2008 - A YEAR IN REVIEW

So much happened this year that as we are now in it's final hours, I feel like the roller coaster is coming to a slow stop at the end of the ride. CRT of course, dominated my time. Here is a breakdown of what we did this year!

JANUARY
"The Halloween Tree" is in post production, with Chris editing and Jeff writing music and trying to keep ahead of the game. "The Father Brown Mysteries" are also in Post Production.

ZORRO AND THE PIRATE RAIDERS scripts are finished, and then continue with multiple drafts.

We begin recording KING SOLOMON'S MINES. Written by JT Turner. Me, JT and Hugh Metzler start a seven session recording gig to get this one done.

FATHER BROWN episode 10 is recorded.

FEBRUARY

KING SOLOMON'S MINES continues to record, with two sessions canceled. I came down with a very bad flu that had me in bed almost two weeks. Recording resumes at the end of the month. Byron Lee is given the task of producing with Chris Snyder as Supervising Producer.

We start "The Colonial Radio Theatre Podcast." For the first time, we'll release a few of our shows to go out on the internet at no charge, in a podcast hosted by Jack Ward in Halifax, NS. These will be released monthly for 1 year.

Walter Koenig (From Star Trek!) agrees to work with us on dramatizing his book BUCK ALICE AND THE ACTOR ROBOT as an audio drama.

MOONFLEET production announced. Lining up recording dates and cast begins. MJ Cogburn, currently working on FATHER BROWN will produce.

THE HALLOWEEN TREE is completed, and Jeff Gage comes over where we play it for the first time. We love it!!

MARCH

KING SOLOMON'S MINES finishes recording. Chris Snyder starts to co-edit the show to get it finished in time for a June release.

FATHER BROWN continues post production with MJ editing episode 9.

March 11: Bill Hammond records new intros for KING SOLOMONS MINES
March 13: Rob Cattell records a test audition for MOONFLEET. He gets the part!
March 18: Foley session for KING SOLOMON'S MINES. African chants and battle cries. Fun!
March 19: MOONFLEET begins recording with session 1
March 20: KING SOLOMON pick-up lines and re-takes
March 24: MOONFLEET recording session 2
March 27: MOONFLEET recording session 3
March 28: BUCK ALICE script is finished on our end. Goes to Walter for re-writes.
March 31: FATHER BROWN recording session.

APRIL

KING SOLOMON'S MINES editing is complete. We decide to do some CD Extras to fill out the fourth CD.

APRIL 1: THE FATHER BROWN MYSTERIES is released on CD by Blackstone Audio.
April 2: Meeting with House of Cool in Toronto about the DIBBLE animation project
April 4: Record the CD EXTRAS segnt of KING SOLOMON'S MINES with John Lovering as host.
April 7: MOONFLEET session 4
April 8: KING SOLOMON is shipped to Blackstone.
April 9: Record a BATMAN pilot for DC Comics.
April 13: Anastas Varinos records his lines for the BATMAN pilot.
April 14: MOONFLEET session 5 - RECORDING COMPLETED. / KSM is shipped to XM Radio in Broadcast form.
April 15: I do three interviews (a podcast, a satellite show, and another podcast)
April 18: Start to edit the BUCK ALICE script. / my friend Kate Phillips passes away.
April 19: 1st meeting on selling our house. Sad day.
April 26: Go to dinner with Walter Koenig and Deniz Cordell at the Bedford Inn to discuss production of BUCK ALICE.
April 28: PERRY MASON - Velvet Claws. Session 1
April 29: PERRY MASON - Velvet Claws. Session 2
April 30: Record Matthew Scott Robertson for BATMAN pilot. 2pm
April 30: Record Joe Zamparelli for PERRY MASON at 4pm

MAY
This month, most of my time is spent cleaning up the house and getting it ready for sale. Dumpster in the driveway, boxes everywhere - you get the picture.

Also, started writing a new comedy series called JERRY AND THE PIRATES, a direct title steal from TERRY AND THE PIRATES. The idea was hatched in a 2am phone conversation with Chris Snyder. So, many of the days in May were spent writing and cleaning.

May 5: Retakes on BATMAN pilot
May 19: FATHER BROWN episode 11 is recorded.
May 21: PERRY MASON - THE CASE OF THE SULKY GIRL is recorded.
May 27: PERRY MASON retakes. 1pm
May 29: JERRY AND THE PIRATES Recording Eps. 1,2,3.

JUNE
Work on the house continues, and writing continues, banging out as many J&tP scripts as I can so we can wrap the entire series by the start of September. XM will air us every Friday, starting Sept. 19th, so we are on a real deadline now. Byron Lee is assigned as producer.

Also, famed Broadway Playwright William Luce (The Belle of Amherst, Barrymore) has agreed to adapt BARRYMORE for us as an audio play. HOW COOL IS THIS?????

June 2: Record Jud Pierce for his role in PERRY MASON - SULKY GIRL.
June 4: FATHER BROWN - THE QUICK ONE is recorded.
June 11: Record SHAKESPEARE'S GHOST with JT, at 2pm. 7:30pm record FATHER BROWN - THE ACTOR AND THE ALIBI.
June 17: JERRY AND THE PIRATES. Recording eps 4,5,6
June 25: FATHER BROWN - THE WORST CRIME IN THE WORLD is recorded.
June 26: BUCK ALICE vocal tests are recorded.
June 27: BUCK ALICE vocal tests are recorded.
June 30: JERRY AND THE PIRATES recording Eps. 7,8,9

JULY
the 1-8th were spent on the road. CRT won the Ogle Award for SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES, and I thought it would be fun to drive and take some day trips along the way (Niagara Falls, Jamestown NY - home of Lucy, Baraboo, home of the Ringlings) etc. Fun trip! Had a great room at the Sheraton Minneapolis (in the executive section) - and Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca in Star Wars) - was also a guest and just a couple of rooms down. Exciting!
July 1: Buffalo, NY. also KING SOLOMON'S MINES is released on CD by Blackstone.
July 2: Madison WI
July 3: Minneapolis, MN. Ogle Awards
July 4: Minneapolis, MN
July 5: Baraboo WI
July 7: Jamestown NY
July 16: FATHER BROWN - Recording ep. 15
July 21: JERRY AND THE PIRATES recording Eps.10,11,12
July 23: FATHER BROWN - Recording Ep. 16. END OF SERIES
July 28: JERRY AND THE PIRATES recording Eps. 13,14,15

AUGUST
August was a crazy month. Writing for J&tP's continues, as well as the house going on the market, a new septic system being installed, and the BUCK ALICE recording sessions.
MJ Cogburn and Seth Adam Sher take over the producing of J&tP's from Byron Lee, who is unable to continue with CRT.
Also, William Luce completes his audio script for BARRYMORE. It's great! He changed a few little things here and there to make the show easier to follow in sound, and also wrote a new opening and closing for the show. Incredible!! He's also a wicked nice guy!

Also in August, CRT decides to do a Christmas Special for our XM Broadcast. This will be a variety show like the ones from 60's. J.T. will write a segment, as will Debbie Roy. I'll write the filler scenes. Debbie turns in her "Victorian Christmas" skit in one day!

AUG 1: Walter Koenig and his wife Judy Levitt arrive from LA. Mary Rogers and I drive them to the Ipswich Inn.
Aug. 2: BUCK ALICE - Recording Day 1. The biggest CRT cast ever assembled in one place at the same time! We record in Ipswich MA. Jordan Rich from WBZ radio is also in the cast.
Aug. 3: BUCK ALICE - Recording Day 2.
Aug. 4: BUCK ALICE - Recording Day 2.
Aug. 5: Drive Walter and Judy to relatives house in Boston. They stayed an extra night at the Ipswich Inn. About 20 hours of recording was done. This will be a huge production to assemble - but we'll do it!
Aug. 14: JERRY AND THE PIRATES recording Eps. 16,17,18
Aug. 18: JERRY AND THE PIRATES recording Eps. 19,20.
Aug. 20: BARRYMORE rehearsal and mic blocking. We are recording this with three mics, (Stage left, center and right) to keep the stage movement from our stage version the same on radio. This way, the editor does need to figure out which way I am walking - which is what would have happened had we recorded on a single mic.
Aug. 21: BARRYMORE recording. Session 1
Aug. 23: BARRYMORE recording. Session 2. The bulk of the final edit comes from this session.
Aug. 26: BARRYMORE recording session 3. This is for the "flashback" scenes, with Matthew Scott Robertson, J.T. Turner, Amy Sheridan, Marcia Friedman.

Also in August, my sister and I buy the house - so I'm not moving!! Now to move a ton of stuff back INTO the house.

SEPTEMBER
Jerry and the Pirates wraps - 24 episodes since May 29th. Phew! That's a lot of writing, folks! Not much happens in September as we re-decorated and painted the recording studio (much thanks to Mary Rogers, Jeff Gage, Madeline Cattell, Marty MacDonald!!)

Sept.8: JERRY AND THE PIRATES. Eps. 21,22,23,24. Season 1 complete.
Sept. 17: BARRYMORE is completed final edit! Awesome job by Chris Snyder.
Sept. 19: JERRY AND THE PIRATES Premiers on XM Radio.

OCTOBER
THE HALLOWEEN TREE is released on CD by Blackstone Audio. Many call it our best production to date.

GDL Multimedia begin to release our shows at low prices on CD. They will have us in Barnes and Noble, Turnpike Stops, Amazon, you name it. Very cool! They have already repackaged and re-issued our POWDER RIVER series.

Also in October, we start recording our Christmas Special for XM.

Oct. 18th: BARRYMORE cast listening party. Lots of fun!! before we ran the show I had Barrymore's TWENTIETH CENTURY playing on the new huge tv screen, and more food than you can imagine. Then at 8, we ran the recording. It's a powerful production. Powerful. I can't WAIT until it's released. William Luce ALMOST flew in for the party, but we couldn't work out the details in time. The CD will be released May 1st.

Oct. 18: My Aunt Dorothy passes away; I always called her "Aunt Dot." Very, very sad. My Moms sister, and one of those people who it seems like they will be here forever. She was a great lady.
Oct. 25: RECORDING music for the CRT Christmas Special 10 hour session.
Oct. 26: Recording music for the CRT Christmas Special - continues
Oct. 27: MOONFLEET pick up lines, recording. 2:30pm. RECORD the CRT Christmas Special, 7pm

NOVEMBER
Another busy month; editing on J&tP continues. MOONFLEET is at a standstill due to the unexpected departure of Byron Lee - so MJ was taken off MOONFLEET to finish the series along with Seth. Because of this, MOONFLEET will not see release until 2009; not good, but what can I do. Our new series, TICONDEROGA gears up for production. We haven't done a historical piece in a few years, so this will be fun.

We also announce Season 5 of POWDER RIVER for 2009.

Also, CRT is now heard on Sirius Radio as well as XM.

Nov. 2: Research Trip. Crown Point, NY
Nov. 3: Research Trip. Fort Ticonderoga, NY. Met with Marci Hall, the marketing director of the fort, and Nick Westbrook, the director of the Fort. The fort is behind our project, and we hope to premier the show there for a fundraiser (at least the episodes that take place during the battle - the entire show will run 12 hours or so). Got some great information, took a ton of notes, and I'm very happy I went up there.
Nov. 10: TICONDEROGA records Eps. 1,2,3.
NOV. 18: RECORDING solos for CRT Christmas Special.
Nov. 20: Auditions for ZORRO AND THE PIRATE RAIDERS in Hollywood, CA
Nov. 21: Auditions for ZORRO AND THE PIRATE RAIDERS in Hollywood CA. Day 2
Nov. 25: RECORD retakes on various lines.
NOV. 26: TICONDEROGA. Records Eps. 4,5,6

DECEMBER
December is filled with writing six new episodes for TICONDEROGA, the final one being finished 30 minutes before we recorded it! Talk about cutting it close!

Dec. 1: THE COLONIAL RADIO CHRISTMAS SPECIAL is released for download.
Dec. 5: Finish my book THE STR ANGEL, written with Debbie Roy. At the suggestion of House of Cool, I wrote the book based on the screen treatment I gave them for a Christmas Special.
Dec. 8: RE-RECORD PERRY MASON AND THE CASE OF THE VELVET CLAWS. Decided to scrap production on the first version of this title and start fresh.
Dec. 15: TICONDEROGA Records Eps. 7,8,9.
Dec. 23: THE STAR ANGEL recorded as book on tape.
Dec. 24: THE STAR ANGEL released as download.
Dec. 25: PERRY MASON AND THE CASE OF THE SULKY GIRL - Download release. Also, CRT's final Podcast release. Sirius-XM broadcasts THE CRT CHRISTMAS SPECIAL.
Dec. 26: PERRY MASON recording - Tom Berry's scenes in VELVET CLAWS.
Dec. 29: TICONDEROGA Record Eps.10,11,12.

a good night on Broadway

Another GREAT time on Broadway tonight. Went with J.T. to catch Liza Minnelli in her new show at the Palace Theatre. She's still incredible - in total controle of her talents and thinner and singing GREAT with clear and powerful notes. Maginificent show. Joe Luft was there also - so all in all a great night.

Bumped into CRT Music Director Jeff Gage who was in town with Keith to catch a few shows, and we grabbed a bite at Roxy's (my new fav NY joint). Had to come right back after the show though, as I have GOT to finish 2 scripts for Monday nights recording session - which is why I am at the computer at 5.30am. So - enough of this blogger chat. time to get to work. Adios.

PERRY MASON and the CASE OF THE SULKY GIRL

Our very first PERRY MASON radio drama is now available for download! The CD release will be in 2009 - but for now, it's on Lulu.Com! I'm very happy with the production, and thrilled that Paisano Productions (owners of Perry Mason) have granted us the right to dramatize this incredible, original books.

In THE CASE OF THE SULKY GIRL, An impetuous niece who demands her trust fund be released comes to Perry Mason for help. But it's her boyfriend who needs defending when he is charged with murdering her controlling uncle. Check it out on Lulu at
PERRY MASON AND THE CASE OF THE SULKY GIRL
Running time: 115min

HOLIDAY AIRINGS

The following CRT Christmas programs will air on Sirius (ch 117) and XM
(ch.163) at these times:

DEC. 19 & 21
JERRY AND THE PIRATES "Christmas Shopping"
Fri. Dec. 19 at at 4am, 12pm, 6pm
Sun. Dec. 21 at 8am (Sirius Radio Only)

DEC. 24
THE CRICKET ON THE HEARTH (2000)
Wed. Dec.24 at 12AM, 8AM - EST

THE SEVEN POOR TRAVELLERS (1997)
Wed. Dec. 24 at 4am, 12pm, 6pm EST

DIBBLE'S CHRISTMAS SPECIAL (2003)
Dec. 24 at 2AM, 10AM, 4PM, EST

DEC. 25

THE COLONIAL RADIO CHRISTMAS SPECIAL (2008)
Dec.25 at 4AM, 12PM, 6PM

DIBBLE'S CHRISTMAS SPECIAL
Dec. 25 at 8am


Our 2004 production of A CHRISTMAS CAROL is airing on several stations across the country this season. Most of these stations do not live stream, however, You can hear it in a live stream out of North Carolina -

WCQS (North Carolina) Wed. Dec. 24, 6:00PM You can listen LIVE - here
http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http://www.wcqs.org%2F

Unfortunately, our production of A CHRISTMAS CAROL will not be presented on XM this year - instead listen for a version from Night Kitchen Radio who claim to have dusted off the cobwebs and made the story new again - funny - I thought we already did that. I'm sure it's great - check it out!

CHRISTMAS SPAMMERS

I'm being SPAMMED by some "how to be a radio broacaster" company in CA. So, when you see comments being deleted as trash, that's why.

Jerry and the Pirates on SPOKEN NETWORK

Episodes 1-14 of our new comedy series, JERRY AND THE PIRATES are now available on Spoken Network - including our Christmas episodes (#14). Season 1 has 24 episodes, and we've been adding them for download after they air on Fridays. We're still debating on doing a season 2 - so, if you listen to the show, let me know what you think about that.
JERRY AND THE PIRATES

TICONDEROGA PUSHES ONWARD

Last night we had another great session, recording episodes 7,8 and 9 of our French and Indian War saga, TICONDEROGA! We had Lincoln Clark, Diane Capen and Rebecca Stevens as guest stars in episode 7, "The Coopers." So far I am very happy with the production and the cast. 15 year old Paolo Settipane is doing a fantastic job in his first major acting role, and Joe Z is delivering one of his finest CRT performances. J.T. is also a blast in a variety of roles, including his leading character of Degadawidah.
Seth Adam Sher has begun editing episode 1, and Jeff Gage has turned in some of the music cuts for the series.

We have another session on Dec. 29th, two more in January, and two more in February, and we are finished with recording! I am having a good time writing this series, and Powder River Season 5 follows!

Speaking of writing, it was a marathon writing weekend for me, as I wrote eps 8 and 9 on Saturday and Sunday. I didn't have writers block (Ray Bradbury told me there is no such thing), but it took me a while to think the story through, since I wanted these two episodes to dwell more on character development. I love the scripts, but they left me emotionally drained, and writing for almost 72 hours (with about 3 hours worth of crash time in there) Everyone seems to be having a good time with this one.
I'm going to start writing episode 10 - but first I have to put up the Christmas Tree that I bought on Friday and is still waiting in the garage. cheers

CRT CHRISTMAS SPECIAL NOW ON SPOKEN NETWORK

Our 2008 Christmas Special is now on Spoken Network, for a limited time (the show will be pulled from release after the holidays)
Here is the
LINK

New Episodes for Download

We've released two new episodes of JERRY AND THE PIRATES at LULU.COM - Episode 13: CRANKERS BIG DATE, and Episode 14: CHRISTMAS SHOPPING.
And dont forget to check out our 1 hour Christmas Special - THE COLONIAL RADIO THEATRE CHRISTMAS SPECIAL - also on Lulu.

All these titles will also be up on Spoken Network in the next few days (we upload them to the site, but it can take a few days before Spoken Net releases them - it's out of our hands).

NEW YORK, NEW YORK and other items of interest

I always love it when I get to visit NYC. I caught the Radio City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular (and I might add that the word Spectacular is a gross understatement), and also saw Richard Griffiths and Daniel Radcliffe in EQUUS. Now, I have only seen one Harry Potter movie (the first one), so I did not know what to expect; but watching this 19 year old on stage was something to see. I don't toss off compliments lightly (hardly ever, actually), but in watching him in this show must have been the same for audiences watching the young Marlon Brando in STREETCAR so many years ago. This kid is a magnificent actor - and it's is without question the finest dramatic performance I've ever seen on a Broadway stage. I'm headed back on Dec. 27th with J.T. to catch Liza Minnelli at the Palace Theatre, and since Jeff Gage will be in town, we'll do dinner at Sardi's - one of my favorite spots in town (or maybe Roxy's, which J.T. has turned me on to!).

