Helena Glory, as the daughter of a major industrial power's president, is a woman on a mission. She faces the island factory of Rossum's Universal Robots, the world's leading company in robotic engineering. She is convinced that these new creations called robots they make are deserving of rights like humans do. Everyone else is convinced robots are nothing more than tools for human use. Is it so, or is a robot rebellion becoming a more likely prospect as the robots start to seem more intelligent than first thought? First performed in English in 1922, R...

The Divine Comedy (in Italian, Divina Commedia, or just La commedia or Comedia) is an epic poem written by Dante Alighieri in the first decades of the 14th Century, during his exile from his native Florence. Considered the most important work of Italian literature, the poem has also has enormous historical influence on western literature and culture more generally. Dante represents the three realms of the afterlife in his three canticles (Inferno--Hell; Purgatorio--Purgatory; Paradiso--Paradise) in a way that reflects and, at the same time, goes beyond Christian tradition of the 14th Century...

A controversial lecturer, brilliant lawyer, and arguably the most famous orator of the mid to late 1800's, Ingersoll railed against the absurdities of the Bible and cruelties of Christianity, particularly the horrific notion of "eternal damnation". He tirelessly supported the arts, education, science, women’s rights, abolition, home, family, children, and human liberty. As a leader of the Freethought movement, his creed was: “Happiness is the only good, Reason the only torch, Justice the only worship, Humanity the only religion, and Love the only priest...

First published in 1914, the King of Alsander is the only novel by James Elroy Flecker, best known as a poet, but also a noted scholar, linguist and diplomat. Flecker's love of learning, language and travel, and his keen satirical insight into politics are all in evidence in this phantasmagoric tale. As the author himself describes it: Here is a tale all romance - a tale such as only a Poet can write for you, O appreciative and generous Public - a tale of madmen, kings, scholars, grocers, consuls,...

One of the four profound plays of Ibsen’s late period (along with “The Master Builder,” “John Gabriel Borkman,” and “When We Dead Awaken”), “Little Eyolf” tells the story of Albert Allmers, a writer who has yearned to leave behind a literary or philosophical legacy of some kind, but who finally decides to invest that yearning in the life of his little handicapped son, Eyolf. Rita Allmers loves her husband so obsessively that she hates any rival for his affection, whether it be Allmer’s literary magnum opus, Little Eyolf himself, or Albert’s strangely devoted sister Asta...

Jessica is a little girl who used to be an actress till she grew too big. Now she lives on the streets, mostly starving until she meets Mr. Dan'el. Mr. Dan'el gives Jessica his cast-off crusts and warmed-over coffee. Jessica follows Mr. Dan'el to a building where a bunch of people sing and then listen to a man tell them about someone named God. Jessica wants to know who God is so she sneaks into listen every Sunday, hoping she won't be found out.

The year is 2353. Tom Corbett is a cadet with the Space Academy, training to become a member of the elite Solar Guard. Sent on a top-secret mission across the stars, Tom and his fellow crew members discover the nature of true loyalty, as they battle against danger in deep space.

This collection of ten one-act dramas features plays by James M. Barrie, Hereward Carrington, Marjorie Benton Cooke, Alice Gerstenberg, Susan Glaspell and George Cram Cook, St. John Hankin, George Middleton, David Pinski, Frederik Pohl, and an unknown Japanese author. The plays were coordinated by Arielle Lipshaw, Availle, Chuck Williamson, Todd, Peter Yearsley, Caprisha Page, Charlotte Duckett, and Amanda Friday.

One of the most shocking plays produced in England during the reign of Charles I, 'Tis Pity She's A Whore chronicles the disastrous results of an incestuous affair between fatalistic Italian siblings, Giovanni and Annabella. As suitors vie for Annabella's hand, various webs of deception and revenge intertwine, culminating in a bloody finale. CAST LISTBonaventura, a Friar/ Bergetto, Nephew to Donado: alanmapstoneA Cardinal, Nuncio to the Pope AND Banditti: Algy PugSoranzo, a Nobleman: tovarischFlorio,...

