Nutmeg Junction will perform our first full live production of three complete episodes of our old time radio style audio theater show with 8 unique scripts (7 never before heard on the program) involving some of the most beloved Junction characters on Saturday 4/27/2019 at 7:30pm at the Center on Main, 103 Main Street, Falls Village, CT.
It’s been an amazing journey just to get to this point.
Nutmeg Junction is recorded at WAPJ, Torrington Community radio station and it airs on 14 stations in 4 states and online. Starting the program out was an adventure. The first three episodes were recorded on one night at the end of January, 2018. The studio was abuzz with excitement and activity. An early concept for the show included not just an audio theater portion of the show but also a musical component and interview portion so Belle of the Fall and Elizabeth Victoria were in the studio to perform and guests State Rep Michelle Cook and Rich Cyr were there. By this time, Rich Cyr had already been invited to join our cast so he had the rare distinction of being a special guest and cast member. Quality photos by LSG Original Photography captured the moment. The evening captured some extraordinary performances and we learned from the experience as we moved forward.
With these episodes recorded and subsequently edited, we had the “proof of concept” to submit to radio stations including WAPJ. WAPJ and the Robin Hood Radio Network which included multiple stations, wanted the show and had a timeslot for it. On March 31st, 2018 11am the Nutmeg Junction show aired on the Robin Hood Radio network and on April 1, 2018, the program aired on WAPJ.
At the beginning days of the show one of the formative ideas was to eventually perform the show live at least once that year and then do “more” in 2019. We achieved the initial goal when we performed live on December 2nd 2018 as part of the SpeakEasy program, where we would be the featured “speakers” among many speakers that night for the Poetry/Spoken word event. We performed an Inspector Trompe-Loeil story, a Space Sentries story and an original script called “Thoughts Before Brunch”. It was a lot of fun to do and this spurred more interest to do a full live production of Nutmeg Junction.
It’s an interesting challenge to produce a live production; it’s certainly very different from the creation of an in-studio recording. Being a part of the SpeakEasy event was a wonderful experience because our role was to show up and perform and we had unique stories no one had yet heard. We did promote the show and there was an article in the paper and there were opportunities to talk about it on the air and the end result was that the evening was the largest turn out for the SpeakEasy event they had had for the year. Still on the whole, our focus was on the performance itself and we enjoyed the opportunity to present stories in front of an audience.
Many old time radio programs were performed in front of a studio audience and there’s something extraordinary about the immediate feedback on the material. And some modern examples of this consistent audio theater in front of a live audience includes the formerly titled “Prairie Home Companion” and the LA Based “Thrilling Adventure Hour”. But both of these shows were performed in large cities with other beneficial factors unique to their shows built in, specifically national recognition of the show and/or the stars who performed on the show. But for us in 2019, one night a year to be directly producing a show is perfect. Once again we’re doing 3 episodes, just like we did in January, but this time it’s for an audience, and it’s live!
We are performing at The Center on Main. It’s a wonderful theater in the heart of a picture-perfect community of Falls Village.
I enjoyed the opportunity to talk about our upcoming 4/27 live show in a number outlets including Denver Underground radio with fellow Nutmeg Junction-eer Kurt Boucher.
Here’s the audio!
we had a wonderful spot on KBJB radio
Here’s the audio!
I enjoyed a wonderful conversation with Marshall Miles on Robin hood radio
Here’s the link!
Robin Hood Radio interview with J. Timothy Quirk
I enjoyed a wonderful interview with Barrie Soucy (audio to be uploaded soon).
I also enjoyed talking with Jacque Williams on the feel good show (sadly it wasn’t recorded!)
And an interview with Shaw on his podcast Shaw and Tell!
As the day approaches, I’m looking forward to sharing these fun stories and the exceptional vocal talent of the voice actors on the show with the audience. The event will be a benefit for the Lee H. Kellogg School (all donations will be for the benefit of the school).
This is the only planned live event we will produce as a specific Nutmeg Junction show so it is a very special engagement. We encourage all to come and support the show, support the Lee H. Kellogg School and enjoy quality entertainment on 4/27/2019 at 7;30pm at the Center on Main in Falls Village, CT!
Nutmeg Junction 