Theatre of the mind

9/30/2026

Halloween brings a special theatricality to our lives. A glut of horror film reruns and literary choices are as plentiful as pop-up Halloween supplies shops with classics from Poe to the modern king of horror Steven King to more recent delights such as R. L. Stine. 

For many, it’s the seasonal live performing productions that truly titillate. Macabre surprises, and mayhem within a myriad of haunted houses attract countless fans of fright. The tradition of costuming, whether for youthful trick-or-treating or for adult cosplaying, lets young and old alike adopt an alter ego for a brief time. 

Few things match the audio immersiveness of great radio theatre. Harkening to the bygone audio artform that captivated America, this earliest form of mass entertainment played out through radio stations across the nation as they beamed their shows into the national homefronts. Add the beguiling charm and wit of the commercials peppered throughout these shows, and every listening audience soon became fixated with tuning into their favorite weekly offerings. 

This appealing performance art has been rekindled by Final Act Ensemble (FAE), based at the Des Moines Playhouse. In true opportunistic creation, this talented group has conjured a concoction of Halloween-y delight with their new show, “Fright Night.” This show promises to hold a bucketful of Golden Age of Radio treats, original works in the vein of that era, and a generous dose of rib-tickling commercials and content. FAE Director Jerry Eisenhour spared time to provide some details.

CS: Give us an overview of the FAE.

JE: The FAE is an old-time radio group of senior citizens, 55 or 60 and older, who love old time radio. We’ve been doing this for almost 20 years now. We take old-time radio scripts, edit them down, put several of the skits together, write some nutty commercials, do some songs from the 1940s, the Golden Age of radio. We put them together and go to retirement centers, churches, schools, the Iowa State Fair.  

CS: Talk a little about preparing for your performances.

JE: We have a lot of fun. We rehearse the songs, we rehearse the segments and put in light sound effects. This is a very valuable part of the show, just like old-time radio. It’s all about getting the story across to people. That’s the thing.

People have loved hearing stories from cave days, and that’s what the FAE does. We tell a story, we’re reading a story to (the audience), adding sound effects and music. A lot of our shows are comedy. We love to do comic shows. Fibber McGee & Molly and George Burns & Gracie Allen represent some of the material we use. 

CS: Share something about your special Halloween show.

JE: It has three segments. First is a story about a woman who lived 300 years ago, but her husband in the present day doesn’t know she’s that old. Second, we have a segment written by a member of the group, Susie McCaulley, who has written several scripts for us. This one is about a group of teenagers who are taking a ride after a late-night rehearsal, and things get complicated and frightening. The last segment is a short story by Ambrose Bierce. I don’t want to tell too much, but it’s one of the most horrifying things we have every done. It’s ghostly, there’s murder, all sorts of ghastly things. We also have two commercials written by group members that are absolutely nuts. One is about selling products to movie monsters.

CS: Are there any misconceptions people should dispel about FAE?

JE: People that hear this is a group of senior citizens doing the performances, they think of — I hate to say this —  “doddering old people.” This group of people is anything but doddering. They are lively, they are enthusiastic, they are spirited and, boy, do they have fun… maybe more fun than they should. 

More Halloween mayhem

Perhaps inspired by their senior counterparts at the Playhouse, the continually developing programming at Class Act Productions (CAP Theatre) in Altoona is giving young performers a similar experience as they produce their first radio theatre. Drawing from the Gothic fiction and horror of Edgar Allan Poe, this group of budding thespians presents “CAP Radio Hour: Poe’s Dark Tales” in early October. The Kate Goldman Family Series delivers a seasonally appropriate show in the Junie B Jones franchise, “Junie B Jones in Boo…and I Mean It.” Plus, the kooky, quirky Addams Family comes to life through Des Moines Young Artists’ Theatre. Plenty of showtime treats for all. n

 

John Busbee produces “The Culture Buzz,” a weekly arts and culture radio show on www.kfmg.org, covering Iowa’s arts scene with an inclusive sweep of the cultural brush. He received the Iowa Governor’s Arts Award for Collaboration and Partnership in the Arts. He has performed in more than 100 musicals, including many leading roles.