ZOMGGEEKGASM!!

What could be cooler than Jonathan Coulton and Paul & Storm performing They Might Be Giants? Getting Peter "Wait Wait, Don't Tell Me!" Sagal involved as well! I am seriously about to asplode from squee!!

Yes, I am an even bigger NPR geek than I am a JoCo or P+S geek.

Big Broadcast Info

Here's the official press release for the upcoming Post Meridian Radio Players show in which I'll be performing. I have two roles, both of which I'm extremely excited about and looking forward to doing. If you don't already know about it and you're free 1029-10/31, come check it out! If you do the Facebook thing, there's an event page here.

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MARS INVADES BOSTON FOR HALLOWEEN IN LIVE RADIO DRAMA
The Post-Meridian Radio Players bring Orson Welles’ “The War of the Worlds” to the Somerville Theatre this Halloween.

Somerville, MA (http://www.bb1938.com) - 8 Sept 2009 - The Post-Meridian Radio Players (PMRP) are pleased to announce the launch of the Web site and ticket sales for "The Big Broadcast of October 30th, 1938" - the latest iteration of their annual Halloween tribute to the Golden Age of Radio. This year they present two plays - “The Frank Cyrano Byfar Hour” and a special production of Orson Welles' infamous “War of the Worlds” radio play, adapted to follow events in Boston during the ”Martian invasion”.

"It's been a lot of fun to watch the Post Meridian Radio Players build a following here in Somerville and beyond," said Somerville Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone. "Their popular Halloween shows, their success at last year's First Night celebration in Boston and their move to the main stage of the Somerville Theatre are all reminders that Somerville is home to a vibrant and growing arts scene. 'The War of the Worlds' will be their most ambitious and exciting effort so far - and Davis Square will be the place to be for a memorable Halloween weekend."

Mayor Curatone has promised to make a special cameo appearance in at least one of the performances.

PMRP (once called “that outstanding theater of old-time radio thrills” by The Boston Phoenix) invites audiences of all ages to the Somerville Theatre for an old-time radio-style performance of an episode of "The Frank Cyrano Byfar Hour", a Boston-based comedy/variety series from 1938. Billed as a "rediscovered Boston radio classic", the program features a colorful cast of local characters including a Harvard man who forbids Yale locks in his home and a Beacon Hill socialite who prefers chowder over champagne. The program is performed in the style of radio comedians Jack Benny and Fred Allen, and sets the time and place for the evening’s showpiece: the PMRP’s science-fiction thriller “The War of the Worlds: The Fall of Boston”.

An adaptation of Howard Koch’s 1938 “War of the Worlds” radio script, “The Fall of Boston” takes audiences from Grovers Mill, New Jersey to Boston to witness the Martian conquest from a New England perspective. As in Orson Welles’ original show, the invasion is presented as a series of radio news flashes and field reports, which convey the mounting fear and chaos as the Martians advance. The show culminates in a battle to reclaim Boston, led by remnants of the Massachusetts National Guard, an MIT scientist and the mobsters who know the city best.

The live show will feature local actors performing as if in a broadcast studio from the era, along with a team of artists making sound effects with everyday (and not-so-everyday) objects, as well as atmospheric digital audio effects and synthesized alien sounds. Somerville’s own Tom Champion joins the cast again, and live musical accompaniment will be provided by the well-known Somerville troupe, “Emperor Norton's Stationary Marching Band”.

"We're thrilled to have gotten permission from the estate of Howard Koch to adapt his original script written for Orson Wells." said Neil Marsh, Founder and Artistic Director of PMRP. "I'm confident the team of writers, cast and crew we've assembled will make this one of the most entertaining shows in Boston this Fall."

"The Big Broadcast of October 30th, 1938" will run Thursday, October 29th through Saturday, October 31st, at 8:00 PM, with a matinee at 2:00pm Halloween day at the Somerville Theatre (www.somervilletheatreonline.com) next to the Davis Square T Station.

Tickets are $15 in advance, $20 at the door.

Further information about the show, ticket reservations, and PMRP in general may be found on their website at http://www.pmrp.org or via email at info@pmrp.org.

ABOUT THE POST-MERIDIAN RADIO PLAYERS

Since 2005, the Somerville-based Post-Meridian Radio Players have been performing live radio plays the way it was done back in the 1930's and 40's. Their re-creation of Arch Oboler's "Chicken Heart", the infamous lost episode of the seminal horror series "Lights Out!", reignited local interest in the art and history of radio drama. Capitalizing on that successful performance, the PMRP produced its first full evening of staged radio plays for Halloween in 2006 and have presented a live Halloween show every year since. The group has also appeared regularly at the popular Arisia science-fiction convention in Cambridge, produced original audio dramas for Internet distribution and performed in Boston's Orpheum Theatre as part of First Night 2009. Their website is at http://www.pmrp.org or bb1938.com