Heard about the recent rumblings in L.A.? No, not earthquakes but rather a new audio theater production from L.A. Theatre Works and National Public Radio. On November 2, NPR opened its brand new production studio in Culver City, Calif. (dubbed NPR West). As part of the Westward, Ho! celebration, L.A. Theatre Works produced a live performance of an original radio play called "I'd Rather Eat Pants" by Peter Ackerman, staged at The Museum of Television & Radio in Beverly Hills on November 1. Ackerman's five-act, 40-minute comedy about an elderly couple's motorcycle journey from N.Y. to L.A. featured the talent of actors Ed Asner, Anne Meara and Ed Begley Jr. as well as NPR hosts Bob Edwards and Susan Stamberg.
Now NPR listeners (and audio aficionados) will get a chance both to hear the play on radio and to purchase it for their audio library. The week of December 16, NPR's Morning Edition will broadcast five, eight-minute segments (one per day) of the "I'd Rather Eat Pants" production on 577 public radio stations, reaching Morning Edition's approximately 13 million weekly listeners. Beginning December 20, retailers and consumers may order a CD recording of the play for $19.95 from L.A. Theatre Works at www.latw.org.