If Queen Mary I of England wants something, you'd better not try and stop her, or else you might soon find yourself without a head! When this hot-headed young Royal's new favourite courtier, an Italian gentleman named Fabiano Fabiani who has already made himself very unpopular with the court, is caught sneaking around with another girl - a commoner no less! - the Queen begins to plan her revenge in the only way suitable for a Queen. Narrator: balaMary I of England: Kristin GjerløwJane Talbot:...

The Boss centers on the relationship between Michael Regan, an Irish-American businessman, and Emily Griswold, an outspoken American girl bent on saving her father's business. Set during a time when unions fought for wages and bosses fought for more stake in their company, the play's relevance strikes at the heart of economic issues and hardships in modern day America.

This is not heart warming holiday fare. It is a short (one-act) unsubtle antiwar play by the English poet Alfred Noyes (1880-1958), published in 1915 while World War I is in progress. Part of the work is in verse. Music sung by Duane Steadman.

A Dream Play (Swedish: Ett drömspel) was written in 1901 by the Swedish playwright August Strindberg. It was first performed in Stockholm on 17 April 1907. It remains one of Strindberg's most admired and influential dramas, seen as an important precursor to both dramatic Expressionism and Surrealism. The primary character in the play is Agnes, a daughter of the Vedic god Indra. She descends to Earth to bear witness to problems of human beings. She meets about 40 characters, some of them having a clearly symbolical value (such as four deans representing theology, philosophy, medicine, and law)...

The Return of Sherlock Holmes is set three years after the detective fell to his death in the Reichenbach Falls in his final struggle with Moriarty. Or did he? In the first story of the series Holmes explains to Watson what really happened that day, followed by twelve more adventures of the dynamic duo including two of Doyle's own favourite stories: The Dancing Men and The Second Stain. Other notable characters in this book include Black Peter and Charles Augustus Milverton. Watson: Cori SamuelHolmes:...

Exiles is a play by James Joyce, who is principally remembered for his novels. It was rejected by W. B. Yeats for production by the Abbey Theatre. Its first major London performance was in 1970, when Harold Pinter directed it at the Mermaid Theatre. The basic premise of Exiles involves a love triangle between Richard Rowan (a Dublin writer recently returned from exile in Rome), Bertha (his common law wife) and his old friend Robert Hand (a journalist). (There are obvious parallels to be drawn with...

Probably the most famous allegory ever written of the Christian life, The Pilgrim's Progress follows the journey of Christian from his first encounter with the Evangelist, through his trials and doubts and as he meets various people who help and hinder him in his journey towards the Celestial City to meet his King. Part 2 follows the journey of Christian's wife and sons as they follow him along the same path past the Slough of Despond, the Castle Despair and Vanity Fair. This version was edited in 1909 by the Rev...

A talented actor and historian falls off his horse in a historical pageant while playing the role of Henry IV. When he comes to, he believes himself to be Henry. For the next twenty years his nephew, Count de Nolli, funds an elaborate hoax in a remote villa, where actors play the roles of Henry's privy councillors and simulate the 11th century court.On request from his dying mother, de Nolli brings a Doctor referred to as the latest in a succession to try to cure Henry (whose real name, if it is not Henry, is never mentioned). All the action of the play occurs in this one day of the visit.

Don Juan (Spanish), Don Giovanni (Italian) is a legendary, fictional libertine. Although the various iterations of the Don Juan myth show some variation, the basic story remains the same. Don Juan is portrayed as a wealthy, seductive libertine who devotes his life to seducing women, taking great pride in his ability to seduce women of all ages and stations in life. Don Giovanni, an opera composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart with libretto by Lorenzo da Ponte, is arguably the best-known version. First performed in Prague in 1787, it inspired works by E...

At the age of twenty-six (at the height of the Great War in Europe), the religious pilgrim and maverick Kurata Hyakuzō wrote a profoundly philosophical play called "The Priest & His Disciples" ("Shukke to sono deshi"). This stage play is based on the life and teachings of the 13th century Buddhist priest Shinran (1173-1263) and quickly became immensely popular. Shinran, the historical founder of the True Pure Land School of Buddhism (Jōdo Shinshū), encounters the poor family of Hino Saemon and his wife Okane, and converses with them about how to live in circumstances of change and turmoil and hardship...

