The World of the Play: Statement

Eric Bogosian’s Talk Radio is set in Cleveland, Ohio in 1987. Cleveland is situated in the Great Lakes area near the shores of Lake Eerie. Its proximity to Lake Eerie made it a city of industry. It is actually almost directly across Lake Eerie from Detroit. Cleveland’s location to the Great Lakes means that there is a lot of moisture in the air and, therefore, it receives a fairly high precipitation rate.

It is known from the script that the radio station is housed in Terminal Tower, a fixture of Cleveland. Terminal Tower was originally, in part a train station, and has been remodeled in recent years to include not just offices but also shopping. It is interesting to note that Bogosian used a former train station to house the radio station. Cleveland in 1987 was in a financial recovery following a partial default by the city in 1979. The 1980’s was a decade which saw the city in major decline as there was very little public funds available for city works projects. During this time the U.S. auto industry was beginning decline as well which also affected the already financially desperate city. As the city began to decline, drugs became a part if the city’s makeup and crime rates increased. It seemed as though the national war on drugs could not have come at a better time.

Although Cleveland is a fairly small metropolitan area, in 1987 it was an area where Bogosian could really utilize the specific national affairs of the period in a specific time and place. Cleveland is Middle America. Callers from Cleveland and the surrounding suburbs call in to tell Barry about what is on their mind. The callers act as the American conscious and reflect the way ordinary people felt in a pretty extraordinary time. 1987 is the end of Reagan’s presidential tenure people are beginning to think about who should take over after Reagan was gone. People wondered if perhaps, George Bush would fit the bill. The scandal of the Iran Contra affair was front and foremost in the American mind as was the Lebanon Hostage Crisis. There were a lot of unknown and uncertainties at this time in the world, in America, and in Cleveland. A few years before President Reagan and the Pope were nearly killed in separate assassination attempts. The AIDS epidemic was frightening and real with many people succumbing to this little understood disease. Although politics in the USSR was shifting, people were still uncertain about communism and were frightened about the Cold War. Nuclear anything was dirty word and so the Perry Nuclear Power Plant outside of Cleveland was controversial to say the least.

In spite of the precarious economic state of affairs in Cleveland, there were still ways that Cleveland residents could entertain themselves. Sports, particularly baseball, were very popular. In 1987, the Cleveland Indians were expected to go all the way to the World Series. They had an excellent roster of players which included legendary pitcher Phil Niekro. It was a bitter disappointment when another Midwest rival, the Minnesota Twins, won the series that year. Among other forms of entertainment, music was very important. The type of music being played on the airwaves was changing and though listeners could still hear the progressive rock of the 1970’s, the airwaves were filled with a new pop sound. The new pop sound came from artists such as Michael Jackson and Madonna. Also, heavy metal was a popular form of music that was loud and rebellious in much the same way as America’s youth had become. In Talk Radio, Bogosian uses the character Kent as an archetype for the rebellious teenager of the time. However, in spite of his “punk” haircut and his shout-out to the babes at the local mall there is something of substance to him. Kent’s reference to Heavy Metal band Megadeath’s album titled “Peace Sells…But Who’s Buying” is a very pointed reference, a summary, of the state of Barry Champlain’s talk radio show, of the city of Cleveland, of the state of America’s youth, of the state of America’s politics and society, and of the state of the world. Bogosian’s ability to use the small world Barry Champlain and Cleveland, Ohio to spotlight the larger world of the United States and the entire globe is something that was relevant in Public Theatre’s 1987 premiere of Talk Radio, was relevant in Oliver Stone’s 1988 film version of Talk Radio, was relevant in the 1997 revival of Talk Radio on Broadway, and is something that is still relevant to the audience today.