Today we have two Columbia Workshop selections created by Norman Corwin, known as the Poet Laureate of radio. These shows were both created before World War Two. First we have a hilarious Leap Year comedy when everything is backwards. It's Sadie Hawkins day when women can propose to men, a famous composer runs a dramatic theater company, and Burgess Meredith does vaudeville. Lots of well known radio personalities turning into the opposite of their public personas. This is Columbia Radio Workshop "The Great Microphone Mystery" first broadcast February 29, 1940 on CBS. Next we have a dramatic show from Columbia Workshop and Norman Corwin. It's a poetic, surreal exploration of a marriage made miserable by personalities and the economic pressures of the great Depression. Norman Corwin directed the show and augmented the language with unique sound effects. This is Columbia Workshop "Wake up and Die" first broadcast October 12, 1939 on CBS.
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