Tony Palermo's Radio Activities

October 15-19, 2008 - Los Angeles - 5 PERFORMANCES/RECORDING/BROADCAST   

L.A. Theatre Works' production of Norman Corwin's "The Rivalry"    

Tony performed live sound effects for L.A. Theater Works' radio-on-stage production of Norman Corwin's The Rivalry at the Skirball Cultural Center. Five performances before a live audience were recorded for broadcast NOVEMBER 1st on National Public Radio and XM Satellite Radio, as well as a forthcoming audiobook--available at Amazon.com, Audible.com and libraries across America.

The show starred Emmy-winner Paul Giamatti, David Strathairn, Lily Rabe, and James Gleason. It was directed by  Eric Simonson--who won an Oscar in 2006 for his documentary, A Note of Triumph: The Golden Age of Norman Corwin.

Two Presidential candidates - one a forthright Illinois legislator, the other a bombastic US Senator. Obama and McCain? Think again. In this transcendent Broadway play, the famous Lincoln-Douglas debates tackle the day's most passionate issue - slavery. Their battle comes to life through the eyes of Adele Douglas, wife of candidate Stephen Douglas. Challenged by the charming man from Illinois, she reexamines her basic beliefs about the American concept of freedom.

October 4,  2008 - Los Angeles, CA - PERFORMANCE/RECORDING FOR BROADCAST

California Artists Radio Theatre's production of Shaw's "A Village Wooing"

The California Artists Radio Theatre presented a live radio-on-stage production of George Bernard Shaw's "A Village Wooing" at L.A. Valley College, Saturday afternoon, October 4th.

Shaw's bittersweet one-act comedy pairs world travelers who can't seem to live with each other, but do. It starred Norman Lloyd and Samantha Eggar, and was directed by Peggy Webber, who received an Achievement in the Arts award for her work as actress, writer, director, and producer since 1939--including 8,000 radio dramas, 300 television shows, 21 feature films, and numerous stage productions. Actress, Marsha Hunt hosted the awards ceremony, which included a conversation with Ms. Webber, as well as samples of her radio works. (10/05/2008)

Tony consulted on the live sounds for L.A. Theater Works' Fall 2008 touring production of the radio SCI-Fi classics, War of the Worlds and The Lost World--adapted and directed by John De Lancie, of Star Trek, Stargate, and Alien Voices radio theatre fame. While Tony won't be going on tour with the troupe, it'll sound like he's there! Check the LATW touring info site to see if they're coming your way! (9/15/2008)

Tony performed live sound effects for L.A. Theater Works' production of Neil Simon's Broadway Bound at the Skirball Cultural Center. Five performances before a live audience were recorded for broadcast on National Public Radio and XM Satellite Radio.

Starring Scott Wolf, Dan Castellaneta, Jonathan Silverman, JoBeth Williams, Alan Mandell, Caroline Aaron, James Gleason and Kyle Colreider-Krugh. Directed by Jenny Sullivan.  Nominee of the 1987 Tony Award^® for Best Play, this is the final installment of the playwright’s acclaimed biographical trilogy (preceded by BRIGHTON BEACH MEMOIRS and BILOXI BLUES).  Having returned from World War II, Eugene Jerome and his brother Stanley pair up to break into the world of professional comedy writing.  Inspiration strikes when they aim their sights on their dysfunctional family – and the network broadcasts it nationwide!   "Expectedly funny and unexpectedly moving."  - New York Daily News

Skirball Cultural Center 
 2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90049

The California Artists Radio Theatre presented a live radio-on-stage production of Frank L. Baum's "The Wizard of Oz" -- adapted and directed by Peggy Webber and featuring Norman Lloyd, Marvin Kaplan, Lesley Easterbrook and Linda Henning as Dorothy. Tony dropped a house on a witch--and did Toto, too! 

