News release June 15, 2009

Contact: Lee Colony 262.564.2512

262.359.0798 (cell)

WGTD Radio Theater to present new ‘Jack Benny Show’ production

The “New Jack Benny Show,” with all the “kids” in Benny’s famous cast

returns to the airwaves on WGTD’s Radio Theater, at 11:15 a.m. June 27.

The award-winning 91.1 Players will present a new version of this classic

CBS and NBC comedy series. Joining Jack, Mary, Phil and Dennis will be

Dorchester, Rochester’s “British cousin,” announcer Don Wilson and special guest characters, Ronald and Beneta Coleman.

The show will be performed live in front of a studio audience in Room 120 of Gateway Technical College’s Center for Bioscience and Information

Technology, on the Kenosha Campus at 3520-30th Ave.

Producers Steve Brown and Michael Ullstrup have written a script that

captures the humor, wit and preciseness of a Benny original, staging it in the

manner of old-time radio. Brown and Ullstrup’s interpretation begins as Jack’s

hapless, hopeless writers break the news to him only moments before airtime

that they still haven’t come up with a script for the show. What Jack does to

solve this mess will keep you laughing.

The “New Jack Benny Show” brings back veteran actor Gary Stamm as

Jack Benny. “Gary Stamm’s performance is great -- you’ll think he is Jack Benny,” said

Brown. “The Benny show has always been one of the best comedy programs on the air. And Gary mirrors the immaculate timing and humor, those wonderful pauses that Jack always used to every advantage. For the studio audience, the deadpan looks and sidelong glances are a priceless bonus.”

Admission is free to be part of the studio audience. Audience members should plan to arrive no later than 10:55 a.m. WGTD can be heard in Racine and

Kenosha counties at 91.1 FM, in the Elkhorn area at 101.7 FM and in the Lake

Geneva area at 103.3 FM.

Vittoria DuMez plays Mary Livingstone, Terry Lawler plays bandleader Phil

Harris, and Ryan Farrell plays boyish tenor Dennis Day. Thom Powers plays

Jack’s butler, Dorchester, filling in for the traveling Rochester, while Cameron

Spencer plays a visiting guest star, actor Ronald Coleman. Don Jensen plays

Jack’s announcer, Don Wilson.

The original comedy series also starred the Sportsmen Quartet, ever ready to harmonize barbershop style at the drop of a “hum.” Taking their place in the “New Jack Benny Show” is the “Afterglow” Barbershop Quartet. The vocalists are: Bill Linnenkohl (tenor), Jim Deibler (lead) and Stamm (baritone) and Jim

Dresen (bass). Songs will include: ‘My Wild Irish Rose,” “Ain’t Misbehavin” and

“A Wink and a Smile.”

Food and beverages will be available at Café 91.1, a full-service coffeehouse located in the atrium of the building. For more information, contact

Steve Brown, (262) 813-0144, or David Cole, (262) 564-3030.

Gateway Technical College collaborates with communities in Kenosha, Racine and Walworth counties to ensure economic growth and viability by providing education, training, leadership and technological resources to meet the challenging needs of students, employers and communities.

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