This is a group of Imaginary Conversations by Walter Savage Landor. It is a series of dialogues of historical and mythical characters. Marcellus and Hannibal, Queen Elizabeth and Cecil, Peter the Great and Alexis, Louis XIV and Father La Chaise, Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn are just a few of the delights on offer. Plenty to choose from and some great reads. - Summary by Michele Eaton Cast List: Landor: pjmorgan Marcellus: SirQueezle Hannibal: bala The Surgeon: CharlieOldfield Gaulish...

In order to escape his cruel father, and led by a thirst for adventure, Huck Finn sets off down the Mississippi River with Jim, an escaped slave. But trouble is never far behind them, and their adventures are only beginning when they meet up with two men who claim to be a duke and a king! And that’s before Jim gets captured by none other than Tom Sawyer’s aunt and uncle… who mistake Huck for Tom. The hilarious adventures and scrapes of Huck, Jim, Tom, and others are brought to life in this dramatic reading...

Edward the Confessor is very weak and will die soon. But with no son to succeed him, who will gain the throne? The common folk and loyal Saxon barons in England want Harold, while the Norman barons and the people in Normandy, France want Duke William. They claim Edward gave William the throne. Who is right? Will Britain be Normanized? - Summary by Esther ben Simonides Cast List King Edward the Confessor: Beth ThomasHarold, Earl of Wessex: Adele de PignerollesGyrth, brother to Harold; Cecilia, daughter...

Todd is a barber who murders his customers and turns their remains into meat pies, sold at the pie shop of his partner in crime: Mrs. Lovett; Todd's barber shop is situated in Fleet Street, London, next to St. Dunstan's church, and is connected to Lovett's bakers shop in nearby Bell Yard by means of an underground passage. Todd dispatches his victims by pulling a lever while they are in his barber chair, which makes them fall backward down a revolving trapdoor, generally causing them to break their necks or skulls...

When orphaned Oliver Twist asks for more food, the workhouse board are horrified and immediately pack him off to work for an undertaker, who treats him badly. Oliver runs away and finds himself in the streets of London, where he meets the Artful Dodger and is lured into a gang of young pickpockets, led by the evil Fagin. Even amidst his horrible surroundings, Oliver escapes and finds his way into a loving home. But Fagin's gang are determined to steal him back to their life of crime, coming closer and closer...

Juan and Carlos Meñaya have longed to find their father ever since they were little. Their dream starts to get lost, though, as they grow up and go separate ways. Juan goes off to war and falls under the influence of a Huguenot prisoner while Carlos becomes a monk and begins to discover the Bible for himself. - Summary by Adele de Pignerolles Dramatis Personae Narration by Adele de Pignerolles and Rapunzelina Carlos, read by Joseph Tabler Juan Rodrigo, read by Aaron Rivera Dolores, read by Sonia Fray...

The Teacup Club is formed when Dorothy decides to found an intellectual club of her own - to teach her fiance a lesson! The club’s discussion topics includes Theosophy, Politics and Women in Legislature. The club’s unofficial topics include Emily’s new dress, man-flu and the great mystery of the missing chafing-dish. A witty drama and a comedy of manners, secrets and politics . - Summary by Elizabby Cast List: Cast Narrator: Beth Thomas Evelyn: Jennifer Fournier Emily: Leanne Yau Dorothy: KHand Frances: Beth Thomas Elise: Lydia Marion: Vicki Hibbins Catharine: Michele Eaton Edited by: Michele Eaton and linny Proof listeners: Michele Eaton, Beth Thomas

Author and editor of numerous children's books, Thornton W. Burgess was also a noted conservationist. In writing for youngsters he combined a gift for storytelling with his love of the outdoors, creating an entertaining menagerie of animals whose adventures he skillfully recounted in a series of charming fables. In them, he taught young readers about nature and encouraged them to love the "lesser folk in fur and feathers." In this delightfully told tale, Burgess chronicles the escapades of Chatterer the Red Squirrel, who's known throughout the Green Forest as a mischief maker...

