The Damon Runyon Theatre
Romance in the Roaring Forties
par Damon Runyon
The Damon Runyon Theatre brings the colorful world of New York’s Broadway underworld to radio, adapting stories by Damon Runyon. Its characters are gamblers, hustlers, show people, and other vivid city dwellers, often speaking in Runyon’s distinctive slang and rhythms.
Each broadcast presents a self-contained dramatic story, with narration and dialogue carrying listeners through a world of schemes, loyalties, romance, and unexpected turns. The title “Romance in the Roaring Forties” points to a story shaped around romance, told in the series’ characteristic theatrical style.
The show’s appeal lies in its lively language and affectionate portrait of people living by their wits. Runyon’s colorful voices and streetwise humor give the drama a warm, comic edge, while the radio performance makes Broadway’s bustling, larger-than-life atmosphere easy to picture.
This recording is part of the Old Time Radio collection.