What happens
Luigi Basko, a young immigrant in America, plans a big Easter dinner with his school friends and a surprise birthday party for Rosa, the daughter of his landlord Pascuali. He has saved forty dollars for food, but when his neighbor Mr. Pascuali takes the money back to pay the overdue rent, Luigi must find a way to keep his promise. He is turned down for credit by the fruit seller and the butcher, and he begins to fear his guests will go hungry. The story is told through his letters to his mother in Italy and the lively scenes of his friends and family.
Early 1950s America, a city neighborhood around Easter, with a school, a fruit market, a butcher shop, a park and Luigi's apartment.
Characters: Luigi Basko, Pascuali, Rosa, Mr. Schultz, Mr. Olson, Mr. Horowitz, Miss Pauling, Mr. Warner
Listen for: Luigi's letters to his mother in Italy, and the schoolroom scenes where his friends discuss the party.
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.