The Hyde Park Community Players Present

An Evening of Horror and Suspense 2020

Originally Streamed On Our Youtube Channel at 7pm Central Time

Friday October 30 & Saturday October 31.

Both Shows are now archived at the links at which they were originally broadcast

First Evening of Horror and Suspense: The Turn of the Screw & The Machine Stops

Second Evening of Horror and Suspense: The Masque of the Red Death & The War of the Worlds

Producer Corinna Christman

Director Susan Harris

Sound Design & Sound Editing

Corinna Christman, Bill Hohnke, Logan Conley, Rachel Baker

YouTube Whisperer & Technology Wizard

Logan Conley

Your Host for the Evening

Shonte Wesson Segura

Publicity

Paul Baker

WHPCP Commercials

written by Corinna Christman, Susan Harris

Performed by

Sam Amenn, Barbara Barreno-Paschall, Ron Chafetz, Corinna Christman, Natasha Friedman, Meg Glassco, Tess Gundlah, Zoe Harris, Katie Hendricks, Grace Kim, Ruth Kadanoff, Nitsana Lazerus

Production Babies

Sybil and Evie Younkin-Wilson

ACT ONE—FRIDAY, OCTOBER 30 

The Turn of the Screw

by Henry James

adapted for Favorite Story

first aired September 17, 1949

CAST

Ronald Coleman……………..….Ron Chafetz

Douglas…………..………….…Daniel Willens

Friend 1………………………..…Bobbie Lyons

Friend 2………….……………..Ruth Kadanoff

Governess………..……………..Leslie Browne

Guardian………….………….Michael Herring

Mrs. Grose…………..……….Andrea Holliday

Flora……………..….….………….Julia Herring

Miles……………………….……………Zoe Harris

Epilogue to The Turn of the Screw

by Susan Harris

based on the novel by Henry James

Ronald Coleman………………….Ron Chafetz

Casey……….…….…………..Renata McAdams

Shaw……………….……………….Tess Gundlah

Henry James………………..………Paul Baker

Miles……………..……………………..Zoe Harris

Governess……….…..…………..Leslie Browne

Flora…………….………………….Julia Herring

Messages from our Sponsors

Public Service Announcement

Natasha Friedman, Zoe Harris, Nitsana Lazerus, Ruth Kadanoff

Deceased Learning Academy

Barbara Barreno-Paschall, Natasha Friedman, Grace Kim, Meara MacGregor

The Machine Stops

by E. M. Forster

adapted for radio by Susan Harris

CAST

Narrator………………………………………………..……………..Nathan Agin

Vashti……………………………………………………..…………Michele Heinz

Kuno…………………………..…………………………..…….Leslie Halverson

Voices…..Sam Amenn, Barbara Barreno-Paschall, Nitsana Lazerus

Hapara………………….…………………………..…………..Katie Hendricks

Tele-Doctor……………..……………………………..Chris Younkin-Wilson

Traveler…………………..…..………………………….…………Tess Gundlah

Attendant………………..…………………………….…….Meara MacGregor

Committee Members……..Barbara Barreno-Paschall, Ron Chafetz

Lecturer………………….…..……………………………….………Sam Amenn

A Message From Our Sponsors

Zoombies

Sam Amenn, Barbara Barreno-Paschall, Ron Chafetz, Tess Gundlah, Katie Hendricks, Nitsana Lazerus, Meara MacGregor

