Get Top 100 Audiobooks in Drama & Poetry, Modern Drama

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: Another Time

Author: Ronald Harwood

Narrator: Lars Carlson, Stacy Keach, Alice Krige, Miriam Miriam, Jeffrey Jones

Format: Original Recording

Length: 1 hr and 49 mins

Language: English

Release date: 02-22-10

Publisher: L.A. Theatre Works

Genres: Drama & Poetry, Modern Drama

Publisher's Summary:

This deeply human and complex drama alternates between 1950s Cape Town and contemporary London, weighing the price a gifted musicians single-minded devotion to his art exacts upon his relationships with his family. This full-cast production features Lars Carlson, Stacy Keach, Alice Krige, Miriam Margolyes, and Jeffrey Jones.

Editorial Reviews:

This domestic drama begins in Cape Town some forty years ago with a fateful day in the life of a hapless Jewish family, whose only son is a musical prodigy. The second act takes place in a present-day London recording studio, where said prodigy, now a successful concert pianist, meets up again with his family. Where has his art taken him? What has it meant to all of them? A superb cast finely directed and carefully recorded answers these questions in a riveting production. Stacy Keach convincingly plays the grown-up musician and his Lithuania-born schlemiel of a father. As his self-pitying wife, Alice Krige gives a passionate, albeit strident, performance. Jeffrey Jones and Miriam Margolyes flawlessly render the supporting roles that give the play much of its humor and humanity.

Members Reviews:

Another Time

Stacy Keach is magnificent. The rocky relationships in this production are so life-like! You can feel what's going on and you can relate to it.

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: The Fiery Furnace

Author: Timothy Mason

Narrator: L. D. Barrett, Shannon Cochran, William Fichtner, Julie Harris, Sally Murphey

Format: Unabridged

Length: 1 hr and 15 mins

Language: English

Release date: 02-16-10

Publisher: L.A. Theatre Works

Ratings: 3 of 5 out of 1 votes

Genres: Drama & Poetry, Modern Drama

Publisher's Summary:

Around a family dining table deep in the Heartland, where Senator Joe McCarthy once sat and discussed his fondness for beets, nothing is as it seems. Gunnar, the family patriarch, is an upstanding farmer - or is he? Why is his favorite daughter so anxious to flee to Chicago? And why does her mother want to go too? Daughter Charity, a devoted wife and mother, is clearly frightened of something. Her husband, Jerry, hates anything un-American, but refuses to serve in Korea. As the mysteries multiply, author Timothy Mason solves them with wit and unrelenting suspense.

Editorial Reviews:

Playwright Timothy Masons The Fiery Furnace is a tense, yet oft-times funny drama set in the American Middle West. In 1950, Faith is about to depart for the University of Chicago, and her 56-year-old mother, Eunice, threatens to accompany her, dampening the thrill of escape. Meanwhile, Faiths sister Charity is married to an unfaithful alcoholic, William. The narrative covers 13 years, culminating on New Years Eve 1963. Actors L. D. Barrett, Shannon Cochran, William Fichtner, Julie Harris, and Sally Murphey give electric performances in this live recording of a theater production.

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: La Bete

Author: David Hirson

Narrator: John de Lancie, Michael Cumpsty, Jen Dede, Alice Hirson, Matt Letscher, Amy Pietz, Sarah Zimmerman

Format: Original Recording

Length: 2 hrs and 8 mins

Language: English

Release date: 02-02-10

Publisher: L.A. Theatre Works

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 6 votes

Genres: Drama & Poetry, Modern Drama

Publisher's Summary:

In a comic whirlwind of high style, La Bête tells the story of Elomire, a 17th century French playwright, and his touring acting troupe who have come to lead the high life due to the patronage of the fickle Prince of Conti. Sparks fly when Valere, a swaggering braggert with delusions of artistic grandeur, becomes the Prince's choice to join Elomire's troupe. It is a battle of wits and witticisms as the two face off in this outrageous commentary on the nature of art and the artist in society.

