Dear Friends,
Larry and I are pleased to announce a new collection: Great Stories, Great Storytellers: Part One. The collection includes adaptations of novels, short stories, and plays; as well as recordings of writer/performers/humorists. The shows range from the 1930s through 1965 and play no more than thirty minutes.
Here are recordings you can look forward to, among other surprises in the collection. An extensive summary of each show written by Larry and Alan is included.
Deadline: please let me hear from you, no later than Wednesday, June 21, 11:00 am.
Contact: please contact Alan Litsey at alanlitsey@gmail.com (the email used to reach me will be the address I use unless otherwise noted)
Platform: the platform will be Dropbox
Questions: you can contact Alan at his email or text him at (205) 332-0439
Imagine William Shakespeare transported to the golden age of Hollywood in Mister Shakespeare. Hear an original story by the dynamic duo Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee (Auntie Mame and Inherit the Wind). Also featured is their comic adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s short story, The Bet.
What was it like to experience Cyrano performed by Walter Hamden (1879-1955)? He reprises the role of Cyrano de Bergerac, a character he played extensively on Broadway. Hamden’s performance is as fresh as Cyrano’s wit, as bold as the renaissance man’s panache.
If you’ve been longing for a good Edgar Allen Poe and a drink from the Cask of Amontillado, you can top it off with the palette cleanser of Peg Lynch in a hilarious tale from The Couple Next Door.
Jason Robards performs Erie Smith in the first half of Eugene O’Neill’s Hughie, in a recording of Robards 1964 performance (the second half is included in Great Stories, Great Storytellers, Part Two). We’re not sure this recording was ever broadcast, making this selection even more special. You’ll swear you were in that small seedy hotel, in the summer of 1928. A seldom heard recording of O’Neill’s contemporary, Susan Glaspell, is included, A Question of Justice. Glaspell is a rock star in her own right and was instrumental promoting O’Neill’s early work.
Orson Welles and Agnes Moorehead perform in a fascinating show featuring scenes from Shakespeare’s King Lear. Welles never realized his dream of a film of the anguished Lear, but we experience young Welles’ vision of one of the greatest works written for the stage.
A rare recording of a rehearsal of the courtroom scene of Native Son is included. Richard Wrights’ 1940 novel was adapted into a play by Paul Green and Wright, directed by Orson Welles.
Hear Shirley Jackson’s The Lottery, The Oedipus Story, Somerset Maugham’s Of Human Bondage (adapted by Arch Oboler) and Othello from "Paul Robeson's Broadway Production": Act V, Scene II (1944). Experience the compelling story of Sojourner Truth, who survived 28 years of enslavement, and brilliantly challenged the dominant self-interest and corruption.
Care has been taken to select recordings that reflect very good to excellent quality sound. You’ll find links to other recordings and resources for further reading in the summaries.
Wishing you a great weekend.
Best,
Alan and Larry
Alan Litsey
This is great, thank you Alan and Larry! 😀
QUIZ QUESTION: WHAT OTR SERIAL SEEKS TO LEARN WHETHER A GIRL FROM A MINING TOWN IN THE WEST CAN FIND HAPPINESS AS THE WIFE OF A WEALTHY AND TITLED ENGLISHMAN?
LARRY MAUPIN
