エピソード

  • It's A Wonderful Life

    It's A Wonderful Life
    2025/12/15
    Few stories have woven themselves so completely into the fabric of American storytelling as It’s a Wonderful Life. First released as a motion picture in 1946, Frank Capra’s film was initially met with modest success, only to grow—quietly and steadily—into one of the most beloved holiday traditions of the 20th century. Its message is deceptively simple: that an ordinary life, lived with kindness and integrity, can ripple outward in ways we may never fully see. But long before the story became synonymous with annual television broadcasts and snowy black-and-white images, It’s a Wonderful Life found another home—one that relied not on visuals, but on imagination. During the Golden Age of Radio, adaptations of popular films and stage works were a staple of American entertainment. Families gathered around their living-room radios much as we gather around screens today, listening to familiar stories re-told by voice, music, and sound alone. In that tradition, It’s a Wonderful Life was adapted for radio in the late 1940s, inviting listeners to create Bedford Falls in their own minds, to hear George Bailey’s quiet desperation and ultimate redemption without seeing a single snowflake fall. Our radio production is both a tribute to that era and a reaffirmation of why this story endures. Radio drama strips storytelling down to its essentials: voice, pacing, silence, and sound. Without images to guide us, we lean into the emotional truth of the characters. George Bailey becomes not just a man we watch, but a voice we sit beside. Clarence’s gentle wisdom feels more intimate. Mary’s love more personal. Bedford Falls becomes anywhere, and George Bailey becomes anyone who has ever wondered whether their life truly mattered. Producing It’s a Wonderful Life as a radio drama also feels especially appropriate today. In an age of relentless noise and spectacle, radio invites us to slow down, to listen closely, and to reconnect with the human scale of the story. It reminds us that heroism doesn’t require grand gestures—sometimes it’s found in staying, in caring, and in choosing others over ourselves. This production is made possible by a cast of generous voice actors who lend not only their talent, but their hearts to the story. Each performance is shaped by an understanding that It’s a Wonderful Life works not because it is sentimental, but because it is honest—acknowledging doubt, failure, and despair before arriving at hope. We offer this audio presentation in the spirit in which radio drama has always thrived: as a shared experience, meant to be listened to closely, perhaps with family or friends, and carried with you afterward. Whether this is your first visit to Bedford Falls or your hundredth, we invite you to close your eyes, listen, and rediscover why George Bailey’s life—like so many others—was, indeed, a wonderful one. This Naples Players Radio Theatre production features the vocal talents of Jesse Hughes, Pamela Dollak , Danny Miller, Vic Caroli, Kip Jones, Christian Conn, Theresa Bill, Lynne Young, Mitch Frank, John Heard, and Michael Troop . This audio file was recorded, mixed and mastered by Michael Troop. All music and sound effects were obtained through a special license from pond5.com and may not be copied or reproduced for any reason.
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    58 分
  • Fat Man_Portrait_of_murder

    Fat Man_Portrait_of_murder
    2025/12/03
    Weight… 239 pounds. Fortune… Danger.” With those words — and the creak of a drugstore scale — 1940s radio audiences were introduced to one of the most distinctive sleuths of the Golden Age of Detective Drama: Brad Runyon, The Fat Man. Created (at least in name) by famed mystery writer Dashiell Hammett, The Fat Man premiered on ABC Radio in January 1946 and ran for five suspense-filled years. The title role was played by J. Scott Smart, whose deep, sardonic voice gave Runyon the perfect mix of toughness, intelligence, and dry humor. Beneath the tongue-in-cheek title was a detective every bit as capable as Sam Spade or Philip Marlowe — shrewd, streetwise, and always a step ahead of danger. Each week, listeners followed Runyon through smoky backrooms, city streets, and dark corners of post-war America as he solved murders, blackmail plots, and crimes of passion. The show’s hook — the detective’s size — became more than a gimmick; it was a symbol of confidence and self-possession. The Fat Man proved that courage and intellect, not appearance, were the real measures of a man.
    In 1951, Runyon made the leap to film in The Fat Man, directed by William Castle, with Smart reprising his role and circus legend Emmett Kelly appearing in a rare dramatic performance. Though only a handful of radio episodes survive, The Fat Man remains a classic example of American radio noir — a blend of wit, grit, and danger that still tips the scales of suspense. This Naples Players Radio Theatre production features the vocal talents of Jim Heffernan, Kenneth Wetcher, Eric Sivertson, Vic Caroli, Pam Dollak, Betty Whitmore and Michael Troop . This audio file was recorded, mixed and mastered by Michael Troop. All music and sound effects were obtained through a special license from pond5.com and may not be copied or reproduced for any reason.
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    31 分
  • Mary and the Fairy

