Lonely Hearts TV Club : Playwrights trace the talk show phenomenon sweeping America.

By T.H. McCULLOH

June 17, 1994 12 AM PT

SPECIAL TO THE TIMES; <i> T.H. McCulloh writes regularly about theater for The Times. </i>

NORTH HOLLYWOOD — It all started in 1932, during the Depression. An ex-con named Lester Kroll, jailed twice for non- payment of child support, presuming his failed marriage gave him some insight, got into the marriage advice business. And where better to give it than on the radio. As “John J. Anthony, Expert in Marital Relations,” Kroll gained national fame giving listeners what they wanted.

Agony on the air.

Times haven’t changed. If anything, they’ve gotten worse, according to the creators of “Flight to Arkadelphia,” opening this weekend at the NoHo Studios. The dark comedy was created through improvisation by four people, but the playwrights of record and the production’s co-directors, Marc Silver and John Mueller, have strong feelings about the kind of programming television viewers are glued to by the hordes, from “Geraldo” on up--or down.

The comedy concerns four people who answer the phones for “Unresolved Miseries,” one of those shows that brings the ugly to the millions. Until recently, Silver, probably best known for a recurring role on “Designing Women,” was himself answering the phones for a similar show. The idea for the play was born while he listened to the callers’ woes.

“The people would call in,” Silver says, “because they wanted to tell their own stories. They pretty much want to tell you what’s happening in their lives. And they want to be on TV. I would listen to this week after week after week, and suddenly this idea started formulating in my little brain. . . . It’s a big part of their lives. It becomes a little eerie after a while.”

As the idea fermented, Silver called in three other actors, including Mueller, laid out the basic story line, and improvs began.

Silver continues: “It’s about those talk shows and what they’re really starting to do to people. It’s starting to affect the way we deal with other people, the way we think and the way we have ideas. Especially these four particular people who answer the phones. They’re an example of the people who are calling in to the TV shows.”

Mueller, who last appeared on stage in “Be Bop A Lula” at Theatre / Theater in Hollywood, and was in the recent film “These Friends of Mine,” says the play is basically about loneliness.

“Essentially,” Mueller explains, “society is becoming more and more lonely. More people are having a hard time communicating. Everything gets blown out of proportion, and you have murderers becoming celebrities, and all kinds of things like that. That’s what we wanted to touch upon.”

Mueller says that as the play progresses, the four characters slowly start to become like the callers, the desperately lonely people who phone in just to hear themselves talk.

One of the play’s points is that today’s viewers seem to be getting their ideas about life from these programs. Silver, who has seen the phenomenon from the inside, says, “We’re getting our values and our morals from “Geraldo” and other talk shows, and call-in informational shows, crime shows. Viewers’ picture of how things are supposed to be (is) coming from very bizarre places.”

With a wry chuckle, Mueller agrees. “The general public finds that fascinating, to see all that aired out right in front of them,” he says. “Nothing is sacred anymore, nothing is private. You have access to everything, with video cameras everywhere. Major crimes are captured on video.”

As Paddy Chayefsky predicted in his film “Network,” Silver and Mueller agree that the networks are close to creating havoc themselves, just to raise ratings.

“It’s really happening,” Silver says. “We see the talk show host trying to incite riots on their own shows. They’re trying to get people to confront each other. They’re trying to create explosions, because it’s good television.”

Mueller shakes his head at the thought, and pauses to let the idea take shape. “The next step would be something very drastic,” he adds. “It would be very bleak. There is--I don’t remember the name--but I heard there’s a video out there that has nothing but death scenes. If it went any further,” he says, “it might just be madness in the streets.”

“It’s kind of a lonely, sad thing,” Silver adds. “I’m confused about it. I don’t know if we have any answers for it. In the play we’re just showing it, and showing its effects.”

Reiterating that “Arkadelphia” is a comedy, Silver is also concerned that its serious intent comes across. “We’re getting to this strange area,” he says, “where human feelings and important things that we need to share with each other are getting lost. We’re forgetting who we are. And what we’re here for.”

Where and When

What: “Flight to Arkadelphia.”

Location: NoHo Studios, 5215 Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood.

Hours: 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. 7 p.m. Sundays. Indefinitely.

Price: $10-$12.

Call: (818) 753-3330.