Members Reviews:

Great!

Great play. Bought for class. Good price and timely shipping.

La Bete

I saw the play in Sarasota and later got the CD. The play is written in couplets; that's what makes it a real treat. You need to have seen the play to get full benefit of the CD. On-stage and on CD, La Bete is great.

Wonderful.

David Hirson, La Bete (Dramatists Play Service, 1992)

Iambic pentameter in the late eighties on the stage? Yes! And well-done iambic pentameter, at that. La Bete is something special. I'm not sure if the stage had ever seen anything like it before. When you open with a twenty-page monologue, you're most likely breaking new ground.

It's France, 1654. Prince Conti, disappointed at the lack of initiative shown by the players he keeps on retainer, has found a street performer named Valere that he wants to introduce to the company, and has arranged an introductory dinner. The action begins just after the sinner, when Valere, Elomire (the head of the company), and Bejart (Elomire's right hand man) have decamped to another room. Valere seems to hold Elomire in great regard; the feeling is not in the least mutual. After some well-spiced wordplay, Valere launches into his infamous, and quite humorous, monologue, during which Elomire comes up with an idea to make Valere look like the moron he is in front of the prince-- with thoroughly unexpected results.

It's probable that those who have never read an entire play in verse will shy away from this. Don't-- as with all formal poetry worth the name, Hirson writes in such a way that, while you're aware of the rhythm and rhyme, the usual cadences one finds in speech are to the fore most of the time. (When they're not, it's carefully calculated for some effect or other-- in most cases, ludicrous humor.) There is great amusement to be found here, as well as some rather scathing subtext; it's fun stuff that will likely make you feel a bit uncomfortable in places, as well it should. Read it; it's worth your time. *** Â

Lampooning Moliere, with a slice of modern-day editorial

While I would urge everyone to buy a copy of this script, I would especially recommend it to students of theater history (for a good laugh) and to working or studying actors and directors - its classic/modern qualities make it a wonderful bridge to performing and directing classic works, and actors will find PLENTY of first-rate scene and monologue material.

And to be sure, while its humor and satirical nature is its immediate draw, the deeper philosophical question which it (and, of course, "The Wrong Mountain") leaves us with is one which can prove debate-sparking, ideal-shifting, and life-changing.

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: Betrayed

Author: George Packer

Narrator: Jeremy Beck, Kevin Daniels, Andrea Gabriel, John Getz, Sevan Greene, Sam Kanater, Waleed F. Zuaiter

Format: Unabridged

Length: 1 hr and 43 mins

Language: English

Release date: 09-18-09

Publisher: L.A. Theatre Works

Genres: Drama & Poetry, Modern Drama

Publisher's Summary:

Based on the journalist-playwright's original article in The New Yorker, Betrayed is the story of three young Iraqi translators who risk everything for America's promise of freedom while their country collapses around them.

©2009 L.A. Theatre Works; (P)2009 L.A. Theatre Works

Editorial Reviews:

L.A. Theatre Works provides a poignant, unsettling performance of George Packers adaptation from his New Yorker article about the hopes, fears, and struggles of three Iraqi interpreters in wartime Baghdad, 2003. The cast is headed by Sevan Greene and Waleed F. Zuaiter from the original production, about which The New York Times raved, "...the clarity of the writing, the urgency of the story being told and the fine performances give the play a sharp dramatic impact and a plainspoken beauty." From the first moments, the emotional tension builds over the fate of men who risked all they had to help the American effort. Overlaying that tension is an increasing outrage at the official indifference to senseless human tragedy.

Critic Reviews:

"The clarity of the writing, the urgency of the story being told...give the play a sharp dramatic impact and a plain-spoken beauty. Painful human experience is presented here as just that. Nothing else is necessary to awaken sympathy, despair and awareness of a grave moral failure on the part of the American government." (New York Post)

Members Reviews:

Four Stars

Excellent play choice for our reading group; very timely!

