These folks gave mesmerizing re-creations of Dr. Who and War of the Worlds.
So we can hardly wait to see (and hear) what Raconteur Radio cooks up for Downton Abbey.
The theatrical troupe returns to the Morristown & Township Library on Friday, April 15, 2016, at 7 pm, for what may be the final gathering of the library’s Downton Abbey Support Group.
Although we suspect the need for this group therapy is growing more acute.
Last month marked the end of the popular PBS series, which spent six seasons chronicling the Crawley family’s fictional struggles to preserve its aristocratic lifestyle in post-World War I Britain.
Friday’s parody is free. Period costumes are encouraged. Refreshments will be served –let’s hope the library staff bakes scones, a specialty of the house — and rumors are flying around about some musical surprises.
The library is at One Miller Road in Morristown. Here is the library’s show description:
A Fond Farewell to Downton Abbey! “Downton Abbey: A Staged Radio Play Parody”
Friday April 15, 2016
7 PM
The Library’s long-standing band of Crawley family enthusiasts, the Downton Abbey Support Group (to support the show’s fans during the long breaks between new episodes), is lamenting the fact that come March 2016, the show will have completed its sixth and final season.
But to send the show off with the grandeur it deserves, the library will become Highclere Castle as the Downton Abbey Support Group hosts Raconteur Radio’s performance of Downton Abbey: A Staged Radio Play Parody.
Raconteur Radio performs scenes of the show as a radio play but with period costumes, theatrical lighting, golden age radio equipment and extensive sound effects!
Raconteur Radio stages theatrical presentations of vintage radio plays, classic works of literature, and pop-culture parodies for live audiences throughout the Tri-State area.
The performance features Jeff Maschi as Robert Crawley (Earl of Grantham) and head valet John Bates; Danielle Illario as kitchen maid Daisy Mason, head housemaid Anna May Smith, would-be heiress Lady Mary Crawley, and Lady Cora Crawley (Countess of Grantham); Jane Hardy as Violet Crawley (Dowager Countess), head housekeeper Mrs. Elsie Hughes, lady’s maid Miss Sarah O’Brien, and head cook Mrs. Patmore; Jason Jackson as first footman Thomas Barrow and Phillip Duke of Crowborough; and Laurence Mintz as head butler Mr. Charles Carson (and assorted other characters).
So I think they just about have everyone covered (okay maybe not that WWI veteran who claimed to be a Crawley heir, but other than that…)!
As a big plus the performance also includes Danielle Illario singing If You Were the Only Girl (in the World) and Roses of Picardy from the Downton Abbey soundtrack. The evening will feature tea and refreshments and––as always with this group––costume dress is encouraged, but not required. Please come and help to send the Crawleys off right!
Raconteur Radio has been called “family friendly guerrilla theater” by the New York Times, one of the “7 best things to do in NJ” by the Star Ledger, and “Outstanding!” by Cinema Retro Magazine.
They have an informal residency at The Players Club, a century old private club founded by Edwin Booth and Mark Twain (whose members included Humphrey Bogart, James Cagney, Frank Sinatra, and Lauren Bacall, among many others). For more information visit, Raconteur Radio.
This program is supported by the Friends of the Morristown & Morris Township Library.