We have recorded another PERRY MASON episode last week. We should have the first one out very soon, and our third session of TICONDEROGA is this coming Monday - and I have 2 scripts to write for it (biz as usual).

Still debating over a second season of JERRY AND THE PIRATES, and POWDER RIVER SEASON 5 starts in February.

more later.

CRT buzz

A friend of mine told me about a podcast that was debating the quality of a CRT show vs. another company. Interesting, even though the hosts of this podcast didn't quite have all the correct information. They mentioned that we always record with the actors in the same room, which will deliver better performances.

Not true.

Although I prefer to record that way, it is not always the case. In many of our shows (especially the Father Brown series), we have actors from all over the world record their lines and send them to us. In fact, there is one Father Brown episode where J.T. and I were the only people recording in studio (out of a cast of nine)

They went on to say that this other company does it for the love of radio drama, which would indicate we do it for money. While money is a good thing, that is not an entirely true observation;

I've been producing radio plays for 20 years (starting with a version of A Christmas Carol in 1988, on 4 track tape). I did close to 200 shows for nothing but love. When we decided to produce the shows for sale, in 1995 - it was still for the love of it.
If you don't love what you do in this business, you're in the wrong business; and the shows will sound that way.
They were discussing our new production of THE HALLOWEEN TREE, and it's funny they picked that as an example, because the narrator, and my role as well, Moundshroud, were recorded at differnt sessions over the course of a year and a half; so even with that show, we were not reading all the lines off each other.

Just wanted to clear that up.

Our holiday special, THE COLONIAL RADIO CHRISTMAS SPECIAL is doing well in downloads, and will be airing on a station in Colorada as well - I'll post the info for those of you in Colorado who may like to check it out.
THe special will also be airing on Sirius/XM, but I don't know any dates yet.

Busy week ahead, writing three episodes of TICONDEROGA for next Monday, Recording PERRY MASON tonight, and I'll be in NYC on Wed. and Thurs. Cheers for now.

IT'S HERE! THE CRT CHRISTMAS SPECIAL

Now on Lulu.Com - the first CRT Christmas Special! Jerry Robbins, with J.T. Turner, Diane Capen, Rob Cattell, Connor Doherty and Ricky MacDonald star in this throwback to the classic specials we remember from the past. Musical highlights include "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year," "The Christmas Song," and many more. There is also a wonderful segment about a Victorian Christmas (written by Debbie Roy), and a play by J.T. Turner called "The Little Shepherd." Bursting with holiday cheer and incredible arrangements by Jeffrey Gage, THE COLONIAL RADIO CHRISTMAS SPECIAL will certainly get you into the holiday spirit! Here is the link for the download
THE COLONIAL RADIO CHRISTMAS SPECIAL

FREE SHIPPING for POWDER RIVER items!

For today only, you can get your POWDER RIVER items with free shipping in the Colonial Radio Store at Cafe Press! You can access the store via a direct link on the CRT Homepage (www.colonialradio.com); and there you will find everything Powder River - coffee mugs, baseball caps, tee shirts, sweat shirts, jackets, magnets, mouse pads - all with the official POWDER RIVER logo on them!
For free shipping, use this code when placing your order
FEM HOL 14

Milestone

Wow - my blog hit a milestone this week and it passed me by! 10,000 hits! Not bad for a blog that isn't famous! Now its up to 10,225. Don't know how I missed the day it hit the magic number; especially since I was waiting for it from time to time (when I would look at the counter)
So - thanks for looking in!

JOIN ME ON FACEBOOK!`

Yes, I have been on Facebook for a while now, and if you are too, how about becoming a friend! Here is the link!

CRT also has a facebook page, and you can link to it from mine.
see you there!

A CHRISTMAS CAROL IS COMING

I'll be updating my blog with broadcast information for our production of Charles Dickens' A CHRISTMAS CAROL. Produced in 2004, it's one of my favorite CRT shows, and I'm very happy and honored that is gets such great airplay each holiday season. J.T. Turner stars as Scrooge!

Of course, Sirius-XM Radio will run it, but we won't know those dates until later.

As of now, this is what we have

WCQS 88.1 Public Radio, Asheville, NC
WED. DEC. 24th, 6:00pm

KVNF 90.9FM Western Colorado
Check Website for Schedule.

Alabama Public Radio. 91.5 FM Tuscaloosa
Check site Schedule for airdate

KUFM. Montana Public Radio
Check station site for schedule


MTPR - Montanta Public Radio
WED. DEC. 24 at 8:30pm

SIRIUSLY FOLKS

Just heard that CRT is on Sirius Radio Weekends!! We play Mon-Fri. on Ch. 117 at 4am, 12pm, 6pm (same as on XM) - BUT - All you Sirius listeners can catch us on weekends in these time slots

SATURDAYS 7:30am - 10am: Encore of our Mon-Thur. Show (right now its all Powder River)

SATURDAYS 6:30pm THE DIBBLE SHOW

SUNDAYS 8 - 8:30am JERRY AND THE PIRATES

SUNDAYS 3:30-4pm: THE DIBBLE SHOW (Encore Broadcast from Saturday)

Any Sirius listeners out there?? Lemme know!

Pluggin' Away

Finished episode 6 of TICONDEROGA last night - that's 6 scripts in about 4 weeks. I really like the way this one is turning out! I think it's going to be one of our most exciting shows(and we're gonna have real bagpipes, too!!). Starting Episode #7 this afternoon, then off to Westford for some music recording.

OUR FIRST OFFICIAL CHRISTMAS SPECIAL

We're cramming to get it finished for this Friday (for downloads on Lulu and Spoken Network)
I hope you get a chance to listen to our first Christmas Special! Full of music (Jeff's arrangements are incredible), some laughs, and some warm thoughts - this is the perfect show to listen to by the glow of a Christmas Tree, or calming your nerves in holiday traffic!
It will also air on our XM / Sirius show in December, but I don't know when yet.

TWO NEW EPISODES

Two new episodes of JERRY AND THE PIRATES are now available on Lulu.com and Spoken Network; The History Lesson, and The Stuck Up Bridge!

On LULU


On Spoken Network

Memories

Found this picture from when I played Henry Higgins in PYGMALION. This dates from 1983. Those were the good old days. I know they were good because I can't remember them.

BARRYMORE - FINAL DAY

This is the last day to download our production of BARRYMORE, By William Luce. At midnight, it goes away until April 1st. I wish it didn't take so long to get something released. We had to sit on THE HALLOWEEN TREE for eight months, and now it's 5 months until BARRYMORE comes out. Frustrating. Oh, if I owned the world - booowaaaa ha ha!

I am reading Christopher Plummers brand new autobiography, "In Spite of Myself," and it's incredible. Aside from being one of our greatest actors, he is also a master storyteller, and his command of the language is staggering. I am loving every page (and it may replace Errol Flynn's "My Wicked, Wicked Ways" as my favorite Hollywood autobiography). There is a great chapter on the original Broadway BARRYMORE, in which Mr. Plummer starred. All I can say is - Bill - I gotta go to the Old Sea Hag!!!

AND IF THAT WASN'T EXCITING ENOUGH - we have replaced ALL our old microphones, which gave me 18 years of great service. We are now recording on 4 Studio Professional B1 Condenser Microphones. Love it!!

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY - ARE YOU REALLY LISTENING??

Just read a review from Publishers Weekly on our production of THE HALLOWEEN TREE. Now, have any of you reading this blog heard the show yet? For those who have, can you make sense of this line posted in the review ...
While there are sound effects, they are mostly limited to ambient vocals in the background and wind, never utilizing the more calm-fracturing accoutrements like slamming doors or dishes breaking.

Now, I don't think this critic listened to the show - for if they did, they would realize that this program is stuffed full of sound effects - the building of the kite scene alone has hundreds of effects, many created just for this sequence, which took an entire week to edit ... the building of Notre Dame, the scenes in Mexico ... I mean, HUH?? Never utilizing calm fracturing accoutrements like SLAMMING DOORS (um, did you hear the scenes in Moundshrouds house?? You wanna talk slamming doors??) and breaking dishes ... well, sorry, the script didn't call for any domestic dishes being smashed, but I thought the Samhain scene with Roman Soldiers and thousands of tiny animal ghosts taking flight would be a good fill-in for a dish or two. I mean, did you listen to the show?? Really??

A NEW GROUP, AND A NEW FORUM

We've just created two new sites for CRT fans! First, for the Powder River posse, we have a brand new Yahoo Group site all about the show. You can join it here:
POWDER RIVER FAN GOUP

Next, we have the COLONIAL RADIO TALK forum. Here you can discuss our productions (Father Brown, Powder River, Jerry and the Pirates,) and even create your own topics.

Hope to see you there!

TICONDEROGA - 1st Day!

Today was our first recording session for our new, 24 episode, French and Indian War Epic, Ticonderoga! And what a great session it was! Our new co-star, Paolo Settipane (pictured, left) did an OUTSTANDING job! In just three episodes we saw his character develope and he took to the mics like an old pro. A very natural actor, and one who has "it." Also in the picture is first time CRT player Evan Tanner, who you will certainly be hearing a lot from in our shows. Recently moved up from the south (I think Arkansas??), he's a great actor who I saw on stage last spring in True West, directed by Nancy Curran Willis (who directed our three Bradbury productions). Also in tonights episodes were J.T. Turner, Joseph Zamparelli Jr., Tom Berry, and Jud Pierce.
So a big WELCOME to Paolo and Evan, and HERE'S TO our new production, Ticonderoga!

