Waimea Community Theatre’s latest production, “Vintage Hitchcock” opens Thursday in South Kohala. ADVERTISING Waimea Community Theatre’s latest production, “Vintage Hitchcock” opens Thursday in South Kohala. “Vintage Hitchcock,” by Ed Landry, is a popular production in the format of a radio
Waimea Community Theatre’s latest production, “Vintage Hitchcock” opens Thursday in South Kohala.
“Vintage Hitchcock,” by Ed Landry, is a popular production in the format of a radio broadcast from the 1940s of some of Alfred Hitchcock’s earlier and most successful screenplays adapted for radio presentation. A small group of talented actors and sound effects personnel will present roughly 40 characters in three short plays, complete with the sounds of “radio plays” made famous in the early half of the 20th century. The cast will use period materials and methods to produce some 200 special sound effects, rather than computer sound files commonly used in today’s stage productions.
The plays themselves are all in the genre of spooky murder mysteries. These originals marked early successes in Hitchcock’s career, before the debut of such works as “Psycho” and “The Birds.”
In “The Lodger,” a landlady suspects her mysterious new tenant may be a serial killer of young girls — just like her own daughter. In “Sabotage,” a young wife learns that her husband may be a foreign agent responsible for acts of murder and destruction, crimes that may impact her own family. And, finally, in “The 39 Steps,” a man falsely accused of murder races across Scotland handcuffed to the beautiful blonde who turned him in, in an effort to avert foreign agents from stealing critical air defense secrets of the British isles.
“Vintage Hitchcock” includes a number of talented local performers: Dan Bal, Andrew Boger, Michelle Boger, Victor Friend, Bob Haber, Jacob Harsh, Hanner Harsh, Justin Henshaw, Abi Hobbs, Dedrie Miller, Jada Rufo, Brian Thomas and John Wray. Each cast member will portray as few as three and up to more than 10 roles in the production by altering their voices and mannerisms to convey different personalities to the “radio” audience.
The play will open Thursday at 7:30 p.m. at Parker School Theatre. Shows continue at 7:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and at 3 p.m. on Sunday at the school. Performances at Honokaa People’s Theatre will be held at 7 p.m. Oct. 24 and 2 p.m. Oct. 25.
Ticket are $15 for adults; $13 for seniors and students; and $10 for children younger than age 10. Tickets can be purchased at the door or in advance from Waimea General Store and Without Boundaries in Waimea; Waikoloa Mailbox in Waikoloa; and Taro Patch Gifts in Honokaa. Individual tickets can be used at any performance at either venue.
For more information, visit www.waimeacommunitytheatre.org or call 885-5818.
