by J. Bruce Parker
There was a time before the internet, before computers, and even before television, when a form of electricity would send waves of energy into your home, in a pleasant, comforting voice. This was radio, and it changed how people were informed and entertained.
The Golden Age of Radio was dominant between the 1930s and the 1950s, before the advent of television eventually kicked the radio signal to the curb.
It was a time when the airwaves were bristling with the voices of musical stars, comedians, singers, classical concerts, soap operas, quiz shows, and storytellers. When U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt spoke to the American people in the broadcast of his ‘Fireside Chats’, which ran from 1933 to 1944.
One of the most popular radio programs of recent years was A Prairie Home Companion, which ran from 1974 to 2016, hosted by Garrison Keiler. It was rural, it was gentle, it was kind and comforting, and most of all, it was entertaining.
The style and tone of the show was carried on by our own CBC Radio in the mid-1990s by the weekly Vinyl Café, hosted by the late Stuart McLean. It ran on the local airwaves from 1994 until 2015.
Founding Artistic Director of AlvegoRoot Theatre, Adam Corrigan Holowitz, assisted by Associate Artistic Director Kydra Ryan, has carried on the spirit of this grand tradition with his own version of the classic radio variety show.
The Manor Park Afternoon Post Country Edition was presented at Manor Park Memorial Hall on the most brilliant but bitterly cold last day of January. It was the twenty-second installment of this collaboration between Corrigan Holowitz and Ryan.
(Pictured: Manor Park Afternoon Post Country Edition Cast, Kydra Ryan, Deborah Mitchell, Adam Corrigan Holowitz, Matt Martin, Jack Sizeland, and Stephen Holowitz. Photo Credit: J. Bruce Parker.)
In a conversation before the one-off performance, Adam defined the event:
“It is a performance in the classic style of a variety show. There is music, comedy in the form of original radio sketches, and there are stories about Manor Park and London, all done in the vein of the great American storytelling”.
“It is inspired by both Vinyl Café and The Prairie Home Companion, but it takes its inspiration from a broader tradition of radio variety shows. This goes back to the times of Fred Allen, Fibber McGee and Molly, as well as Canadian storytellers Stephen Leacock and W.O. Mitchell.”
(Pictured: Adam Corrigan Holowitz. Photo Credit: J. Bruce Parker.)
“There are three basic ingredients of flavour we incorporate into our shows. The music is gorgeous and top-tier; the stories are gentle with a broad view of the neighbourhood, and then there are the sketches, which can be salty and sarcastic with a bite to them. When Kydra and I write the sketches, there is topical stuff, but I am always interested in how you can push a comedy concept,” he adds.
So how does this kind of entertainment stay relevant?
“It gets to something that we are drawn to. It’s about stories, it’s about people coming together, it’s about discovering music, literature and poetry,” says Adam.
As the congenial host, Adam was joined by co-creator Kydra Ryan, Jack Sizeland, Matt Martin, Deborah Mitchell, and musical director and keyboardist Stephen Holowitz on this cold January afternoon.
(Pictured: Kydra Ryan, Jack Sizeland, and Adam Corrigan Holowitz. Photo Credit: J. Bruce Parker.)
While borrowing from the formats of both Vinyl Café and Prairie Home Companion, Adam and Kydra gather up the stuff of living in Manor Park, keeping their original stories very close to home.
We witness a walkabout around Manor Park in the voices of ‘Nephew Jefferson’ and ‘Aunt Julie’ describing their exploits and meanderings, one being an ongoing dumpster fire in the neighbourhood.
Matt Martin, in his rich baritone, weaves his interpretations of the songs of Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson, and Elvis between the stories.
Local actress Deborah Mitchell dons the character of “Louella Brulais”, a gossip columnist, scraping her claws across the unfortunate few who get into her crosshairs.
We have ghost stories told by actual ghosts, unhappy with their representation in film.
Framing the entire performance was the keyboard work of musical director Stephen Holowitz, whose carefully crafted accompaniment set the musical tone which propelled the event.
(Pictured: Matt Martin and Stephen Holowitz. Photo Credit: J. Bruce Parker.)
Adam Corrigan Holowitz and Kydra Ryan have gathered the best of classic live radio, reviving it with their creative talents and presenting a warm, energetic, and touching event of song and storytelling. It was joyful, well-crafted, and above all, fun.
The ongoing success of The Manor Park Afternoon Post has a follow-up on March 14.
Don’t miss it!
By J. Bruce Parker.
The Beat Magazine 2025 