An Early Holiday Present of a Mysterious Nature

‘Tis the season for Santa, Frosty, Rudolph, Comet, Cupid, Donner and Blitzen.

This year, ‘tis also the season for Easy, Mouse, Bluto, Feather, Spider, Mofess and Big Hand Bruno--all courtesy of KCRW-FM (89.9).

In a programming move that could be considered as a bit of Christmas anti-cheer, the nonprofit community-service station is presenting an original nine-hour unabridged dramatization of “Black Betty,” Walter Mosley’s 1994 novel featuring his reluctant sleuth, Easy Rawlins.

The project, which Mosley calls “my darkest novel,” comes complete with gunshots, beatings, coarse language and mysterious women, all set against the bleak background of the mean streets of black Los Angeles in 1961.

There’s also an original jazz score, atmospheric sound effects and a multitude of shady and not-so-shady characters with offbeat names, played by almost 70 actors ranging from Charlie Robinson from “Night Court” to Don Most from “Happy Days.”

Nearly a year in the making, KCRW will premiere “Black Betty” tonight with a one-hour installment, with further “chapters” airing weeknights (except for Christmas) for the next two weeks. A marathon version of the entire “novel” will air New Year’s Day.

Jacqueline des Lauriers, executive producer for KCRW, said it is purely “serendipity” that “Black Betty” is airing during the holidays.

“We had originally planned to have this for New Year’s, but we’ve got some time when we could air it now,” she said. “It lets us see a part of life we haven’t seen before. We’ll also offer [a nine-CD set] as a premium for KCRW subscribers.”

Despite its serious tones, Ted Lange, who directed the dramatization, feels that “Black Betty” is fine holiday fare.

“This is a real gem,” said Lange, an actor-director best known for his role as Isaac the bartender on TV’s “Love Boat.” “This has energy and an excitement about it that goes beyond what anybody’s expectations were. It’s a project that just couldn’t be stopped. Everything that is in the novel is in the radio show except for ‘he said, she said.’ ”

Even Mosley, who had no involvement in the production and had not yet heard it as of last week, doesn’t think the dramatization is out of place with the season.

“It might make sense to do something like this now considering what’s going on in the world,” Mosley said. “It’s a story that shows how people survive. It doesn’t go against the idea of Christmas to look into that darkness.”

He added with a slight chuckle, “Besides, I haven’t written any Christmas stories.”

“Black Betty” revolves around Rawlins, who was introduced in Mosley’s “Devil in a Blue Dress,” which was made into a film starring Denzel Washington. In “Black Betty,” Rawlins, badly in need of cash, is hired by an oily white detective to find the missing, notorious Black Betty, “a great shark of a woman” whose breathtaking beauty can be toxic to men. Meanwhile, Easy’s loyal friend Mouse has been released from jail and is on the trail of the guy who set him up.

Mosley said the novel, fourth in the Easy Rawlins series, “deals a lot with black women and men and how hard things can be.”

As with Mosley and other detective storytellers such as Raymond Chandler, the plot serves as the launch pad for numerous interactions that may or may not deal directly in the main story.

Lange, who has never produced for radio before but was familiar with Mosley’s work, approached the project with the anticipation of doing something unusual. Although the station had suggested using recorded music for the soundtrack, Lange thought that recruiting live jazz musicians to do original music would bring more vibrancy to the proceedings. He enlisted composer and bassist Kevin O’Neal, who had also performed music in “Devil in a Blue Dress.”

Because of his work doing local theater, Lange also thought of bringing in various acting veterans such as James Avery and Ron Glass to do small guest roles in the production: “I would call these guys and say, ‘I’ve got a great part for you. It doesn’t pay any money.’ But it didn’t matter to them.”

Most important was getting his Rawlins--a performer who could deliver Mosley’s rich and textured phrases, and could handle the massive amount of exposition because the story is told in the first person. He hired Robinson, his co-star from last year’s South Coast Repertory production of “The Piano Lesson.” The two started the three-month task of recording the narration last December.

Robinson brings a soothing yet biting tone to his portrayal of Rawlins. His voice takes on a smokiness filled with wonder on such Mosley phrases as: “She wore black lace, gloves and fur and smelled so good I forgot who I was.”

The actor said he had read “Black Betty” years ago and did further research by reading all the Rawlins novels. He felt a special connection with the character because they both are from Houston’s Fifth Ward district.

“I have an understanding of this kind of person,” said Robinson. “There is a lot of anger and bitterness there, but it’s also a person who knows how to deal with life. Sometimes you have to keep that bitterness inside of you. To be able to do that on radio is great because you only have your voice to work it. On screen, viewers can see actors walking. On radio, there’s only the voice.”

Despite the satisfaction of doing the project, Robinson found it physically daunting, particularly with all of the first-person narration.

“We had to do the words verbatim,” he said. “It’s like Shakespeare--you can’t change it or ad-lib. We had to paint so many wonderful pictures just using those words, and we would have to go back over and over and over again. Ted helped me find intonations I probably would not have found.”

Lonnie Smith, who plays Mouse, was presented with another challenge--having to follow in the footsteps of Don Cheadle, whose performance as the murderous Mouse in “Devil in a Blue Dress” was cited by numerous critics as the highlight of the film.

“Don was just plain scary in that movie,” said Smith. “I was aware of the reputation, but I’m just using his performance to get to the next level. It’s a very dark portrayal. I had fun with it.”

KCRW’s Des Lauriers is calling “Black Betty” “a labor of love.” And Mosley said he is looking forward to hearing what they’ve done with his novel.

“I’m very happy they’re doing this,” he said. “I know the people who are in it, and it’s very exciting. It’s difficult to take one art form and translate it into another. But it’s worthwhile to try.”

* “Black Betty” premieres tonight at 6:30 on KCRW-FM (89.9) and will air in one-hour installments at 6:30 p.m. until Friday, continuing Dec. 26-29. It will also air in its entirety Jan. 1, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.