Railroad Hour 51 02 05 (123) The Cat And The Fiddle

# The Cat and the Fiddle – The Railroad Hour

Picture yourself settling into your favorite armchair on a winter evening in 1951, the amber glow of your console radio casting long shadows across the living room. As the familiar whistle of the 20th Century Limited pierces the static, you're transported to the glamorous world of Jerome Kern's *The Cat and the Fiddle*—a tale of romance and musical enchantment that unfolds against the rhythmic clacking of train wheels. Tonight's production brings Kern's glittering melodies to vivid life, with a stellar cast delivering the bittersweet story of a composer and a songstress whose love affair plays out like a symphony itself. The lush orchestration swells between scenes of tender dialogue, and you can almost smell the cologne and cigarette smoke of the elegant setting. This is musical drama at its finest: sophisticated, emotionally resonant, and utterly captivating.

The Railroad Hour was ABC's answer to radio's golden age appetite for high-quality musical theater, presenting Broadway's greatest compositions in intimate, episodic form. Each week brought listeners a different classic musical, all framed within the charming conceit of a traveling theatrical troupe aboard a luxury train. *The Cat and the Fiddle*, with its European setting and Kern's sublimely romantic score, was perfectly suited to this format—allowing the show's talented cast and orchestra to showcase some of the most beloved melodies of the early twentieth century while maintaining the narrative continuity that kept audiences faithfully tuned in week after week.

Don't miss this exquisite evening of entertainment. Whether you're a devoted Kern admirer or simply seeking the sophisticated pleasures that only the golden age of radio could deliver, *The Cat and the Fiddle* promises an unforgettable journey into melody and romance.