- Playing
- Music Box Man
- From
- Jonathan Menjivar
Mark Noller plays the organ at Chicago's Music Box Theatre during intermission and for many of the silent films that the Music Box shows. But it turns out that he has another theatre he plays at too. It's in south suburban Manteno, IL, can accommodate up to 28 seats, and is built in his 600 square foot, one and half car garage. After purchasing his own organ online a couple years, he realized he wasn't comfortable storing it in any of Chicago's historic theaters. So he bought some materials at the hardware store, hired a crew, and over 18 months built a replica of the Music Box in his garage.
Originally aired on Weekend America.
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Piece Description
Mark Noller plays the organ at Chicago's Music Box Theatre during intermission and for many of the silent films that the Music Box shows. But it turns out that he has another theatre he plays at too. It's in south suburban Manteno, IL, can accommodate up to 28 seats, and is built in his 600 square foot, one and half car garage. After purchasing his own organ online a couple years, he realized he wasn't comfortable storing it in any of Chicago's historic theaters. So he bought some materials at the hardware store, hired a crew, and over 18 months built a replica of the Music Box in his garage. Originally aired on Weekend America.
2 Comments
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Review of Music Box ManA nostalgic version of Gershiwn's 'Summertime' begins this piece. I am only 29, so nostalgia for me means remembering the old movies and programs I grew up watching on television, or the Old Time Radio plays I grew up listening to. They were often accompanied by an organ much like the one Mark plays, taking me to a world of black and white reality. The music cues signalled suspension of disbilief, and the black and white allowed me to put my own colors.
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Broadcast History
Originally broadcast on Weekend America, August 20, 2005.
Transcript
It’s generally quiet here in Manteno – population, 8,200. Depending where you happen to be in town, you might hear the whir of car on Highway 50 or sprinklers tinkling on the lawns of retirees. Or if you were close enough to Mark Noller’s garage, maybe you’d hear this.
(slow, dreamy organ sound fades up and continues through “Spanish lantern” cut).
(:07) I’m the last theater organist on the payroll of a movie palace by the name of the Music Box.
The Music Box is one of those gorgeous old movie palaces made to look like a Spanish mission. It’s got these giant sweeping arches and faux balconies. It’s incredible. But I’m not at the Music Box today. I’m in Mark’s garage. This tiny 600 square foot space where he’s built a detail for detail replica of the Music Box. There’s 28 green lawn chairs instead of plush, red seats, but otherwise…everything in here is spot on. The ceiling is pa...
Read the full transcript
Timing and Cues
Suggested Host Intro:
It’s summer, which means you’ve probably seen a summer blockbuster movie or two to try and get away from the heat. But if you’re like most of us, you probably saw that movie in a multiplex and not at a historic movie palace. So there probably wasn’t an organist playing before and after the movie…there’s not many theatres left who still employ organists. Producer Jonathan Menjivar (men-HEE-var) visited one of Chicago’s last theater organists at his home in Manteno, IL…a small town in the middle of cornfields about an hour south of Chicago.
Additional Files
- Music Box Man Script (marknollerscript4.doc)
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Phil Corriveau
Posted on October 09, 2005 at 11:23 AM | Permalink
Review of Music Box Man
What a delight it was to listen to Jonathan Menjivar’s piece on the Theatre Organ. This is a well-written, superbly mixed feature that masterfully paints a picture of Mark Noller’s replica of Chicago’s Music Box Theatre. The piece is nicely edited to include lots of examples of the instrument. I liked the fact that the producer included his script on-line. To my ear, it had the right balance of narration, music and interview. Overall, this is a great example of radio’s capability to create Theatre of the Mind.