    Mary and the Fairy
    2025/11/01
    In 1941, at the height of radio’s golden age, writer-director Norman Corwin—the poet laureate of the airwaves—penned a satirical fable that sparkled with humor and humanity. Mary and the Fairy debuted on the Columbia Workshop, with Elsa Lanchester and Ruth Gordon lending their comic brilliance to a story that pokes gentle fun at American advertising, wish fulfillment, and the dream of instant happiness. The play follows Mary Pooter, a sweet but simple shopgirl from Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, who wins a radio contest sponsored by Crinkly-Crunkly Bread—“Nature’s Own All-Out Campaign to Build Sturdy Bodies and Strong Nerves.” Her prize? A visit from the company’s Good Fairy, who promises to grant her five wishes. Unfortunately, this particular fairy is less enchanted than overworked—a weary cog in a corporate promotion machine whose magic, like most advertising promises, comes with fine print. As Mary’s dreams unravel—romance, fame, sophistication, and all—Corwin’s script veers from whimsy to poignancy, reminding us that no magic wand can grant self-worth or love. Mary and the Fairy is both poignant and comedic, a wry commentary on consumer culture that still feels surprisingly fresh today. In this Naples Players Radio Theatre revival, the story takes on new resonance—a laugh, a sigh, and a knowing nod to anyone who’s ever wished for more than life could deliver.
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    31 分
  • My Favorite Husband - Halloween Surprise Party

    My Favorite Husband - Halloween Surprise Party
    2025/10/01
    My Favorite Husband" is a classic radio sitcom that originally aired from 1948 to 1951, starring Lucille Ball and Richard Denning. The show revolves around the humorous escapades of Liz and George Cooper, a married couple living in the fictional town of Sheridan Falls. Liz is portrayed as a witty and charming housewife, while George is a bank executive. The series explores the couple's everyday challenges, misunderstandings, and comedic situations, often driven by Liz's quirky personality and George's attempts to navigate the ups and downs of married life. The success of "My Favorite Husband" paved the way for Lucille Ball's iconic role in the television series "I Love Lucy," solidifying her status as one of the greatest comedic actresses in entertainment history. In this episode of "My Favorite Husband," titled "Halloween Surprise Party," Liz Cooper is upset because she believes she and her husband George have been snubbed by their friends, the Atterburys, who are hosting a Halloween party without inviting them. Liz becomes determined to find out why they weren't invited and even plans to throw her own party in retaliation. However, it turns out that the Atterburys are actually planning a surprise Halloween party for Liz and George at their own house. The episode concludes with Liz and George discovering the surprise and realizing their friends still care about them. This Naples Players Radio Theatre production features the vocal talents Pam austin as Liz, Jim Heffernan as George, Janie Ballurio as Liz's friend, Iris, Nathan Eichorn as the police officer and Michael Troop as the Rudolph Atterbury. This audio file was recorded, mixed and mastered by Michael Troop. All music and sound effects were obtained through a special license from pond5.com and may not be copied or reproduced for any reason.
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    26 分
  • Furnished Floor

    Furnished Floor
    2025/09/01
    Furnished Room” is a play written by the Lucille Fletcher ( the author of “Sorry, Wrong Number”) which explores the themes of love, loss, and the psychological toll of refusing to let go of the past, all wrapped in a suspenseful and macabre narrative. It aired in September 1945 on the Suspense Radio program and featured the talents of Mildred Natwick and Don Defore. This Naples Players Radio Theatre production features the vocal talents Debera Millstein as Mrs Hawkins,and Jim Heffernan as Mr. Jennings. This audio file was recorded, mixed and mastered by Michael Troop. All music and sound effects were obtained through a special license from pond5.com and may not be copied or reproduced for any reason.
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    34 分
  • The Trial

