Report on the Cincinnati OTR Convention

[Dan Hughes]

This year's Cincinnati convention was one of the best ever. The hotel staff was from another world (I have NEVER seen so many smiling, friendly employees). The cast selection for the re-creations was impeccable, and the actors, pros and amateurs both, sounded totally professional. We did X-1, Duffy's Tavern, Gunsmoke, and Our Miss Brooks. But the absolute highlight was when Bob Hastings and Rosemary Rice sat on stage Saturday night and discussed their careers. The questions from the audience were insightful, the shameless namedropping was delightful, the stories were wonderful, and there was not a dry eye in the house when Rosemary recited the opening to her early CBS TV show I Remember Mama. The new Trivia Bowl went over well (BRAG ALERT: As originator/writer/emcee I may be a bit biased, but everybody told me they enjoyed it), and the Saturday night awards were plentiful (three Dave Warren awards this year). On a personal note, we made some delightful new friends. A young man named Chad who was going to travel from Nebraska to the convention by bus (his parents didn't like the idea, so they drove him to Cincinnati and spent the two days shopping and sightseeing while he was soaking in OTR), and Charlie, with a huge book of spreadsheets and listings of the many thousands of OTR shows in his collection, and Jim and his wife who were first-timers and drove down from Canada, and Frank who didn't let his wheelchair stop him from enjoying the show, and so many more. The date has already been set for next year's show: May 20 and 21, 2011. Again at the Cincinnati Crowne Plaza. (By putting that "e" at the end of "Crown," they can charge higher prices, I think.) For the full report, and photos from the convention, visit http://CincyOTR.info . ---Dan Hughes, http://danhughes.net (spiffy home page)