Rev. Mark Spencer is about to give up on writing his sermon one Saturday night when the Devil comes to him and tries to discourage him by reminding him how few of the people who have pledged themselves to make their motto, 'For Christ and the Church' keep it. The minister decides to preach a sermon like nothing the people in his congregation have ever heard before--a sermon that stirs them to action and to give themselves fully to God. A sermon that urges them to pledge themselves again to Christ and the Church! - Summary by Esther ben SimonidesCast ListRev...

Join this couple in their annual house party where the “guests” becoming unknowing “actors” in their beach house play “Rainy Week” . “To be indeed absolutely explicit experience has proved, with an almost chemical accuracy, that, quite regardless of "age, sex, or previous condition of servitude," this particular combination of Romantic Passion, Psychic Austerity, Tragedy, Ambition, Poignancy, Innocence, And Irritation, cannot be housed together for even one Rainy Week without producing drama!” Cast Narrator/Mrs...

Subtitled "The Throne, The Tomb, and The Scaffold - An Historical Play in 3 Acts From the Celebrated Play of that Name by Alexandre Dumas" - How can you resist a play about English history - the doomed fifth wife of Henry the 8th - by the celebrated French author of The Musketeers?? - Summary by ToddHW Cast list: Henry VIII, King of England: Larry Wilson Athelwold, Duke of Northumberland: Paul Simonin Archbishop Cranmer: alanmapstone Duke of Sussex: KHand Duke of Norfolk: tovarisch Grand Chamberlain:...

37 short and very short plays for young children - David O Readers: Linette Geisel: Camel, Big Black Dog, First Child, Camel, Grandma, Red Fox, Child, First Pig, Mrs. Dove, Third Chick, Littlest Fir Tree, French Doll, Mary, Camel, Sparrow, Mrs. Sparrow, Sheep, Little Tree, Columbine, Rose, Lobster, Jellyfish, Flowers, Sanja, Tree, Camel Tomas Peter: Lion, Odd Man, Lion, Fisherman, Hans, Fifth Pig, Mr. Jay, First Chick, Santa Claus, Tin Soldier, Old Year, Man, Thrush, Mr. Sparrow, Cow, Woodcutter,...

The Curse of Capistrano is the first work to feature the fictional character Zorro . The story was later republished under the name The Mark of Zorro. The outlaw Zorro is Public Enemy #1 in southern California during the period of Mexican rule. But he's not a bad guy, really - he fights for justice for the oppressed. And when he meets the lovely Lolita, daughter of Don Pedro, who is on the governor's bad side, he has even more reason to fight. But she's being wooed by the rich and influential but wimpy Don Diego...

Written by a fictitious first-person narrator, this book puts a humorous spin on encounters with several famous people of the time. "I set forth from my office in London upon my pilgrimage to the shrines of the world's illustrious. Readers everywhere are interested in the home life of men who have made themselves factors in art, science, letters, and history, and to these people I was commissioned to go." -- Summary by TriciaG and from the book.

This is a self-contained story-arc over eight chapters from the pages of Steele Rudd's book "Back At Our Selection". The Synopsis: After being a shy bachelor for a number of years, Dave has finally got married. To a "Girl from Town" named "Lily White". When she first arrives at "Ruddville", she and Dave's sister Sarah get on wonderfully. But after some months, friction between the two young woman sets in, and Dave and Lily seek to have a separate house of their own on the extensive Rudd property...

Freely adapted from Lord Byron’s Fragment of a Novel, J.R. Planché’s The Vampire; or, the Bride of the Isles predates Dracula in its depiction of the vampire as a seductive, sophisticated, and noble figure. It also helped popularize the character of Lord Ruthven, a nefarious “creature of the night” who would later be immortalized in numerous films, operas, roleplaying games, novels and comic books. Set in the Scottish Isles, Planché’s play begins with our heroine having a prophetic vision of her own demise...

