Group at Upper St. Clair library re-creates golden age of radio
For the better part of two decades, radio listeners couldn’t help but laugh when they heard: “I gotta get that closet cleaned out one of these days.”
The cacophony of junk tumbling from said closet was, of course, a wildly popular staple of the long-running comedy “Fibber McGee and Molly” on the NBC Red Network.
For the better part of her own two decades, Jeanne Miller of South Park Township has led a group of volunteers who re-create the sounds of the old-time airwaves. She now is bringing the Vintage Radio Players to Upper St. Clair Township Library.
“We put things together pretty much the way they did back in the ’40s,” she said. “We try to do it exactly as they did it back then, as best as we can.”
Presentations involve volunteers reading scripts – for example, emulating what comedians Jim and Marian Jordan used to do as the closet-challenged McGees, or George Burns and Gracie Allen for their program – while using items for sound effects that were common during radio’s golden age. The re-creations also include commercials for the likes of Amm-i-dent toothpaste, Post Sugar Rice Krinkles and other products of the era.
Walker Evans, programs and outreach services librarian at Upper St. Clair, met Miller last year, and she told him all about the Vintage Radio Players.
“I’m always on the lookout for ways to bring library services, programs and special events to different parts of the community. That’s particularly challenging with less-mobile populations, like older adults who live in senior citizen homes,” Evans said. “So it seemed like such a natural fit for a group that can use the library facilities to rehearse, a way for people to connect with popular culture from American history.”
The Vintage Radio Players’ history dates back to Miller’s participation in OASIS, a nationwide lifelong learning organization that started as the Older Adult Service and Information System.
“They were asking for ideas for programs,” Miller said. “I suggested a radio show, but I didn’t know that I was going to be in charge of it.”
The concept caught on quickly, though, and soon enough the group started hitting the road, so to speak.
“The first place we went to was Little Sisters of the Poor in Brighton Heights, and that turned out to be fun,” Miller recalled. “From there, I started handing out fliers. If you stood behind me in line, you were guaranteed to walk away with a flier and the invitation to please pass it on.”
The players went on to perform for “basically anyone who would pay us,” she said. “And then we would give the money to the First Presbyterian Church Downtown, because they gave us free rehearsal space.”
The original group had run its course by last year, but Miller and Evans are reviving it at the library, where rehearsals are held at 2 p.m. the first and third Tuesdays of each month. Volunteers are invited to participate.
“We want to develop a pretty robust schedule of performances,” Evans said. “We’ll offer performances here in the library, some geared for adults. Some might be appropriate to do for children upstairs. And we really want to focus, too, on getting out and connecting with that population of older adults.”
Younger adults might be interested, as well.
“Today, one form of media that’s really exposing in popularity is podcasting, which has a lot in common with radio shows,” Evans explained. “The current younger generation is really embracing that, and I think there’s a natural through line there.”
The Vintage Radio Players’ focus is on re-creating comedies, which goes right along with Miller’s intent for the group.
“The most important thing is that the audience has fun,” she said. “That’s the best part.”
For more information, contact Walker Evans at evansw@einetwork.net or 412-835-5540, extension 283.