Talk about a blast from the past, WCWP 88.1 FM, the public radio station at LIU Post campus in Brookville, and the Play Troupe of Port Washington will perform two classics from the golden age of radio—“The Thin Man” and “Casablanca”—at the Hillwood Recital Hall Stage at the Tilles Center for Performing Arts at LIU Post. The community is invited to attend both productions, which will benefit the non-profit station.
“Radio plays are a part of radio history and provide entertainment that engages the imagination,” said Dan Cox, director of broadcasting at WCWP Radio. “They are a lot of fun to listen to, but even more fun to see them performed on stage.”
First up is the 1940s classic, “The Thin Man,” on Friday, April 25, at 2 p.m. The original series, which was broadcast from 1941 to 1950, features the same savvy duo—the ex-detective Nick Charles and his glamorous, wealthy wife Nora Charles—who were immortalized in the films of the same name. Here on stage they deliver the same style of witty one-upmanship, loving criticism and inebriated insight as they go about their business solving murders that in their heyday earned them top billing as “the happiest married couple in radio.”
Then on Friday, May 23, at 2 p.m., WCWP Radio and the Play Troupe of Port Washington perform “Casablanca” the way this World War II romance was originally heard by radio audiences in 1944 as part of the “Lux Presents…Hollywood” series. Like the movie, Rick’s Place never sounded so good.
“The Thin Man” and “Casablanca” will be broadcast later.
And that’s not all. A benefit concert is also on the spring calendar to help the station.
On Sunday May 4, 2014, WCWP Radio and Word of Mouth Studios present John Batdorf with special guest Jim Dawson at 7:30 p.m. in a live performance at the Hillwood Recital Hall on the LIU Post campus in Brookville. The station will air it at a later date.
Batdorf was half of the duo, Batdorf and Rodney.
“Their song ‘Home Again’ was a huge FM-New York staple for a lot of years in the ‘70s,” says Word of Mouth Studios’ Tony Traguardo, who is co-sponsoring the concert. “The same would hold true for Jim Dawson, whose album ‘Songman’ had a single, ‘City Song/Simple Song,’ that used to get a lot of play.” These artists used to appear frequently at My Father’s Place.
On WCWP Traguardo can be heard hosting the “4F” show from 7-9 p.m. on Monday nights.
The proceeds from these three upcoming events will help benefit the FM station.
Tickets for the radio performances are $10, and $25 for the concert. They are available at www.WCWP.org. If Long Island Press readers add the discount code “wcwpspring,” they may knock $5 off the ticket price for the concert, Traguardo says.