The California Artists Radio Theatre presented a live radio-on-stage production of three one-act plays by the Abbey Theatre's original playwrights. The show was produced by Peggy Webber and directed by Vincent Dowling (both pictured, far left). Mr. Dowling was the director of Dublin's famous Abbey Theatre for 24 years and the cast included several Abbey veterans. Appearing were Shay Duffin, Marty Maguire, Tim Byron Owen, James Lancaster, Bairbre Dowling, Helena Carroll and Vincent Dowling. Music was by Jay Muns. Live sound effects and engineering were by Tony "Sparx" Palermo, assisted by Janna Lopez.

The plays presented were The Rising of the Moon by Lady Augusta Gregory, In The Shadow Of The Glen by John Millington Synge, and The Workhouse Ward also by Lady Gregory. This program was recorded for XM Satellite Radio.

In May, Tony will be performing in CART's production of G.B. Shaw's A Village Wooing starring Samantha Eggar and Norman Lloyd. (4/26/2008)

Tony conducted a radio drama production workshop for Tucson's SaddleBrooke Theatre Guild, in preparation for their production of his radio drama adaptation of It's a Wonderful Life in November 2008.  [For Details about how you can produce my very authentic radio-on-stage adaptation of Frank Capra's classic film, see It's a Wonderful Life script & SFX for radio.] The thirty or so eager Arizona thespians produced Episode 1 of Tony's detective drama series, Rick Lowell, Private Eye - The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of in addition to a comedic ad for Brand X Steakhouse - "Your grubstake when you want steak--for grub!" Tony travels to teach and direct radio dramas for community theatre troupes across the U.S.--including workshops for those producing his Wonderful Life script. (4/18/2008)

For the Western-themed Bat Gunderson, Frontier Proctologist, Tony had to extract a cow from Steve Carrell's behind--ably assisted by the "crack" comic timing of Jason Alexander as the always-handy doctor. In a stake-out scene for Lance Manion's Crimebusters, Tony had to render Steve's entering a door warehouse--opening each and every one--before Garry Marshall's "Ma" could talk Jason into singing the old Spike Jones number, Let's Be Sweethearts Again. Musical accompaniment was provided by radio-keyboard ace Jonathan Green. The shows were scripted by Emmy winners Marta Kaufman (Friends), Peter Casey (Frasier ), and Kevin Falls (West Wing). Paul McCrane (ER) directed. Elsewhere in the Gorilla Radio Show, several vocalists--including Oscar-winner Forrest Whitaker--were backed by Dave Stewart's big band, the Primates.  The performance--for an audience of 800--was a benefit for North Hollywood's Oakwood School. Tony and Jonathan also contributed accompaniment for a live auction. A half-million dollars was brought in by the event.(3/17/2008)

Tony presented three of his Sparx - Audio Adventures shows to 500 students at Montemalaga Elementary School, in Palos Verdes Estates. In two 45-minute, daytime performances, Tony, (a/k/a Sparx), led a fast-paced interactive exploration of sound and story—using low- and high-tech wizardry. The entire audience joined in as Sparx took youngsters through time and space with cavemen, hundreds of barking dogs, sword-fighting penguin battles, stampeding cattle, and an invisible motorcycle--all the while learning how sound is used in radio and film. A third show with a different program was performed for hundreds of parents, teachers and students at Science Night. (3/01/2008)

Tony performed live sound effects for a radio-noir parody starring Dennis Franz (NYPD Blue) and Sue Grafton, author of the Kinsey Millhone mystery novels. In B is for Bling Bling, a stray cat somehow fires a gun, shattering a jewelry store window and thereby complicating the disappearance of jeweler Bob "Bling-Bling" Bryant. Sue appears as her famous detective character, Kinsey Millhone, to solve the mystery for the (SFX) accident-plagued detective played by Dennis. This show was part of a benefit for Santa Barbara's Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse. In the live auction, Tony provided sound effects accompaniment for such diverse auction items as Andy Granatelli's box seats to the Indy 500 ("vroooooom") and a Himalayan vacation (yak caravans, trains, lots of Oms). (2/24/2008)

