Explore every episode of the podcast Parson’s Nose Radio Theater

The legendary battle between the Devil and Daniel Webster, America's greatest jurist before a jury from...you know where. Story by Stephen Vincent Benet. Adapted by Lance Davis. Performed by PNT Company members Paul Perri, John Rafter Lee, James Calvert,Barry Gordon and John Harnagel. Sound by David Bennett. For more about us - and if you enjoy our work a sponsorship or donation would be greatly appreciated - go to https://www.parsonsnose.com/donations, and thank you. (30 min.)

"The emperor loved his fancy clothes so much! Too much! He loved his fancy clothes more than he loved his people! (Gasp!)"

The classic 19th Century story by a Danish "National Treasure", Hans Christian Andersen. 

Adapted by Lance Davis. Performed by PNT Company members Mary Chalon, Jill Rogosheske, Barry Gordon, James Calvert and John Rafter Lee. Sound by Lance Davis and Dave Bennett, courtesy of Creative Commons. Image by Edmund Dulac (1911)

Charles Dickens wrote a series of humorous sketches about young couples. Here we have one we have all encountered. Adapted and performed by PNT Artistic Director Lance Davis. 14 minutes.

Anton Chekhov's incisive one-act comedy. A Cossack soldier. A country widow. A debt. "I'll bring her down like a chicken!". Starring Parson's Nose Company members Christina Carlisi, Barry Gordon and Lance Davis. Adapted by Lance Davis. Music by Thomas Peters. Sound engineering by Dave Bennett. 32 minutes.

O Henry's lyrical, 1906 New York story of the innocent and hopeful Miss Leeson, who takes the magical Skylight Room in Mrs. Parker's boarding house. Adapted for radio by Lance Davis. Starring Jill Rogosheske as Mrs. Parker and Marisa Chandler as Ellie. Sound by David Bennett. 15 minutes. 

Do listen to all 56 episodes of Parson's Nose Radio Theater at www.parsonsnose.org, where you can find out more about our coming season! Tax deductible donations greatly appreciated at https://www.parsonsnose.com/donations

Anton Chekhov, Russia's finest playwright, who gave us "The Seagull", "The Cherry Orchard" and "Uncle Vanya", also had a gift for comedy.

Will Natalya and Lomov at last find true love? And for how long? Starring James Calvert, Marisa Chandler, and Lance Davis. Adapted by Lance Davis. Sound by Lance Davis and Dave Bennett. 22 minutes. For more Parson's Nose Radio Theater please go to www.parsonsnose.com. Please consider subscribing, and/or making a tax-deductible contribution.

American Kathrine Kressmann Taylor's chilling "correspondence" of two German art dealers, one in San Francisco and one in Munich, during the rise of Hitler. A remarkably prescient observation of the creeping engulfment of fascism. Starring Parson's Nose Company members, Tony nominee Barry Gordon and Paul Perri. Adapted by Lance Davis.

John Galsworthy, the Nobel Prize winning playwright and novelist who gave us "The Forsyte Saga", tells the story of immigrant bootmakers in 19th Century London. Performed by PNT company member John Rafter Lee (Ken Follett audiobooks) Adaptation by Lance Davis. (20 min.)

Parson's Nose Radio Theater presents the most popular work of Charles Dickens, the most popular writer of Victorian England. At PNT we emphasize the wonderful descriptive language  - the bits you skipped over in high school - now brilliantly brought to life by narrators Barry Gordon and Mary Chalon and the PNT Players. Recorded remotely under Covid restrictions. Adapted by Lance Davis. Sound by Dave Bennett and Lance Davis. We especially thank our sponsors, Dr. Mario and Therese Molina. Running time 1 hour 20 minutes. For more about us go to www.parsonsnose .org where your donations are most welcome. Please consider subscribing to our podcasts, signing up for our Noseletter, and liking us on Facebook. We wish you the merriest of holidays. Let us know what you think: lance@parsonsnose.com.

A delightful poem by Eugene Field (1850-1895), a nationally known Saint Louis/Chicago columnist, and also The Poet Laureate of Children for his work including "Wynken, Blynken and Nod", "The Duel" and "Little Boy Blue", written for his eight children. Performed by Peter Kovner. For more about us, for more podcasts, and / or to make a tax deductible donation, please go to www.parsonsnose.org.

