WAMU's "The Big Broadcast" celebrates its 50th anniversary with a live show There they were Saturday in the basement of WAMU radio, 20 or so people bursting with energy. And a little nervous, too. The members of the Metropolitan Washington Old Time Radio Club were going through a final rehearsal in preparation for their performance to celebrate the 50th anniversary of "The Big Broadcast," the longest-running show on WAMU (88.5 FM). "I guarantee this club has not played to a larger audience," said Michael Hayde, an accountant who lives in Manassas, who will play two starring roles in the live show Sunday at Lisner Auditorium. I'm not a professional actor, but I am looking forward to it. "The Big Broadcast" consistently is among the top five radio programs in the Washington market during its time slot. The show, which runs from 7 to 11 p.m. Sundays, features plays, dramas, mysteries and musical selections from radio's past. The show's longevity is remarkable considering that broadcasts consist of shows that first aired in the 1930s, "40s and "50s, including "Our Miss Brooks" and "Gunsmoke." But just as noteworthy is the audience. Danielle Nkojo, who is in her mid-40s, didn't grow up listening to old radio shows. But she remembers her father talking about the serials, and how his family would gather around the radio to listen. "His face would just glow when he talked about those days," she said. Still, it wasn't until five years ago that Nkojo tuned in. She was working a part-time retail job and stumbled upon "The Big Broadcast." "I started listening to "Johnny Dollar," " she said, and "kind of got hooked." Dollar is a freelance insurance investigator with "an action-packed expense account." Now she listens while making Sunday dinner. "It kind of brings me back, and I feel like I'm in my father's childhood home when I'm listening," she said. "The Big Broadcast" host Ed Walker said a lot of his e-mail comes from kids, some of whom are being introduced to programs through their parents. Carey Fitzmaurice, 46, has turned "The Big Broadcast" into a family affair. She has been listening for 20 years. Both of her sons, 14 and 11, have been tuning in "since the womb." They play games with the shows, including guessing the weather in Los Angeles during episodes of "Dragnet." "I've been listening to it as far back as I can remember," said Sam Schulman, 11. They used to have the five-minute mysteries. . . . And we actually figured out how they worked. Whoever reported the crime was always the culprit. Putting "The Big Broadcast" together each week is pretty simple, now that everything is digitized. Walker, who was instrumental in WAMU's beginnings as a student at American University, has been leading the broadcast of the show for almost 25 years. Walker, 82, has become so intertwined with the show that most listeners can't - and don't want to - imagine the show without him. Each week he and Neal Ellis, who has worked on-air in a number of capacities, get together and decide which shows they plan to air. Many of the radio serials have been picked up over the years at collector's events. Then they send the audio to the radio station. "It's a pretty amazing thing," Ellis said of the show's success. When it started, back in 1964, radio had really just passed away in terms of the drama, comedy, variety programs. . . . Back then it was the collector types who were like, "Oh, this is really cool, we can hear these shows." " Now, Ellis said, "listeners are looking at this as a sophisticated book on tape. So there's not the nostalgia angle to it, but they're hearing a good story that's well-produced. On Sunday, a crowd of 1,000 is expected at Lisner Auditorium, where the audience will be treated to a live performance of "Johnny Dollar" as well as a parody of "The Lone Ranger." Copyright issues prevent the use of audio from the original radio show. Last week, Jack French, a member of the Metropolitan Washington Old Time Radio Club, said the performances would not only show listeners how entertaining radio can be, but also what went into assembling the cast and crew for an audio broadcast. The audience should expect quite a few inside jokes about Walker's life, French said. But the actors will be there to honor the person who is the reason many fans care about radio. Sally Stephens said last week that she was nervous about her performance. "I haven't really acted since high school," Stephens, 29, said. But this is a big deal to do it for someone that I so highly respect and have literally grown up with. I've been listening to "The Big Broadcast" since, goodness, I was about 10." It's an effort that Walker certainly appreciates. "Radio actors are extremely talented," he said. Several of Hollywood's early movie stars got their start in radio: Mickey Rooney and Eve Arden, among others. But the sound men may be the bigger stars in a live show, Walker said. Watching how they create the audio effects can be as entertaining as the script. And for Walker, who is blind, the sound guys have always been the best part of the show. "It's a real art form," he said. The celebration will also feature Rob Bamberger, the creator and host of WAMU's "Hot Jazz Saturday Night," a similar nostalgia-based show, interviewing Walker. "The longevity of the program speaks to the timelessness of a medium and an entertainment form that was core to people's leisure and pleasure," Bamberger said. There was a time when we might have assumed . . . there would be less and less interest in this corner of popular culture. Yet, this hasn't proven so. Ed is one of the reasons why, because he is so closely identified with radio in this town and is himself timeless. Clinton Yates is a D.C. native and an online columnist. When he's not covering the city, pop culture or listening to music, he watches sports. A lot of them.