The Academy of
Music turns back the clock to the 1940s to present Radio Star, a solo show by Tanya O’Debra, on Saturday, March 8th
at 8:00pm. Kicking off the evening’s entertainment will be opening acts by Mary
Witt and The O-Tones Duo and Boston’s Rogue Burlesque.
Billed as a
“filthy, filthy, dirty 1940s radio detective spoof,” Radio Star is a one-woman play written and performed by
Brooklyn-based, Boston-born, self-proclaimed funny woman Tanya O’Debra. Taking
its inspiration from pulp magazines and film noir, it offers a parodic take on
the detective radio serial genre, complete with live Foley sound effects, risible
advertising jingles, and a staggering amount of salacious wordplay.
O’Debra lends
her voice to ten different characters as we follow the story of private
detective Nick McKittrick, who is hired by a widowed inventor’s wife to find
her husband’s murderer. With McKittrick’s constant running interior monologue,
plot twists, and cool jazz soundtrack, the performance will feel all-too-familiar
to fans of detective fiction; but its contemporary updates with unrestrained
somatic puns and commentary on 1940s sexual conventions add a modern edge and
make for a captivating hour of comedy. Flavorpill NYC described the show as “An
absurd cross between John Waters and Raymond Chandler,” declaring, “Radio Star is a raunchy blast.”
Radio Star has played around the U.S. and
internationally. It has been a popular and critical favorite at numerous fringe
festivals, garnering awards including Best of the San Francisco Fringe Festival
(2011) and three New York Innovative Theatre Awards nominations (2010).
Warming up the
audience with 1940s-inspired opening acts will be Valley favorites Mary Witt
and The O-Tones Duo, with their trademark swing music, and Rogue Burlesque’s
Dewie Decimator, Delilah Spring, and Busty Keaton, with their brand of
“gorgeous, geeky burlesque” featuring sexy striptease, silly stage antics, and
dazzling tassel-twirling.
Admission is $15
general admission, plus box office fees. Radio
Star contains adult content. For tickets or further information, please
visit the Academy website at www.academyofmusictheatre.com or phone the Academy
Box Office at 413-584-9032 ext.105.
This
program is funded in part by the O’Connell Companies, Fink & Perras
Insurance Agency, WGBY 57, and the Massachusetts Cultural Council.