The Dialogues of the Gods are 26 miniature dialogues mocking the Homeric conception of the Greek gods written in Attic Greek by Syrian author Lucian of Samosata. Almost 1900 years old, these dialogues still retain a lot of their original humor and wit. The cast list for dialogues with 3 or more readers is given below: Dialogue 8: Zeus: Owen CookHephæstus: KevinSStage directions: Foon Dialogue 9: Poseidon: ToddHWHermes: Owen CookStage directions: Foon Dialogue 13: Zeus: ToddHWAsklepius: FoonHerakles: KevinS Dialogue 20: Zeus: alanmapstoneHermes: Owen CookHera: FoonAthena: SoniaAphrodite: Sandra SchmitParis: Aaron WhiteStage directions: ToddHW Editor: Campbell Schelp

Courage follows the story of Courage, a young 12-year-old orphaned girl, who adapts to to meeting and living with new people. She lives up to her name . . . but, what becomes of her in the end? - Summary by bhavyaCourage: Elsie SelwynLarry: Larry WilsonSylvia: LikeManyWatersMiss Julia: Beth ThomasMary Duff: FoonGentleman/David/Mr. Everett: TriciaGJohn: Josh KibbeyCelia Thaxter: Leanne YauBig Bob: Campbell SchelpMan, Captain, Man 2: BhavyaBoy: William WhiteDick, Father, Bruce: Elijah FisherMrs. Everett:...

This is a brief catechism of common Unitarian beliefs. As with most catechisms, the material is presented in a question and answer form. - Summary by KevinS

A story of repentance and forgiveness set in the times of the the coal mines. Follow a blind boy and his brother determined to get him cured but also determined to live up to a moral code even if that mean years of blindness for Benny. See self sacrifice and family togetherness in this classic tale. - Summary by Luke Castle Cast List Narrator: Sky AsimaruDoctor: lordaJack: Andrew JamesBennie, Judge: larryhayes7Lawyer Pleadwell: Adam BielkaTom: NavinSandy: RockyOctopusDistrict Attorney, Lawyer Summons: Alan MapstoneRandom Testifying Guy, Sheriff: Michael LMicheal Carolann, Irishman: Wayne CookeCourt Clerk, Little Fellow: ambsweet13Mother: LilyLewis G...

The Artist, or Young Ladies' Instructor in Ornamental Painting, Drawing etc. is a delightful art instruction book from 1835. Follow Charlotte as she teaches her cousin Ellen a range of art forms that were widely taught at the time, from painting in the Grecian and Japanese style, to Oriental and Mezzotinting, as well as Inlaying. A few simple projects with paper are mentioned at the end of the book. - Summary by Ava Cast: Mamma read by LCaulkins Ellen read by MrsHand Charlotte read by Availle Narration and Preface and Epilogue by ToddHW

While working in Africa, the eminent naturalist John Dolittle sets out to create the best post office on earth, using his bird friends to carry messages and packages anywhere in the world in record time. Along the way, he also manages to foil a slave trader, enrich a kingdom, save a ship, and meet the oldest living creature on earth! - Summary by Devorah Allen Cast: Doctor Dolittle: ToddHWSpeedy the Swallow: TJ BurnsDab-Dab the Duck: Leanne YauJip the Dog: Rafe BallGub-Gub the Pig: Campbell SchelpThe...

The Dialogues of the Sea-Gods are 15 miniature dialogues mocking the Homeric conception of the Greek gods, originally written in Attic Greek by Syrian author Lucian of Samosata. Almost 1900 years old, these dialogues still retain a lot of their original humor and wit. - Summary by Foon Cast: Alpheius/Menelaus: ZoinkMeister Patrick Amphitrite/Panope: alanmapstone Cyclops: Nemo Delphines/Amymone: Leanne Yau Doris: Foon Enipeus: Rob Marland Galateia: Anita Sloma-Martinez Galene/Xanthus: Jeanne Viray Iphianassa: Pseudonymous Nerd Iris: Availle Notus: Stefan Von Blon Poseidon: Larry Wilson Protheus/Triton: Adam Bielka Thalassa: B L Newman Thetis: K...

Billed by scholars as the first part of the all-encompassing Henriad, Richard II is a richly satisfying probe into the inner workings of monarchical rule and its evolution from being seen as divinely held to a more modern conception that incorporates political cunning. Shakespeare positions the titular Richard in the former position, his shortcomings as England's leader made all too clear when he bungles the handling of a judicial duel, and then later seizes money and assets that are not rightfully his in order to fund an Irish war...

