Gas Head Willy, a fast-paced (and fictional) detective novel about Owen Sound’s prohibition-era boozers, bootleggers and brawlers is brought to life again January 20th at 7:00 pm till February 3rd 11:59 pm. Back in 2017, this live radio-style broadcast,  included onstage foley artists creating non-stop sound effects. Now, as part of the Roxy at Home series, you can stream it in the comfort of your own home. Sit back and watch (and listen)! 

Gas Head Willy is local author Richard Thomas’ first novel, a detective story written in 1995 during the Novel Marathon for Literacy event at the Owen Sound library, and later published by The Ginger Press in 1996. Loaded with Owen Sound history -- local businesses, characters and locations – Gas Head Willy brings Owen Sound and Grey County to life.  

Set in 1921, the premise of the story is this: Gas Head Willy (the son of an Owen Sound millionaire) is missing and D.B. Murphy (a private investigator) has been hired to find him. It seems easy at first, but as Murphy learns more about the missing war veteran's secret life, he is plunged into a prohibition-era underworld of booze cans and swamp whiskey that takes him from Owen Sound to Mudtown to Balaclava and back again.  

Bill Murphy, long time Owen Sound Little Theatre member, adapted the novel Gas Head Willy into the stage play Gas Head Willy. Once he got started, however, the story evolved into a live, 1940s radio-style broadcast written for the stage. While radio drama is likely unfamiliar to most people under the age of 60, it once ruled as the dominant form of home entertainment.

As part of this production, there are three onstage foley artists who create the sounds of galloping horses, machine guns, boat horns, squeaky shoes and more by using props kept on stage throughout the show. With close to 50 characters, Richard Thomas reads the part of DB Murphy, while Bill Murphy does so much more than direct, he is also the voice of Gas Head Willy, as well as other characters. A full cast rounds out the magic. Musician Max Clark tickles the ivories throughout the show, having written most of the music to seamlessly move the story along.  

photo courtesy of Lori Twining