No Square Theatre goes back to the 1940s with ‘Radio Hour’

The five dancers shuffled to the stage during a late-night rehearsal at the No Square Theatre, and the director clapped his hands in an effort to move them along.

“We need to get started,” said director Joe Lauderdale, who sits on the Laguna Beach theater’s board of directors. “Let’s take it with the top of ‘Jingle Bells.’ Places to your microphones, everyone.”

The actors were rehearsing No Square Theatre’s upcoming musical and the grand finale to the venue’s 2015 season, “The 1940’s Radio Hour,” a storyline full of 1940s music, dancing and old-time sound effects to portray the final holiday broadcast of a New York radio station in December 1942.

The show runs Saturday through Dec. 20.

The one-act musical is unlike other shows performed at No Square, Lauderdale said, since each performance will be followed with a cabaret featuring members of the cast and community and Laguna theater favorite Saif Eddin, who is a founding member of “Lagunatics,” an irreverent show roasting Laguna Beach issues and events. “Lagunatics” is the flagship production of No Square, which was founded in 1997.

Eddin, who was known for his cabaret nights at the now-closed Laguna Nursery and has performed since 1988, returned to his hometown of Laguna Beach from the Bay Area last summer and was interested when Lauderdale called him to ask him to join the show.

“They called me in for a favor,” Eddin said with a laugh during a break in rehearsal. “We are calling it even. No, but really, it’s a great show and I thought I fit the role.”

Eddin is coming to the community production on a guest-artist contract with Actors Equity. While professionals often donate their talents to the nonprofit theater’s concerts and events, only once before has a professional been in one of its musicals.

Eddin will play the piano each night for the after-show cabaret, during which audiences may sing along. He will join fellow cast members Glenn Koppel, who has performed at the Chance Theater in Anaheim, Gary Greene, who performed in No Square’s “Bent Broadway” production in January, and eight others.

The cast members, who have been rehearsing for three hours Mondays through Saturdays since Oct. 16, hail from all over Los Angeles and Orange counties, including Torrance, Anaheim Hills, Mission Viejo and Costa Mesa.

The Walton Jones book on which the play is based centers on a harassed producer, a drunk lead singer, a young boy who wants to be in front of the microphone and an amateur dreaming of singing a ballad.

In December 1942, U.S. troops were away from home at Christmastime, which explains why the radio station is reading holiday letters on the air and playing dedication songs to loved ones separated by war.

Songs like “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy,” “I’ll Be Seeing You” and “Strike Up the Band” are featured among the score’s big bands sounds.

Bree Burgess Rosen, No Square Theatre’s founding artistic director, said it is rather fitting to have this nod to a bygone era being performed at the home of Laguna Beach American Legion Post 222, which was founded 87 years ago by local military veterans. No Square has been based there for about six years.

“This is a radio show and it’s kind of a lost art,” Lauderdale said. “It’s nice to bring that back and see what happens.”

There have been challenges along the way, Lauderdale said, noting that he is accustomed to characters singing about their lives, while this show’s lineup of songs aren’t as strictly linked to character development.

He also changed the theater’s seating configuration by putting the stage in the middle of two large sections of lined-up chairs. Lights will not be dimmed, since he wants to create a casual atmosphere and feeling of closeness between the audience and performers.

“It’s a great show,” Lauderdale said. “You get to hear all the standards, it’s fun and everyone looks stunning. What more could you want?”

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IF YOU GO

What: “The 1940’s Radio Hour”

When: 7:30 p.m. Fridays through Sundays, beginning Saturday, until Dec. 20

Where: No Square Theatre, 384 Legion St., Laguna Beach

Cost: $12.50 to $25

Information: Call (949) 715-0333 or visit nosquare.org