The Long Beach Shakespeare Company (LBSC) is kicking off summer with two double-feature radio-plays this month. In one, detectives Dick Tracy and Ellery Queen solve two circus murder-mysteries that are fun for the whole family to try to figure out.
The company’s 1940s “old-time radio-play” format allows the mysteries to be condensed into two half-hour segments, brought to life by clear-voiced actors and evocative sound effects. Watch the six players—including director Matt Brown—broadcast their parts from the KBRD radio station inside the Helen Borgers Theatre in Bixby Knolls.
Detective Dick Tracy stories began as a comic-strip series before jumping to radio in 1934 and later to movies and animation. Here, Tracy (Joe Montanari) teams up with sidekicks Vitamin (Brown) and Tess Trueheart (Amy Paloma Welch) when a day at the circus turns deadly.
“Tracy was heavy on scientific crime detection, using the lab to sift through clues and ultra-modern inventive devices,” LBSC notes.
The device in this episode is Tess’s camera, which captures the murder as it’s happening—along with a very important clue. But can Tracy and his team see it?
Circus-elephant tamer Zelda (Jo McLachlan) has been trampled to death and only the clown (played by Nick Bosy)—who loves Zelda but hates that she doesn’t return the feeling—can instantly see from the photos that it was no accident.
Eventually, so can Fay Line (Sarah Hoeven), the big-cat tamer, who also has strong feelings about Zelda.
Will Tracy arrive in time before the clown and Faye take matters into their own hands, threatening Tess along the way?
After a pleasant commercial break enacted by the cast for a local pub, one of KBRD’s sponsors, we get the second feature—a circus-related Ellery Queen mystery.
The Adventures of Ellery Queen was a radio series that ran from 1939 to 1948, LBSC notes, featuring NYPD Inspector Queen and his writer son Ellery, who helps solve mysteries with his quirky thinking.
In this episode, the murder takes place on a train carrying the Queens (Montanari and Brown as father and son), along with a circus owner (Welch); Goliath, a circus giant (Bosy); Captain Pinky, a little person (Hoeven); and Madame Zara (McLachlan), a clairvoyant with a crystal ball.
A bit more intriguing than the Dick Tracy episode, this one involves three $10,000 bills, several mixed-up shoes, and a lot of greediness. Figuring out who dunnit is like solving a logic problem—and even then Ellery proves to be one step ahead of everyone’s thinking.
The different voices of the seasoned LBSC cast are a delight to hear. McLachlan has fun with exotic accents for Zelda and Zara, and Bosy’s clown and circus giant sound like their somewhat dim (or are they?) characters. Montanari’s rich voice works well as the two detectives, with Brown animating his characters in a lively way, while one hand directs the cast. Welch is best as New York cop Velie, and Hoeven manages to voice her characters while striking dramatic chords on an organ at pivotal plot points.
Streaming LBSC’s vintage sleuths on old-time radio is an entertainingly modern thing to do. The short format and professional deliveries make it fun and accessible to follow along and play detective. Passion and money are the two main motives for any murder, even in a circus. But it takes a cool head to deduce the truth—and help beat the July heat.
LBSC’s “Ellery Queen & Dick Tracy” tickets can be purchased at LBShakespeare.org for $25 per household for unlimited streaming through Aug. 1. Also available to stream through Aug. 1 is another LBSC double-feature, “The Thin Man & Pat Novak for Hire,” to be reviewed by the Signal Tribune next week.
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