Press Releases | Algonquin Arts Theatre
Algonquin Arts

Press Releases

For More Information
CONTACT:
Shayne Austin Miller, Director of Marketing and Communications
(732) 528-3735
[email protected]

The 1940's Radio Hour Returns to the Algonquin with a Tip-Top Cast

November 18, 2014

Turn Back the Clock to the 1940's with the Mutual Manhattan Variety Cavalcade Featuring a Live Band on Stage Playing Hit Standards of the Day

EVENT INFORMATION
What:

The 1940's Radio Hour

Dates & Times:
Saturday, November 29 � 8 p.m.
Sunday, November 30 � 3 p.m.
Thursday, December 4 � 8 p.m.
Friday, December 5 � 2 p.m.
Saturday, December 6 � 2 p.m.
Saturday, December 6 � 8 p.m.
Sunday, December 7 � 3 p.m.

Location:
Algonquin Arts Theatre
173 Main Street, Manasquan, N.J.

Tickets:
Starting at Adults: $29, Seniors: $26, Students: $20
Box Office Hours: M-F 12-6 p.m. and Saturday 12-4 p.m.
Call 732-528-9211 or visit algonquinarts.org
All tickets subject to $2 processing fee.

MANASQUAN, N.J. (November 18, 2014) � Turn back the clock to Christmas time in 1942 with a dynamic musical that captures the spirit of a bygone era when radio was king, the world was at war, and popular music was really good music.

One of the Algonquin's best-selling shows of all-time, "The 1940's Radio Hour," returns to the stage for seven performances from November 29 through December 7. The production's previous run in 2011 played to sold-out crowds, and several of the show's stars return.

"This a great way to start the holiday season � just sit back, relax, and have some fun," said The Coast Star in review of the original production. "The audience will fall in love with the characters � From the hysterical announcer and general manager to the bubble-headed waitress turned singer, each character does a spectacular job with their individual part to keep you smiling throughout."

Set, coincidentally, in the Algonquin Room of New York City's Hotel Astor, "The 1940's Radio Hour" recreates the evening radio broadcast of the Mutual Manhattan Variety Cavalcade on WOV featuring era music, sound effects and dancing.

The music takes center stage, with a live big band on stage playing hit songs written or made famous by The Andrews Sisters, Duke Ellington, Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey, George Gershwin, Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland and more. Famous standards in the show include "Love is Here to Stay," "Blue Moon" and "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy."

Tickets start at are $29 for adults, $26 for seniors and $20 for students and are available online at algonquinarts.org, by phone at 732-528-9211 or in person at the Algonquin Box Office at 173 Main Street in Manasquan from 12-6 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 12-4 p.m. on Saturdays. Premium seating in the first 14 rows is available for $7 more. Each ticket subject to a $2 processing fee.

Two of the Algonquin's favorite leading ladies return from the 2011 production. Since last appearing in "Radio Hour," Audra Mariel has continued to make a name as a jazz vocalist. She returns to the role of Ann Collier, the Cavalcade's featured vocalist, and perfectly performs "That Old Black Magic" and "I've Got It Bad." Ali Gleason, an Algonquin regular appears in her fifth Algonquin production again playing the former singing-waitress who loves the color red, Ginger.

Fresh off his appearance as Sitting Bull in "Annie Get Your Gun," Eric McDonough returns to the "Radio Hour" cast as the sometimes harried producer and host of the Cavalcade, Clifton A. Feddington. Ian Moore comes back to play the cab driver by day, triple threat by night Neal Tilden.

The cast includes Algonquin regulars including Matt Giunco as Wally Fergusson, a hopeful from Altoona, Pa., who is looking for his showbiz break, and Terrence Berry as Stanley, who controls the control room. Courtney Elliott Anzalone features as Connie Miller, the bobbysoxer from Utah, and Joe Ficarra plays Lou Cohn, the sound effects man who runs the show.