Packer Betrays Journalism

This beautifully written play unfortunately serves as a smokescreen for the real betrayal of the Iraq war: that was promoted in response to the bogus attacks of 9-11-2001 that were falsely blamed on Iraq.

Packer could serve a much wider cause of justice by using his journalistic skills to expose the cynical lies behind this Zionist false flag attack.

But like 99.9% of America's journalistic brotherhood, Packer prefers to let sleeping dogs lie.

In the end Packer himself betrays the trust of his readers.

Nevertheless, I have given this a 5 star rating since it effectively portrays the cynicism with which the US occupation forces in Iraq used Iraquis. It at least opens up a window to the world of corruption that characterizes US foreign policy.

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: Odyssey of Love

Author: Lucy Parham

Narrator: Martin Jarvis, Rosalind Ayres, Lucy Parham

Format: Unabridged

Length: 1 hr and 35 mins

Language: English

Release date: 09-18-09

Publisher: L.A. Theatre Works

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 2 votes

Genres: Drama & Poetry, Modern Drama

Publisher's Summary:

Mixing the colorful letters of Franz Liszt with some of his most ecstatic piano music, Odyssey of Love depicts his tempestuous relations with two fascinating women.

©2009 L.A. Theatre Works; (P)2009 L.A. Theatre Works

Editorial Reviews:

Franz Liszt was a child prodigy who became the greatest keyboard maestro of his time and a prolific composer. This audio presentation, drawn from his vivid letters and sprinkled with selections from his most emotional piano music, highlights his relationships with the mother of his three children, Marie d'Agoult, and the peculiar Princess Carolyne von Sayn Wittgenstein. There are some challenges in this LA Theatre Works production: The vocal characterizations tend toward the melodramatic and the musical interludes, beautifully realized by pianist Lucy Parham, slow down the narrative drive, in places becoming an intrusion rather than an aid. Still, fans of Liszt should certainly enjoy this.

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: The Value of Names

Author: Jeffrey Sweet

Narrator: Hector Elizondo, Garry Marshall, Sally Murphy

Format: Unabridged

Length: 1 hr and 13 mins

Language: English

Release date: 09-03-09

Publisher: L.A. Theatre Works

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 5 votes

Genres: Drama & Poetry, Modern Drama

Publisher's Summary:

The two men haven't spoken since. But they are forced to deal with each other 30 years after the fact, when Benny's daughter wins a career-making role in a hot new play Leo is directing.

Editorial Reviews:

This warm recording of a live L.A. Theaterworks performance of playwright Jeffrey Sweet's historical-political play The Value of Names recreates for listeners the feel of being in a sold-out theater. Featuring a full cast including renowned Hollywood actors Hector Elizondo, Garry Marshall, and Sally Murphy, the play considers the aftereffects of McCarthyism, when Benny Silverman, a retired actor, faces the prospect of his daughter acting in a play directed by Leo Greshen, the man who "named" him in front of the House Committee on Un-American Activities. Funny, thought-provoking, and political, The Value of Names is a unique listening experience for fans of the stage.

Members Reviews:

Five Stars

PERFECT FOR STUFFING CANDY KISSES

the value of names

This play which i saw many years ago with Shelley Berman playing the lead is one of the most memorable plays i have ever see. It is an unforgettable picture of betrayal and the heartbreak it causes. This is a special favorite of mine.Read it!

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: Atomic Bombers

Author: Russell Vandenbroucke

Narrator: Tom Virtue, Jeannie Elias, Robin Gammell, Jon Matthews, Philip Mershon, Danny Mora, Wolf Muser

Format: Unabridged

Length: 1 hr and 29 mins

Language: English

Release date: 09-03-09

Publisher: L.A. Theatre Works

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 6 votes

Genres: Drama & Poetry, Modern Drama

Publisher's Summary:

Fifty years after Hiroshima, Atomic Bombers takes us into those secretive canyons to meet the cadre of brilliant scientists who worked there. With wisecracking physicist Dr. Richard Feynman as our guide, the race to the atom bomb comes alive as a very human endeavor, filled with humor, playfulness and dread.