Hans Christian Andersen's funny and touching story of a little fir tree who forgot to live in the moment.  A perfect story for the holidays - a time to reflect on how fortunate we are.

Adapted by Lance Davis. Starring Taylor Hawthorne as the Fir Tree, featuring Mary Chalon and Lance Davis. Sound by Dave Bennett and Lance Davis. (15 minutes) For more about us, please go to www.parsonsnose.org. Tax deductible donations greatly appreciated at www.parsonsnose.org/donate

For more about the amazing Hans Christian Andersen, please go to our "About Hans Christian Andersen" podcast.

Moliere's comic 17th Century masterpiece. Stingy, old Harpagon marries off his children, Elise and Cleante, to save money, and arranges his own marriage to poor young Mariane. Can they team up with matchmaker Frosine and trusty servants LaFletch and Valere to overcome his wicked plans? Featuring PNT Players Mary Chalon, James Calvert, Gary Lamb, Heather Taylor, Mo Beatty, John Harnagel, Sean York and Lance Davis. Translation/adaptation by Lance Davis. Music by Tom Peters. Running time 1:08. For more podcasts, information, or to make a much needed, tax deductible donation to Parson's Nose Theater, please click here.

By Hoyt Hilsman. Was it a miscarriage? A short one-act play, part of an ongoing collection by Mr. Hilsman, "Political Rights and Wrongs" which also includes "The Librarian" and "The Subsitute". First presented in the "Parson's Nose New Play Series" in the Fall of 2022. Starring Mary Chalon and Heather Taylor. Produced and directed by Lance Davis. For more PNT Radio Theater podcasts, please go to iTunes, Spotify, or www.parsonsnose.org, where your tax-deductible donations are always welcome. Please send your feedback to lance@parsonsnose.org. And please spread the word.

Another episode of Hoyt Hilsman's collection "Political Rights and Wrongs". which premiered in Parson's Nose Theater's New Play Series in Fall 2022. Now in podcast form. A librarian is summoned before her school board to explain her decisions. Performed by PNT Company members Jill Rogosheske and Paul Perri. Directed and produced by Lance Davis. 10 minutes. For more about Parson's Nose, its podcasts, or to make a tax-deductible donation, please go to www.parsonsnose.org.

By PNT Resident Playwright Hoyt Hilsman. Premiering in the Parson's Nose "New Play Series" in November 2022. One of an ongoing series of "Political Plays" by Mr. Hilsman. Performed by PNT Players Jill Rogosheske and Paul Perri. Directed and produced by Lance Davis. 11 minutes. Brief adult language. For more podcasts, and more about Parson's Nose, please go to www.parsonsnose.org. Tax free donations are always greatly appreciated.

How rarely we listen to the most audacious (and treasonous!) response to oppression in American History! 56 men met in cramped quarters in the hot, muggy, Philadelphia June of 1776. The windows were nailed shut lest spies report on their discussions.  They argued about taxation, slavery, big states vs. small states. The one mission that became clear was the need for independence from English tyranny. They signed a document declaring to all that a new nation had been founded. They  sparked the fire that lit the world. #audiodrama @PNTheater #podcast

Tom Taylor's popular comic-melodrama, previously overshadowed by its connection to the assassination of America's beloved President, Abraham Lincoln, now "recalled to life" by the Parson's Nose Players: James Calvert, Christina Carlisi, Mary Chalon, Marisa Chandler, Paul Perri, John Harnagel, Jill Rogosheske, Heather Taylor, Barry Gordon and Lance Davis. Running time: 80 minutes. Pause whenever you wish and pick up again. Tell your friends, and please consider subscribing to our "Parson's Nose Radio Theater" podcasts "wherever you get your podcasts". For more about Parson's Nose Theater, and for all our episodes, please go to www.parsonsnose.org where you can also make a tax-deductible donation!

Jean Giraudoux's modern fairy tale, written in Nazi-occupied Paris in 1944. Speculators threaten to destroy the neighborhood, and all Paris, by drilling below for oil. Can the fanciful "little people" save their beloved Chaillot? A beautiful story of empowerment and hope. Starring the Parson's Nose Players, Mary Chalon as Countess Aurelia, Jill Rogosheske, Marisa Chandler, Heather Taylor, John Lee, John Harnagel, Gary Lamb, James Calvert, Barry Gordon, Paul Perri, Ronny King and Lance Davis. Original score by Tom Peters. Adapted by Lance Davis. Running Time: two glasses of wine.

