Remember the days when families used to sit around their radios instead of their tvs? Neither do I, but I have seen A Christmas Story an innumerable amount of times so sometimes I think I do. Thursday evening I attended the opening night of American Radio Cafe in Provo to get a feel for those "good ol' days".
If you've seen the movie, Prairie Home Companion, you've got a good idea of what this was like. The old-timey skits were light and fun. And they did live commercials for their sponsors, Comcast and Seven Peaks, which was really different and totally great. This is a lost form of entertainment and it was nice to see it revived. I only wish it had actually aired live to a radio station.
The show was emceed by Daniel Beck, a handsome actor/singer with an incredible voice, fantastic facial expressions, and a suave demeanor. He was joined by three other talented actors; Cathleen Mason, Alex DeBirk, and Melinda Lockwood DeBirk. They performed with the American Radio Cafe band, who also played songs on their own. The other musical guest, Jarett Burns, performed catchy music with a soulful voice. It is no surprise that he made it to the Hollywood round on American Idol's eighth season and was featured as an up and coming artist on the Cafe.
My favorite part of the production was watching a 1941 episode of a Superman cartoon on a big screen while the actors performed its original dialogue. A 22-piece orchestra performed its score while two men provided sound effects. I was enraptured. Overall, it was a refreshingly unique way to spend an evening.
Kirby Heyborne, Utah's most popular local actor and also a gifted musician, takes over as host for next week's shows. It would be interesting to compare and contrast how the performers interact with two different frontliners and also to see if they adjust the show any after gauging this week's audiences. Talk of shows at East Bay Studios are in the works and another run at Covey Center in the fall is planned. Can't make it to one of the live performances? Daniel and Kirby's performances with American Radio Cafe will soon be available for purchase on DVD and a 30 minute "highlights" version should soon be airing on local cable stations.
