Shadow, The: The Little Man Who Wasn’t There

Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?

If you’re even passingly familiar with early-20th-century pop culture, you can probably answer that question. If you’re more than passingly familiar (and also something of a ham), you may insist on pairing the answer with a sinister, knowing laugh. If you can not only provide the answer, but also name the secret identity of the man in question, identify his “friend and companion” and some of his numerous agents, describe the mysterious recesses of his blue-lit sanctum, and enumerate the differences between the radio and pulp versions of the character, you may be a bona fide Shadow geek.

Created in response to a challenge from Jack Ward of The Sonic Society, this production (along with the forthcoming Meridian 7-1212) represents the first time in four years that Chatterbox has re-recorded an Old Time Radio script. It’s not something we plan to do regularly. But, as you can probably tell, it was a great deal of fun. Okay, so the script is a little dated, and hopelessly campy in places. And the radio Shadow never was as cool as his pulp counterpart. But “The Little Man Who Wasn’t There” is, first and foremost, a fun adventure story — and the whole experience made me feel like a kid again, listening intently to a recording of the original broadcast on a worn-out cassette. I hope it has the same effect on you.

And remember… The Shadow knows!

—Robert Arnold