Above: Achilles Massahos, left, and Rebecca Nachison are among the key performers in Radio Redux’s production of Sunset Boulevard; photo by Scott Kelley.
By Randi Bjornstad
Sunset Boulevard certainly ranks high on the list of Hollywood film noir classics — and is considered one of the best movies of the 20th century — and the radio play version will be onstage Feb. 7-9 as Radio Redux tells the famous tale of a fading silent screen star, Norma Desmond.
Like many film stars of the era when the silents gave way to the talkies, Desmond in her heyday was a femme fatale, but she has become all but forgotten as technology has redefined the movies. In a desperate effort to revive her career, she comes up with an idea that she believes will restore her to her former glory and begins work on the screenplay.
Her view of herself is supported by her butler (and ex-husband) Max, who helps feed her delusions by writing her fake love notes from supposed delirious fans.
Realizing she needs help to develop her dream script, Desmond hires a heretofore unsuccessful screenwriter, Joe Gillis, who takes the job purely for the money although he knows full well her concept will never fly.
As they each manipulate each other for their own ends, their relationship becomes more and more poisonous, and eventually Gillis decides to extricate himself. But it’s too late, and they find themselves headed toward dangerous calamity that includes madness, violence, and death.
The Billy Wilder film won three Academy Awards, for original musical score, art direction, and screenplay, out of the 11 for which it was nominated. although Gloria Swanson and William Holden did not win best-actor Oscars for their performances.
The radio version was broadcast first on Sept. 17, 1951, by the Lux Radio
Fred Crafts, founder and director of Radio Redux
Theater, and that’s the script that Fred Crafts, founder and director of Radio Redux, uses for his production.
The actors include Rebecca Nachison as Norma Desmond, Peter van de Graaff as Joe Gillis, and Achilles Massahos as Max Von Mayerling.
Additional players include Al Villaneuva, Paul Rhoden, Dan Pegoda, and Kim Donahey.
A 1940s-style jazz group, The Redux Rhythmaires, plays before the show and during intermission. Its members include Michael Anderson (guitar), Matt Treder (piano), Dean Livelybrooks (bass), Rob Neidig (drums), and Kirstin Parmeter (vocals).
Sunset Boulevard
When: 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 7; matinees at 2 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 8-9
Where: Soreng Theater, Hult Center for the Performing Arts, 1 Eugene Center (Seventh and Willamette streets in downtown Eugene)
Additional details:
- Free behind-the-show talk by film and radio historian Patrick Lucanio begins one hour before each show in the theater
- Exhibit of radio collectibles in the lobby, courtesy of Dennis Wright of the Radio Days Theater of the Mind Museum in Sutherlin
- Meet-and-greet with the cast in the lobby after each show
Tickets: $23 regular, $20 for ages 65+, $16 youths through college and per person for groups of five or more; available online at radioreduxusa.com or hultcenter.org, or through the Hult Center box office, 541-682-5000, from noon to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday
