AMERICAN PLAYLIST THEATER
Live Radio Theater Reimagined
ABOUT / HISTORY
Origins and Early Theater Years 1970s–1982
Among Sullivan's early instructors and professional influences were New England television and broadcasting personalities of the era, including Rex Trailer, Buffalo Bob Smith, and Ron Byron of Evening Magazine. His early training was notable not only for acting, but for presentation, commercial writing, and media performance, an intersection that would eventually become central to American Playlist Theater later on.
By age ten, Sullivan had begun working professionally as a child actor in summer-stock theater. His early credits included the 1980 production of The King and I and 1981 production of The Sound of Music, with Bill Mooney of All my Children with touring stops throughout New England including the Gilford Playhouse in NH, the North Shore Music Theatre, and Cape Cod Melody Tent.
He then embarked on a summer-long tour of Mexico as the representative from Massachusetts in the International Boys Singers Festival, financed by the producers of the TV show Quincy.
These early experiences established the foundation for a career that would repeatedly move between theater, broadcasting, voice, live presentation and emerging media.
American Playlist Theater traces its origins to the theatrical and broadcasting career of Sean Sullivan, whose involvement in performance began as a child in the 1970s.
At an early age, Sullivan appeared in numerous public-school theatrical productions, including The Ride of Paul Revere and The Electric Sunshine Man, a production about Thomas Edison. Recognizing his abilities as a performer, his parents enrolled him in additional acting and presentation training.
PART 2
How an Actor Becomes a Broadcaster 1980s–2011
During his teenage years, the transition from child performer to adult actor proved considerably difficult.
His acting career included a series of near-misses and unusual experiences: a scene filmed for a Coca-Cola commercial that was ultimately deleted; a failed audition for a TV sitcom starring Sara Jessica Parker called Square Pegs, a cut scene with Ricky Schroder in Little Lord Fauntleroy, he was hired as an understudy for the role of The Little Prince on Broadway to a then-unknown Christian Slater, but unfortunately the show closed one week before rehearsals began. He was also in early consideration for an emerging Boston based boy-band project, only to lose the opportunity to a young man named Wahlberg.
After several years of feeling like “the Pete Best of Boston,” Sean stepped away from the stage and spent more time playing hockey with friends (something that would become important to NH hockey fans many years later). Then Sullivan decided to reinvent himself and utilize his skills in broadcasting.
That decision would prove crucial.
Beginning in the late 1980s and continuing through part of four separate decades, Sullivan worked across virtually every level of radio, from intern at the famous WBCN to board operator for Pawtucket Red Sox Games, through radio announcer, morning show host, producer, promotions director, program director, operations manager, and even general manager of a 14-station radio network based out of Boston.
PART 3
The Experience of Radio Theater 1995
The immediate ancestor of American Playlist Theater began almost accidentally.
In 1996, while working as a morning-show co-host and promotions professional at WXOD in Keene, New Hampshire, Sullivan was discussing promotional possibilities with station salesperson David Franz. During the conversation, Sullivan casually mentioned the possibility of doing radio theater. Dave subsequently returned with an unexpected announcement:
He had already sold the idea.
Suddenly, a radio-theater dinner show was scheduled to take place at Pappagallo's restaurant in Keene, and Sullivan had one week to make the idea reality. Sullivan had to write a “whodunit” dinner theater play, assemble a cast of approximately ten performers, rehearse the production, and prepare the show. When an actor became unavailable on the day of the performance, Sullivan rewrote the script and ultimately performed the missing role himself.
On a summer evening in 1996, the first radio theater play written by Sullivan was presented. Its title was, The Murder of Rock and Rolly. That production became the starting point for Sullivan's continuing experimentation with radio theater.
PART 4
WXOD and the Radio Jukebox Musical Experiment 1995–1997
Following the Pappagallo's performance, Sullivan began incorporating radio theater into WXOD's morning programming. Rather than broadcasting a complete theatrical production in a single block, he developed a concept that took advantage of something unique to radio: automation (called voice-tracking). Individual scenes from a complete radio play could be inserted throughout a morning
broadcast, replacing otherwise automated or voice-tracked programming. The result was effectively a radio-theater playlist. Listeners could listen to segments of a larger story, with the complete narrative unfolding over the course of the morning show.
His first experiment with this was a spoof of the OJ Simpson trial news coverage that was prevalent at the time, coupled with his own social commentary on the parking problems in Keene. The play (which both audio and scripts have been lost to time) actually became required listening for some Keene State students as instructors thought that this was a fun and intelligent way to present a difficult and complex news subject.
Sullivan also developed seasonal Christmas productions using music, station automation and the station's available licensing arrangements.
Among the productions were:
-
A Radio Christmas Carol
-
It's a Wonderful Station
-
The Christmas Song
Sullivan produced, directed, wrote, and acted in these productions, performing multiple roles himself. (In the recordings of A Radio Christmas Carol, you can hear him play 11 different roles.) The productions received significant industry recognition. Two of the Christmas productions were recognized by the New Hampshire Association of Broadcasters with Golden Mic awards, while Sullivan's broader broadcasting career ultimately accumulated a total of 14 Golden Mic Awards and one national Telly Award.
_JPG.jpg)
Sullivan produced, directed, wrote, and acted in But there was a fundamental limitation. The work was on local radio before internet streaming was invented. Therefore, the productions were not being heard outside the Monadnock region.
However, the concept was bigger than the radio market in which it had originated.
PART 5
New Hampshire Radio Theater 1998–2010
Around the same time Sean was presenting his version of radio theater in Keene, NH, a larger and different radio-theater project was developing in Manchester. A group of broadcasters associated with WZID had formed a troupe called New Hampshire Radio Theater (NHRT).
The concept was ambitious: bring together radio and television personalities from throughout New Hampshire in something resembling a statewide theatrical and broadcasting collective. The goal was to revive the tradition of old-time radio theater, record productions and distribute them through area radio stations, while also using the productions to entertain live audiences throughout NH, support local charities, and provide mandatory radio station community programming.
During its day, (before podcasting) NHRT was one of only 7 official radio theater troupes operating in the US and the only one that was run by broadcast professionals. Sullivan's work at WXOD caught the attention of executive leadership at the recently formed NHRT; they called and invited him to represent Keene as part of their NH-based troupe. During its run, Sean appeared in numerous productions between 1998 and 2010.
In it's heyday NHRT was selling-out the Palace Theater in Manchester and winning Best of NH Awards.
By approximately 2009–2010, the organization was winding down. Its members had increasingly demanding professional careers, and the project, which had always functioned as a volunteer hobby passion project, became difficult for to sustain.
Although NHRT faded away into NH history, for Mr. Sullivan, the end of era did not mean the end of an idea.
PART 6
Keep Your Day Job 2000s–2010's
Simultaneously, during the run of NHRT, Sullivan's professional career was flourishing across broadcasting, teaching, sports, television, public relations, and communications. He became the public-address voice and marketing/promotions consultant for over a decade with the LA Kings affiliate in NH, the Manchester Monarchs, including work connected with the 2005 AHL All-Star Game broadcast on ESPN2.
The notoriety surrounding his association with the team led to more clients for his ad agency looking to do business in NH. Suddenly Mr. Sullivan found himself working for Microsoft, the Army National Guard, NH’s timber and real estate industries, as well as a long stint as the nation PR Director for Wreaths Across America.
During this time, theatrical credits continued to pile up outside of NHRT with various walk-on movie roles including Hellion, The Silence of Men, and The Catcher Was a Spy with Paul Rudd. He also continued his love for radio theater with roles in The Lone Ranger with the Seabrook Library Old Time Radio Players, A Salute to Veterans in Dover, and several other community theater shows.
PART 7
Rosie Renews Theater Interest 2009–2024
In 2009 Sean's wife took him to see a version of Mamma Mia on stage in residency in Las Vegas. She asked him what he thught and he responded, "I could do that!" She responded in kind, "Well I'd like to see you try." On the plane ride home Sean was listening to AC/DC music and thought that he could make a jukebox musical from that band's catalog.
He was encouraged by the research learning that only 3 hard rock plays had ever played on Broadway and all were among the longest running shows in Broadway history. In addition, the success of Mama Mia had Mr. Sullivan looking at the list of top 50 highest selling music acts in America. He noticed ABBA (Mama Mia) was listed as the #21 band while AC/DC was listed as #12 and 1 of only two bands in the top 50 which did not have a musical written yet.
A few years went by and the passing of AC/DC’s Malcolm Young spurred Mr. Sullivan to finish his jukebox musical idea. The idea was to build a theatrical production around AC/DC’s music, which was eventually titled A Whole Lotta Rosie, after the AC/DC song of the same name. Unlike most Jukebox musical Mr/ Sullivan didn't want to just rehash the bands career to music but instead to use the musical as inspiration for a totally new and unique story (like Mama Mia did) using the band's music catalog as inspiration.
After spending roughly two years developing the concept and writing the material, he began reaching out to Broadway producers and the theatrical establishment to explore the possibility of a stage production. All feeback was positive and most producers had strong support for the project.
However!
The critical turning point came when Sony rejected the request to use the rights to their music. What initially looked like a roadblock ultimately exposed the fundamental problem: the traditional theater model was controlled by expensive rights, gatekeepers, producers, and established distribution channels limiting the forward momentum of creative ideas.
Instead of abandoning the idea and accepting defeat, Sean said to one broadway producer, "noone who ever succeeded ever took no as the answer...there's got to be a way I can do this!" This is why this history is so long, because he went back 30 years ago to those early voicetracked jukebox musicals replacing his radio station with YouTube!
That's when the philosophy behind American Playlist Theater was born. The Whole Lotta Rosie play wasn't a failed project, it was the catalyst that created a new way to experience theater.
PART 8
The Digital Theater Experiment 2020's
Sullivan first formulated the idea of American Playlist Theater (Which at the time he was calling YouTube Theater). He sat down and began a long process of writing three years’ worth of plays for a troupe to perform. Then he began offering his shorter plays to anyone willing to perform them. He also began experimenting with online theater specifically, the Tiger's Heart Players. Who, on Sunday, November 1st 2026, at 2pm ET will be presenting Sean Sullivan's full-length play "War of the Worlds: Alien Perspective. This play takes the 1938 original and reimagines it for today's media enviroment. The biggest change is offering true balanced reporting in
SC Play
the for of adding the alien perspective. So as humans run around with buckets on their heads fearing the end of the world, a group of alien tourists are simply lost and confused as they try and navigate our world. It's War of the worlds meets National Lampoon's Vacation. Press the view more button to link to the Tiger's Heart Players Facebook page and request your FREE link to view the Zoom show.
This year, his plays have been performed by theater organizations around the United States, including productions in Kentucky and South Carolina, and he was nominated as a semifinalist for a 2025 international writing award, reinforcing his work as a playwright.
Writing Award
PART 9
American Playlist Theater 2025-2026
The central idea behind American Playlist Theater emerged from Sullivan's realization that the technology of modern online media could recreate the programming flexibility that had made his 1990s WXOD radio productions possible. In the 1990s, a radio station's automation system could function as a playlist and the radio station acted as the music license holder. In the 2020s, YouTube playlists could perform the automation function, and it also serves as the obtainer and payer of music licensing. By utilizing this technology not only can you record a live performance, but then it can be offered for FREE to online only audiences with a variety of ways to enjoy the content.
You See, instead of creating just your usual radio theater audio experience (perfect for poscasts) by introducing playlists, you can personalize the experience to you lifestyle either enjoying one segment at a time when you have a moment to enjoy, enjoying the radio play in it's full live presentation, or with music video interjected in the right places to create a non-traditional jukebox musical. APT not only personalizes your theatrical experience but offers you the chance to enjoy a whole new experience after you've already seen it live, or share your experience with friends, family, and co-workers. Instead of telling them how great the show was...show them!
One Broadway producer exclaimed, “You’re an idiot, you’re so worried about getting your damn play made that you skipped over the whole part about creating a business model that fundamentally changes the way a theater production company approaches proving proof of concept for emerging plays. This idea of sgemented video playlist enjoyment would revolutionize the industry and get so many more shows greenlit.”
Today, rather than attempting to immediately produce A Whole Lot of Rosie, Sullivan first decided to try the new theater format with time tested material that already works for the audience. So he reached back, again, 30 years, to dust off the old WXOD holiday shows.
The Holiday Radio Theater Extravaganza at the Garrison Players Arts Center in Rollinsford, New Hampshire, brings together the collection of Sullivan's radio-theater work. The production is intended not simply act as a theatrical presentation, but as a practical experiment in the APT model. The objective is to determine whether the essential qualities of radio theater can successfully be translated into a modern multimedia environment.
Thanks for reading to...The End!...Until, we hopefully, add more!
You invested all that time reading the whole history, you might as well buy tickets to see the shows on December 4-13, 2026