THE IMAGINATION THEATRE NEWSLETTER!

THE IMAGINATION THEATRE NEWSLETTER!

Hello all, it's a new year and the days are starting to get a bit longer although winter is still with us. We've got several things to tell you about so let's get started.

FROM THE DESK OF JIM FRENCH

This month marks the fifth anniversary of the broadcast of the first Harry Nile episode with Larry Albert in the role of Harry. Some time back we asked him if he would write down his thoughts about taking over the role and just how it happened. We've had several requests for copies of the piece so we're offering it here as a part of this issue of the newsletter. We've updated the article a bit but outside of that it's exactly as it appeared three years ago.

MIGHTY BIG SHOES TO FILL

It was five years ago this month and I was sitting at my desk in the combination office/studio of Jim French Productions when Jim walked in with a look on his face that clearly said something bad had happened or was going to happen. He didn't waste any time with "Good morning" or "How was the weekend?" he simply said in a low voice "Phil Harper's dead." There followed a stunned silence on my part as I tried to take in what I'd just heard and, just like in the stories, an avalanche of emotions and thoughts rushed over me.

I'd known Phil for many years, we'd shared the same agent and I'd worked with him on over 60 Harry Nile episodes and several non-Nile shows. I'd just seen him at the September live audience recording session some two weeks earlier. He was more then just an actor he was a presence. A bit bigger then life, welcomed wherever he went.

Jim and I sat in the room for some minutes, not saying anything. After a while I felt it necessary to be the one to broach the subject of future of Harry Nile. I know that it may seem to some that I was rushing the discussion, and perhaps I was, but I wanted to talk about something, anything to get past the sadness of losing a friend and as it turned out so did Jim. We'd both known Phil's health wasn't the best and that he could go anytime, it was just that we'd both clung to the fantasy that he'd be around forever regardless of that knowledge. And of course Phil was Harry Nile and had been since 1976. That's 28 years! When someone's played a role that long it's seems inconceivable that anyone else could step into those shoes and be accepted by the audience. Jim knew that if he ever wanted to end the series then this was the best time to do it. He also knew that Phil had hoped the show could continue if anything should happen to him.

We talked about audience reaction to a different voice, or should we try and look for a Harper sound a like to be safe. Should the new actor be directed to copy Phil's style or should he be encouraged to establish his own? Most importantly we talked about the essence of Harry Nile and would we be able to find a talent that could understand and portray it as well as Phil, since it was he and Jim who'd created and developed that essence over the years. Hard questions, and as we talked I made out a short list with the names of five men I felt should be considered for the part if Jim decided to continue the series, all the while I'm espousing my idea of just who Harry Nile is and what the chosen actor would have to bring to the role from the start. Suddenly Jim literally threw up his hands and said, "I know who should play Harry Nile!" I asked "Who?" and he said "You!"

I won't go into the reasons why he chose me, that's something for Jim to write about, but suffice to say I was startled, thrilled and scared all at the same time. I'd never, ever seen myself as Harry Nile. I'm Dr. Watson, that's my main role in the JRF universe and I'm more then happy with it. To suddenly be told I'm going to play the character that's the foundation this company was built on and who to listeners around the country had always had the same voice, well I simply wasn't ready to hear that. However, once Jim made it clear he wasn't kidding we talked about when I'd take over and what I could expect as a public reaction. We both knew there'd be some who'd not be willing to accept any new voice for Harry. They'd be the ones who'd want the series to stay pure with Phil to be the only voice of Harry Nile, ever. We also knew, or rather hoped, that there would be many more who'd be willing to give the "new kid" a chance. What we didn't know was the answer to the fundamental question of was it Harry Nile that the public liked or was it Phil Harper or a combination of both? Keeping that in mind it was decided to introduce me as the new Nile at our November live audience recording session at the Kirkland Performance Center.

