WILLOUGHBY AND THE PROFESSOR
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This
12-part absurdist radio cartoon series was originally broadcast
as part of "Evening Muse with David Garland" on WNYC
in New York and distributed nationally as part of the series
"Usually Whimsical." Below
are brief descriptions of each episode. Click on the hyperlinks
below ... or...
check |
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 Joe Bevilacqua producing "Willoughby and the Professor" in WNYC's studios in New York (1992) |
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... or... "A Box of Nothing" ©1990 Robert Cirasa and Joe Bevilacqua, Cherry-Water Associates. |
Willoughby and the Professor begin
their grand experiment to "cure the world of all its ills"
(much to the dismay of their landlady, Ms. Witchway) by gathering
up some 13,000 roaches in a huge box and attempting to use their
"Space Puckering Device" to jettison the insects to
parts uncertain, but instead our heroes are, themselves, puckered
away, but to where? Written by Joe Bevilacqua and Robert J. Cirasa; Produced, Directed, and Voiced by Joe Bevilacqua. |
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... or... "The Red-suited Man" ©1990 Robert Cirasa and Joe Bevilacqua, Cherry-Water Associates. |
Our heroes (and their box) land
in the middle of the Saudi Arabian desert. Stranded and weak,
they are visited by a "by-the-book" Army tank commander,
an angry Bedouin on a biting camel, and a strangely evil-minded
Santa Claus. But will anyone rescue them? Written by Joe Bevilacqua and Robert J. Cirasa; Produced, Directed, and Voiced by Joe Bevilacqua. |
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"More Edible Than Durable" ... or... "You Smash My Monkey !" ©1990 Robert Cirasa and Joe Bevilacqua, Cherry-Water Associates. |
Willoughby and the Professor jettison
into the heart of a Brazilian Rain forest where they meet Dr.
Cheshire Del Gatto, a rather senile explorer living alone in
a tree house for 30 years. But will our heroes escape before
the local farmers set the Rain forest ablaze? Written by Joe Bevilacqua and Robert J. Cirasa; Produced, Directed, and Voiced by Joe Bevilacqua. |
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She Looks Great !" ... or... "Which Witchway is Which ?" ©1991 Robert Cirasa and Joe Bevilacqua, Cherry-Water Associates. |
Willoughby and the Professor land
home, only it's forty years in the past when Ms. Witchway was
a much younger and quite beautiful Madam. In their attempt to
"pucker" themselves forward in time, they only succeed
in jettisoning "old" Ms. Witchway back in time. What
will happen when the two Witchways meet? Written by Joe Bevilacqua and Robert J. Cirasa; Produced, Directed, and Voiced by Joe Bevilacqua. |
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World Lines" ... or... "I'm Big and You're Small" ©1991 Robert Cirasa and Joe Bevilacqua, Cherry-Water Associates. |
When the two Witchways meet it sets
off a chain of events which change the course of history, leaving
our heroes in an altered state -- Willoughby becomes incredibly
large, the Professor absurdly miniature -- and in a new world
line dimension in time and space. But where? Written by Joe Bevilacqua and Robert J. Cirasa; Produced, Directed, and Voiced by Joe Bevilacqua. |
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... or... "Unwanted-noises-in-the-air" ©1991 Robert Cirasa and Joe Bevilacqua, Cherry-Water Associates. |
The new world in which our heroes
find themselves is "The Land of Solitude and Singing,"
where they are forced to sing their thoughts by a dictatorial
half-Native American, half-Norse Shaman named Dances-with-Sven-Erikson.
This special musical episode features five original songs
by Bevilacqua and Cirasa, and musical accompaniment by the Paul
Salomone Jazz Trio. Written by Joe Bevilacqua and Robert J. Cirasa; Produced, Directed, and Voiced by Joe Bevilacqua. |
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... or... "Oh, Victim Man" ©1991 Robert Cirasa and Joe Bevilacqua, Cherry-Water Associates. |
Dances-with-Sven Erikson, having
just been accidentally jettisoned out of "The Land of Solitude
and Singing," lands in a city park of homeless hordes. There
he meets a melancholy poet, Bysshe, his wife (Ms. Witchway in
a different world line) and their baby (a devilish Incubus).
But where are Willoughby and the Professor? Written by Joe Bevilacqua and Robert J. Cirasa; Produced, Directed, and Voiced by Joe Bevilacqua. |
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... or... "Life is Duhkka" ©1991 Robert Cirasa and Joe Bevilacqua, Cherry-Water Associates. |
Ms. Witchway, her baby, and an idiot
hobo are jettisoned out of the homeless park and land in the
"Temple of the Cold and Holy Mountain," high in the
Himalayas, where they are instructed by a low-level Lama, who
mistakes the preternatural baby for the new Dalai Lama. Enter
Willoughby and the Professor with the mountain guide, Himalayas
Hinchcliffe. But why? Written by Joe Bevilacqua and Robert J. Cirasa; Produced, Directed, and Voiced by Joe Bevilacqua. |
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... or... "His Name is Bub" ©1991 Robert Cirasa and Joe Bevilacqua, Cherry-Water Associates. |
Willoughby, the Professor, the baby
find themselves in the steppes of Russia, held captive by Himalayas
Hinchcliffe, and forced to perform as carnival sideshow freaks.
Can Ms. Witchway (in her 4th incarnation) save them? Written by Joe Bevilacqua and Robert J. Cirasa; Produced, Directed, and Voiced by Joe Bevilacqua. |
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... or... "Knock-a-knock-a-knuckles" ©1991 Robert Cirasa and Joe Bevilacqua, Cherry-Water Associates. |
Back in the safety of Ms. Witchway's
"Boarding House for Lab and Lodgings," but still trapped
in another dimension, the Professor's new experiment with dogs
is interrupted by a strange holiday only celebrated in this new
world line. "With cap and bells and feastly smells,"
the Professor, Willoughby, his dog Bones, Ms. Witchway, her long
lost husband, Bysshe, their baby (now known as Bub,) Mrs. Malochia
the neighbor, lot's of visitors -- all celebrate that beloved
holiday: "Who's at the Door Day!" Written by Joe Bevilacqua and Robert J. Cirasa; Produced, Directed, and Voiced by Joe Bevilacqua. |
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... or... "Buboes in the Lymph-nodes" ©1991 Robert Cirasa and Joe Bevilacqua, Cherry-Water Associates. |
When the Professor finally succeeds
in "curing the world of all its ills" the world gathers
at his front stoop to elect him "Global Messiah" in
the strangest political campaign ever and to watch him cure the
last afflicted man on the face of the earth: Willoughby! Unfortunately
things go terribly awry, leaving the world more sickly and devastated
than ever before. This second musical episode in the series
features original songs by Joe Bevilacqua, and musical accompaniment
by the Paul Salomone Jazz Trio. Written by Joe Bevilacqua and Robert J. Cirasa; Produced, Directed, and Voiced by Joe Bevilacqua, with special guest narrator: David Garland. |
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... or... "Dead Men Do Not Groan" ©1991 Robert Cirasa and Joe Bevilacqua, Cherry-Water Associates. |
Willoughby and the Professor travel
by ox-cart, surveying the devastating effects of their failed
experiment. After discovering the earth is spinning backwards
and "faster-and-faster," the Professor decides they
must "pucker" home to their original world line so
that they can begin anew and correct the mistakes they've made.
Original songs by Joe Bevilacqua, and musical accompaniment by the Paul Salomone Jazz Trio. Written by Joe Bevilacqua and Robert J. Cirasa; Produced, Directed, and Voiced by Joe Bevilacqua. |
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