Shane DeLancey is the director of Movie Palace Radio Hour: The Adventures of the Lone Ranger and The Shadow, playing at The Strand May 3-5.
Shane DeLancey
What do you do when you’re not directing at The Strand?
My full-time job is as the Entertainment Manager at Six Flags Over Georgia. Between the regular season, Fright Fest and Holiday in the Park, I’m lucky to get to produce shows and entertainment all year!
Besides this one, what upcoming Strand show are you most excited about?
Well, I’m directing Jukebox Giants:Motown & More and A Christmas Tradition this year, so that’s exciting for me because it gives me the opportunity to find new ways to present great music to the audience with songs they love. But Ed Asner has a show coming so come on, who isn’t excited about that?
What sort of person is going to love this show?
Every person in the world. And they should all get their tickets at strandmarietta.org.
What’s challenging about bringing this script to life?
Most challenging for this show is the balancing of a medium that was originally presented as an audio broadcast, staying true to that format, but keeping it interesting for a live audience. The live musical performances throughout by the Georgia Symphony Orchestra certainly fills the room with energy and watching the sound effects being performed live on stage is very entertaining and, sometimes, quite unbelievable.
I hope that during the show the audience will take some opportunities here and there to close their eyes and enjoy the show the way it was originally presented. The cast is great! There are incredible actors in this group, and it’s really them who bring it to life and make the challenges for me, as a director, quite minimal.
Why did you want to be involved in this production?
Because it’s so different from anything else I’ve had the opportunity to do and so different from anything that anyone else is doing. I am just thrilled that The Strand gave me the chance to work on it!
How is this production bringing something new to this story?
I think it is less about bringing new elements to the story and more about learning things about the story that you never knew.
I, like so many others, grew up watching The Lone Ranger but never thought about how he came to be, why he wears a mask, how he got his name. Those are things that I’ve learned while working on this show and things that the audience will learn as we present the origin story of The Lone Ranger. Same with The Shadow. I knew of The Shadow but knew very little about him. Our first Shadow episode in this show is actually the very first Shadow radio episode that was ever broadcast back in 1937 so Lamont Cranston gives a detailed explanation on how and why he became and remains… The Shadow.
What’s going to surprise people about this show?
Vic Reynolds. When they told me Vic was going to be The Lone Ranger I was thinking, “I mean, it sounds cool on paper having the head of the GBI as The Lone Ranger, I get the connection, but we’ve got all of these incredible professional voice actors doing great characters and we’re just going to throw Vic in the middle of it, like he’s supposed to be there?” Well, guess what? He is supposed to be there! He sounds great. He takes direction. He comes to work, does his job, does it well and keeps his mouth shut. From a director’s standpoint, those are all the qualities of a perfect actor! Haha! But seriously, I was surprised at how well he has fit right in. The audience is going to love him as The Lone Ranger!
Which is the best night to come?
I would say the best nights to come will be 8pm on Friday, May 3rd or Saturday, May 4th because if you come the night of Sunday, May 5th you will have missed the show because it’s at 3pm.
Call someone out by name: who must come see this production?
Kevin Bunch must come see it because he’s the Technical Director and has to run sound.
Who has the best costume?
According to the Oscars, Black Panther.
Who in the show is most like their character?
Vic Reynolds as The Lone Ranger, easily.
Who’s the least?
Matthew Goodson, who plays The Shadow, looks so nice and unassuming. Then he becomes The Shadow with that deep voice and evil laugh and I’m like, “Who am I looking at?” He’s great and puts you right in the middle of the mystery.