Say Goodnight, Grace: ACO Hosts Return To Radio

"Say goodnight, Gracie."

From Oct. 12, 1950, to Sept. 22, 1958, multitudes of CBS viewers tuned in to see what kind of silliness would ensue between straightman George Burns and his standup comedian wife, Gracie Allen, before "The Burns and Allen Show" ended with "Say goodnight, Gracie."

But the laughs all started in 1934 on the radio -- and they will return there, in a sense, this weekend. Northwest Arkansas Audio Theatre is saying goodnight to the comedy duo again during "An Evening With Burns and Allen," made up of two skits: "A Royal Wedding" and "Gracie Runs for President."

Lori Londagin plays Allen, a former vaudeville performer, in "Gracie Runs for President."

"I watched reruns of their show on television as a teenager and thought they were hilarious. I loved Gracie Allen, and I am thrilled to be playing her in this show," she says.

Londagin believes "funny is funny," whether it's humor from the 1950s or now.

"While we did have to tweak some of the lines to make them more relevant and understandable to modern-day audiences, much of the humor is timeless," she says. "The shows we are doing were originally radio broadcasts, so there aren't a lot of changes in that regard. The really neat thing, though, is that we have added a lot of visual humor to make it more fun for the audience.

"I hope older folks who remember Burns and Allen will enjoy reminiscing about their comedy. And I hope younger audience members will come away with an appreciation of Burns and Allen and the humor of that day."

Karen Gossett is Allen in "The Royal Wedding" and came to the role with a different perspective.

"I must confess I knew of Burns and Allen but was not as familiar as I am now with their background and wide array of performances. I love that I was exposed to another era as well as the comedic team," she says. "Gracie Allen's comedy was based in 'truth.' All great comedy, in any era, is effortless. The audience needs to be ready for a different "time" and a silly vaudevillian flare. Just prepare to be entertained and to leave your troubles behind."

"We are still laughing at our rehearsals," adds director Robbie Elliott.

-- Becca Martin-Brown

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NAN What's Up on 02/16/2018