Saint Joan is a play by George Bernard Shaw about 15th-century French military figure Joan of Arc. Premiering in 1923, three years after her canonization by the Roman Catholic Church, the play reflects Shaw's belief that the people involved in Joan's trial acted according to what they thought was right. He wrote in his preface to the play: “There are no villains in the piece. Crime, like disease, is not interesting: it is something to be done away with by general consent, and that is all [there is] about it...

Gilbert of Gilbert and Sullivan fame also wrote non-musical plays without Sullivan as a partner. Here is a dramatic play far afield from the comedy musicals we often think of when we hear Gilbert's name: Prince Florian of Spain arrives on The Island of Broken Hearts, peopled by "we maidens all [who] have dearly loved, and those we loved have died. We, broken hearts, knit by the sympathy of kindred woe, have sought this isle far from the ken of man; and having loved, and having lost our loves, stand pledged to love no living thing again...

This ancient Roman dialogue plays out as a religious debate between the Christian lawyer Octavius, and his close friend, a skeptical pagan named Caecilius. Caecilius is relatively agnostic, expressing skepticism towards both aspects of traditional Roman paganism, as well as towards his friend's newfangled Christian religion. Octavius attempts to give the reasons he has for his own beliefs and answer Caecilius' critiques. The author- Marcus Minucius Felix - plays the role of referee and observer. This is one of the earliest Latin texts to talk about Christianity, and describe how the new religion fit in the wider social context of the Roman world...

Carlisle on St. Edwards Island may appear to the outside world to be a quiet, rural farming town, but to a group of 8 teens and tweens, its forests, fields, and orchards are places of enchantment, wonder, and adventure! The Story Girl’s captivating tales toss Bev, Felix, Cecily, Felicity, Dan, Peter, Sara, and the Story Girl into mystical, magical, and spiritual worlds filled with princesses, sailors, mythological beings, and cosmological loves. The children find themselves running through ancient forests, shooting with the stars, sailing with treasure hunters, crossing rainbows with gods, spooking alongside the family ghosts, and discovering loves lost, loves found, and loves eternal...

Racine caused furour in the French theater community with his second play, Alexander the Great, when "The sensitive poet seems to have been disgusted by the manner in which it was being acted; for, a fortnight after it had been put on the boards at the Palais Royal [by Moliere], Moliere's company learned with astonishment and indignation that it was being simultaneously performed at a rival theatre." "The story of this drama is derived from Quintus Curtius, Plutarch, and Justin." Racine followed the rules of classical French dramatists: one main plot, action takes place in one day and at one location...

A drama from the Gilbert of Gilbert and Sullivan. Pursued by the Parliamentary Army after the Battle of Worcester, some Royalist soldiers take cover in Dan'l Druce's hut on the Norfolk Coast until they can escape. An event with long shadows that come back to disturb his life fourteen years later. - Summary by ToddHW Cast list: Sir Jasper Combe, a Royalist Colonel: Andrew James Dan'l Druce: Adrian Stephens Reuben Haines, a Royalist Sergeant: Alan Mapstone Geoffrey Wynyard, a Merchant Sailor: Tomas...

Frank Merriwell is from Yale he excelled at football, baseball, basketball, crew and track at Yale while solving mysteries and righting wrongs the stories show how he handles a number of challenges that come his way. Cast List:Frank Merriwell: Adrian StephensNarrator: Michele EatonBullet headed man, Crowd, McGilvay, Franks second: John PaytonTom Stevens: Jake MaliziaHilda Dugan: Jenn BrodaHarry Collins, Irish Man, Gray Mustached man, policeman, Jones, Bartender, trainman, servant of Alvin Brander:...

The Power of Sympathy was the first American novel, published in Boston in January 1789. An epistolary novel, it tells the tragic story of the relationship of an orphan girl and a man of good family, with a dramatic twist and tragic ending. It was inspired by an actual scandal in the Apthorp family of Boston, the "Ophelia" and "Martin" related within the story. It was published anonymously, and there has been controversy over the authorship. For over a century his family kept the author's identity secret...