FINAL WEEK FOR BARRYMORE DOWNLOAD

Saturday is the last day you can check out a sneak peek at our production of BARRYMORE, by William Luce. It will be released this coming April by Blackstone Audio, but you can hear it HERE, FIRST on Lulu.Com! So far, the feedback has been incredible, and we're hoping for a hit this spring!

THIS n THAT

OK, lets see .... do you ever find that there is so much to be done, that you feel like nothing is being done? I am writing the scripts for our new series, Ticonderoga, which starts recording tomorrow night. I am so excited about this show, and I wish I could write it faster than I am. Over the summer I wrote 24 half hour scripts for Jerry And The Pirates, and I was just thinking today that I should add up all the scripts I've written over the past 18 years - then again, maybe I shouldn't. Anyway, when I am closing in on the end of Ticonderoga, I'll start writing Season 5 of Powder River, which will be 15 episodes.

On the 17th we hold auditions for Zorro And The Pirate Raiders. Chris Snyder will be directing and producing this production, and the music has been assigned to Jeffrey Gage.

Buck Alice and the Actor Robot, turned out to be a much more complex project than we thought, but we are making progress! I am planning on some re-takes in the newxt few weeks, and the show is now in line assembly (picking out the best takes to assemble in a rough edit, with just the dialog, no effects yet.) This is going to be a good one, folks!

Our first Perry Mason production, The Case of the Sulky Girl is getting the final touches applied, and we should have it out on Lulu soon, followed by a CD release.

Our production of the William Luce play Barrymore, has been out in limited release since Nov. 1st, and the feedback has been better than we had hoped for! Everyone seems to love the production, and that's very exciting! I was hoping the show would make the transition from stage to audio with no problems, and Mr. Luce seems to have pulled it off with his incredible script! It's on Lulu.Com for another week, the 15th, and then we pull it out of release, and Blackstone Audio will release it on CD and Download in April.

I want to do this play on stage again. Mr. Luce has even mentioned he would like to add some of the new material into the stage version; so we're looking for a theater to try it out in.

We have two editors who are working on assembling the remaining episodes of Jerry And The Pirates, MJ Cogburn and Adam Seth Sher. I think we have 9 to go, and then MJ will be back on Moonfleet, and Adam will work on Ticonderoga.

I am thinking on returning to the editing deck. The last show I edited was Dandelion Wine, and that was over two years ago!

On the personal side, which I rarely talk about, I'm sorry to say that I lost my favorite Aunt last month, Dorothy Brown. What a classy lady she was. My Moms older sister. I last saw her on my birthday, Aug. 17, and she fell later that night, and never really recovered from that. Do you know I still have birthday cards she sent me when I was 1,2 and 3 years old??? They were these big, huge, gaudy beautiful cards that, in todays world, would cost around ten bucks! I even have a Halloween card she sent me in 1963 - a huge card in the shape of a black cat, covered in velvet, with two green rubies for eyes (fake, of course). My mom saved them through the years, and yes, I still have them.
Then, her daughter, Gerry, ended up in the hospital last week with some kine of infection, and HER son, my cousin Steven had a stroke! Steve is a few years younger than I am, and this is quite a shock. I took his daughter, Jessica, to NYC last year to see Mary Poppins on Broadway (with my fav kid, Samantha). I am wishing him the best, and a full recovery, and hope to get up to Hancock NH to visit him.

Back to writing. Cheers.

TICONDEROGA

Next week we start recording our new series, TICONDEROGA! This past weekend I was able to go to the fort for a private tour with the forts director, Nick Westbrook, and its director of marketing, Marci Hall. They were VERY generous with their time, and I came away with tons of notes, as well as printed material that will be of great help as I continue on the scripts. So many thanks to Nick and Marci!! The photo in the poster was taken by Mary Rogers, who took many pictures that will also help me as visual guides with my writing.

BE THE FIRST TO HEAR CRT'S BARRYMORE

BARRYMORE - CRT's new production of the Broadway Hit by William Luce
will be available for two weeks only - Nov. 1-15, and then will be
pulled until the Blackstone Audio CD release in April, 2009. BE THE
FIRST to hear this magnificent new production of William Luce's
amazing play!It is ONLY available on Lulu.Com. Please note- This
production is Rated R. Here is the LINK FOR BARRYMORE -


The Colonial Radio Theatre
On The Air
Presents

BARRYMORE

By
WILLIAM LUCE


Starring
JERRY ROBBINS

And Featuring
JUDSON PIERCE

And The Colonial Radio Players

The Spring of 1942.
One month before John Barrymore's death.

John Barrymore was the black sheep of America's most illustrious
acting family. Celebrated for his charisma and matinee idol looks, he
was for awhile America's most popular actor. Famous for his stage
roles in Richard III and Hamlet, he also made more than fifty films.
But alcoholism soon dissipated his talents, and he became known more
for his Falstaffian behavior and outrageous high jinx than for his
art. In CRT's Barrymore, William Luce has adapted his acclaimed
Broadway hit especially for audio in this stunning production.

About the Author -
WILLIAM LUCE wrote his Broadway and London success The Belle of
Amherst for Julie Harris, who won her fifth Tony Award for Best
Actress for her portrayal of Emily Dickinson. The record album
received a Grammy Award. The PBS production won three Christopher
Awards. Thames Television's production of Belle starred Claire Bloom
and won an International Emmy Award. Luce's plays include Brontë,
Lucifer's Child, Lillian, Bravo Caruso!, and The Last Flapper. Mr.
Luce is twice a Writers' Guild Award nominee for his CBS movies The
Last Days of Patton starring George C. Scott and Eva Marie Saint, and
The Woman He Loved, starring Jane Seymour, Anthony Andrews, Olivia de
Havilland and Julie Harris.

CRT presents BARRYMORE.
By William Luce.
Starring Jerry Robbins as John Barrymore. Judson Pierce as Frank.
With Matthew Scott Robertson. Marcia Friedman.
J.T. Turner. Amy Sheridan. Joseph Zamparelli Jr. Diane Capen.
Executive Producers Mark Vander Berg. Jerry Robbins. Produced by
Chris Snyder.
Music by Jeffrey Gage. Directed by Joseph Zamparelli Jr.

Grateful acknowledgement is made to Will Fowler for his generous co-
operation in supplying basic material for this play from his books,
articles and personal remembrances of John Barrymore.

Barrymore contains adult language and content. Not appropriate for
younger listeners.

NOW HOW COOL IS THIS

This is one scary looking Jack-O-Lantern! Janet Ross, from PA, made this Jack-O-Lantern with yours truly carved into it! I mean, AWESOME! I am really touched that someone would go through all this trouble! Thanks a ton, Janet. I wonder if, in a week, when it starts to sag and cave if that will be any indication as to what I may look like in thirty years!? :) Thanks again! It's great!

BARRYMORE - TWO WEEKS ONLY

For TWO WEEKS ONLY, NOV. 1-15, be the FIRST to hear CRT's newest
production, BARRYMORE, by William Luce. This is the Broadway Hit that
starred Christopher Plummer, and it has been adapted for audio for CRT
by the playwright himself, William Luce.
The show will be available for two weeks only, as a download, on Lulu, and then it
will be pulled until the CD release April 1, 2009.

Recording Again!

We haven't recorded anything since Sept.8th, as we were closed for renovations; and yesterday we started work on the Colonial Radio Christmas Special! We actually recorded in Westford, MA (music only), in a fantastic 10 hour session! We are back there today at 1pm, so Connor Doherty can record his parts, and then tomorrow night we're back at CRT-1 to record the dialog, and then back to Westford for solo numbers later in the week. Look for this one the day after Thanksgiving on Lulu.Com, and on XM in December. Last night I got home close to midnight, then watched a movie, then at 3:30am had a call with Chris Snyder as he finished the final assembly on two more Jerry and the Pirates episodes, and discussed the schedule for the work week. We've lost Byron Lee as a producer, so we are juggling things around to keep all our projects on schedule. So far, so good! Off to the races!

CAST IS SET FOR TICONDEROGA

CRT is ready to roll November 10th on our new action adventure series,
TICONDEROGA. Set during the French and Indian War, the series will have
rousing action, tremendous battles, and hair raising adventure and
suspense. Jerry Robbins plays Captain William Taylor, Chief of Scouts.
J.T. Turner will co-star as Degadawidah, the Indian Scout, Joseph
Zamparelli Jr. co-stars as Captain Carlton Campbell of the 42nd
Regiment (The famed Black Watch), and new-comer Paolo Settipane rounds
out the lead cast as Adam Cobbs, an indentured servant, set free by
Captain Taylor, and ready to begin life anew in the Colonies.
Many CRT players will be guest starring in various episodes. We
hope to have TICONDEROGA on the air in the Spring.

In general

Well, this Saturday night we are premiering our production of BARRYMORE by William Luce with a party for the cast! No one except a few have heard it yet, so I am looking forward to seeing what the reaction is to this production. William Luce almost flew out for it, but in the end decided to wait a bit, until we do the show on stage again (hopefully in the summer/fall of next year). I'm very proud of this one, and I hope people like it when it is released on CD in April. We will be releasing it for a two week only run on Lulu.com in November, and then pull it until April.