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: Hotel Oubliette

Author: Jane Anderson

Narrator: Edward Asner, Thomas Caruso, Arye Gross, Marsha Mason

Format: Unabridged

Length: 1 hr and 25 mins

Language: English

Release date: 09-03-09

Publisher: L.A. Theatre Works

Genres: Drama & Poetry, Modern Drama

Publisher's Summary:

Inspired by released American hostages, Hotel Oubliette is a darkly comedic play that explores what happens when two emotionally disconnected men are chained to a post with an endless amount of time stretching before them.

©2009 L.A. Theatre Works; (P)2009 L.A. Theatre Works

Editorial Reviews:

The non-profit arts organization LA Theatre Works brings together an exceptional cast featuring Edward Asner, Thomas Caruso, Arye Gross, and Marsha Mason in this production of a play by Jane Anderson. Merrill Glass and Leonard Shaw are two Americans who are chained together in a small, dark room, and Anderson explores the banality of life as a hostage in a darkly comedic manner. Hotel Oubliette is an exceptional showcase for Asner and Gross; Asner's brusque demeanor as the reserved Shaw is a great foil for Gross's excitable work as the more loquacious Glass, creating a fascinating pas de deux.

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: Drowning Sorrows

Author: Douglas Post

Narrator: Keli Garrett, Harry Hamlin, Martha Lavey, Andrew Leman, Paul Winfield

Format: Original Recording

Length: 1 hr and 20 mins

Language: English

Release date: 09-01-09

Publisher: L.A. Theatre Works

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 6 votes

Genres: Drama & Poetry, Modern Drama

Publisher's Summary:

A woman stumbles into a remote bar on the Carribean island of St. John - and faints. It isn't the tropical drinks that befell Emily Miles, but the sight of the bartender, Duncan Crawford. In the restless Duncan, Emily is sure she recognizes the young man she has been searching for since he left her at the alter, 20 years ago.

Members Reviews:

Recorded play......

Is there anything you would change about this book?

No, it was a cute short story.

Has Drowning Sorrows turned you off from other books in this genre?

Yes, I didn't think it was going to be a recorded play.

What aspect of the narratorss performance would you have changed?

Nothing, You can clearly tell the difference in each character.

Was Drowning Sorrows worth the listening time?

Yes, I guess.

Any additional comments?

It was a cute short story.

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: The Importance Of Being Earnest

Author: Oscar Wilde

Narrator: John Gielgud, Edith Evans

Format: Unabridged

Length: 1 hr and 45 mins

Language: English

Release date: 07-15-09

Publisher: The Copyright Group

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 2 votes

Genres: Drama & Poetry, Modern Drama

Publisher's Summary:

Here his economic and finely honed words are delivered by a superb cast that is headed by England's finest, namely Sir John Gielgud and Dame Edith Evans that help make this the ultimate listening experience for fans of classic theatre.

Members Reviews:

Excellent and highly recomnrnded.

John Gielgud and Edith Evens are the only voices who convey the quintessential essence of the period. Such clarity of diction and professional acting.

Wonderful performance.

Thoroughly enjoyable.

Always a favourite

Old recording but one with top notch actors and of course what is probably the best last line ever

Awful sound quality

Surely with modern technology the sound levels could be improved even though I think this is an old stage recording.

Charming and very funny

I enjoyed this charming, funny and quirky short story. The major let down was the audio quality, I was constantly having to fiddle with the volume as characters were loud one minute and quiet the next. The sound is very poor quality. It sounds like a recording of a play which is great and something I usually like however whoever recorded this must have done it on their phone from the back of the theatre.

Classic play

Short fun play with witty dialogue. However I found the voice of actors grating and rather old for the parts of young teenagers and mid 20 somethings.