Railroad Hour 51 06 04 (140) Very Warm For May
# Railroad Hour 51 06 04 (140) - Very Warm For May
Step into the swaying observation car on a sultry spring evening as *The Railroad Hour* brings Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II's delightful *Very Warm for May* to life through song and spoken word. This week's broadcast captures all the romantic confusion and toe-tapping melodies of the 1939 Broadway musical, transporting listeners from their living rooms to a summer theater nestled beside the rails. Expect charming vocal performances, witty banter, and those unforgettable Kern melodies that audiences fell in love with at the Alvin Theatre—including the show-stopping "All the Things You Are," a composition so perfect it became a jazz standard. The chemistry between characters crackles with genuine warmth as the story of theatrical hopefuls unfolds, complete with mistaken identities, romantic entanglements, and the kind of sophisticated humor that made Broadway golden.
*The Railroad Hour* occupied a unique place in radio's golden age, serving as America's premier venue for bringing Broadway directly into homes across the nation. From 1948 to 1954, the program leveraged the romance inherent in train travel to create an elegant frame for musical theater adaptations, with Gordon MacRae's smooth baritone anchoring nearly every production. By 1951, when this episode aired, radio drama was beginning its slow fade as television flickered on, making programs like this all the more precious—they represent the last hurrah of a medium that once defined American entertainment. Each week brought a complete musical play, orchestrated and performed live, a feat of coordination and artistry that modern audiences can scarcely fathom.
Slip your ticket into the conductor's hand and settle in for an hour of pure theatrical magic. Whether you're a devoted Kern aficionado or simply seeking respite in an era when stories came through speakers rather than screens, *Very Warm for May* promises genuine enchantment. Tune in and let the rails carry you away.