Review: Cabinet of Curiosity Creates The Cabinet, an Old Time Radio Drama With Modern Twists
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If you find the story of the Somnambulist and Dr. Caligari compelling, you can watch the original 1920 silent film on YouTube (stream it to a large-screen TV if possible). It is worth watching if only for the design; the expressionistic black and white geometry of the set with its tilted walls, jagged angles and crazy diagonal staircases is visually stunning. The Chicago Symphony Orchestra celebrated Halloween in 2014 with a screening of the 1920 film, accompanied by original music by the punk classical organist, Cameron Carpenter, whose compositions draw on jazz, pop and film scores. His blazing performance technique and the iconic horror film made this a thrilling evening. You can experience old-time radio drama too; you can listen to episodes of “The Shadow,” which was based on 1930s pulp fiction. There were several other scary radio shows, like “Suspense” and “Inner Sanctum.” Read about them and listen to some episodes here, where the AVClub gathered up some of the best. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAtpxqajFak#Cabinet of Curiosity#Frank Maugeri#Mark Messing#Mickle Maher#Redmoon Theater#The Cabinet#The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari#Top Teasers
Nancy S Bishop
Nancy S. Bishop is publisher and Stages editor of Third Coast Review. She’s a member of the American Theatre Critics Association and a 2014 Fellow of the National Critics Institute at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center. You can read her personal writing on pop culture at nancybishopsjournal.com, and follow her on Twitter @nsbishop. She also writes about film, books, art, architecture and design.