“Welcome to Club Paris Bleu. Known for its good food, good drink, and the beautiful and talented Monique LuLique. The jazz may be hot but the bodies are cold… dead cold.”
On February 14, the Pickerington Community Theater (PCT) invites everyone to travel back to the golden age of radio with the PCT Radio Hour’s presentation of Inspector Quoissant and the Deadly Paris Blues.
Listeners can access the show’s video link for free via PCTshows.com, or visitors can join the event on the group’s Facebook page.
“Join American detective Inspector Quoissant and police sergeant Pepe Poupon as they are thrust into another mystery–the Deadly Paris Blues! Can Inspector Quoissant once again prevail? Will he catch a killer, and just maybe solve the crime of the missing Eiffel Jewels?”
Deadly Paris Blues is the first performance of the PCT Radio Hour with the next episode to debut sometime this Spring.
“It’s designed to be something someone can listen to, like the days before television,” said writer/director Coreen Janetzke. “We had toyed around with the idea of recording it to see the actors, more like a “readers’ theater” show. But the more we got into rehearsals, we liked the idea better of doing this as a vintage style radio show with sound effects.”
“I’m very excited about the show! It truly sounds like an “old fashioned” radio show. You will hear the actors bring the story to life through their vocal performance, which is enhanced with sound effects and an original song written by Erin Posey, the actress playing Monique LuLique,” Janetzke said.
When the COVID pandemic hit, the PCT was forced to cancel their live performances.
“Most people involved in theater have a love for people and a desire to be creative and express their artistic talents,” Janetzke said. “We have not been able to do that, and that has been somewhat discouraging.”
“We were brainstorming about what we could do during the pandemic to stay in the public eye and somehow be able to perform, which is what we love to do. We knew the safest way would be to do a short show that could be rehearsed and recorded online to keep everyone safe. This is actually our first radio show! Although we don’t like the pandemic, it has been fun to venture out and try something new for us,” Janetzke said.
All of the rehearsing and recording took place on Zoom with Todd Bernstein editing the sound effects and graphics.
Cast List:
Angelique O’Hare – Brandy Jo Burke
Monique Lulique – Erin Posey
Sgt. Pepe Poupon and Narrator – Todd Bernstein
Jaques Francois – Rusty Wummel
Inspector Quoissant – Karlos Smith
Pierre LeBonne and Johnny – Drew Washburn
