Remembering Bill Herz, War of the Worlds Actor

Fourth from right, Bill Herz with cast and crew members of “Too Much Johnson” in 1938 (including Orson Welles, seated). CreditTheater of Orson Welles

Hello America,

Hear Again Radio Project morns the loss of the last surviving cast member from Orson Welles and the Mercury Theater's landmark War Of The Worlds, Bill Herz. Next time you are at Sardi's in New York, look for Mr Herz at table 4.

Read about Bill and his role in with Mercury Theater here

Hey Philly! Show us Your Shakespeare!

"Show us Your Shakespeare!" Got an image of yourself as a Shakespearean character?  Get on Facebook and post it on the "Kill Shakespeare: Live Graphic Novel" Facebook Event page https://www.facebook.com/events/1455714681382474/ to receive a personalized discount code to save $5 per ticket.  All who redeem the code will be entered into a drawing to win the grand prize, a signed copy of "Kill Shakespeare" by Anthony Del Col and Conor McCreery or one of 5 other great Kill Shakespeare prizes!  The drawing for the grand prize will take place immediately following the Saturday Sept. 13, 10pm show.  The winner will be contacted to arrange prize delivery. (Details on how to redeem the ticket offer will be sent via Facebook messenger to the individual who posts the image, one code per person.)

But don't just show us your Shakespeare, tell us why you love it, too. When you post your picture, feel free to write a short blurb about why you love the costume, the character, or the bard himself! Don't have facebook, but still want to play along? Wear your costume to save $5 at the door, if space is available.

And remember, it doesn't have to be from a production! Ever dreamed of mounting a steampunk Hamlet? A zombie Macbeth? Post your image and your idea! Now’s your chance to strut your stuff, show off your threads, and celebrate how much Philly loves the bard!

And indeed now is the perfect time to show that love.  Will Shakespeare is celebrating his 450th birthday and there has been celebrations all over town, not the least of which featured Hear Again Radio Project's own Darin Dunston!  Shakespeare in Clark Park commemorated the Bard's Birthday with a thrilling version of Henry IV!  Here's a picture of Darin from the production.  You can see Darin and other people show their Shakespeare on the event page for "Kill Shakespeare."  https://www.facebook.com/events/1455714681382474/

Hear Again is Here Again! Join us this Fall for fun!

Hello America,

Boy, it has been a while since we last talked. How are you? Good we hope!

All of us here in the Hear Again archives have been hard at work making preparations, plans and schemes to bring you one again the very best in radio entertainment. We have a busy few months ahead, and we hope you will join us.

SEPTEMBER
Kill Shakespeare: Graphic Novel Live

Fri September 12 at 7pm & 10pm
Sat September 13 at 2pm, 7pm & 10pm
Co-Production with Revolution Shakespeare
For Philadelphia Fringe Arts Festival

#ShowUsYourShakespeare on The Face Book to get discount tickets and a chance to win prizes.

Get your tickets today. We've been named one the the top 15 shows to see!

OCTOBER

Presented by Tiny Dynamite Season 4 info can be found here October 2, 3, 5: The Letter of Last Resort by David Greig Presented by Inis Nua Theatre Company Directed by: Claire Moyer London, England. The Prime Minister must write a letter. A letter that will be sealed in two safes in a secret submarine under the sea and only opened if London is destroyed. What on earth should she say? A Comedy. (There will be a short radio play The Archers, episode # 17176 presented by HEAR AGAIN RADIO PROJECT preceding this production).  


December The Return of the Holiday Hullabaloo- TBD Dec 20 & 21, 2014

The "Immortal Bard" is Target in "Kill Shakespeare."

William Shakespeare has been known as the “Immortal Bard” but now some of his own creations are putting his “immortality” to the test.  Kill Shakespeare pits some of Will’s most memorable characters against him and each other in battle for freedom and power.  The Hear Again Radio Project is proud to join forces with Revolution Shakespeare to adapt this exciting graphic novel for the stage.  The production will combine a dramatic reading and Foley effects with the vivid images of the original book projected on a screen, a literal living comic!  This innovative style is bound to spark the imagination of both long-time Shakespeare fans as well as newcomers to his rich and colorful world.  For details visit the Fringe Box Office

Whether his characters manage to kill him or not, the idea of Shakespeare being immortal - or at least transferable from era to era- struck me while I was writing this blog.  I've seen versions of Shakespearean plays set everywhere from outer space to a corporate board room to an insane asylum.  While the concept of a graphic novel where Shakespeare’s characters interact with one another as if in an alternate realty was certainly fresh and different, the idea that the Bard could be translated to the pop-culture medium of comics seemed perfectly natural to me.  One could even argue that the medium of comics is only perfect for the grand and sweeping characterizations of Shakespeare.  Take for example these costume designs for a production of Julius Caesar design by legendary comic artist Jack Kirby! 

Preparing a Thanksgiving Feast

Hello America,

We here in the Hear Again Radio Project brain trust are pleased as punch to present The Thanks-for-Giving Program next weekend Nov 16 & 17. To help get all of you out in radioland as excited as we are, we thought we'd countdown the next nine days with some classics from the Old Time Radio cornucopia.

It start you off right, here is a classic episode of Cavalcade of America epi 587 called Us Pilgrims. Cavalcade epi 587.

Enjoy!

Get your tickets for The Thanks-for-Giving Program here.

RadioLab's Story about War of the Worlds

As luck would have it, this past weekend I was driving back from Virginia where I presented a workshop for students on Old Time Radio Drama. As a fan of radio, I was dial surfing and stumbled upon this terrific story on NPR's program Radio Lab about the Halloween fervor caused by the original broadcast of The War of the Worlds as performed by Orson Welles and the Mercury Theater-on-the-Air. It is a great listen and very educational. Enjoy!
 http://www.radiolab.org/story/91622-war-of-the-worlds/

Announcing our next event- The Thanks-for-Giving Program

Hello America,

Tickets are now on sale for our next great radio drama event when the Hear Again Radio Project presents The Thanks-for-Giving Program featuring two terrific episodes for the golden age of radio.

The evening will feature one episode of Our Miss Brooks called Thanksgiving Turkey and another tale well calculated to keep you in... Suspense, with My Dear Niece.

As always we will feature live original music, provided by the incomparable Linda Henderson, and live foley sound effects delivered by our pair of soundscape engineers, Miss Kristen Norine, and Krishna Pryia Dunston.

Also in the cast will be Jill Lawrence, David Stanger, Jared Michael Delaney, and the original old smoothie, Darin J. Dunston.

Get your tickets HERE!