What happens
Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve, the water commissioner of Summerfield, sets out to collect an overdue water bill from Madame Bertha Kimmel, a singing teacher. Her lively talk of opera careers persuades him that his own voice has great promise, and he begins taking singing lessons with her. His decision strains his friendship with the Jolly Boys quartet, whose members feel he has grown too proud to sing with them. The Great Gildersleeve is a radio comedy series, and this episode aired on NBC on February 23, 1949, starring Harold Peary.
Summerfield, a small town, including Gildersleeve's home, Madame Kimmel's cottage and the Jolly Boys' clubhouse above Floyd's barbershop.
Characters: Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve, Birdie, Madame Bertha Kimmel, Leroy, Marjorie, Judge Hooker, Peavey, Floyd
Listen for: Gildersleeve's grand plans for an opera career, Madame Kimmel's candid admission that his voice is not operatic material, and the Jolly Boys' decision to expel him from their quartet.
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.