What happens
Jim Anderson is asked to join a Springfield Little Theater production of Romeo and Juliet, and his daughter Betty and her friend Billy Smith are eager to cast him as Romeo's father. Margaret Anderson tries to help the children while Jim, who is reluctant at first, begins to warm to the idea. Father Knows Best is a family comedy series, and this episode first aired on March 1, 1951. The Anderson household gathers around the dinner table, where the children press their request and their parents weigh in. Jim eventually agrees, but not before the rehearsal turns into a series of mishaps and debates about his acting ability.
The Anderson home in Springfield, around the dinner hour and into the evening.
Characters: Jim Anderson, Margaret Anderson, Betty Anderson, Billy Smith, Bud Anderson, Kathy Anderson
Listen for: Jim's reluctant agreement to join the play, and the rehearsal scene in which the family tries out Shakespeare's lines.
Written from the episode itself; it never gives away the ending. Every recording is remastered for the stream: cleaned of rumble, hiss and mains hum (and the old TV whine where we found it), then levelled in two passes to steady broadcast loudness, so one show is never quieter than the next.