Project Audion: Classic Audio Dramas for Modern Times

You know Jimmy Durante, even if you think you don't -- the fellow was so famous for so many decades that just a caricature of his face was once enough to elicit a smile. His outsized "Schnozz" matched the outsized personality from the 1920s through the 1970s. Even today his catchphrases and songs endure. You can hear Durante singing in the "Joker" movie of 2019, imitated in the "Lion King," in Warner Bros cartoons, and every year in beloved animated Christmas specials. In this Audion Original, Pete Lutz revisits this unique talent, imagining a brand-new late-1940s episode of the Jimmy Durante Comedy Caravan with his on-air partner (and future TV host) Garry Moore, plus guest stars Sydney Greenstreet and Rose Marie. It's a half-hour of the kind of variety show that radio once did so often and so well. "Everyone wants ta' get inta de act!" and here they do, for a marvelous half-hour of mirth and music with: Pete Lutz, in Texas, as Jimmy Durante Bob Beaumont, in California, as Garry Moore Scott McKinley, in New Jersey, as Sidney Greenstreet Jessica Matthews, in Texas, as Rose Marie Laura Mirsky in New Jersey, as Vera Vague Sheree Whichard, in New York, as Florence Halop Trevor Rines, in Ontario Canada, as Candy Candido Andy Hartson-Bowyer, in Virginia, as Verne Smith

What makes "The Great Gildersleeve" a great radio comedy? Historically, it was the first-ever spinoff series, and its classic sitcom characters were more deeply and warmly drawn than its parent show "Fibber and McGee and Molly," but no less funny. Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve was the unforgettably blustery Water Commissioner of Summerfield, portrayed with a famous laugh full of innuendo by Hal Peary (and later Willard Waterman). Gildy's interactions with his nephew Leroy and nNiece Marjorie; friends like Judge Hooker, Peavey the druggist, and Floyd the barber; and his romantic entanglements with Leila Ransom's and others delivered laughs every week. All the regulars are here in this new script penned by Robert L. Mills and recreated by some of Audion's most talented voices: Trevor Rines, in Ontario Canada Julie Hoverson in Washington State Pete Lutz in Texas Mel Rose in Pennsylvania and Randy Kerdoon in Washington State The script was penned by Robert L. Mills in California and the production was supervised by Larry Groebe in Texas

What's more exciting than premiering a recreated lost episode of a classic audio drama? Premiering a completely unknown and lost show! Such is "Wayfaring Men," Project Audion's latest offering. "Wayfaring Men" was a dramatic summer 1933 CBS serial about the lives of the hoboes, tramps, and bums who were numerous during the Great Depression. Not a single recording of the show exists, and almost no background information either, but Project Audion came into a handful of original mimeographed scripts, and has selected one episode from June 1933 to bring back to life. But wait - there's more! Not only will you join the men (and women) who wandered over America's rails and roadways as they try to survive without money or jobs... Because this is the finale of our fifth season, we're first going to first take you behind the scenes for an extended look at how our shows are created, from script to rehearsals, from sound effects to recording and post-production, you'll discover what goes into each Project Audion episode. Heard (and seen) in THIS episode: Trevor Rines in Toronto canada Donna Patton in Tennessee Kim Titus in Texas Jack Ward in Nova Scotia David Ries in Georgia Larry Groebe produced and directed from Texas

Project Audion brings you "The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes," recreating an episode which has remained unheard for eighty years. There's no more famous detective, real or imagined, than Holmes. His creator, Arthur Conan Doyle, pretty much defined the mystery-detective story, and 138 years later Holmes and Watson are still part of popular culture. In 1945, Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce portrayed them weekly on the Mutual Radio network. Our selected script (which aired only once, on January 15, 1945) "The Curse of Doctor Anselmo," carries its own mystery - the secret identity of the man who co-wrote it pseudonymously. Will you discover whodunnit? Will Holmes fall under Anselmo's curse? Will the Petri family take the time to bring you good wine? All will be revealed in this delightful half hour audio drama, faithful to the original series' sound and spirit. Our cast: Craig Wichman in New York Paul Arbisi in Illinois Glenn Hascall in Kansas Jeff Billard in Massachusetts Jane Beverley in New Jersey Richard Durrington in Idaho and Vincent Caruso in New York while Production and direction were handled by Larry Groebe in Texas

