in a fine performance as Marion, sounding first as an innocent interlocutor with Herbert and then presenting more ambiguity later in the drama, leading us to wonder if Marion will be the answer to the professor’s unhappy home life, or if she, too, will become as irritable to Herbert as Hermione.
Director Rachel Pulliam frequently casts herself in cameo roles in her productions, a bit like Hitchcock did in his films. This time around, she is convincing as a hotel clerk when Professor Carpenter arrives in America. The restrained sound effects and atmospheric music, like the acting, evoke a suspenseful mood throughout the production. Listeners may be further reminded of Hitchcock by some of the music in the program which offers reworked themes by Bernard Herrmann, Hitchcock’s composer in several of the director’s seminal films.
Running Time: Approximately one half hour.
Briefly go “Back for Christmas” and open your post-holiday present, gratis online.
Prologue: Rachel Pulliam talks about her first forays into the Audio Drama world! Episode #5 Aired: 10/04/2005 The Soul Patrol is back on duty this week in the Sonic Society. David Koenigsberg fantasy morality tale series continues with episodes 3 and 4. After the feature, we’ll continue our conversation with Mr. Koenigsberg and listen to our weekly serial from DreamRealm Enterprises with Robots of the Company Episode #5.
Prologue: Ruby Fink’s recollections of the Sonic Society! Episode #4 Aired: 9/27/2005 From Asimov to Zelazny and every where in between science fiction has been the canvas for art work both wildly representational as well as highly realistic. Science Fiction has the potential to unveil powerful truths about humanity. Gene Roddenberry brought this to the forefront in his very popular “Star Trek” series, and decades later we’re still learning about who we are as a society, and as human beings. In Prometheus Radio Theatre’s award winning series- “The Arbiter Chronicles” great tales of the human spirit are the launching pad to adventure! Later we’ll have a conversation with the actors and producers of the Arbiter Chronicles, listen to another sketch from Bradley Phoenix, and continue our weekly serial from DreamRealm Enterprises with Robots of the Company Episode #4.
Sonic Summerstock returns with another prominent performer to the stage! The incredible Rachel Pulliam brings her full cast of Pete Lutz, Les Marsden, Sharon Grunwald, Sally Swift, and Dean T. Moody to perform a Lucille Fletcher play from Suspense! Tonight, The Fantastic 16th Season of the Best of Audio Drama Recreationst’s feature? “The Search for Henri LeFevre”!
For our seventh presentation Rachel Pulliam returns with three women stand vigil, awaiting the death of a loved one in this tense tale of…Suspense! in “Waiting”!
In a similar vein to “Sorry Wrong Number,” Laura Mirsky plays the role of Mary, an aging blind woman who must rely on her senses to deal with…”The Unexpected!”
Lorna Rogers wants a Mink Coat and will do whatever it takes to get what she wants in this somewhat comedic episode of “The Unexpected.” Rachel Pulliam brings this feature to the Sonic Summerstock Playhouse and starring Nicee Wagner, Frank Guglielmelli, Paul Arbisi, and John Bell.
David Ault closes the Summerstock Playhouse with the first act of our two feature finale from Sonic Cinema Productions and the Amigos Collective beginning with the taut thriller from SUSPENSE- “The Long Night” starring Lothar Tuppan, Jeffrey Billard, Pete Lutz, Rachel Pulliam, Richard Summers, Austin Beach, introducing Jason Fella and produced by John Bell of Bell’s in the Batfry!
Dr. Mark Dreisonstok posted another stunning review in MD Theatre Guide focusing again on Rachel Pulliam’s significant works in this year’s Sonic Summerstock Playhouse!
Many of us travel to vacation destinations during the summer months. Audio plays are a wonderful way to pass the time, and two excellent, full-cast audio dramas from Sole Twin Audios fit the bill. “Short Order” is an exciting drama, somewhat in the style of film noir, and “2462” is a dystopian view of the world’s future. Both are recreations of classic radio plays from the long-running classic series, “Suspense.”
”Short Order” includes brilliant re-creations of the sounds of a fast food, casual restaurant in the 1940s, complete with bells which ring when customers enter, small paper ketchup containers on the tables, and a talkative short order cook. A customer with a severely disfigured face (expertly portrayed by Robin Robbins, who even imbues lines like “lots of ketchup” with menace) suddenly becomes a regular. The man exudes such a malevolent presence that business at the restaurant drops off considerably. Meanwhile, bad luck intrudes more and more in the home life of the restaurant’s owner, Mr. Bailey (convincingly acted by Joe Stofko). Is the worrisome customer somehow connected with Mr. Bailey’s troubles at home? If so, how?
