Live theater returns to Long Beach
THEATER REVIEW
by Debbi Fudge
LW contributor
The Long Beach Shakespeare Company reopened just in time to present its October Old Time Radio Show dramatizations. I attended performances of “The Invisible Man” and “The Hound of the Baskervilles.” (The final dramatization, of “The War of the Worlds,” occured after press time.) I try to attend every performance of the Long Beach Shakespeare Co., as well as those of the Leisure World Theater Club, because live theater is just great.
JoMcLachlanadapted,directed and acted in “The Invisible Man”; she also wrote the two commercials that were included. “The Hound of the Baskervilles” was adapted and directed by Joe Montanari, who also acted in the dramatization.
Seeing how the different radio sound effects are produced was interesting and fun to watch. Some of the effects are produced using very ingenious tools.
The theater company calls the Helen Borgers Theatre at 4250 Atlantic Ave. in Long Beach home. Only 11 miles from Leisure World, it’s a “shoe-box” theater, with only 42 seats, giving everyone practically a front-row seat. Because of the COVID pandemic, however, only 30 people are being seated at each performance.
At $14, the Old Time Radio Show tickets are so reasonable and easily purchased online. Recordings of past shows are available at www.lbshakespeare.org.