Merlin. King Arthur. War betwixt British and Saxons. Uther Pendragon. Collapsing castle foundations, Magicians and spirits, and fighting dragons and a blazing comet. Good entertaining stuff. But is it Shakespeare? The 1662 first printed edition of this play says it was written by William Shakespeare and William Rowley. It doesn't appear that anyone any longer believes that Shakespeare was actually involved, and probably this is entirely Rowley - who co-authored plays with a fair number of other authors of the period...

01. That Pretty Girl in the ArmyThe Salvation Army is having a hard time of things in the rough Outback town of Bourke.  That is, until Sister Hannah arrives... - Summary by Son of the Exiles Coordinated by: Son of the Exiles Sister Hannah: Devorah Allen Jack Moonlight: Tomas Peter Billy Woods: Jim Locke Jake Boreham: Larry Wilson Reformed Drunkard: Wayne Cooke Bob Brothers: Algy Pug Mitchell: Alan Mapstone Donald Macdonald: Michele Eaton One-Eyed Bogan: lorda Female Testifier: Lauren-Emma Blake Blunderer: Therese Lindholm Black Testifier: Wayne Cooke Heckler: ToddHW Narrator: KHand 02...

"In 1911 [Martinez Sierra and his wife/co-author Maria] achieved a definitive and permanent triumph with the production of The Cradle Song.... The Cradle Song is a reminiscence of Maria's youth in Carabanchel, a town in which her father was convent doctor and where her sister took the veil, the Sister Joanna of the Cross of the play. [Martinez] has paused to probe some universal passion or emotion... in The Cradle Song, to echo the cry of the eternal mother instinct while has been stifled and denied...

Although almost completely obscure today, this romantic melodrama was arguably a bigger hit for actress/playwright Anna Cora Mowatt than her theatre history-making comedy “Fashion” Wisely cashing in on the craze for settings and characters made popular by Alexander Dumas’ “Musketeer” novels still being published in serial form when the play debuted, this drama focuses on the adventures of sweet, beautiful, peasant maiden Blanche, who discovers she may be the illegitimate daughter of the scheming Duke de Richelieu...

Dialogues of the Dead are 30 miniature dialogues mocking the Homeric conception of the Greek gods, originally written in Attic Greek by Syrian author Lucian of Samosata. Almost 1900 years old, these dialogues still retain a lot of their original humor and wit. - Summary by Foon The cast list for dialogues with 3 or more readers is given below: Dialogue 2: Kroesus: Lynette Caulkins Pluto: Alan Mapstone Midas: David Purdy Sardanapalus: TriciaG Menippus: Adrian Stephens Dialogue 3: Menippus:...

Many of us find it challenging to speak to other people, for various reasons. Some of us are afraid of being called a bore. Others are worried that we will be accused of hogging attention. Many of us simply don't know what to talk about. This book is an entertaining and enlightening manual that may be able to help. Through a series of twelve dialogues between a man and a woman, we are introduced to twelve "golden rules" that will help us navigate the waters of interpersonal communication. He: Read by KevinS She: Read by Devorah Allen

Although the Sherlock Holmes canon traditionally consists of four novels and 56 short stories written by Arthur Conan Doyle, there are many Sherlock Holmes stories outside the canon. Most of these noncanonical stories were written by authors other than Doyle, but there are four short stories about Holmes written by Doyle that are nonetheless excluded from the canon, for various reasons. This album consists of these four noncanonical stories. The first story, "The Field Bazaar", was first published in 1896 in a special issue of a University of Edinburgh student newspaper called The Student...

This Victorian melodrama, written by G.H. Lewes, common law husband of novelist George Eliot , featured a scandalous love triangle. The scene is set in 16th century Spain. The main character is Don Gomez del la Vega, a nobleman in service of his king battling the Moors. In the midst of a campaign, he and his son, the gallant knight, Don Leon, both fall in love with the beautiful Juanna, daughter of a merchant, who had pledged her hand in marriage to Don Gomez. How can the situation be resolved...

