POPA goes 'On the Air' with mystery, adventure

Pend Oreille Players Association will present two performances of the radio show “Mystery and Adventure, On the Air” this weekend.

Set for June 16-17, the show is presented in the style of an old-time radio show recording session and features local actors performing radio scripts, live music interludes, and a glimpse into how radio foley artists made the sound effects for the show. This is a great opportunity for people of all ages to see how a radio show was put together in the days before TV & the digital age.

Audiences will be taken back to the 1930s when everyone sat down to listen to mystery, action and adventure on their home radios, directed by locals, John Connelly and Brian Langlais.

The talented cast features Sherlock/Orson Welles, Robert Balow; Watson, Russell Balow; Announcer/Billy, Bart Patria; Inspector Foreman/ Bassick, Norm Smith; Larrabe, Lee Shaver; Alice Faulkner, Racine Balow; Madge, Lorraine Patria; Professor Moriarty, Elissa Garrett; Craigin, Yvonne Clark; Leary, John Connelly; McTague, Rosalie Betts; and Parsons, Rosalie Betts; Justin Clark, music; Lone Ranger, Norm Smith; Collins, Yvonne Clark; Cavendish, Racine Balow; Jim, Lee Shaver; Tonto, Ellissa Garrett; Dan Reid, Lorraine Patria; Captain, Bart Patria; and Announcer, Robert Balow.

Performances are set for 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and will be held at the Pend Oreille Playhouse, 236 S. Union Ave. Tickets are $10, general admission. Tickets are available online at pendoreilleplayers.com and 30 minutes before the show on performance nights.

Since 2004, Pend Oreille Players Association has produced plays, musicals, radio-style readers' theatre, concerts, and variety shows; developed an international One Act Play Festival for unpublished one act plays and began a scholarship program for graduating high school seniors and a summer Theatre Day Camp for children.

POPA is made up entirely of volunteers from the surrounding area, who have a love for the performing arts. These diverse people band together for weeks of intense rehearsal to teach and learn all aspects of the performing arts and entertain the community.

Pend Oreille Players Association’s purpose has been to nurture, inspire, educate, and entertain the people of the Pend Oreille Valley by providing opportunities to experience all aspects of the performing arts.