Normally at these sessions we record a Harry Nile first and, following a break, we then do a Sherlock Holmes. This time we decided to reverse the order to heighten the suspense. When all of the audience was back in their seats Jim gave a short history of what had happened and how he'd arrived at his choice for the new voice of Harry. I was in the wings sweating bullets. In my head I was playing out all sorts of disastrous scenarios. My name is said and the theater rings with boos and "Oh no, not him." Or there's deafening silence with grown men quietly weep in despair and women fainting from shock. Then I heard Jim say, "The new Harry Nile is Larry Albert!" I stepped onto the stage to the sound of cheering and applause, prolonged and loud. I hadn't said my first line as Harry yet, but that's when I knew it was Harry they really loved and they were truly happy he wasn't going to disappear from their lives.

In the intervening years and after, to date 59 episodes, I've done my best to keep the essence of Harry Nile alive, while developing my own identity as the character. I've never tried to impersonate Phil or devalue his work. We're two different men from vastly different backgrounds and our Harry's, while they share the same basic intrinsic values, approach life from very different viewpoints, and as expected there has been some rejection of my interpretation, but as hoped there have been far more positive responses to the change, and of course those hearten me. How do I feel about the negative reviews? Well, they sadden me, an actor's dream is to please one and all that will see or hear his performance, but I don't spend a lot of time dwelling on them. I can't, otherwise I'd go mad.

As the title of this article says I've stepped into some mighty big shoes and whether people think I've filled them or not I'm the one wearing them and I hope to continue to do so for many years

NEW DOUBLE CD SHERLOCK HOLMES RELEASE, THE VOICE IN THE SMOKE

Sherlock Holmes and the supernatural sounds like a perfect fit. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle must have thought so when he wrote The Hound of the Baskervilles and The Sussex Vampires. Or did he? Each of the stories has logical explanations for their otherworldly happenings; in the world of Holmes and Watson ghosts and ghoulies didn't exist. So it has been left to the authors of new Holmes stories to take the Great Detective into cases that deal with the unknown. Scottish master of the macabre, writer Daniel McGachey (They That Dwell in Dark Places, The Shadow in the Stacks and Shalt Thou Know My Name) in his original play The Voice in the Smoke takes the Baker Street duo to a seance conducted by a seer whose skills may equal Holmes.

From there the two follow the voice of a dead man who begs them to find his killer. You'll enjoy this feature length (75 Minutes) tale for many days to come. On the 2nd CD you'll find the edited version (48 Min.) that was broadcast on Imagination Thea tre. As a special bonus on CD #2 you'll hear The Estonian Countess, a story of Doctor Watson and his adventure with Holmes brother Mycroft. $16.95 for the CD set and $12.00 as a download. If you'd rather pay by check or money order simply mail them to Jim French Productions

NINTEEN NEW ADDITIONS TO THE SINGLE EPISODE DOWNLOADS

We're going to start off 2010 with 19 new shows for you to enjoy as $1.99 single episode downloads. Add these to your collection and look for more new additions soon. Check our site for episode specifics.

OUR $3.00 VALENTINE TO YOU!

Since we've made the $2.00 discs available to the public we've sent out several hundred of the Weekly CDs all over the country. We still have thousands of these CDs ready for you to order and add to your collection and remember these are the same discs that are sent out to the radio stations every week.

Now beginning on the first and running for the entire month of February we are going to lower the price of our $5.00 discs to $3.00 per CD. This is our thanks you to all of the folks who have help to keep Jim French Productions alive and Imagination Theatre on the air for the past year. As with the $2.00 discs when the any particular week's CDs are sold out that's it for that week. So for the shortest month of the year we offer our longest sale on any product to date.

To order all you have to do is go to www.harrynile.com on the web or call us on our toll free line 1-877-875-6453 Monday thru Friday if you are within U. S. borders or at 1-425-865-0458 if you're not. Have your Visa or MasterCard ready and we'll be happy to get your $2.00 or $3.00 Imagination Theatre CDs out to right away. If you'd rather pay by check or money order simply mail them to Jim French Productions 16215 SE. Roanoke Pl. Bellevue, WA. 98006 along with a complete description of what discs you'd like.

Get that one particular show or start collecting a whole series. "Hurry while supplies last.