(Sorry this review is belated--but here it is before January ends, at least:-)

I was only vaguely aware of the Provo Theatre Company when I received as a gift tickets to the Christmas show "The Big KSL Holiday Broadcast: A Musical Salute to the Golden Age of Radio (it ran from Nov. 24-Dec. 30.) They have a nice little theater in a renovated old church in downtown Provo. The revue was presented as a sort of "Prarie Home Companion"-ish radio broadcast from church-owned Salt Lake City station KSL-AM that spanned the years from the stock market crash to the end of the Second World War. The lively music of the era alternated with comedy bits and news items from that time. The non-musical material was compiled by the director, Tim Threlfall, and Dean Hughes, who should be very familiar with the subject because of his LDS-themed novels dealing with the war.

It was a very enjoyable evening of theater with a thoroughly professional cast. I mean it as a compliment when I say it was the most perfect old-fashioned "roadshow"-type presentation I've seen in a long time. The standout cast members were Daniel Law, (very funny as Jack Benny and Charlie McCarthy), and pretty Amy Ashworth, who delivered the sizzling tune "Hit Me With a Hot Note and Watch Me Bounce." One particularly amusing moment came when the news reported that the Democrats once again dominated the local elections, especially in Utah County (although some in the audience didn't seem to find this very funny -- a reminder of how much some things change.)

My immediate reaction to much of this was to reflect how ephemeral popular culture is. Who now remembers Fibber McGee and Molly, Lum and Abner, or even Jack Benny and Will Rogers? Fifty years from now our grandchildren will shake their heads in incomprehension at the mention of Dave Letterman or Jay Leno. Visiting the past must be like landing on the surface of the moon: alien, but in some ways strangely familiar. The most jarring "alien" thing about the evening was how innocent it all was. Remember, these 16 years were the worst in American history (if you don't count the Civil War.) And yet the comedy and music reflect only in the most oblique way the anguish the country was going through. But that is a recurring theme in human nature -- remember the good, forget the bad. I'm sure it rings true in conservative Utah County.

From now on I will keep an eye open for future productions from Provo Theatre Company. It may be their next shows won't be so conservative -- in the past they put on David Mamet's "Oleanna." Mamet in Provo -- now that would have been something to see.

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R.W. Rasband
Heber City, UT
rrasband@yahoo.com