Covering some of the plot of Shakespeare's Richard III, Jane Shore focuses on the mistress of the late Edward IV, also known as "The White Queen". In this short tragedy, Jane tries to thwart Richard's rise to power while experiencing love, betrayal, forgiveness, and an unexpected visitor who arrives in disguise. Cast ListLord Hastings: Tchaikovsky Duke of Gloster: ToddHW Belmour: Adrian Stephens Sir Richard Ratcliffe: Wayne Cooke Sir William Catesby: Alan Mapstone Dumont: Tomas Peter Jane Shore: Michele Eaton Alicia: WendyKatzHiller Jane's Servant: Larry Wilson Alicia's Servant: B. Jones Stage Directions: Adrienne Prevost

readers present a collection of their favorite chapters and short stories, with the original author’s words all brought to life with different reader voices for each character in our popular Dramatic Reading style. This volume includes readings from Louisa May Alcott, two by L M Montgomery, Lewis Carroll, Victor Hugo, Kate Chopin, C K Chesterton, Jack London, and A A Milne. NOTE that Milne died in 1956 and this story is not PD in for listeners in Europe and/or Australia, and other countries which observe copyright of author's death +70 years...

"What touches us more closely is Echegaray's manipulation of the modern conscience, and its illimitable scope for reflection, for conflict, and the many-sided drama of temptation.... Not even Tolstoi, with all that delicacy and keenness of the Russian conscience, that profound seriousness, which moves us so variously in his great books, has a nobler consciousness of the dignity of suffering and virtue than this Spanish dramatist. And not less capable is he of a jesting survey of life." Echegaray won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1904...

Noel Coward explores the darker side of the roaring twenties in this early play. It focuses on an ageing beauty who uses affairs with younger men to keep her feeling relevant, and her son who is back from Paris after a year performing as a pianist and acquiring a cocaine habit. Set in the effervescent world of the socialite set, with plenty of the wit and charm that Coward is known for, The Vortex is, nonetheless, a powerful depiction of people who struggle to be completely honest with themselves...

Left a widow 5 years ago at age 21, Iris Bellamy is shackled by terms of her husband's will that would leave her penniless if she remarries. Of course, "if she married a rich man, her interest in her late husband's estate would be no longer indispensible to her." But "rich men generally have some odious quality to counterbalance their wealth. The men one would marry are as poor as mice." So what do you think is likely to happen? - Summary by ToddHW Cast list: Frederick Maldonado: Adrian Stephens Laurence Trenwith: Tomas Peter Croker Harrington: ToddHW Archibald Kane: Alan Mapstone Colonel Wynning: Algy Pug Servant at Mrs...

The gospel method of sanctification, as well as of justification, lies so far out of the understanding of natural reason, that if all the rationalists in the world, philosophers and divines, had consulted together to lay down a plan, for repairing the lost image of God in man, they had never hit upon that which the divine wisdom had pitched upon, viz., That sinners should be sanctified in Christ Jesus, 1 Cor. 1:2, by faith in him, Acts 26:18. Nay, being laid before them, they would have rejected it with disdain as foolishness, 1 Cor...

Letty is another one of Pinero's Social Plays, exposing the double standard of woman's reputations suffering for actions that in men were not only allowed, but even expected. Letty is a romantic shop assistant who considers bettering her station in life with a marriage to her employer. This play was filmed as a silent movie in 1919 as The Loves of Letty. - Summary by ToddHW Cast list: Nevill Letchmere: Tomas Peter Ivor Crosbie: Andrew Gaunce Coppinger Drake: artvo88 Bernard Mandeville: Alan Mapstone Richard Perry: ToddHW Neale, a Commercial Traveller: JoeBer Ordish, Agent for an Insurance Company: Greg Giordano Rugg, Mr...

The first-century scholar and historian Plutarch tells a strange tale of sailors at sea, who heard a mysterious voice proclaiming: "Pan is dead." This narrative poem tells the story of another Greek who sees the funeral of Pan in a vision and is launched on a quest to find the meaning of his vision. His journey eventually leads him all the way to Jerusalem and back, before he finds the answer he is searching for. - Summary by Devorah AllenLeander: MozartjrHelen: Krista ZaleskiPhilo: Larry WilsonPasserby: Kerry AdamsNarrator: Devorah Allen