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For those who don't know us...

A new old-time radio show in WIllow Lakes Estates, Elgin, Illinois.

WLE Old Time Radio Show

What's an old-time radio show? It's where several performers re-create an old-time radio show, in front of microphones and holding scripts, just like in the days before TV. Only it's not really being broadcast, it's simply for the entertainment of the folks attending the performance. And of course the folks that watch the recordings.

The best way to understand what it's like is to see it in action. Watch one of our old shows, below.

Our Latest

On Sunday, July 26, at 2:00pm in the WLE Clubhouse:

The Life of Riley

The hit William Bendix radio show from 1947. He's just a regular blue collar guy who thinks his way is the right way. His family and friends usually disagree.

The plot of this episode, Simon the Waiter, follows the lovable, blundering Chester A. Riley as he gets trapped in a high-stakes bind after Bab's beau Simon uncovers an embarrassing secret and attempts to take advantage.

Our Miss Brooks

As acting principal, Miss Brooks shuts down the school after hearing a weather warning of an impending hurricane, and the gang takes refuge at Pricipal Conklin's residence.

The show stars TV great Eve Arden as Miss Brooks, and Gale Gordon who you'll recognized from the Lucy Show.

Fathers Day 2026

Sunday, June 7, 2026 at the clubhouse: celebrating Fathers Day

Father Knows Best, the Fathers Day Picnic episode, originally broadcast in 1951

Father looks for a way out when a small gathering turns into a giant circus

Your's Truly, Johnny Dollar, The Clever Chemist Caper episode, originally broadcast in 1957

A woman enlists the aid of our favorite insurance detective when her father, a brilliant scientist, changes his will, giving it all to his business partner instead of her. As usual, every cent is accounted for.

New cast member Maryann debuts in the Bickersons' The Will episode, originally broadcast in 1947

A resident in our community wished to join our group. In her words, "I'm just an ordinary person who happens to be blind and loves to read!!" We think she's an inspiration, and we wanted to make her debut performance special. We looked for a show with 2-person dialogue, and of course the Bickersons came to mind.

Christmas 2025

Sunday, December 7, 2025 at the clubhouse: a Christmas favorite...

The Lux Radio Theatre production of Miracle on 34th Street

And Before That One...

Sunday, October 19, 2025 at 2:00pm at the Willow Lake Estates Clubhouse. Two Halloween shows!

The Haunting Hour. An episode from 1945: The Thought.

Ozzie & Harriet's Halloween episode of 1944: the Haunted House.

Our Previous Show...

Sunday, August 24, 2025 at 2pm in the Willow Lake Clubhouse: two Agatha Christie mysteries!

Personal Call

A man gets a phone call from his dead wife? Or is it?

Agatha’s first radio play for the BBC.

Followed by

The Case of the Careless Victim

Apartment hunting on his first visit to the states, Hercule Poirot instead finds not one but two dead bodies!

The first radio show of Poirot exclusively for an American audience.

We did this show twice!

Again on Thursday, August 28 at 6pm at Club 120 in the Oak Crest Residence in Elgin to a full house. Oak Crest is a senior residence. One of the first in the country, opened in 1904. Who else got his start in 1904? Ficticiously speaking, Agatha Christie's Belgian detective Hercule Poirot had his first case then, hence the choice of Agatha Christie radio shows for this time around.

Did you miss it? Watch it here!

Our First Radio Show

It was a BLAST!

We had our first performance in March of 2025 to a full house. The audience loved it, and we loved performing it.

Back to back radio episodes: Fibber McGee & Molly - and - The Shadow!

We had more actors than roles, and more women than men (guys, here's your chance!) In fact, because of the abundance of women in the cast, we gender changed a few parts. The most notable: in The Shadow, the mad bomber was originally named Anton Spivek but we changed it to Antoinette, and Betty did a great job!

We have a revolving list of performers. Get on the list by contacting me. Once you perform, you go to the bottom of the list, so those at the top of the list get first dibs on being in the next show. It's fair to everybody.

How Hard is it to Do Old Time Radio Shows?

We meet on the 2nd Wednesday of the month from 3 to 4pm at the WLE Clubhouse. At that time, we'll talk about old time radio, read a script or two, and plan our upcoming productions. Newcomers are welcome!

Once a show is scheduled, the prep-work is fairly easy. One read-through, one, maybe two rehearsals, and then we perform.

So it's not a very large commitment.

We'll pick the actual dates once we have enough performers to make a go of it. Then we'll promote our performance date in the Golden Willow and in the Facebook groups.

If we have fun and the community enjoys it, we'll do it again. And again. Let's take it a step at a time.

Interested? Live in Willow Lake Estates?

Send an email to don@gingold.info or send a Facebook message or call me at 630-621-0824. Let me know you'd like to try.

I'm looking forward to hearing from you!