A pair of New York City-based actors join the cast and make their Algonquin debuts. A leading man at prominent regional theatres including Philadelphia's Walnut Street Theatre and Ogunquit Playhouse in Maine, Matthew Ragas plays Johnny "The Tone" Cantone. Cantone, a featured vocalist in the Cavalcade, is a rough and tough former boxer from Brooklyn with a velvety voice that has him on the Frank Sinatra bandwagon. Adam T. Biner, a veteran of New Jersey's biggest stages including NJPAC and Paper Mill Playhouse, features as B.J. Gibson, the squeaky-clean Yale undergraduate.

Other debutants include Andrew Kosinski as Biff Baker, the teenage trumpeter who is about to ship off to war; Perry Award-winner Tony Milillo, as Pop Bailey the full-time door man and part-time bookie; and DeGregorio who leads the on-stage band as Zoot Doubleman.

Veteran director David Leidholdt, most well-known at the Shore as the former co-artistic director at ReVision Theatre in Asbury Park, leads a team of musical director Nick DeGregorio, choreographer Casey Abel, lighting designer David Sexton, costume designer Jacquie Revier and stage manager Bryn E. Farace. Jan Topoleski and Gina Lupi co-produce.

The seven performances of The 1940's Radio Hour include an 8 p.m. curtain on Saturday, November 29, Thursday, December 4 and Saturday, December 6. Traditional 3 p.m. Sunday matinees will be on November 30 and December 7. Additional matinees will be at 2 p.m. on Friday, December 5 and Saturday, December 6.

Cast List: Name (Hometown); Algonquin Credits
Ann Collier: Audra Mariel (Colts Neck); The 1940s Radio Hour (Ann)
Ginger Brooks: Ali Gleason (Lanoka Harbor); The 1940s Radio Hour (Ginger), Joseph ... Dreamcoat (Narrator), Oliver! (Nancy), SPAMALOT (Lady of the Lake), Evita
Connie Miller: Courtney Elliott Anzalone (Monroe Township); Annie Get Your Gun
Stanley: Terrence Berry (Asbury Park); Wizard of Oz (Tin Man), Joseph ... Dreamcoat (Judah), Oliver!, The Full Monty, My Fair Lady, Annie Get Your Gun
Johnny Canton: Matthew Ragas (New York); Algonquin debut
B.J. Gibson: Adam T. Biner (Fanwood); Algonquin debut
Clifton A. Feddington: Eric McDonough (Pt. Pleasant); Annie Get Your Gun (Sitting Bull), The 1940's Radio Hour (Clifton), The Wizard of Oz (Wizard), Oliver! (Mr. Sowerberry)
Lou Cohn: Joseph Ficarra (Pt. Pleasant); A Year With Frog & Toad (Frog), Man of La Mancha
Wally Fergusson: Matt Giunco (Manasquan); 13: The Musical (Evan), Oliver! (Artful Dodger)
Biff Baker: Andrew Kosinski (Wall); Algonquin debut
Pops Bailey: Tony Milillo (Tinton Falls); Algonquin debut
Neal Tilden: Ian Moore (Brielle); SPAMALOT (Sir Bedevere), The 1940's Radio Hour (Neal), Oliver! (Bill Sikes)
Zoot Doubleman: Nick DeGregorio (Livingston); Algonquin debut

About Algonquin Arts Theatre
Algonquin Arts Theatre (AAT) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1992 with the mission to provide cultural enhancement and arts education to all audiences at the Jersey Shore through high-quality performances and programs in theatre, music, film and dance. The end goal is to foster appreciation of the arts and promote lifelong learning, particularly among underserved audiences including the economically disadvantaged, senior citizens and individuals with disabilities.

Algonquin Arts Theatre's programs are made possible in part by funds from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts / Department of State, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts; by funds from the Paul F. Zito, M.D. Educational Foundation, by Simon Kaufman, Esq. & Maria Zito-Kaufman, and by Manasquan Savings Bank.