Tony presented four of his Sparx - Audio Adventures shows to 750 students at Thomas Jefferson Elementary School. Grades 3-5 are pictured at left; at right, PTA president, Barbara Miller, mans Sparx' Sounds Bazaar table, offering do-it-yourself sound effects to future noisemakers. (2/24/2008)

Tony presented three of his Sparx - Audio Adventures shows to 450 students at Westwood Elementary School in Santa Clara. An added element was an evening performance by new readers as part of "Story Night." Despite heavy rain, there was a strong turnout for the evening show, including Tony's cousin, Rick Sullivan, and his daughter, Shannon. (1/26/2008)

Tony directed his own radio-adaptation of Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" for the Santa Clarita Playhouse. This was an outdoor radio-on-stage performance of the 30-minute version of Tony's "Carol" for radio. Additionally, about 100 troupes across the world produced Tony's "Carols" for radio and stage. The farthest was in Mali, Africa, the nearest in Valencia, CA. Sound effects were handled by Janna Lopez and 14 year-old Rosa Palermo. (12/23/2007)

Tony performed live sound effects for L.A. Theater Works' 2-hour "Major Barbara" at the Skirball Cultural Center. Five performances before a live audience were recorded for broadcast on National Public Radio and XM Satellite Radio.

This was a radio-on-stage production starring Kate Burton, Roger Rees, Kirsten Potter, Hamish Linklater, Missy Yager, Henri Lubatti, J B Blanc, Brian George, Amelia White, Russell Soder, Matthew Gaydos and Sarah Zimmerman. Directed by Dakin Matthews. Engineering by Mark Holden.  Live sound effects by Tony "Sparx" Palermo.

Barbara is a major in the Salvation Army - but she’s also the daughter of Andrew Undershaft, a man who’s made millions from the sale of weapons of war.  The real battle, however, rages between between the devilish  father and his idealistic daughter as they answer the question:  does salvation come through faith or finance?  This sparkling comedy traverses family relations, religion, ethics, and politics - as only Shaw, the master dramatist, can! "Certainly one of Shaw's brightest, slyest, most provocatively outrageous and most timeless comedies." - N.Y. Post (12/22/2007)

Starring Eric Idle, Eddie Izzard, Tim Curry, Billy Connolly, Tracey Ullman, Jane Leeves, Emily Mortimer, and Jim Piddock. Written and directed by Eric Idle. Music by John Du Prez. Live sound effects by Tony "Sparx" Palermo.

Written and directed by Monty Python's Eric Idle, this naughty radio-on-stage comedy begins with a cursed talking piano found in India by a cross-dressing British Regiment, the Gay Gordons. The piano and its curse are hauled across Europe from before World War I to the sinister beginnings of the Nazi era in this ridiculous parody of several Merchant-Ivory films. All 2000 tickets were sold out at the Ricardo Montalban Theatre (former home of Lux Radio Theatre from 1936-1955). At this radio mecca, Tony got to do a variation of the famous "Jack Benny's Money Vault" gag that his late mentor, Ray Erlenborn, did in the 1940s. The show will be restaged in the future for a longer run.  (11/12/2007)

This comedy written and directed by Norman Corwin starred Carl Reiner, Samantha Eggar, Lloyd Nolan, Gil Stratton, Peter Dennis, Linda Hemming, Dianne Dennis, Marvin Kaplan, Leonard Maltin and John Harlan. Produced by Peggy Webber. Engineering by Marty Halperin. Music by Ken Stange. Live sound effects by Tony "Sparx" Palermo.

This 1994 radio play by Norman Corwin, radio's poet laureate, concerns a woman who suddenly starts rhyming and can't stop--and her affliction of diction is contagious--and outrageous. Mr. Corwin, at 97 years old, directed a top flight cast in this clever comedy. This was a benefit for the Thousand Oaks Public Library Foundation--kicking off a capital campaign for their Museum of American Radio. The program was recorded for future airing. (10/29/2007)