Broadview Heights Spotlights Theater’s Coffeehouse 2006

Poster Design by George Lasecki

Unique to the Broadview Heights Spotlights Theater is their annual Coffeehouse. Two one-act plays with similar themes are performed each year. Between the plays, gourmet coffees and desserts are available in the lobby. The theme for 2006 was “Radio Mysteries of the 1940s,” featuring two one-act plays, originally written for the radio by Lucille Fletcher.
The Casts
Sorry, Wrong Number
Mrs. Stevenson	Ruth Wilson
1^st Man	George Lasecki
2^nd Man (George)	Mike Yonkura
Operator #1/Information	Cathy Calabrese
Chief Operator	Jacyln Phelps
Sergeant Duffy	John Grad
Operator #2, 4, & 5	Deb Sweat
Operator #3	Susan Kobylinski
Hospital Receptionist	Catherine Gallagher
Western Union	Pat Petipas
The Hitch-hiker
Ronald Adams	Mike Yonkura
Mrs. Adams	Deb Sweat
Filling Station Attendant	Catherine Gallagher
Road Stand Proprietor	Pat Petipas
Road Stand Proprietor’s Wife	Ruth Wilson
Girl Hitch-hiker	Susan Kobylinski
Mrs. Whitney	Cathy Calabrese
Production Crew Tim Anderson Director Set Design and Construction Lighting Design Original Underscore Compositions (HH) Amy McSweeny Stage Manager Video Board Operator (SWN) Light Board Operator (HH) Gary Morton Sound Board Operator Light Board Operator (HH) Karen Johnston & Annette Phelps Costumes Renee DeSantis, Pat Koss, Ron Koss, Annette Phelps, Mary Schwab, Audrey Sopko, & Pat Worton Scene Painting Lori Lanning Reservations Allison Naso Publicity Doris Coleman Programs Annette Phelps Producer
The Shows Both shows were originally written as radio dramas for the Orson Wells radio program in the 1940s by Lucille Fletcher. Agnes Moorehead starred in the radio version of Sorry, Wrong Number. Sorry, Wrong Number was also adapted for a movie version. The Hitch-hiker was the basis for an episode of The Twilight Zone.
The Concepts Sorry, Wrong Number – The set consisted of only gray-toned 1940s bedroom furniture. Mrs. Stevenson wore a white nightgown. The only colored props on the set were a vase of red roses, undoubtedly given to the invalid Mrs. Stevenson by her husband, and the flashlight carried by George in the final scene. Center stage was the only window in the bedroom, a metaphor for Mrs. Stevenson’s connection to the outside world. The play began with a projection of the Queensboro Bridge at dusk. Throughout the play, video images of Mrs. Stevenson’s telephone correspondence were projected onto the window screen. The actors were filmed live backstage in two quickly-changing sets and broadcast in black-and-white video to the audience via a computer and LCD projector. The actors backstage were amplified by a separate series of overhead microphones and their audio was processed with a low-frequency, telephone-like sound. During the curtain call, each actor’s name and role(s) appeared on the screen as they took their bow, live in front of the audience. The Hitch-hiker – The second one-act play of the evening, this play was performed by seven actors who were already seated onstage when the audience returned from the intermission. They remained on stage for the duration of the play, performing subtle activities that actors sometimes do backstage (i.e. knitting, crossword puzzles, drinking bottled water, reminding another actor his scene is coming up) The cast wore all black, contemporary costumes with their characters’ names appearing in a white, typewriter font on their shirts. Above each of their chairs was a hanging red light bulb that signaled there scene was coming up. Each character’s light remained on for the duration of his or her scene. The performance area was a four-by-eight platform down center, that was surrounded on three sides by prison-like bars, signifying both the inside of the car Ronald is traveling in and the personal prison that the main character creates for himself. I composed and recorded simplistic, original piano underscores for Ronald’s monologues. At the conclusion of the play, the main character, Ronald Adams, turns up-stage to return to his chair, revealing for the first time the back of his shirt, which reads “The Hitch-hiker” as the scene fades to black.
Original Music · Opening Monologue · Utterly Alone For more information about the music, or to purchase the entire sequence of eight underscores, contact me: tim@mr-anderson.com
Photos These photos were taken during the context of performance. The quality is not the greatest, but I think the general feeling of the shows and their concepts are established.

Sorry, Wrong Number: Ruth Wilson as Mrs. Stevenson

Sorry, Wrong Number: Ruth Wilson, John Grad as Sergeant Duffy

Sorry, Wrong Number: Ruth Wilson, George Lasecki as Man #1, Mike Yonkura as Man #2(George)

Sorry, Wrong Number: Ruth Wilson as Mrs. Stevenson, Jacyln Phelps as Chief Operator, Cathy Calabrese as Operator #1

Sorry, Wrong Number: Ruth Wilson as Mrs. Stevenson, John Grad as Sergeant Duffy

Sorry, Wrong Number: Ruth Wilson as Mrs. Stevenson, Susan Kobylinski as Operator #3

Sorry, Wrong Number: Ruth Wilson as Mrs. Stevenson, Susan Kobylinski as Operator #3

Sorry, Wrong Number: Ruth Wilson as Mrs. Stevenson, Pat Petipas as Western Union

Sorry, Wrong Number: Ruth Wilson as Mrs. Stevenson, Catherine Gallagher as Hospital Receptionist

Sorry, Wrong Number: Ruth Wilson as Mrs. Stevenson, Deb Sweat as Operator #5, Mike Yonkura as Man #2(George)

Sorry, Wrong Number: Ruth Wilson as Mrs. Stevenson, Mike Yonkura as Man #2(George)

The Hitch-hiker: Deb Sweat, Cathy Calabrese, Susan Kobylinski, Mike Yonkura, Ruth Wilson, Pat Petipas, Catherine Gallagher

Mike Yonkura as Ronald Adams

Deb Sweat as Mrs. Adams, Mike Yonkura as Ronald Adams

Mike Yonkura as Ronald Adams, Catherine Gallagher as Filling Station Attendant

Mike Yonkura as Ronald Adams, Pat Petipas as Road Station Proprietor, Ruth Wilson as Road Station Proprietor’s Wife

The Hitch-hiker: Susan Kobylinski as Female Hitch-hiker, Mike Yonkura as Ronald Adams

Mike Yonkura as Ronald Adams

The Hitch-hiker: Cathy Calabrese as Mrs. Whitney, Mike Yonkura as Ronald Adams

The Hitch-hiker: Mike Yonkura as Ronald Adams

© 2006 by Tim Anderson
All rights reserved.