Our Christmas present for you is a lost episode of the classic detective drama "The Adventures of Philip Marlowe" with a holiday theme! Because Audion's previous Philip Marlowe restoration became its most popular episode ever, we returned to our archives to unearth a Marlowe script which hasn't been performed or heard since December 19, 1948 -- "The Three Wise Guys." "The Adventures of Philip Marlowe" ran for three years on network radio, with new noir-ish tales from author Raymond Chandler's detective. In this episode, it was the night before Christmas and (as Marlowe says) "a sweet girl was in trouble. But that didn't mean a thing to the second-story man, the four-flusher in spats, and the ex-Chicago cabbie -- until, one way or the other, they all got into the spirit of the thing..." Our cast, which recorded this episode live in the classic radio drama style, included: Andy Hartson-Bowyer in Virginia Tom Konkle in California Hunter Adkins in Maryland Gregg Mcafee in California Jessica Matthews in Texas Rhiannon Mcafee in California Donna Patton in Tennessee Paul Kovit in New York Music, sounds, production, direction by Larry Groebe

"Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar" was the last detective standing at the end of radio drama's original classic era, outlasting everyone else - Sam Spade, Richard Diamond, Sherlock Holmes, The Saint, Phillip Marlowe and dozens of others. "America's fabulous freelance insurance investigator" is arguably better-loved now than he was in the middle of the 20th century. Now Project Audion presents a new Johnny Dollar script, written by Patrick Keating in the style of the original episodes, and transcribed live (via Zoom) in the classic audio drama manner. Johnny Dollar travels to Texas to learn about the Damiani Diamond and what has happened to it... Project Audion's cast includes: Pete Fernbaugh in West Virginia Kristen James in California Glenn Hascall in Kansas Lefty Rosenthal in Toronto Canada Caleb Fisher in Virginia Norman and Denise Cline in Kentucky with production by Larry Groebe in Texas

For fourteen years beginning in 1943, the CBS Radio network brought its listeners "Romance" - an anthology of half-hour love stories both classic and new, serious and comic. A story like Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice" would seem to be a particular challenge to condense to a single half-hour, but Romance captured the essence of the tale in a brisk, highly entertaining adaptation that was performed three times during the show's long run. The vintage mid-century recordings sound muddy and are not always well cast, so it became an ideal candidate for Project Audion to recreate. Enjoy the classic love match of Miss Bennet and Mr Darcy in this streamlined "Pride and Prejudice," recorded live in the authentic 1940s manner, but via Zoom using voice actors spread across the country. Our cast: Donna Patton in Tennessee Tom Konkle in California Jane Beverley in New Jersey Richard Durrington in Idaho Laura Mirsky in New Jersey Greg Vestal in Texas Les Marsden in California Larry Groebe handled production, direction, music, and sound.

Project Audion invites you to some light summer fare: the Audion Original "Matinee with Bob & Ray." This is Bob Elliott and Ray Goulding like you've never heard before, because it's made of fresh sketches in tribute to "The Two and Only." For those who are NOT intimately familiar with Biff Burns, Komodo dragons, or the Slow Talkers of America, the comedic duo of Bob Elliott and Ray Goulding was formed (legend has it) by accident, in the mid-1940s when a baseball game broadcast was rained out and these two young men were thrown together to ad-lib on the air. That began a five-decade partnership that saw them on every radio network, on TV, films, and even Broadway. Their wit and deadpan characters influenced many later funnymen, including Bob Newhart, David Letterman, Jay Leno and others. Also Pete Lutz, who wrote this half-hour of new absurdly satirical routines. The droll style of "The Two and Only" returns to life in our "Matinee with Bob & Ray!" Bob Elliott - John Bell, Alabama Ray Goulding - Pete Lutz, Texas Organ - Ross Bernardt , Texas Production - Larry Groebe, Texas