Review: Lots of Laughs in Desert Ensemble Theatre's THE THESPIAN RADIO HOUR.

Desert Ensemble Theatre (DETC) is presenting Tony Padilla's new play, THE THESPIAN RADIO HOUR. Thanks to the laughs in the script, Mr. Padilla's direction, and fine acting by most of the company, this cross between a Mel Brooks movie and a British drawing room comedy is highly enjoyable.

The title refers to a fictitious show on a Chicago radio station in the 1940's. The show involves a murder mystery serial that ends each day with a cliffhanger. The future should be rosy with the addition of a former star (Bonnie Gilgallon). However, when Lucky Strike (an actual cigarette brand, for those too young to remember) drops its sponsorship, the producer (Linda Cooke) must convince the writer and performers (Nick Wass, Kelley Moody, and Larry Dyekman) to woo a new advertiser or face unemployment. The cast members resolve to do anything necessary to impress Waldo Burns (Hal O'Connell), owner of a bra and girdle company, into signing a sponsorship contract. "Anything" includes the women trying to seduce him, one of the men becoming his good pal, and all appealing to Waldo's apparently nonexistent sense of guilt. Along the way, the broadcast team must deal with a dead body and other laugh-generating crises.

Although there is one weak performance, the other cast members pull off their roles brilliantly. I want to give a special shout-out to Hal O'Connell. I've seen him in comic plays before, and worked with him in one. However, he is usually stuck in the unenviable position of being the foil for another actor. This time, Mr. Padilla lets Mr. O'Connell loose, and the result is divine. Additionally, Nick Wass, who recently graduated from high school and hopes to appear in New York, turns in a terrific performance worthy of a more experienced, older actor.

THE THESPIAN RADIO HOUR won't leave its audience ruminating about the mysteries of life, but it will result in laughs and a good time. Frankly, I prefer laughs.

Performances take place at the Pearl McManus Theatre, in the Palm Springs Woman's Club, 314 S. Cahuilla Road, (two blocks south of Palm Canyon Blvd.), in Palm Springs, California.

THE THESPIAN RADIO HOUR will run through February 18, 2018, on Fridays and Saturdays at 7 p.m., and on Sundays at 2 p.m. Tickets are $20 each ($21.69 including service fee), plus tax. Call 760-565-2476 for tickets or more information, or consult the web site, www.detctheatre.org.

The last play in DETC's 2017-18 season is:

THE TALE OF THE ALLERGIST'S WIFE (April 13-15 & 20-22, 2018)

Charles Busch's play about a middle-aged New York City doctor's wife, whose life consists of concerts, theater-going, and museums. Plunged into a mid-life crisis of Medea-like proportions, she's shaken out of her lethargy by the reappearance of a mysterious childhood friend.

PHOTO CREDIT: Jerome Elliott

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