Lois Reitzes looking forward to upcoming show at Dad’s Garage

Atlanta’s most unique voice will be joining the Dad’s Garage Theatre Company this Friday, May 5, as part of its “Story Spot” series.
Lois Reitzes has got quite a few stories, including some about her unique way of speaking. Reitzes, the host of WABE’s “City Lights”. has a voice that’s deep, with a touch of music, as instantly recognizable to Atlantans as Morgan Freeman’s.
But where did that voice come from? It’s genetic, Reitzes said.
“Low voices seem to run in my family,” she said. “My brother, he’s older than me. When he was 3, my parents thought there was something was wrong with him because he had a man’s voice, a man’s baritone. My mother would tell stories about being in elevators with him and he’d talk to her and people were looking around in bewilderment about where the voice was coming from.”
Her parents even took him to see doctors who confirmed that it was just how her brother talked. Like her brother, Reitzes’ unique sound emerged at an early age.
“When I was five , my mother had a friend who started calling me Tallulah, like Tallulah Bankhead,” she said.
Reitzes said her voice makes for some interesting outings. She recalled that one time she was in Kroger and said to herself, “Where do they keep the rice?”
Someone heard her and immediately started saying, “Ooh, you’re Lois Reitzes!”
Reitzes said she was “so flattered” to be invited to this Friday’s Dad’s Garage show.
“I just have very high regard for their work and their talent and their creativity. That they would think me worthy of one of these story spots was something I found really quite humbling,” she said.
During the show a group of improvisers will act out a scene based on Reitzes stories. It will be a unique experience for her.
“I’m a little curious. Nervous? Not at all,” she said. “It’s certainly new territory and not anything I’ve ever done. What’s the expression? It’s not in my toolbox.”
According to the WABE’s website, Reitzes has been with WABE since 1979. From 1982 to 2015 she hosted “Second Cup Concert,” which has since moved to WABE’s HD classics channel. In January 2015 she began hosting “City Lights with Lois Reitzes,” an arts and culture program. In addition to those two programs, she produces and host’s WABE’s Atlanta Symphony Orchestra broadcasts and the “Spivey Soirée” series. She is currently WABE’s Director of Arts and Cultural Programming.
To buy tickets for Friday’s event, click here.