MILLBROOK — A capacity audience filled seats at The Fountains assisted living facility on Friday, April 24, for another production by the Radio Workshop.
Now a regular feature of The Fountains’ entertainment lineup, the Radio Workshop — a resident-led group that produces live, old-time-style radio plays — returned with an original mystery, continuing a tradition that began in 2024.
“Each year the group grows in numbers,” said Marge Wardrop, playwright, project director, play narrator and The Fountains resident who leads the Radio Workshop venture.
This year’s production,“The Speakeasy’s Secret,” moved between 1929 and 2026, with a brief stop in 1949, all kept straight by Wardrop’s narration. A third of the stage held the 1929 action, while the remaining two-thirds represented present day life at The Fountains. A piano situated between the two eras and played by Judy Handman and Arline Wood provided musical interlude before and during the performance.
Additional fun spots were provided by familiar old-time radio commercials presented by the cast and giggled over by the audience.
Live sound effects were in the hands of Shelia Attlesey and Pat Carr, while Wayne Chadwell managed the audio equipment.
The 11-scene story begins in 1929, when speakeasies operated in secret under Prohibition and backroom bookmaking was common. At Harry’s Place, business is faltering and a raid appears imminent. Harry, along with two associates and his wife Velma, decides to hide $100,000 in a location in upstate New York before authorities close in. Think Millbrook.
Harry is eventually imprisoned for 20 years, but the cash is said to have made it to Millbrook undetected and hidden somewhere. Harry’s granddaughter, Mabel, in 2026, is determined to find it, so she moves into The Fountains, along with her disagreeable, alienating personality.
Mabel’s behavior raises the suspicions of The Fountains residents, many of whom are into detective work.
The single clue that Mabel carries with her from her grandfather, Harry, is: “You’ll find the money if you change your ways.”
As residents reach out in friendship, Mabel gradually softens and shares the clue, having been assured that they just want to help her and don’t want a share of the cash.
Friendship wins out. Mabel changes her ways and her rough demeanor, and in short order, the cash is found in The Fountains’ chapel basement. That building did exist in 1929.
Mabel is so changed that she decides, along with her new friends, that money is no longer important and donates the funds to the chapel renovation fund. Mabel announces that she will move permanently to The Fountains.
The final scene takes care of the loose end of Harry’s release from prison in 1949, as his wife and cohorts are there to pick him up. They show interest in driving to Millbrook to reconnect with the money stash, but Harry reports that he has gone straight, no longer interested in the money, having turned over a new leaf thanks to the excellence of a prison program.
This final scene was clearly critical to seeing that the stash remained in place until 2026 for Mabel to find.
Judging from the hearty audience approval, The Fountains Radio Workshop will likely be encouraged to create more radio adventures for residents and visitors.
Meg Sher, executive director of the David M. Hunt Library in Falls Village.L. Tomaino 