ACT TWO—SATURDAY, OCTOBER 31

The Masque of the Red Death

by Edgar Allan Poe

adapted for radio by Susan Harris

CAST

Narrator………………..Shonte Wesson Segura

Prince Prospero………………….Daniel Willens

Rodolfo………………..………..Renata McAdams

Musician 1…………..…………Connie Robinson

Musician 2………..….…………….Rob Carhuayo

Emilia…………….……………Marissa Tranquilli

Cesario………….…….……………..Rebecca Husk

Reveler 1…………..…..…………Katie Henrdicks

Reveler 2…………..…..…………..Ruth Kadanoff

A Message from our Sponsors

Zoom Etiquette

Corinna Christman, Natasha Friedman, Zoe Harris, Ruth Kadanoff, Nitsana Lazerus

The War of the Worlds

by H. G. Wells

adapted for Mercury Theatre of the Air by Howard Koch

first aired October 30, 1938

CAST

Narrator………………….………………..Sam Amenn

Announcer 1………………..………………Kyle Nolla

Announcer 3…..…………………….….Meg Glassco

Announcer 2………..…..…………….Ragan Mozée

Carl Phillips………..………..………….Mela Woods

Professor Pierson…..…..……………..Derek Miller

Wilmuth………..…..…..Margaret Elise Richards

Brigadier General Smith..….Natasha Friedman

Captain Lansing…………………………..Paul Baker

Officer…………………..…….Christopher Chwedyk

Gunner……………………………….Kenneth Amenn

Observer……………….……………………..Grace Kim

Operator 1/Harry McDonald….Elizabeth Horne

Operator 2………….…………………..Ruth Kadanoff

Operator 3/Policeman/Secretary of the Interior

….Marilyn Cavicchia

Operator 4…………………………Nitsana Lazerus

Operator 5…………………………Katie Hendricks

Stranger……………………………………..Sam Gray

A Message from our Sponsors

Martian In A Can

Meg Glassco

MEET THE CAST

Cast Photos & Bios Available Here

Director’s Note

For people who love theater, 2020 has been a rough year. By mid-March, every theater in this country was dark. We canceled the second weekend of She Kills Monsters, still thinking at the time that the lockdown would end in time for us to at least do one show in the summer. The weeks wore on. We canceled the spring show. We canceled summer Shakespeare. When it became clear that nobody really knew when live performances would be safe again, we began looking for ways to do what we do in some other way. The Staged Reading series came back to life as a series of Zoom readings. And now, we bring you the Halloween radio show…reconceived.

Of all the things we do, An Evening of Horror and Suspense is the one most readily adapted to the times we live in. For the vintage programs whose “old time radio tradition” inspired this show, the audience was always remote and invisible–dispersed across the country, but united in that they were tuning in to the same channel to hear the same program at the same time. But for An Evening of Horror and Suspense, the live audience has always been one of the most exciting and energizing aspects of the show. So, as with all the adjustments we’ve made since the pandemic again, reimagining An Evening of Horror and Suspense as something more like an actual radio show involves a certain amount of loss. For instance, watching the sound effects team make all the sound effects by manipulating ordinary objects is normally a big part of the entertainment value; but not this year. And we’ve discovered that no matter how much you mess with the audio settings, Zoom doesn’t really do well with screams.

On the other hand, for the first time ever, we’ve been able to cast people who don’t live in Chicago. Scheduling rehearsals—always a daunting task for this show—has been a lot easier this year. It’s been really wonderful to work with so many people who are so excited to be in a show again.

I want to thank the cast for all their amazing work, and to especially thank Corinna, Bill, and Logan for all the work they have put into editing and producing the broadcasts. There is so much time-consuming, painstaking, and invisible labor involved in producing this kind of show, and I am so grateful to all of them for doing it so well. I want to thank my wife, Liza, for everything but also for suggesting The Turn of the Screw when we discovered we needed to add more stories; I also want to thank Liza’s father Bill for suggesting The Machine Stops. I would also like to welcome to the Players our new production babies, Sybil and Evie Younkin-Wilson, and to thank their proud father Chris Younkin-Wilson for being in our show during this most exciting time. We dedicate this year’s Evening of Horror and Suspense to two Players who have retired but are still with us in spirit: Dave Lashway, who loved being in this show, and Chris Skyles, who for nine years was Your Host for the Evening. And I want to thank everyone who’s still out there in the dark listening. Thanks for coming, and enjoy the show.

The Hyde Park Community Players

 

President

Laura MacGregor

Vice President

Kim Shaw

Treasurer

Ron Chafetz

Secretary

Leslie Browne

Board of Directors

Paul Baker

Leslie Browne

Marilyn Cavicchia

Ron Chafetz

Corinna Christman

Leslie Halverson

Laura MacGregor

Meara MacGregor

Kim Shaw