The Class of ’74
1971-1974 A serialized dramedy about a high school class in a wealthy Fairfield County commuter town. Think Retro Boomer Soap Opera. Written and narrated by novelist Laura Van Wormer.
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Boomers Are Going to Have a Blast.
Everybody Else Won't Believe Half of What They Hear, But Eventually They'll Get it...
That a world without cellphones, personal computers, social media and streaming video was like a different planet. In the first place, understand that in the early 1970's everything took FOREVER. In the second, the supervision of children was a hit or miss operation. And third, if someone didn’t answer their telephone, that someone could be shopping at the store, lying murdered on the floor of the garage, or eating escargot in Paris, nobody ever really knew for sure because there were no such things as answering machines, either.
Many public figures appear in The Class of ’74, but any resemblance between Laura's made-up characters and real-life people is inadvertent. However, it is entirely intentional that baby boomers will be reminded of incidents from their misspent youth, realize just how far they have come in this life, and understand all they have to be grateful for today.
So everybody sit back and relax - alone or with friends - and have fun at Brighton High with The Class of '74.
Episodes
Tuesday Apr 08, 2025
Tuesday Apr 08, 2025
Join novelist Laura Van Wormer as she introduces THE CLASS OF ’74, a serialized story inspired by her 50th high school reunion. The story begins in 1971 and follows the misadventures of teenagers in high school, ending with their graduation in 1974.
In this debut hello to listeners, Laura explains how seeing her baby-boomer classmates triggered the desire to entertain them with an ongoing story set in the time of their younger lives, and how she came to expand that idea to offer it to all baby boomers.
"Everybody needs more fun in their lives," Van Wormer says, "so let's have it together."
5 days ago
5 days ago
The premiere episode of a period dramedy, depicting the ups and downs of teenage life in a wealthy suburb of New York City, 1971-1974. The town of Brighton, CT is fictional, but emblematic of several charming Fairfield County towns that became too rich, too white and too bizarro for their resident children to fully cope with.
This episode paints a vivid portrait of how the town of Brighton came to be, from its rustic beginnings in the 17th century through its transformation into a thriving bedroom community for top-flight Manhattan business executives. Amidst this backdrop, we meet the Schyler family, and accompany their 15-year-old daughter, Cynthia, on her first day of high school, where the listener begins observing what teenage life was like before cell phones, the Internet and social media.
The adventures and misadventures of teenagers in this extraordinary town of privilege are alternately hilarious and subliminally frightening (as every baby boomer you know will attest) but the emotional complexities and social dynamics of teenage insecurities and relationship challenges still ring true today. Novelist Laura Van Wormer is writing this serial specifically for podcasting, to share an all-new story with listeners in a closer, more intimate way. AND TO HAVE SOME FUN!