    The Trial
    2025/08/04
    Franz Kafka’s "The Trial (Der Prozess)" is one of the most haunting and influential novels of the 20th century. Kafka began writing The Trial during the early years of World War I (1914–1915 )but never completed it. Instead he left a series of fragmented chapters which were transcribed in loose-leaf notebooks, leaving no clear instructions on the novel’s structure. Kafka died in 1924 having never published the novel. In his will, he asked his friend Max Brod to burn all his unpublished manuscripts but fortunately Brod famously ignored this request and published The Trial in 1925. As a German-speaking Jew in Prague under the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Kafka experienced cultural marginalization. He worked as a legal clerk at the Workers’ Accident Insurance Institute in Prague which exposed him to the cold machinery of bureaucracy which seems to underpin the nightmarish, opaque legal system in "The Trial." In his youth, Kafka had a fraught relationship with his father, and he often felt overwhelmed by guilt and inadequacy, even when he had done nothing wrong. His feelings of guilt without cause and punishment without explanation, embodied his protagonist of the novel, Josef K. In fact his protagonist mirrored his feelings of being trapped in a world he could not understand or influence. Arguably more than ever, Kafka’s novel has become a prophetic mirror for modern society in that modern citizens often face labyrinthine institutions, where decisions are made behind closed doors. Think: immigration systems, corporate algorithms, or opaque AI models — where outcomes feel arbitrary and unchallengeable. The term “Kafkaesque” has entered our lexicon to describe situations where people are caught in absurd, illogical, and powerless scenarios. Today we hear or read about people facing indefinite detention, show trials, or automated decision-making systems that deny appeals. In The Trial, Josef K. is told he’s guilty but never told why. This loss of individual agency is often reflected today in many situations where people are denied loans, benefits, or parole based on data-driven decisions with no transparency and we have heard or witnessed whistleblowers, journalists, and activists often facing persecution without clear legal recourse. Kafka’s world foreshadows regimes that operate via endless process rather than justice and it can be argued that our own government weaponizes laws to suppress dissent, making The Trial feel eerily current.
    This Naples Players Radio Theatre production features the vocal talents of Vic Caroli, Danny Miller, Pat Ashton, Kip Jones, James Corsica, Judy Scribner, Mike Santos, and Michael Troop . This audio file was recorded, mixed and mastered by Michael Troop. All music and sound effects were obtained through a special license from pond5.com and may not be copied or reproduced for any reason.
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    33 分
  • Whistler_Urge to Kill

    Whistler_Urge to Kill
    2025/08/01
    The Whistler was the most popular radio show that most of America never heard. Yet it was one of the most enduring and well-loved mystery programs of its era, known for its eerie narration, suspenseful storytelling, and unexpected twist endings. It first appeared as a sustaining program on the CBS Pacific Coast network on May 16, 1942 and ran to September 22, 1955. Much of its 13 year run was confined to the eight station CBS Pacific Coast network and selected affiliates in the network’s regional group of nine Mountain zone stations. Yet, millions could recognize the program’s haunting 13-note theme and its famous opening line, “I am the Whistler… and I know many things, for I walk by night…” The program’s iconic narrator, known as “The Whistler,” was an omniscient, ghostly figure who observed the fates of the characters but never directly intervened. Like The Shadow’s first personification a dozen years earlier, Inner Sanctum’s ghostly Raymond in 1941 and The Mysterious Traveler in 1943, The Whistler stood outside the stories he narrated. But unlike the others, he used a unique second-person, present tense technique as if to talk directly with the central character of his stories - often an innocent drawn into the plot by circumstances or an amateur driven to murder as a last resort. Most episodes followed a crime or psychological thriller format, often focusing on flawed protagonists whose own misdeeds or weaknesses led to their downfall. Its storytelling style influenced TV anthologies such as Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955–1965) and The Twilight Zone (1959–1964), both of which shared The Whistler’s love for ironic justice and surprise endings. This Naples Players Radio Theatre production features the vocal talents Jim Corsica, Carole Fenstermacher, Kimberly Albrecht, Vic Caroli, and Michael Troop . This audio file was recorded, mixed and mastered by Michael Troop. All music and sound effects were obtained through a special license from pond5.com and may not be copied or reproduced for any reason.-->
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    39 分
  • Take a Letter, Darling

    Take a Letter, Darling
    2025/07/03
    "Take a Letter, Darling" is a comedic story centered around the professional and personal dynamics between MacGregor, a sharp and confident advertising executive, and Tom Verney, her newly hired personal secretary. The play is a lighthearted exploration of love, ambition, and the complexities of human relationships. MacGregor hires Tom for unconventional duties, including posing as her fiancé to reassure a jealous client’s wife and help secure business deals. Despite initial friction and Tom's reluctance to take the job seriously, their interactions evolve into a mix of witty banter, jealousy, and romantic tension. MacGregor, who prides herself on being emotionally detached, finds herself unexpectedly drawn to Tom, while he struggles with his own feelings for her. This production features the vocal talents of Jesse Hughes, Amy Hughes , Lynne Young, Kip Jones, and Michael Troop
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    31 分