Also, the CRT microphones fire up again for the first time since Sept.8th when we record the CRT Christmas Special on Oct. 25 and 27th! This is a good old fashioned one hour holiday special just like the ones with Bing, Andy Williams and Perry Como did on TV and Radio so many years ago. Lots of fun, drama and music - we plan on releasing this one the day after Thanksgiving! More on this later.

Halloween Listening!

We're pushing our brand new production of Ray Bradbury's THE HALLOWEEN TREE, but don't forget we've done some other shows that might hit the spot for some Halloween audio! All these shows are available online at audible, spoken network, amazon, etc.; just google them!

The Lady in Black(1997)
Minots Light(1997)
The Storm Breeder (1997)
The Devil's Bargain (1998)
Dibble's Halloween Spooktacular (2003)
Yankee Clipper and the Adventure of the Golden Sphinx (2004)
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (2005)
Powder River - Season 3. Episode 13: Ellsworth (2006)
Dibble's Halloween Show (2006)
Something Wicked This Way Comes (2007)

Portsmouth

Fun time up in Portsmouth, NH tonight at 106.1FM, with John Lovering and Chuck Curtis, on the "Audio Drama" show. John runs Powder River every Tuesday, and I was there tonight for their pledge drive.

On The Air Tuesday

I'm going to be the "in studio" guest for John Loverings show AUDIO
THEATRE on Tues. Oct. 7th at 6:05pm EST.
John runs POWDER RIVER each and every Tuesday in this time slot, and
I'll be there for their station pledge drive as they try to raise
$250.00 for the two hours he is on the air. He will be running "The
Gold Wagon." I'll be giving away some of our CD's as a premium for those who call in with a donation for the station. Anyway, HERE IS THE LINK where you can listen in on your computer. Once on the site, scroll down and the audio link is just about the Powder River blurb.

Tues. Oct. 7 at 6:05pm EST

Has it really been a year

I lost my Dad one year ago today. This picture was one I took for him the day he bought his new camera; My Mom passed away in 2001. It's one of my favorite pictures of them. Their house was paid off, he had just retired, and everything was good. Very, very good. These were two wonderful people.

TWO NEW FATHER BROWN EPISODES RELEASED

We have two brand new episodes of The Father Brown Mysteries available! The first, is Episode 9, The Oracle of the Dog, and the second is Episode 10, The Miracle of Moon Crescent.
These shows are being released on a new download site, Lulu.Com. After a week or two, we'll release them to our other sites, such as Spoken Network. The sound quality on Lulu is great - just like the original masters! Actually, episode 9 has been out for a few weeks and will debut on Spoken Net either later today or tomorrow.
For now,
check out

EPISODE 9 THE ORACLE OF THE DOG.Father Brown is staying as the guest of a retired colonel when his host is found dead, stabbed with a narrow blade, but no murder weapon. The police inspector gathers all the suspects together, but Father Brown has the answer.


Episode 10 THE MIRACLE OF MOON CRESCENT.A man is found hanged from a courtyard tree, despite no one ever seeing him leave his high-rise office.

CRT GIFT STORE ON CAFE PRESS

Yes, we have finally got our act together and opened a store at Cafe Press! We will be adding more as we go, but for right now, you can order some really cool Christmas gifts for the Powder River fan in your life (or just an every day gift to yourself!); caps, mugs, tee shirts, sweatshirts, bumper stickers, notebooks, Christmas Tree ornaments - tons of stuff! Millie's General Store was never stocked better! All the items are high quality. Here IS THE LINK

STILL RENOVATING

Very busy few weeks here as I am renovating the studio space, another room as well, and all the trappings that go with it. Last weekend was spent painting, painting, and more painting. Finally finished painting last night. We are set to record our next show in October, our one hour Christmas Special for XM (and we will have it on download as well), and our new series TICONDEROGA (yikes, I gotta get going on the scripts). So, that's the update, short and unexciting as it is.

JOIN THE CLUB!

For those of you who check this blog on a regular basis (I know you're out there!), why not consider joining the CRT Fan Club site in Yahoo Groups? It's a little over 4 years old now, and there are often lively discussions from the members, sound files (including some bloopers) and some other fun stuff, including advance info on upcoming releases and production news. You can join it HERE.

POWDER RIVER NOW STREAMING

No, the Powder River has not been reduced to a stream, but it has on the Jim French website! The first Sunday of each month, Jim runs an episode from our series on his show IMAGINATION THEATER. You can hear this months episode for FREE - for the next two weeks only. The episode deals with cattle rustlers, and it's called MORGANS TOWN, Part 2. You can check it out HERE, thru Sept. 28th. And be sure you vote in their poll, after you hear the show!

HALLOWEEN COMES EARLY

CRT's production of Ray Bradbury's THE HALLOWEEN TREE is currently ON
SALE at Amazon, for only $10.17!! This program will NOT be broadcast on
our XM show due to contractual arrangements, so I hope you order it and
give it a listen - we here at CRT think it's our best work to date (so
do the folks at Blackstone), and it is also the first production to
feature our brand new music software - the best on the market!! Be sure
to review it if you hear it!! The photo on the amazon site (as well
as the older reviews) is from the book. For some reason Amazon thinks
our shows are books. Oh well!

For double your Halloween fun, check out our Award Winning production of Rays Bradbury's SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES.

JERRY AND THE PIRATES wraps tonight!

We had our first recording session on May 29th, and tonight, Sept.8th, we have our last session - completing 24 episodes! They start airing on XM Radio, Sonic Theatre, Fri. Sept. 19th, in our usual daily time slots - so, Mon-Thurs. will be various CRT programming, but every Friday, it's JERRY AND THR PIRATES.

I play Jerry Davenport, a Hollywood screenwriter who has left CA to live in the quiet coastal town of Marblehead, MA. Peace is soon shattered with the arrival of his three nephews - Paul (Rob Cattell), Richie (Connor Doherty), and Preston (Ricky MacDonald). Rounding out the cast are Diane Capen as Jerry's girlfriend, Tracy Kirkbride, Lincoln Clark as his agent, Mr. Cranker, Marcia Friedman as the housekeeper, Mrs. Thorn, and J.T. Turner as the nosey next door neighbor, Mayor Quigley.

The show is our homage to the TV sit-coms of the 60's and 70's, complete with laugh tracks and goofy music (supplied by CRT Music Master Jeff Gage).

Here is a list of the episodes, and their scheduled air premiere airdates;

JERRY and the PIRATES

Season 1. XM Radio, Ch. 163. 24 Episodes. Fridays, 4Am, 12pm, 6pm EST.

Fri. Sept. 19: Episode 01 SHIVER THE TIMBERS.
Jerry’s three nephews arrive unexpectedly.

Fri. Sept. 26: Episode 02 EVERYTHING’S COMING UP PETUNIAS
The kids write a speech for Mayor Quigley.

Fri. Oct. 3: Episode 03 THE HOUSEKEEPER COMETH
It’s Mrs. Thorns first day on the job, and she causes some ripples with her schedule.

Fri. Oct. 10: Episode 04: THE HORN BLOWS AT MIDNIGHT.
Richie takes trombone lessons.

Fri. Oct. 17: Episode 05: BUILDING RAMPS
Richie builds several ramps in the back yard for his Quad.

Fri. Oct. 24: Episode 06: GUNFIGHT AT THE OKEY DOKEY CORRAL
Jerry continues to work on his western script.

Fri. Oct. 31: Episode 07: THE HALLOWEEN HORROR
While out trick-or-treating, the boys stumble upon Dracula’s castle.

Fri. Nov. 7: Episode 08: THE HISTORY LESSON
Paul is in a panic with his upcoming history test at school.

Fri. Nov. 14: Episode 09: THE STUCK UP BRIDGE
The Marblehead Bridge is stuck, and Preston is unable to get home.

Fri. Nov. 21: Episode 10: WOODEN SHIPS AND IRON HISTORY TEACHERS.
Paul is having trouble with his new history teacher – Mrs. Banecker … nicknamed Battle-ax Banecker.

Fri. Nov. 28: Episode 11: PASS THE STUFFING
Preston gets a role in the Thanksgiving show at school – a role he would rather not play.

Fri. Dec. 5: Episode 12: WHEN LOVELY AGATHA CAME TO TOWN
Mayor Quigley’s niece arrives for a visit, and has eyes for Paul.

Fri. Dec. 12: Episode 13: CRANKERS BIG DATE.
Jerry and Tracy plan a romantic evening at the exclusive Novak’s Restaurant, while Cranker is meeting a financier at the same place, same time. The boys hatch an elaborate plan to keep the two parties from seeing each other.

Fri. Dec. 19: Episode 14: PINOCCHIO PRESTON
The story of Pinocchio is retold – Pirates style.

Fri. Dec. 26: Episode 15: CHRISTMAS SHOW
Jerry goes on a last minute shopping spree with the Mayor, while the kids stay home and attempt to decorate the tree.

Fri. Jan. 2: Episode 16: EVERY ROSE HAS A THORN.
Mrs. Thorn is in a bad mood after loosing the Housekeeper Of The Year Award.

Fri. Jan. 9: Episode 17: THE DAVENPORT MELLER-DRAMMER
The boys stage an old fashioned Melodrama to raise money for their favorite charity – Paintball.

