Radio's Golden Age on WCLV

This beast is the 1928 Wurlitzer theater organ used in WCLV's "The Mighty Wurlitzer Radio Hour," in its 19th year on 104.9. Larry Kass acquired this from the Plaza Theater in Kansas City. During the MWRH, Larry puts the script and the score on the music stand. His two assistants stand on either side. One turns music pages; the other points out where we are in the script. Larry can also play his grand piano from this keyboard.

You'll hear the "Theater of the Air Chorus" singing "The Best of Broadway" on the next "Mighty Wurlitzer Radio Hour," Friday, April 29th at 9 on WCLV.

Wear Black, Please

Thanks to the folks at the Cleveland International Film Festival for their hospitality on March 26, when I introduced a screening of a Chinese film entitlted "Piano in a Factory."

The plot revolves around an estranged couple. The young daughter says she'll live with whoever provides her with a piano. The father and his co-workers make a piano out of discarded parts from closed factory that's soon to be demolished. It's a buddy picture. The relationships among the man and his work colleagues account for a number of digressions, but the movie always returns to the piano and the daughter.

This is my 4th CIFF, always held at Tower City Cinemas in downtown Cleveland. It's always mobbed with film fans. You'll find more people wearing black per capita at CIFF than anywhere else in Cleveland.