Henry G. Lee was a poet, a South Pasadena High graduate, and a soldier in World War 2.  He was captured while defending the Bataan Peninsula and spent the war in a POW concentration camp. His poetry, found wrapped in canvas and buried beneath his tent, expresses the reality, the despair and the longing experienced by his men. He died in a Japanese "Hell Ship", bombed by American planes. 

For Black History Month. "You are a man, and so am I." In 1848, former slave Frederick Douglass published at letter to Thomas Auld, his former slave master, on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of his escape. The eloquence, power and dignity of this self-taught man proclaims his rightful place in the pantheon of American heroes.

Parson's Nose believes it is our privilege and joy to know these great works. 

Performed by acclaimed American actor/director Gregg T. Daniel. Produced by Lance Davis.

Running time 26 minutes.

For more about us and for all of our Radio Theater podcasts, please go to parsonsnose.org where you can sign up for our NoseLetter. We are also on Facebook, and Instagram. You can subscribe to our podcasts on Spotify and iTunes. "Alexa, play Parson's Nose Radio Theater"!

All those Irish beggar children. What's to be done? If you have a better solution, let's hear it. Jonathan Swift, Trinity College Dean, presents "a Modest Proposal for Preventing the Children of Poor People From being a Burthen to Their Parents and Country." Adapted and recorded by Lance Davis for Parson's Nose Radio Theater. 17 minutes. Also available at www.parsonsnose.org. It's rough sailing for small theater groups.Please consider subscribing. Donations much appreciated.

We're so fortunate to have long time friends who coincidentally happen to be wonderful artists. Such is the case with Mr. Warren C. Bowles, a compatriot from University of Notre Dame, University of Minnesota, Angers France, and a founding member of the Mixed Blood Theater, actor, director, and teacher, in arts-vibrant Minneapolis. "Bowles" stopped by for a PNT reunion last week while visiting LA, and we harassed him into giving us a bit of his favorite Shakespeare, The Tempest. Two bits, actually. Caliban's plea to escape his enslavement, and Prospero's plea to the audience to free him to go back to Naples. Two short speeches that once again display the imaginative genius of the boy from Stratford. Who else would put poetry into the mouth of a half human/ half beast. Who else would ask the audience' breath to fill his sails back to his homeland. So effortless. (5 minutes)

Hans Christian Andersen was one of the world's most creative authors of fairy and folk tales, popular with both young and old in the 19th Century. Born in the little town of Odense, in Denmark, he overcame much to become a "Danish Treasure". His works, filled with the whimsy and pathos of his own life, have been celebrated throughout the world.

A classic American ghost story by Walter B. Gibson. Lamont Cranston, aka The Shadow, uses his extraordinary powers - "soon to be available to all law enforcement agencies" - to bring evil-doers to justice. Introduction and adaptation by Lance Davis. Starring John Rafter Lee, Mary Chalon, Barry Gordon, Jill Rogosheske, James Calvert and Marisa Chandler. Sound by Dave Bennett. All 46 PNT podcasts are available 24/7 on Spotify, iTunes, or at www.parsonsnose.org. Please consider subscribing. For more about us, please go to www.parsonsnose.org. Your tax deductible donations at www.parsonsnose.org are greatly appreciated. Live "radio style" performances of The Shadow will take place in our "Bump in the Night" production at our theater. Details at www.parsonsnose.org "Live Events".

Another Parson's Nose Radio Theater classic! Edgar Allan Poe, writer, poet, American Gothic pioneer, creator of the "detective genre", gives us his tale of revenge and murder. Adapted by Lance Davis. Performed by Parson's Nose Company members Gary Lamb and John Harnagel. Sound by Lance Davis and Dave Bennett. (15 min.) Make your tax deductible donation at www.parsonsnose.org

A one hour - pause whenever you wish! - Parson's Nose Radio Theater presentation of Dion Boucicault's 19th Century masterpiece. Heroes, villains, bankruptcy, love, all in comic melodramatic form, adapted by Lance Davis, featuring the PNT Players, with sound by Dave Bennett. For those in the area, "Streets of Pasadena" will mark Parson's Nose' return to live performance, in radio theater style, October 2,3,9 and 10! Tickets can be purchased at www.parsonsnose.com or call 626-403-7667. Do join us! We'd love to see you. Seating is limited. Proof of vaccination and masks will be required.

