Shakespeare on the Radio

Synopsis: Radio sitcom. Edwin Montague plays Monty Woolley, an accomplished Shakespearean actor who, unappreciated and unemployed, accepts a role in a sentimental daytime radio serial. In this episode, Monty’s producer is putting on a 15-minute radio production of Romeo and Juliet for Shakespeare’s birthday; Monty wants a part but fears his wife’s portrayal of Juliet will outshine his Romeo.
Series: Magnificent Montague, The
Language: English
Country: United States
Medium: Radio
Transmission details: 20 Apr 1951 (Channel: NBC)
Duration: 30 mins

Director

Nat Hiken

Producer

Nat Hiken

Writer

Billy Friedberg; Nat Hiken

Cast

Anne Seymour	Lilly, his wife
Edwin Montague	Monty Woolley

General: Many other episodes in the series also contained Shakespeare references including TO SHAVE OR NOT TO SHAVE (December 1 1950), TO PLAY ROMEO (24 November 1950) and SCREEN TEST (January 26, 1951).
Reviews: Burt, Richard (ed). Shakespeares After Shakespeares: an Encyclopedia of the Bard in Mass Media and Popular Culture. 2 vols. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2006. (p. 562 entry 2516). Lanier writes ‘The series was remarkable not just for focusing on the institutional situation of Shakespeare in an age of mass media but also for the ambivalence with which it treated its premise. As the representative Shakespearean, Montague is far more concerned with defending his dwindling cultural authority than actually defending the plays’.

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British Universities Film & Video Council