Music and Lyrics Julie Mandel, Book David Dachs
A musical about the birth of radio – and commercials.

Synopsis

Before Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak started Apple computer in a garage, young crystal set radio enthusiasts, inspired by the idea of plucking sound out of the air with a bit of wire and a small piece of crystal, built their own crystal radios out of the simplest materials, even though there was nothing to listen to but Morse code signals and military ship-to-shore messages. Soon those hobbyists inspired young entrepreneurs who realized there was money to be made by selling radio kits. Then content was needed to drive demand for the radios, and of course it wasn’t long before someone realized you could advertise on the radio. Radio became big business, and networks were born.

Set in 1913, Oatmeal Box follows two such dreamers in San Diego; Ken, the idealistic radio enthusiast who just wants to improve the technology, and Wayne, the aspiring businessman who sees the commercial potential and figures out how to tap it. In the course of the show they go from starting a business selling crystal set radio kits, to starting the first radio station on the West Coast to give people a reason to buy a radio, and eventually to realizing that the real money to be made isn’t from selling radios, but selling time to advertisers. Along the way they meet two sisters, Stella and Sinclair, date the wrong girl, and eventually marry the right one, and Ken’s mother and Wayne’s father go into business selling another new invention – the candy bar – and advertise it on the radio.

Given what’s become of so many inventions like television and computers, is their success progress, or the corruption of beautiful a dream? Ken and Wayne each have their own answer to that question, and it breaks them apart.

Cast
Ken Palmer 18-year-old science wizard
Mrs. Palmer His cookie-baking mother
Wayne Root 19-year-old entrepreneur
Mr. Root His candy-making father
Sinclair Baker Music lover
Stella Baker Her sister, business-minded bookkeeper
Fire Chief Adams Always ready to be bribed
U.S. Reserve Cutters Beemis, Phil, Gary
Dr. Hornsbach Ken’s mentor
Townspeople
Vaudeville Actors