John Galsworthy's satirical discussion between himself and a college chum, now a repressed Church of England minister, on the puzzling definition of "Christian" marriage. If, in male-dominated Victorian society, God particularly rewards "suffering", in a "failed" marriage who is more deserving, the socially unconstrained husband or the narrowly restricted wife? And whose role is it, to judge?  Adapted by Lance Davis. Performed by PNT Company members John Rafter Lee (Ken Follett Audiobooks) and Lance Davis. Sound by Dave Bennett. (13 minutes)

Welcome to Episode 42 of the Parson's Nose Radio Theater. Tonight, our PNT New Plays Workshop presents "Angela", a one act play by PNT Resident Playwright  Hoyt Hilsman. A detective. A suspect. And at least one victim.

"Angela"  is performed by PNT company members Mary Chalon as Angela, and Jill  Rogosheske as Detective Howe. Directed by Lance Davis, with sound by  Dave Bennett. Please note, "Angela" contains realistic dialogue, intended for mature audiences. (26 minutes)

For more about us, and all 41 of this season's episodes, please go to www.parsonsnose.org. We are available free to all, 24/7, on iTunes, Spotify, "wherever you get your podcasts". Donations and subscriptions are deeply appreciated. Please spread the word.

Deemed "the best farce of the 19th Century" by the New York Times. Before "Fawlty Towers" was "Box and Cox", an immensely popular one act play, written in 1848 by British playwright John Maddison Morton. A souffle of silly comedy performed by PNT Company Members Barry Gordon, Mary Chalon and Lance Davis, with sound engineering by David Bennett. 30 minutes.

Parson's Nose Radio Theater loves Hans Christian Andersen. Tonight, Denmark's greatest storyteller gives us the tale of Mama and Papa snail, who live under the dock leaves by the pond, and whose greatest dream is to be fried and served with butter in the Manor House. Adapted by Lance Davis for City of Pasadena Cultural Affairs "Spring ArtNight 2021". Performed by PNT company members Mary Chalon and Lance Davis, with Sound by David Bennett. Original image by the amazing Vyacheslav Mishchenko. 14 minutes. For all our podcasts, for more about us, to sign up for our Noseletter, and perhaps make a donation, please go to www.parsonsnose.org.

A bit of background about Kenneth Grahame and his sources for "Wind in the Willows."

Chapter One - Moley meets the Riverbankers. (15 Minutes)

Adapted by Lance Davis. Performed by Lance Davis and Mary Chalon under during the pandemic of 2020. Sound Design by David Bennett.

For more about Parson’s Nose, a professional, not-for-profit theater in its 20th season introducing classic works in under 90 minutes, please go to www.parsonsnose.org.  Donations at www.parsonsnose.org/donate. And thank you!

Chapter Two - Introducing Mr. Toad. (23 Minutes)

Adapted by Lance Davis. Performed by Lance Davis and Mary Chalon. Sound Design by David Bennett.

For more about Parson’s Nose, a professional, nonprofit theater in its 20th season introducing classic works in under 90 minutes, please go to www.parsonsnose.org.  Donations at www,parsonsnose.org/donate and thank you.

Chapter 3 - Moley Lost in The Wild Wood! (9 Minutes)

Adapted by Lance Davis. Performed by Lance Davis and Mary Chalon. Sound Design by David Bennett.

For more about Parson’s Nose, a professional, nonprofit theater in its 20th season introducing classic works in under 90 minutes, please go to www.parsonsnose.org.   Donations at www.parsonsnose.org/donate and thank you!

Chapter Five - Home at Last. (9 Minutes)

The Parson’s Nose Radio Theater of the Air presents Kenneth Grahame’s immortal “Wind in the Willows: Part One, The Riverbankers!”

Adapted by Lance Davis. Performed by Lance Davis and Mary Chalon. Sound Design by David Bennett.

