Greater Harrisburg's Community Magazine

Christmas Confidential: Strap on the laugh bag at Winter Radio Theater.

Tired of the same old holiday shows year after year?

Has Rudolph’s red nose lost its glow, and does “White Christmas” seem not so bright?

If so, maybe it’s time to turn off the tube for some live holiday lampooning by central Pennsylvania’s own resident comedy troupe, the Not Ready For Drive Time Players.

The longstanding comedic ensemble returns to the local stage this month with “Winter Radio Theater 2019” at the Center Street Grille in Enola, one of several venues the performing troupe has called home since its inception in 2003.

Although the group once numbered as many as 20 members, it now has a core of half-a-dozen local performers: John Butler, Randy Gross, Kelly Iris, Todd Matthews, Julia Tilley and Randy Whitaker.

“Our shows are a cross between ‘Saturday Night Live,’ ‘Monty Python,’ and ‘Firesign Theatre,’” said Matthews, alluding to several legendary comedy groups.

For “Winter Radio Theatre,” the troupe’s actors read directly from scripts like old-time radio theater performers from the 1930s or ‘40s, with skits such as serial dramas and yesteryear comedies that are reminiscent of the era. The productions aren’t totally comprised of wistful nostalgia, however. They also involve a modern-day twist of “Saturday Night Live” and a foley artist with live “spun” sound effects.

If you go, get ready to be entertained by such seasonal parodies as “Bernie Sanders Claus,” “Donald’s Christmas Carol” and “Snow Bunnies Against Climax Change.” Also, you might want to leave the little ones at home. The shows tend to have rather adult themes.

“It’s great to make people laugh,” Gross said. “I used to watch ‘Saturday Night Live’ back in the old days with the original troupe in the 1970s.”

In fact, the Not Ready For Drive Time Players derived their name from the Not Ready For Prime Time Players of “SNL.” The “drive time” in the local group’s name is a nod to the fact that “a lot of our original members worked in radio,” explained Gross, who formerly served as a creative services director for radio stations in Harrisburg and Gettysburg. Today, Gross’s “day job” is a copywriter for Weber Advertising & Marketing in Enola.

Matthews also has a radio background, having once served as a senior sales consultant and sales manager for Cumulus Broadcasting. Today, he is a senior corporate sales executive for the Harrisburg Senators and works with fellow troupe player and Senators’ general manager Randy Whitaker.

Gross and Matthews have performed together since 2003 when “It’s a Wonderful Christmas Carol,” an original radio play written by Gross, was aired on Christmas Eve morning on 93.5 WTPA-FM. The radio show featured actors who would go on to form the Not Ready For Drive Time Players in 2004. Also in 2004, the group transformed “It’s a Wonderful Christmas Carol” into its first live “Winter Radio Theatre” performance at Appalachian Brewing Co. in Harrisburg.

“It borrows a bit from (Orson Wells’ 1938 classic radio drama) ‘War of the Worlds,’” Matthews said. “Imagine you’re listening on the old Victrola. There are no costumes, just sound effects.”

In 2006, the players added “Halloween Radio Theater” to their performance schedule, and, today, Halloween shows remain part of the group’s yearly repertoire.

Also in 2006, Tilley joined the performers’ ranks.

“These guys make me laugh,” said Tilley, who works as a licensed clinical social worker at Enso Wellness in Harrisburg, the nonprofit beneficiary of the event. “It’s a great release for me. I’ve done theater since I was a kid, but I much prefer comedy. Laughter is very healing.”

Besides supporting Enso Wellness through the event, the group also will collect pet food donations.

Over the years, the troupe’s original material has won several awards. In 2008, the Landless Theatre Co. in Washington, D.C., presented its “So Bad, It’s Good” award for “Deep Inside Oz” and staged the radio play.

The Not Ready for Drive Time Players also performed a Christmas show in the nation’s capitol in 2008. In 2011, the skit, “Jaywalkers Anonymous,” was converted into a short play and performed at Theatre Southwest in Houston, Texas. It also was performed in 2014 as part of the First Laugh One-Act Festival in Chicago.

Despite their success, the troupe’s players remain loyal to their performing roots in greater Harrisburg.

“You don’t have to be in a big city to do this,” Gross noted.

Tilley added, “I hope people come away from our shows with the hope that, if they have some sort of crazy dream, they can do it, too.”

Winter Radio Theatre 2019 takes place Dec. 15 and 16 at the Center Street Grille, 4 Center St., Enola.

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