Is it possible to defeat crime in a place called Crime City? It isn’t easy, but for detective Victor Marshall it’s everyday business. From the mind of Andrew Root comes Crime City, a monthly serialized radio drama featuring Mike Judson, Daniel Smith, Kenn Gibb, and Marsala Lukianchuk.
Recorded in front of a live audience at The Theatre on King (TTOK) in downtown Peterborough and available for free on Soundcloud, Crime City is a 10-part comedy series in the tradition of the mystery radio dramas of yesteryear. Filled with hard-boiled dialogue, bizarre crimes, and good-natured laughs, Crime City created quite a buzz when it made its debut in September. But in a city dominated by comedy, does Crime City have what it takes to make a mark?
Well, frankly speaking, Crime City could be my new favourite thing in Peterborough.
A unique hybrid of stage performance and radio drama, Crime City is a clever parody of not only the pulp detective genre but also the era of the radio drama itself. Although recorded in the style of old-time radio programs such as The Shadow and Suspense, cast members are fully costumed and interact with each other while still maintaining the feeling of a radio play performed in front of an audience. Highly original, Crime City is exciting and bold experimental theatre.
Introduction
Episode 1 – The Art Wants What The Art Wants!
Best known for his monthly performances as a member of The Citiots, Andrew Root touched an emotional chord with audiences last year when he played the role of Angel in Art for Awareness’s production of Rent, and made a comical cameo in Cordwainer Production’s presentation of Dogfight. But with Crime City, Andrew finally gets a chance to act as writer, producer, and director of his own original project.
“I didn’t originally set out to write a comedy,” Andrew explains. “What I usually do when I have an idea is go for a long walk in the woods and then ideas and phrases stop popping in my head. I jot them down and. once I have a page of random notes. I’ll sit down and write a one-page outline of the episode, break it into scenes, and then just write down the dialogue. Once I have the outline of the episode done, I try to go back and put in some funny stuff to just keep it spicy. You don’t want to bore anyone.”
Taking inspiration from the long-running Los Angeles based online comedy series The Thrilling Adventure Hour, Andrew has outlined a 10-episode series featuring his detective hero Victor Marshall (Mike Judson). A cynical and sarcastic private dick, Marshall teams up with his vivacious and beautiful PI rival Lillian Steel (Marsala Lukianchuk) and his unwanted sidekick Brad Bramble (Ken Gibb) — who happens to be a 10-year-old nature scout trying to earn merit badges. Together they fight colourful villains with clever deduction, quick word play, and terrible puns.
Rounding out the cast is Melanie DuBois who supports Dan Smith, acting as the show’s announcer, in creating a world full of characters. Crime City will also feature additional guest stars each month to make up the dark and funny world of Victor Marshall and friends.
“We have a great mix of people from different theatrical circles,” Andrew says of his cast. “The cast is drawn from all the circles. TTOK definitely has their own crowd. We have Dan and Kenn from The Citiots. Marci is featured in a lot of musicals and has had been in shows with The St. James Players. Then you have Mike, who has never acted before.”
Although well known in Peterborough as CHEX Newswatch’s weather man and co-host of CHEX Daily, Mike Judson makes his acting debut in Crime City and the casting couldn’t be more perfect. Dressed in a trench coat and fedora, Mike believably brings Victor Marshall to life.
“When Mike became an option, he was my first choice for Victor Marshall. There was no one else,” Andrew says. “Mike has done shows with The Citiots and he has great instinct. He knows what funny is. That comes from doing live TV for all the years he’s being doing it. He knows how to deliver a line and how to keep an audience interested.”
“When I told Kenn that he’d be playing a boy scout he thought I was being metaphorical,” Andrew laughs. “He was playing him as a grown man who was a good guy. I said ‘No Kenn. He’s literally a 10-year-old boy scout.'”
Joining Andrew’s actors on stage is Melissa Post who, sitting behind a table to the left of the cast, has the unique job of creating all of the show’s sound effects. The result is another highly original element that adds to the experience of the old-fashioned radio drama.
“Melissa is a TASS student and she is fantastic,” Andrew says. “Having somebody slamming a small wooden door on stage adds another effective element that I was keen on.”
For those who missed the first performance, the episode will be available on Soundcloud just prior to the next installment — which will be performed on Friday, October 30th.
“I like the idea of the podcast being a tool so we can do one long story people can catch up on if they can’t be there,” Andrew says. “But I want to push this as a live show for people to come out and see. We’re going to have contests, and we may pull people out of the audience to read a walk-on part.”
Although Andrew is being quiet on what’s going to happen in the next episode (the actors don’t even get the script until a few days before), he does reveal that Megan Murphy will be coming on board to play a semi-regular character in the second episode.
“Megan is one of the most talented people I’ve ever met,” Andrew says. “We read part of her character in the read-through. She’s so funny. She’s playing a 12-year-old girl who’s a rival adventure scout opposite Brad.”
Will Crime City continue after the 10 episodes are done? Only time will tell.
“For now the plan is just 10 episodes,” Andrew explains. “I’d love to keep doing it if people want to continue seeing it. But I’d have to figure out what comes next in terms of the story.”
Don’t dare miss an episode of Crime City, possibly the funniest and most original thing to come out of Peterborough in recent years.
Both lots of fun and pure genius, Crime City is scheduled to be performed monthly throughout the next nine months at TTOK. Those interested should visit Crime City‘s Facebook page to get updates and show information.