For more about Parson’s Nose, a professional, nonprofit theater in its 20th season introducing classic works in under 90 minutes, please go to www.parsonsnose.org. Donations gladly accepted at www,parsonsnose.org/donate and thank you!

Chapter Four - Mr. Badger’s Bungalow. (11 Minutes)

Badger gives Moley a tour of his underground lair and a lesson in mankind's folly.

Adapted by Lance Davis. Performed by Lance Davis and Mary Chalon. Sound Design by David Bennett.

For more about Parson’s Nose, a professional, nonprofit theater in its 20th season introducing classic works in under 90 minutes, please go to www.parsonsnose.org. Donations gladly accepted at www.parsonsnose.org/donate and thank you!

Each year at this time the Parson's Nose family gathers for a somewhat chaotic celebration of Irish poetry, song and humor. We're a bit short on the music this year because of the hazards of remote recording, but we've put together a fun and thoughtful 40 minutes we hope you'll enjoy. Compiled and written in part by Lance Davis. Featuring PNT company members Associate Artistic Director Mary Chalon, Barry Gordon, Marisa Chandler, John Rafter Lee, Dorothy Brooks, John Harnagel, Gary Lamb, Taylor Hawthorne, Alan Brooks, Paul Perri, Laurine Price, James Calvert, and I hope I didn't leave anyone out. Sound by Dave Bennett. For more about us, go to www.parsonsnose.org where you can also subscribe to our Noseletter and even make a tax deductible contribution! It's rough sailing for arts groups. Your generosity is greatly appreciated. And tell your friends! "Alexa, play Parson's Nose Radio Theater!"

Denmark's genius storyteller, Hans Christian Andersen, tells the tale of a Papa who goes to the fair. Adapted and performed by Parson's Nose Radio Theater Artistic Director Lance Davis, with sound by David Bennett. 12 minutes.

PNT is a 501c3 nonprofit theater, now in its 20th season "introducing the classics" in Pasadena, California. In this Covid environment we're bringing back the tradition of The Mercury Theater and old time radio. For more about Parson's Nose, and for all of our podcasts, please go to www.parsonsnose.org. And tell your friends! Tax deductible donations are more than welcome in these times.

A twenty minute tribute by Hoyt Hilsman to the irreverent wit and musical brilliance of Mr. Tom Lehrer.

"The Vatican Rag", "Werner von Braun", "New Math" and "The Elements" were just a few of his smart, sometimes wicked contributions to the 1950s coffeehouse scene of Dave Brubeck, Mort Sahl, Mike Nichols and Elaine May. Written by Hoyt Hilsman. Performed a bit by Lance Davis. Sound by Dave Bennett. Give a listen!

 In honor of the inauguration of a new president and vice president, we offer ten poems that have inspired Americans. 

Works by Francis Scott Key, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Thomas Buchanan Read, Julia Ward Howe, Langston Hughes, Walt Whitman, Rosemary Carr Benet, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Henry Van Dyke and Emma Lazarus. 

They're performed by PNT Company members Mary Chalon, Paul Perri, Barry Gordon, Jill Rogosheske, Taylor Hawthorne and Lance Davis. Sound Design by Dave Bennett.

Please do subscribe if you enjoy our work. You can find out more about us, and make a tax deductible donation if you can, on our webpage. It's rough sailing for small theaters. Your support is greatly appreciated. Thank you.

 The classic adventure every school boy and girl should hear. Performed by PNT Company member Barry Gordon.

 A young girl does her part to create America. Performed by PNT Artistic Director Lance Davis.

 The women at home also serve.

Performed by PNT Company member Jill Rogosheske.

 by Julia Ward Howe. Performed by PNT Company member Paul Perri.

 The American Poet...

 The lady in the harbor. Performed by PNT Co-founder Mary Chalon.

 You must go away to appreciate home. Performed by PNT Cofounder Mary Chalon.

 Written by legendary American poet Langston Hughes. A call to America to live up to the promise Walt Whitman described. Performed by PNT Company member Taylor Hawthorne. 

 By Lawrence Ferlinghetti. We are all waiting. Performed by PNT Artistic Director Lance Davis.

.Thank you for listening! Lift your glass to the greatest experiment in democracy the world has ever known.