"NPR PLAYHOUSE" PRESENTS
A TREASURE CHEST OF RADIO DRAMA

       Tales of fantasy, mystery and spine-tingling terror fill a treasure chest of radio drama as NPR PLAYHOUSE returns with its new fall season. The National Public Radio daily drama strip presents four different, yet equally exciting, series: NIGHTFALL, dedicated to keeping you awake at night; THE ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES, which unravels the mysterious adventures of the legendary sleuth of Baker Street; THE LORD OF THE RINGS, a made-for-radio adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's magical world of Middle Earth; and KEN NORDINE'S WORD JAZZ, a surrealistic romp through words and images. In addition, a variety of drama specials will be presented during the season. NPR PLAYHOUSE will premiere on NPR member station   (name)   on   (date)   at   (time)  .

       "Radio drama is undeniably enjoying a renaissance, and we believe NPR PLAYHOUSE to be the forefront of this resurgence," says NPR's Director of Performance Programming, John Bos. "With innovative producers like Ken Nordine, writers like David Mamet, and fine actors such as Tammy Grimes, Richard Crenna and Ian Holm, the new season of NPR PLAYHOUSE will show just how powerful and involving good radio drama can be."

       "In the dream you are falling...plummeting through a dark, seemingly bottomless chasm. You scream in terror with the wind. Suddenly, you awake - bathed in cold sweat, chills down your spine, heart pounding. It's NIGHTFALL." With these words the gravelly, ominous voice of NIGHTFALL's mysterious host Luther Kranst, introduces each program in a series dedicated to the strange...the uncanny...the bizarre. Stalking public radio listeners each week will be tales such as "Love and the Lonely One," the story of two medical students who steal a corpse as a lark and soon discover the joke's on them; "The Bodysnatchers," a radio adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's classic tale; and "The Repossession," the story of a man who is visited by the malevolent ghost of his Siamese twin brother who dies at birth.

       NIGHTFALL is a production of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. While the series is not intended to induce nightmares, CBC producer Bill Howell suggests listeners consider locking all doors before the program begins. "And if you're on the road," he says, "keep your hands firmly on the wheel."

Fall 1981