What happens
Richard Miller, a young man from a small New England town, is caught by his father with love letters Muriel has written to him, and the father is angered by what he reads. Richard's father, played by Ray Collins, confronts him about his relationship with Muriel, and Richard admits he is engaged to her. Muriel then sends a cold letter ending their relationship, and Richard, hurt and restless, goes looking for trouble on the Fourth of July. This episode of The Mercury Theatre on the Air, starring Orson Welles, was broadcast on September 17, 1939, as a presentation of Eugene O'Neill's Pulitzer Prize play Ah, Wilderness!
A small New England town and its beach, around the Fourth of July, 1910
Characters: Richard Miller, Muriel, Dave Miller, Lily, Sid, Tommy, Nora, Essie
Listen for: Richard's sudden despair after Muriel's letter, and his drift toward the beach hotel and its drinking crowd
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.