Do you remember "The Shadow," "Flashgun Casey," "Inner Sanctum," or "Nero Wolf?" Before there was TV, there was radio and radio wasn't what we know it to be today. There were morning talk shows, but they weren't two goofballs with a sound board and concert tickets, they were usually a husband and wife or a family talking over breakfast. There were afternoon "Soaps" so named for the soap companies that supported them. In the evening were adventure, mystery, horror and other genres that fall under the umbrella of pulp fiction. Pulp fiction was often found in the form of short stories in magazines and in the backs of comic books. They usually involved a bit of mystery, murder, theft, adventure and a dame or two. The writing was simple, the dialog slang and the characters one dimensional. Why was it so great? I call it a guilty pleasure; it is instant adventure with no effort needed on your part, kind of like TV today.

"The Golden Age Theater in HollywoodCalifornia presents The L. Ron Hubbard Stories from the Golden Age." During Comic Con, I stumbled upon a booth selling a vast collection of pulp novels written by L. Ron Hubbard. I know, L. Ron Hubbard, that guy who founded the Church of Scientology, this as about his work before that. A small part of me thought the event might be some sort of evangelism. I was very wrong and wish I had gone sooner. L. Ron Hubbard wrote well over 150 pulp stories and had a 90% acceptance rate with publishers. It wasn't his name that sold these tales, he had over 15 pen names to increase his income. Today a group of talented voice actors come together ever Saturday night to perform these stories as a radio show.

February 6, 2010 was the presentation of The Slickers in an intimate theater on the first floor of the building. The stage was small and the seating was close as this is a radio show not a big theatrical production. The stage was set with a seating area in the corner for the Announcer/Narrator to sit and four tall chairs behind 4 podiums. There were blue velvety curtains draped along the sides and back of the stage. The small room was a mixture of art deco and modern. The narrator entered and poured himself a glass of something he pretended was scotch and began the show.

He introduced Judy Norton and Eric Zimmerman for a musical interlude. It was the kind of performance one imagines seeing in the clubs of the 40's. A piano and a singer, belting classics and songs that praise the classics. Judy Norton has some pipes! She seemed to hold back her performance a bit, possibly because the audience looked much like a church congregation. May only complaint was the side door being left open and audience members waltzing in and out during the performance. I had one critique of the performance, her microphone handling; it was a small, intimate room and she hit some high notes without pulling the microphone away. Ouch. Otherwise it inspired me put on some records when I got home.

The show began and the side door was finally shut. The actors were in period costumes from the slickly styled hair to the pencil mustaches. The narrator kept an unlit cigarette and his glass of "scotch" handy as he read his narration. The voice talent from these five actors was fantastic. Two of the actors had the challenging task of carrying out several characters and succeeded. They carried out the show as it was traditionally done, reading scripts and adding bits of physical characterizations throughout. One really must be familiar with this sort of entertainment going in, otherwise it may not be as enjoyable as it could be. I am quite familiar with the genre and I loved this performance. The sound effects, unfortunately, were prerecorded and played over a sound system. I would say that an excellent addition to the performance would be a live sound effects talent.

After the show we were invited upstairs to the library for refreshments and a chance to meet the performers. The library was impressive especially if you are into science fiction. The refreshments were common, chips and guacamole, fruit, non-alcoholic beverages and other such casual party snacks. We were asked to fill in a critique form and explain what we liked, didn't like and what we think would improve the show. Everyone was friendly and welcoming. All in all it was an excellent addition to my list of things to do in Hollywood. I will definitely go back ad I hope those of you who live in the LA area give this a chance, you may be surprised by how much fun it can be.

If you'd like more information about their calendar go to http://www.goldenagestories.com/html/theater.php

I highly recommend getting familiar with the genre too. Here are some FREE podcasts to check out

http://www.oldtimeradiofans.com/

or go to iTunes and search "Old Time Radio"

I listen to these "Old Time Radio...

Thrillers"

Mysteries"

Suspense"

Detectives"

and sometimes

Comedies"