Fri. Jan. 16: Episode 18: PRESTON’S PET.
Preston finds a horse, and brings him home.

Fri. Jan. 23: Episode 19: POETRY BY RICHIE
Richie tries to impress a girl at school by writing a love poem. Jerry wants to help him, and writes one which mistakenly falls into the hands of Miss Banecker, who thinks Jerry wrote the poem for her.

Fri. Jan. 30: Episode 20: RICHIE THE SNOB.
Fame goes to Richie’s head after he wins the Soap Box Derby.

Fri. Feb. 6: Episode 21: THE BOY IN THE IRON VASE.
Richie gets his head stuck in an silver vase, once owned by Napoleon, and valued at $10,000.

Fri. Feb. 13: Episode 22: WHEN A WISH IS FROM A STAR.
Teen movie star, Brayden Flynn, arrives at the Davenport home to do some research for a new movie role – Jerry’s “The Continental Kid.”

Fri. Feb. 20: Episode 23: I CANNOT TELL A LIE …. HONEST.
While everyone gets ready for the movie to start shooting, Preston gets caught up in the action and dreams he is young George Washington.

Fri. Feb. 27: Episode 24: LIGHTS! CAMERA! ASPIRIN!
Hollywood arrives in Marblehead to film Jerry’s movie, “The Continental Kid.”

NEW FATHER BROWN release

Our 9th FATHER BROWN mystery is now available. THE ORACLE OF THE DOG is at Lulu.com
Lulu is our new download partner, and I encourage anyone who buys CRT downloads to give them a try. This episode will be released to our other download sites next week.

HALLOWEEN TREE NOW AVAILABLE

Seems that Amazon is shipping THE HALLOWEEN TREE! It was not scheduled for release until Oct. 1, but I noticed it said "in stock," so I ordered it, and it came in 2 days! I think this is CRT's finest hour to date (well, 2 hours), and my thanks again to Ray Bradbury for allowing me to write the script from his amazing book! Check it out - and be sure to leave a review! THE HALLOWEEN TREE

OUR AUGUST PODCAST - KIDNAPPED.

Our September podcast is our 2005 production of Robert Lewis Stevenson's KIDNAPPED. You can hear program by clicking HERE. Again, our thanks to THE SONIC SOCIETY for hosting our monthly podcast, which will only run thru January! KIDNAPPED has a great score by Jeff Gage - hope you check it out. Part two will be available Sept. 25th.

PROGRESS

BARRYMORE is recorded! We did the show in three sessions, and now it goes to Jeff Gage for music, then to Chris Snyder for editing, then off to the publisher the second week in September, for a Dec. 1 release. William Luce did an amazing job re-working the script for audio. I love it, love it, LOVE IT!!

Hmmm ... is THE HALLOWEEN TREE available already? I saw it on AMAZON.COM saying that it was in stock, but the release date still said OCT. 1; so I ordered it, and now they are saying it has been shipped! So, unless there is some other HALLOWEEN TREE for $14.95, I think this could be ours! Many have said that this is CRT's finest show to date. I can't wait to see what people think.

JERRY AND THE PIRATES is almost finished recording its first season! We have taped 17 episodes since May 29th, and we tape 3 more tonight, and then the final 4 on Sept. 8th. It premeirs on XM RADIO SONIC THEATRE Friday, Sept. 19th!

The month of September we will be closing down production as we renovate the CRT Studio!!!

In October, we will begin recording our newest series, TICONDEROGA, an action adventure tale set in 1758, during the French and Indian War!

Also in October, we will be recording the very first COLONIAL RADIO CHRISTMAS SPECIAL! This will be a one hour old fashioned variety Christmas Show, just like the ones Bing Crosby and Andy Williams would do! These were the kinds of shows I grew up watching every Christmas, and we thought it would fun to bring the format back. Lots of music and skits, look for it right after Thanksgiving! It will also broadcast as a one hour special on XM Radio, SONIC THEATRE

Recording Saturday

It's rare that we record on a Saturday, but today we are doing just that with BARRYMORE. We had two really good rehearsals (we taped Thursdays, and it's releasable, so today should be even better). After this, we have one more session on Tuesday(Flashback scenes). We called William Luce during the session on Thursday, and he got to speak with our director, Joe Zamparelli, and Jud Pierce, who plays the prompter, Frank. I've said it before, but I am just blown away with the very full and detailed re-write Mr. Luce has given his original script for our audio presentation. He is truly one of the great Broadway Playwrights.

THE HALLOWEEN TREE

In just a little over a month, we will release our third production with Ray Bradbury; THE HALLOWEEN TREE!
We've been sitting on the completed production for about 8 months, and I can't wait to see what people think of it.
This is the first show to feature our brand new music upgrade program. The music is magnificent. Not only does it have the most music in any CRT production (I think only 5 or 8 minutes of the 2 hour program does not have music underscoring it), but I also think it's one of our finest shows to date. You can hear the trailer on the CRT homepage. You can pre-order the show from Amazon HERE
Pre-sales are doing very well. The show should also be available in Barnes and Noble in October. The download is now available on Audible.com - but you know how I feel about the sound quality on Audible.

NEW DOWNLOAD STORE

We are starting to put all of our CRT titles up on LULU.COM This is a download site, like the others we are on; except on this one we have a bit more control as to how long it takes to get a show released (pretty much in an instant), and also we get a better percentage from sales - and since we're a little company, we need all the help we can get! So for those of you who may download CRT shows, this is the place to do it from!
I downloaded a test version for myself, and the sound quality is just as good as the original.
Audible.Com changes our files to about 16bits (and seem incapable of returning phone calls and emails), and the sound is horrible; it sounds like we recorded underwater; to give you an idea, the files we send them are 128bits. Big difference. So give Lulu a try! We only have a few shows listed now, but more will be added each day.

Col. Vincent J-R Kehoe

I was very saddened to hear of the passing of Vin Kehoe, on Aug. 17th. I'll miss him. He was great man. I'll always remember the great dinners he took me, and my fellow company commanders to, at the Colonial Inn, and the kind words he gave me when my mom was battling cancer. He was a class act - a real class act.

the following obituary was taken from the 10th Regiment Home Page.


Born in Brooklyn, New York on 12 September 1921 of Irish and Canadian French parentage, Vincent Kehoe was brought up and went to school in Lowell Massachusetts. He attended MIT 1940-41 and Boston University in 1942. Kehoe enlisted in the US Army on 5 June 1942 and served as a ski instructor in the 10th Mountain Division as well as the 70th Division in France and Germany, being awarded the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart.

After discharge on 8 October 1945 he attended the American Theatre Wing Professional Training Program for veterans and graduated from Columbia University with a BFA in Motion Picture and Television Production.

As a professional make-up artist he had been in charge of make-up for over 3000 major TV, film and stage productions, and had been in charge of the make-up department of CBS-TV in New York as well as for the NBC Hallmark Hall of Fame series. He was president and Director of Research for the Research Council of Make-up Artists, Inc., a firm that supplied specialized professional cosmetics to studios and make-up personnel all over the world. He authored a number of books on make-up, among which are The Technique of Film and Television Make-up For Color, the standard professional book and unique in its field; as well as The make-up Artist in the Beauty Salon, for use in beauty studios. The have been published in different languages in a number of countries and have received critical acclaim in their field.

In 1957, Kehoe left for Spain to produce and film a color documentary film on the art of tauromaquia, and at the same time, wrote and photographed two award winning books on los toros and Spain. In 1960 the Art Directors Club of New York selected the books for showing and award at their Annual show and in 1961, Aficionado!, one of the titles, was given the distinction of "One of the best photographed books of the year" by Photography Annual. The film was shown in a lecture series performed by Kehoe, to colleges and social clubs all over the United States.

As a professional photographer his work has been published in Time, Life, Sports Illustrated, Argosy, Popular Photography and many other leading publications. He had also photographed and produced a number of film shorts on various subjects and was the Chief Press Officer at the Spanish Pavilion of the New York World's Fair, a pavilion that won every conceivable award and honor.

In 1970, the Tenth Foot Royal Lincolnshire Regimental Association, through Major General Sir Christopher Welby-Everard, KBE, CB, DL, granted Kehoe Honorary Colonelcy in the Regiment for the purpose of raising an American Contingent of the Regiment for the American Bicentennial Celebration - the 10th Regiment of Foot. During the Bicentennial Col Kehoe led the regiment to England and Canada visiting many historical and military locals. Under his command the Regiment was a Guard of Honour for Queen Elizabeth in Boston Massachusetts and was reviewed by HRH The Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester in Lincoln England. The regiment participated in numerous historical re-enactment of the battles of 1775-1778. Although Col Kehoe stepped down as commander of the 10th Foot in September 1978 the 10th Foot continues to be a major representation of an 18th century British regiment here in North American.

Col Kehoe was a prodigious author of historical books on the American War for Independence among which are; We Were There!— April 19 1775, which is the first full collection of all the diaries, depositions and accounts of both the British and American participants and witnesses to that significant day in American history. He also wrote A Military Guide for re-enactors to re-create the uniforms and equipment of the British Army of 1775 which was originally published in single volume in 1974, and was updated and republished in four volumes in 1992. He recently completed the History of the Tenth Foot 1767-1778 which covers the service of this famous regiment during the time it served in America.

Col Kehoe passed away on the morning of Sunday 17 August, in Somis California.

