''Brownstone Theater'' is an

old-time radio The Golden Age of Radio, also known as the old-time radio (OTR) era, was an era of radio in the United States where it was the dominant electronic home entertainment medium. It began with the birth of commercial radio broadcasting in the earl ...

dramatic anthology series in the United States. It was broadcast on the

Mutual Broadcasting System The Mutual Broadcasting System (commonly referred to simply as Mutual; sometimes referred to as MBS, Mutual Radio or the Mutual Radio Network) was an American commercial radio network in operation from 1934 to 1999. In the Golden Age of Radio, ...

February 21, 1945 – September 23, 1945.

Format

''Brownstone Theater'' featured adaptations of stories and plays that were popular at the turn of the 20th century.Terrace, Vincent (1999). ''Radio Programs, 1924–1984: A Catalog of More Than 1800 Shows''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . p. 54. The premiere offering, ''

The Lion and the Mouse The Lion and the Mouse is one of Aesop's Fables, numbered 150 in the Perry Index. There are also Eastern variants of the story, all of which demonstrate mutual dependence regardless of size or status. In the Renaissance the fable was provided wi ...

'', was followed by productions such as ''

The Man Without a Country "The Man Without a Country" is a short story by American writer Edward Everett Hale, first published in ''The Atlantic'' in December 1863. It is the story of a young American officer who declares himself disgusted with his country during a ...

'', ''

The Prisoner of Zenda ''The Prisoner of Zenda'' is an 1894 adventure novel by Anthony Hope, in which the King of Ruritania is drugged on the eve of his coronation and thus is unable to attend the ceremony. Political forces within the realm are such that, in o ...

'', and ''

Cyrano de Bergerac Savinien de Cyrano de Bergerac ( , ; 6 March 1619 – 28 July 1655) was a French novelist, playwright, epistolarian, and duelist. A bold and innovative author, his work was part of the libertine literature of the first half of the 17th ce ...

''. A contemporary publication's radio listing described the material as "Revivals of some of the plays that thrilled Grandpa and Grandma." Radio historian John Dunning wrote in ''On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio'', "The format was faintly reminiscent of the famous ''First Nighter Program'', with the listener led to his seat in the Brownstone Theater, and other trappings of curtains and greasepaint adding to the atmosphere." The program was actually produced in the Longacre Theater in New York City's

Times Square Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and Neighborhoods in New York City, neighborhood in the Midtown Manhattan section of New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway (Manhattan), ...

. The theater was leased by WOR from 1944 to 1953 and was used for productions on that station and on the Mutual network.

Personnel

The host and narrator of ''Brownstone Theater'' was Clayton Hamilton, who had been a drama critic when some of the dramas were popular on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

Jackson Beck Jackson Beck (July 23, 1912 – July 28, 2004) was an American actor best known as the announcer on radio's '' The Adventures of Superman'' and the voice of Bluto in the Famous era Popeye theatrical shorts. Early years Beck was born on July 23, ...

and

Gertrude Warner Gertrude Warner (April 2, 1917 – January 26, 1986) was an American voice talent who played multiple characters on radio productions during the Golden Age of Radio. Early life Warner was born in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1917. Her father was J ...

were the original leading man and leading lady, respectively.

Les Tremayne Lester Tremayne (16 April 1913 – 19 December 2003) was a British-born American actor who performed in Vaudeville, film, theatre, radio and television. Early life Tremayne was born in Balham, London. He moved with his family at the age o ...

replaced Beck in July 1945. Others heard on the program included Inge Adams,

Jan Miner Janice Miner (October 15, 1917 – February 15, 2004) was an American actress best known as the character Madge the manicurist in Palmolive dish-washing detergent television commercials from the 1960s to the 1990s. Biography Early life and c ...

Elissa Landi Elissa Landi (born Elisabeth Marie Christine von Kühnelt; December 6, 1904 – October 21, 1948) was an Austrian-American actress born in Venice, who was popular as a performer in Hollywood, California, Hollywood films of the 1920s and 19 ...

Jane Cowl Jane Cowl (December 14, 1883 – June 22, 1950) was an American film and Theatre, stage actress and playwright who was, in the words of author Anthony Slide, "notorious for playing tear jerkers, lachrymose parts". Actress Jane Russell was named ...

, Edward Rose, Anthony Hope, Neil Hamilton, Walter Hampden, Michael Fitzmaurice and

Shep Menken Shepard Menken (November 2, 1921 – January 2, 1999) was an American character and voice actor. Early life Menken began his career at the age of 11, when he started appearing on children's radio programs. After high school, Menken attend ...

Sylvan Levin Sylvan Levin (190310 August 1996) was an American concert pianist and conductor. He served as the assistant conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra and the New York City Symphony under Leopold Stokowski for many years. He also founded the Philadelp ...

provided the music, and Jock MacGregor was the director. Writers for the adaptions included Peggy L. Mayer, Anzie Strickland, Florence North, Gladys Milliner, Jock MacGregor, Eleanor Abbey, and Keith Thompson.

Television

Some episodes of ''Brownstone Theater'' were broadcast by

WABD WABD (97.5 FM broadcasting, FM) is an American radio station licensed to serve the city of license, community of Mobile, Alabama. The station, established in 1973 as WABB-FM, is owned and operated by Cumulus Media. Its studios are on Dauphin ...

, the DuMont Television Network's station in New York City. Bob Emery, the program's producer, cited it as one of the "shows which were fairly good examples of small budget dramatic television fare" in the mid-1940s. The radio programs were filmed live via

Kinescope Kinescope , shortened to kine , also known as telerecording in Britain, is a recording of a television program on motion picture film directly through a lens focused on the screen of a video monitor. The process was pioneered during the 1940s ...

and then were broadcast two or three weeks later on the TV station. The only changes made to accommodate TV were use of "a miniature stage and curtains through which to introduce and close each television presentation." At least four episodes of ''Brownstone Theater'' were also televised on

WRGB WRGB (channel 6) is a television station licensed to Schenectady, New York, United States, serving the Capital District as an affiliate of CBS. It is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group alongside CW affiliate WCWN (channel 45). The two station ...

Schenectady, New York Schenectady ( ) is a City (New York), city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the United States Census 2020, 2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-most populo ...

References

{{Reflist

External links

Logs

Log of ''Brownstone Theater'' episodes from Jerry Haendiges Vintage Radio Logs

Streaming

Episodes of ''Brownstone Theater'' from Old Time Radio Researchers Group Library
1945 radio programme debuts 1945 radio programme endings 1945 radio dramas 1940s American radio programs Mutual Broadcasting System programs American radio dramas Anthology radio series