Marquette’s LIMO service fulfills a functional-enough purpose: to transport students safely around campus. “LIMO Talk,” Marquette Radio’s first scripted sitcom, serves a rather different purpose: to highlight the priceless moments that make those ugly blue vans a campus-wide inside joke and a valued part of the Marquette experience.
Brendan Takash, a sophomore in the College of Communication and co-creator of “LIMO Talk,” said the show follows six LIMO drivers, their supervisor (voiced by Takash) and the wacky students who end up in their LIMOs. The “LIMO Talk” cast has a 7 p.m. Thursday time slot on WMUR, as well as an independent website where the shows are posted in podcast form after airing.
Takash said he and co-creator Kevin Garofalo, a freshman in the College of Communication, came up with the idea for the show in February while, fittingly, taking a LIMO ride.
“We wanted to do something scripted and completely different for Marquette Radio,” Takash said.
Takash said he and Garofalo held a two-day audition for the show in early February using the script for the first episode.
“Since there’s no visual aspect in radio, we really had to listen for distinct voices,” Takash said.
In the premiere episode, which aired in mid-March, LIMO driver Becky plans to throw a raging party in her van. Instead, she is ordered by her supervisor to train two new drivers, nearly inseparable twins Thomas and Miles.
She then attempts to pawn off the job on fellow driver Hamilton, but, in the process, loses the LIMO to the partiers themselves and has to get it back by the end of the night.
Lauren Bradley, a junior in the College of communication and the voice of Becky, said even though her character is extremely sarcastic, never does what she’s told and practically gets away with murder, Becky is the comparatively normal one in the rat pack of characters.
Based solely on her first read-through, Bradley said she knew the show was well written because she could envision the progression of the storyline in her head as she read it.
“I thought it was funny and light enough where people wouldn’t have to sit and think while they’re listening to it,” Bradley said.
With the second episode written and rehearsed, Takash said he hopes it will be set to air within the next two weeks. If all seems to go well, the cast will plan to air a third episode before the end of the semester and three more in the next two semesters.
He said he thinks the show is valuable to Marquette Radio because it offers variety and will hopefully expand the WMUR listening audience.
Garofalo said even though it’s difficult to gauge audience response in radio shows, so far the “LIMO Talk” cast has heard only positive reactions. As a result, time will tell which direction they can take the show.
“It’s still a young show,” he said, “so anything is possible.”
“LIMO Talk” may be young, but its humor hits at the heart of the college years: the seemingly insignificant, yet obnoxious memories we make every day, even if they take place in those ugly, blue vans.
Tune into “LIMO Talk” on WMUR Thursdays at 7 p.m., or visit the show’s site at limotalk.tumblr.com