The summer rolls on

We now have 14 episodes of JERRY AND THE PIRATES recorded, and 7 edited, three scripts ready for recording on Aug. 18th, and 3 more scripts in the works for Aug.27!
After that, we have another session on Sept. 8 or 9th (I dont remember which at the moment) and then we're done! 24 episodes in 4 months.

We are planning a nice big old fashioned One Hour Christmas Special for XM Radio, which we will record in late September/early October. This will be in the style of the good old Bing Crosby, Andy Williams specials from long ago. It bugs me that you can't turn on the TV and see holiday shows anymore - at least, the variety kind that I gew up with. SO - we're gonna try it on radio! Lots of music, skits, comedy and drama! Debbie Roy and JT Turner are writing segments for it, as am I.

BUCK ALICE is being sorted - meaning we are logging in the scenes we did, and logging in the Foleys and re-takes that need to be done. Progress!

BARRYMORE records later this week as well. William Luce has done an INCREDIBLE audio adaptation of his play, and it's a stunner! I can't WAIT to do this.

THE HALLOWEEN TREE inches closer every day to its Oct. 1st release! We have great hopes for this production, which many are saying is our best work to date. I'll let others judge that.

Wrote 3 episodes of JERRY AND THE PIRATES on Thur. Fri. and Sat, of this weekend, so taking a little break before I start up again tonight, around 11pm.

Off to the races!
cheers

MOUNTAIN OF GOLD BROADCAST

Just to let you know that our 2007 production of POWDER RIVER AND THE MOUNTAIN OF GOLD will be broadcast on TUE. AUG. 19 at 6:05 PM, EST, on 106.1 FM out of Portsmouth, NH. on John Lovering's AUDIO THEATER show. You can hear the broadcast on the internet by clicking HERE

This was an exciting show for us, as it stars Boston TV legends REX TRAILER and SGT. BILLY O'BRIEN from BOOMTOWN, which was on WBZ TV for 25 years. Co-starring is J.T. Turner as Angel Garrett.

Britt and Doc (Jerry Robbins, Lincoln Clark) have traveled to California to visit with Britt's dad, retired U.S. Marshal Dan MacMasters (Rex Trailer). When two wiley prospectors (Sgt. Billy O'Brien, Sam Donato) begin looking for gold in the mountains belonging to Dan, they bring nothing but trouble - including a gang of bandits who plan on stealing the gold. Boston TV icon REX TRAILER and his TV side-kick SGT. BILLY O'BRIEN of REX TRAILER'S BOOMTOWN fame, reunite after many years for this western adventure, and prove once again why they were watched by millions of kids every Saturday and Sunday on the classic WBZ TV BOSTON
show.

The POWDER RIVER series will begin its weekly broadcast on 106.1FM on Tuesday, Sept. 9th at 6:05 PM. The schedule is on the AUDIO THEATER site, under "Future Shows."

NEXT STOP - NEW YORK CITY, 1942. BARRYMORE

Now, how cool a year has this been so far? Our third Bradbury production about to be released - we just worked with a STAR TREK legend, and now, we are embarking on a project with another legend - this one from Broadway - the great William Luce (remember the Belle of Amherst, anyone?). Mr. Luce is working with CRT to bring his amazing work, BARRYMORE, to life as an audio drama. I have played JB in Mr. Luce's play onstage over the past six years, and I am BEYOND thrilled to be recording it. Mr. Luce is also writing some new scenes to make the transition to audio clearer, and he has been just fantastic to work with. I am hoping to perform the show onstage again next spring/summer. If you know of a good theater in your town - let me know, and we might pay you a visit!
CRT's BARRYMORE will record Aug. 20,21, and 23rd, and we are hoping for a Christmas release - but more on that later.

BUCK ALICE RECORDED!

On Aug. 2,3 and 4th, CRT recorded Walter Koenig's Sci-Fi epic, BUCK ALICE AND THE ACTOR-ROBOT in Ipswich, MA. Mr. Koenig flew into Boston's Logan Airport on Friday evening, and arrived in Ipswich (at the beautiful Ipswich Inn B&B) around midnight. The show was, without question, CRT's biggest undertaking to date. Sure, we have recorded large productions before, but they were all done over many sessions, spanning several weeks (CAPTAIN BLOOD was done in 8 sessions); and here, we did it all in three days.
Each session day ran for 10 hours - pretty much non-stop.
35 Actors on site.
20 hours of sound was recorded!
Chris Snyder, our chief editor since 2006 flew in from Arizona and handled the engineering. Mr. Koenig directed the CRT players, and our music director Jeffrey Gage was on site as well to get a feel for the show and the music that will be needed.
Many CRT vets were in the production, including Bill Hammond, Joe Zamparelli, J.T. Turner, Amy Strack, Diane Capen, Marcia Friedman, and many, many more. We also had some new performers joining us for the first time - including Jerry Rudasill (who came up from PA), Jonathan Zungre (from NYC) who is also the new Chekov in the popular fan film series, STAR TREK - PHASE 2, Cydney Newman, Jordan Rich of WBZ Radio, and ken Carberry from Boston's Chart Productions.
This is going to be a mammouth production to post - but we are up for it! I know we got a good one here, and I am very excited to get it out and into the publics hands! Walter Koenig, best known as Chekov in the original STAR TREK series, and seven of the motion pictures that followed, was amazing to work with, and I know his fans are going to love this production. I'll keep you posted on the editing progress!

CRT's THE HALLOWEEN TREE gets an early start

Although the CD release date isn't until October 1st, Blackstone Audio has released our production of Ray Bradbury's THE HALLOWEEN TREE to several download sites; AUDIBLE.COM, and POWELLS BOOKS are two of them. I think iTunes has it as well, and Audio Editions, but not sure. Check it out! It's a fun show!

COOL PROJECTS

We're finally set with the script and casting for BUCK ALICE AND THE ACTOR ROBOT, which will record next week! Walter Koenig will be flying in for the recording session, which he will also star in, and direct! Very exciting project, and I am hoping we do it justice.Scripts are going out later than I had hoped, but it's the largest script we've ever had, clocking in over 400 pages. I think we got a good one here, and I can't wait to record it and send it into editing! We're planning a December 1st release.

Also, I'm so excited to be working with the great Broadway playwright William Luce on a new project we'll be announcing very soon!!!

KING SOLOMON'S MINES comes to SPOKEN NETWORK

Our production of KING SOLOMON'S MINES which had a July 1st CD release, has been released on SPOKEN NETWORK for download. Spoken Net is my favorite download site, as it gives you options for download once you make a purchase - you can get the fast version, at a lower bit rate, that sounds like the quality on Audible.com (which is not too good), or the top quality which sounds like the original master recording. So for downloads, Spoken net is the best bet in my my book. Released without any fanfare on CD, KING SOLOMON'S MINES should show a healthy life in the download world.

POWDER RIVER on IMAGINATION THEATER

You can hear this months POWDER RIVER episode on IMAGINATION THEATRE! It will be streaming for the neext two weeks. For those of you who know the series, this month's presentation is made up from two episodes in season 3; JUST LIKE HOME (ep.03-03) and JUDGE PARKER (ep.03-04). These are the last two episodes I edited for the series - Chris Snyder took over the producing chores with THE AWFUL TOOTH (ep.03-05).
These two episodes have been edited together to fir the 1 hour time slot I.T. has on their broadcast stations. So, even it you heard them before, you might notice they move along a bit faster. You can hear the show by going to www.harrynile.com and then click on the IMAGINATION THEATRE link!

Back to work

Spent July 3,4, and part of the 5th in Bloomington, MN for the MARK TIME / OGLE AWARDS, where, as I had mentioned earlier, CRT won the Silver Ogle for SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES. It was nice meeting Jerry Stearns (Great Northern Radio) after all these years, and also nice meeting other audio producers - something I have never done before (Jeffrey Adams from Ice Box Radio Theatre, Christiana Ellis who won the Gold mark Time for her wonderful SPACE CASEY series, and David Hinde Chapman who won the Silver Mark Time for ANDROIDS AND YOU)! These awards are given out at the CONvergeance Convention, and it was the first Sci-Fi convention I have attended. My thanks to Jerry Stearns and the Mark Time Committee for showing me a great time, and also the magnificent suite at the Sheraton Bloomington (How cool is it to have Peter Mayhew, Chewbacca from STAR WARS just a few doors down!), and also for the great breakfast with all the other award winners the following morning. Many, many thanks for a wonderful few days in MN!


I also had stops in Baraboo WI (Circus World) , Madison WI, Jamestown NY, and Buffalo NY; so all in all, a nice trip. Mary Rogers took some great pictures on the trip.

Now, back to work on JERRY AND THE PIRATES, writing six new scripts for our recording sessions on July 21 and 28th. Got one finished today, so now we need five!

Also, we started pre-production work on BUCK ALICE AND THE ACTOR ROBOT, which is shaping up to be our biggest production to date - with 45 actors voicing close to 200 speaking roles in the 420 page script. We are still doing voice casting, and I am very happy that Walter Koenig is very much involved with the audio dramatization of his book. He has been involved with the voice casting, as well as some extensive work on the script! Very exciting stuff! He will be starring in the show as well.
Jordan Rich, from WBZ Radio's THE JORDAN RICH SHOW will also perform in the show, as well as host the "Special features" interviews with Mr. Koenig and some of the other key members of the production. Taping in August, the show is scheduled for a December 1st release.

All in all, a VERY busy month!

