Shock Radio

The Phantom knows you’re reading this. He knows that his insight and instruction inform and inlighten, and he knows that once you all become Phul-Phledged Phans, we will all be better off. He is not used, however, to his wisdom and truthiness having such immediate effect. Phaithful Phans will recall that not long ago, The Phantom despaired at the state of things at StageCenter. He challenged the venue to get it together, and he exhorted you Phans to support the theater. He threw down the gauntlet. And the StageCenturians picked it up, waved it around and said “We got yer quality theater right here, Phantom! Bring It!” And they were correct. They brung it good, real good, with their latest production, Talk Radio.

This gem of a dramedy was brought to life by a cast and crew that contained some of our local Titans of Community Theater. The Phantom wasn’t quite sure what to expect after he saw some of the advertising—sometimes hyphenation is not our friend: Stunning Anal….-ysis anyone?—but once the lights went down, he couldn’t help admire the better than average set coupled with the much better than average (and we are not talking just SC here, folks) acting.

He loved Sidney Greenberg, the money wizard with his sure-fire path to financial freedom and a seven-figure income. He did not miss that, in his spare time, Sidney went to the track in a car full of rust. Sidney’s rapid-fire patter was perfectly Suze Orman-esque and very timely, given our uncertain fiscal environment.

And then we met our protagonist, our anti-hero, Barry Champlain. This abrasive, obnoxious, drug-and-alcohol-fueled shock jock had us both hating and loving him in 90 short minutes. His patter—and some timely testimonies from other characters—delineated a complex, yet sadly empty, existence. There were tears at the end both onstage and in the audience. The Phantom himself was moved; he recognized, with heartbreaking familiarity, what Barry was feeling. Let’s not go there. Suffice it to say that it’s lonely at the top.

We were also introduced to the single-minded producer, Dan Woodruff, portrayed by yet another theater veteran who has come a long way in his acting. He gave us the best performance we have seen from him yet (and that includes “Four Dogs and a Bone”). Dan did not sink into the wiseguy routine that has plagued this actor in the past (and The Phantom was very grateful).

A fine performance was also offered up by Stu Noonan. Indeed, The Phantom became suspicious that most of these actors weren’t having to dig too deep to find their characters. (Were there more than the average number of ex- and current radio aficionados onstage?) [Are these people really as driven, twisted, impulsive and compulsive {but not repulsive} as they seemed?] <Probably.> /But that’s phine with The Phantom. Anything for art.\

Similarly, the actress who portrayed Linda, Barry’s full-time producer and part-time girlfriend, fit her part beautifully. (Because the program suggested that Linda was a whore, The Phantom wishes to explicitly state that he does not, by any stretch of the imagination, mean to imply that this actress is actually familiar with whoredom, whorishness or whoresombility.) {He is sure that she is a flower of a girl who is possessed of only pure thoughts and good deeds.} [Indeed, The Phantom has routinely dated much worse.] <Though not in this particular county.> Nice job of acting, dear.

But the show was Barry’s to command, and well, goodness. Just when you think that this actor is really, really good, he comes out even better. Shame on you if you missed it, folks. This was a professional quality performance. Gritty and growling. Full of anger and angst. A perfect blend of manic yelling, acerbic humor and sadness. Barry sailed in and out of emotional seas leaving us holding on to our seats for dear life. Clap, clap, Barry. Clap, clap.

And the set itself was a star. It allowed the actors to do precisely what they needed to do without ever getting in their way. So, kudos to the director of this phine piece of theater. The Phantom was delighted and humbled (and how often does that happen?) by its contribution to community theater, in the Valley and elsewhere.

Other than that—well, seriously—it was great.

The Phantom