Madison Wi

Tonight I am at a hotel in Madison, WI (Comfort Inn), and about to start writing episode 10 of Jerry and the Pirates. Busy day having been in Buffalo NY last night, and Chicago this afternoon! tomorrow I'll be in Bloomington Mn for the Mark Time Awards, which is exciting, and I'm looking forward to it. Stops after the awards include Baraboo, WI, Jamestown, NY, and another spot I can't remember at the moment.

More recording and travel

Another great night last evening as we recorded episodes 7,8, and 9 of JERRY AND THE PIRATES. Our three lead actors - Rob Cattell, Connor Doherty, and Ricky MacDonald are quite amazing; they get better with every show (and they were great to begin with). They really have the timing and the knack for comedy.

This morning I'm off to Minneapolis for the MARK TIME AWARDS, and probably will not make any more blog entries until next week sometime.

Next recording session is July 16th for another FATHER BROWN mystery! This will be our 15th episode (one to go)! Then six more episodes of JERRY AND THE PIRATES taping July 21 and 28 - I'll be writing the scripts on the trip. Adios!

JERRY AND THE PIRATES Episode 1 Released

We decided to release the first episode of our new comedy series, JERRY AND THE PIRATES to Spoken Network! The series goes on the air Sept. 19th, and we will release a new episode for download each week, after it is broadcast. This is the pilot episode, and we thought we would send it out early and see what kind of feedback it gets. We have already recorded 6 episodes, and a total of 24 episodes are planned for season 1. Here is the LINK - check it out!

Progress

Completed two scripts this past week and weekend, for JERRY AND THE PIRATES, Episodes 7 and 8, which we record next Monday. Starting on Episode 9 Tuesday (wait - it IS Tuesday - so I'll be starting it in about 5 hours). PERRY MASON is sounding incredible! We should be able to ship out the first production in about two weeks.

At CRT we are gearing up for BUCK ALICE AND THE ACTOR ROBOT. Walter Koenig is working on some script revisions, and later this week we start recording vocal sound tests for various roles. I'm really looking forward to this one!

I'll be in Bloomington, MN. July 3-5, for the MARK TIME AWARDS. Any CRT fans in the area? Make sure you stop by and say hello! CONvergeance.

Thats all for now!

CRT WINS THE SILVER OGLE

VERY happy that the Colonial Radio Theatre has won the SILVER OGLE AWARD with our production of Ray Bradbury's SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES. I'll be in Bloomington, MN for the July 3rd ceremony. Chris Snyder produced, Jeff Gage did the music, and Nancy Curran Willis directed. Congrats to the cast and crew!

Cyd Charisse March 8, 1922 – June 17, 2008

The greats are leaving us. Faster than time.

the unsteady revolution

I'm watching the HBO series JOHN ADAMS on DVD. Why has Hollywood abandoned the tripod?? I swear you can get sea sick watching this show. Fantastic sets, CGI, acting - but couldn't they get a tripod??? I watched a couple of other made for tv pictures with the same style. Where's William Daniels when you need him?

On the other hand, just finished watching THE ADAMS CHRONICLES, which I remembered loving when I saw it for the first (and only time) in 1976. Incredible series with George Grizzard and William Daniels .... and yes, they had a tripod. So far, this version trumps JOHN ADAMS by a mile.

A Busy June

We have a busy recording schedule for the month of June!

MON. JUNE 2: Perry Mason re-takes
WED. JUNE 4: Father Brown Mysteries - The Quick One.
WED. JUNE 11: Shakespears Ghost (Afternoon Recording session)
WED. JUNE 11: Father Brown Mysteries - The Actor and the Alibi (Evening session)
TUE. JUNE 17: Jerry And The Pirates (Eps.4,5,6)
WED. JUNE 25: Father Brown Mysteries - The Worst Crime in the World
MON. JUNE 30: Jerry And The Pirates (Eps. 7,8,9)

WALTER KOENIG INTERVIEW

I spoke with Walter this evening to discuss the upcoming production of BUCK ALICE AND THE ACTOR ROBOT, which CRT will record this August. He mentioned to me that he recently gave an interview on Roddenberry.com, and that he had mentioned the radio show! Pretty cool! He's a fantastic guy, it's a fun and exciting script, and I know it's going to be great bringing it to life this summer.
You can hear the interview HERE

POWDER RIVER IN SAN DIEGO

Pretty cool - tonight I listened to a broadcast of POWDER RIVER, originating out of San Diego, KFMB, 760AM It airs the first Sunday of every month on Jim French's IMAGINATION THEATER program. You can hear it at 10pm PST, 1am EST.
I don't usually listen to broadcasts of our shows, but it was cool hearing one coming out of California. The power of radio! Fun!

KING SOLOMON'S MINES - JULY 1st

You can now pre-order our newest release, KING SOLOMON'S MINES, from Amazon. Here is a LINK

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT

I am very happy to announce that The Colonial Radio Theatre will be doing THE PERRY MASON RADIO DRAMAS.We're still working out some final details, but the contract is done, and all looks good! This will be the first time the original books by Erle Stanley Gardner have been fully dramatized for audio theater, and let me tell you, they are exciting! We are starting with book 1, THE CASE OF THE VELVET CLAWS.

THE CASE OF THE VELVET CLAWS was the first Perry Mason mystery written by Erle Stanley Gardner and published in March 1933. For the first time, we meet Perry, his secretary Della Street, and his favorite detective Paul Drake. District Attorney Hamilton Burger and Lieutenant Tragg don't appear in this story. And most telling, there is no courtroom scene in the entire novel. CRT is doing the show as written, set in 1933!

The plot has to do with a mystery woman who calls herself Eva Griffin. She comes to Perry Mason claiming she is being blackmailed. She wants him to help her. But before things are done, she is accused of murder. And in turn, she puts the blame on Perry Mason himself! But Perry avoids being double-crossed, and valiently fights to see that she is cleared of the charges.

Diane Capen (Sandy from Powder River) stars as Della Street, J.T. Turner (Father Brown) is Detective Paul Drake, and yours truly is Perry Mason. Deniz Cordell adapted this book for audio, and it will produced by Chris Snyder. Expect to see it on XM very soon. A CD Release Date has not been decided upon yet. Two other PERRY MASON dramas are already in production.

New FATHER BROWN Release

CRT will be releasing a new FATHER BROWN MYSTERY this week onto Spoken
Network. THE ORACLE OF THE DOG stars J.T. Turner, Shane Clarke, Brian
Rust, Amy Sheridan, Elie Hirschman, Hugh Metzler, and yours truly.
Produced in high style by M.J. Cogburn, the music is by Kevin MacLeod
and the script was written by M.J. Elliott.

MEMORIAL DAY

I have very clear memories of Memorial Day from when I was 8 or 9. In those days, it was celebrated as the holiday it was - on the actual day - not a "long weekend." Our holidays have, in many ways, lost their meanings. I can remember going shopping with my Mom at Wilmington Plaza, and the vets would be selling poppies. I remember how special it was to buy one, and how I knew even then, what it meant. I wonder how many kids today know? I wonder how many know the meaning of this day? Very few, I would imagine. How sad.

Thursday already?

Taped another feature production of a new series (we will announce it in a couple of days), and just two days ago we recorded our 11th FATHER BROWN mystery. people seem to like this series, and M.J. Elliott in England has delivered 16 magnificent scripts. 5 more to record, and we should be finished in July.

KING SOLOMON'S MINES is due for CD release on July 1st. Did I mention that already? The trouble with this blog thing, is that when you are writing a new entry, you can't see your old ones, and once I am in here writing, I don't want to close out and open the blog to see what I babbled about before! What a problem to have, eh?

Now I need to finished the third script of a new series we start next week - taping on Thursday.

Where have I been?

Right here, but it just dawned on me that I haven't updated this blog in three weeks or so! Things have been busy for me. I've written two scripts in that time (a western, and the first episode of a limited run sit-com for CRT), and recorded a couple of new programs. I am planning on moving soon, so I have been dismantling the house where I live now and looking at new places (so far in Derry NH and a townhouse in Lexington); so it's going to be a hectic summer. Monday night we are recording our 11th FATHER BROWN MYSTERY program, and another show on Wednesday.

Also, I have been getting a lot of email lately asking about the future of POWDER RIVER. We haven't recorded a new "half hour" episode in almost two years, and although we did GUNS OF POWDER RIVER and POWDER RIVER AND THE MOUNTAIN OF GOLD last summer, fans of the show want more episodes. It's great knowing that people care enough to write to me, and that they like the show. It's funny how people tell me how involved they get in the characters, and the town of Clearmont (which I only visited once in my life and was not even a town when the series takes place). When I allowed two episodes to be released on a podcast, someone made the comment that the characters had no depth to them, and the story was shallow, or something like that. Well, that might true if you just listen to two episodes out of 60, and yet others write to me and tell me how real the characters are.
Funny how that works.
Still, all I can do is try, and hope for the best.

I am writing a new sit com at the moment. Aside from THE DIBBLE SHOW, I don't get much of a chance to write comedy. This has been a very sad and difficult two years for me, and comedy writing is a good diversion. We have some very talented kids at CRT, and they don't get many chances to perform at the microphones (but wait till you hear them this fall in THE HALLOWEEN TREE - which is, I think, our best show to date), so I thought I would write this comedy series to give some of them a chance to take center stage. Plans are to start recording in a couple of weeks, and I am hoping to do 5 to 10 episodes. They should air on our XM Radio Show sometime in the fall.