Dramatic Reading Scene and Story Collection, Volume 005


Read by LibriVox Volunteers

(2 stars; 1 reviews)

LibriVox readers bring you 10 full-cast productions: from stories and fables for children, to a comical, self-satirizing play; from short mysteries of Sherlock Holmes, to a close - even uncomfortable - look at individual human lives, as they are swept through the tide of historical events around them.
This collection contains readings from George MacDonald, Oscar Wilde, Arthur Conan Doyle, Ernest Hemingway, Katharine Fullerton Gerould, Louisa May Alcott, Stephen Leacock, Harlan Cozad McIntosh, and Charles Dickens.

Copyright Note: Ernest Hemingway died in 1961. His story, Hills Like White Elephants, may not be in the Public Domain outside the USA, and particularly in countries whose copyright protections expire 70 years after the author's death.

1. A Double Story, Chapter 12, by George McDonald
Coordinated and edited by Shelly Weingart.
These two girls, who look exactly alike, could not be more different. What will they learn, when a wise woman crosses their paths - and is it too late for Princess Rosamund to change her ways?
This is chapter 12. The rest of the book has not yet been recorded for LibriVox, but can be found at Project Gutenberg.

Narrator: Shelly Weingart
Princess Rosamund: ShrimpPhish
Wise Woman: Rapunzelina
Nurse: Winnifred Assmann
Ally: Inkell
Ally's Mother: Agnes Robert Behr

2. The Star Child, by Oscar Wilde
Coordinated and edited by Inkell, with proof-listening by Brian Fullen.
When a young and handsome foundling decides to ignore the kind teachings of the people who took him in, he finds that he hurts those who care about him most. Follow the Star Child as he learns the value - and true beauty - of compassion.

Narrator: Winnifred Assmann
Star-Child: Inkell
Woodcutter #1 and Knight: Alan Mapstone
Woodcutter #2: Larry Wilson
Woodcutter #2's Wife, Green Linnet and Star-Child's Playmate: Shelly Weingart
Woodcutter #2's Daughter, Hare and Woodpecker: ShrimpPhish
Beggar-Woman: Sylphwyld
Magician: Greg Giordano
Leper: Patrick
Soldier #1, Wolf and Priest: Brian Fullen
Soldier #2: redrun
Turtle Dove and Mole: Tasha1985
Owl and Squirrel: Agnes Robert Behr

3. The Adventure of the Blanched Soldier, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Coordinated and edited by Inkell, with proof-listening by Brian Fullen.
The irrerpessible Sherlock Holmes is in fine form, in this mystery of a missing man, and a father who does not seem to want him found.

Sherlock Holmes: Inkell
Mr James M Dodd: Steve C
Colonel Emsworth: Beeswaxcandle
Godfrey Emsworth: Brian Fullen
Mr Kent: Greg Giordano
Ralph, the old butler: Alan Mapstone
Sir James Saunders: Larry Wilson
Doctor: Agnes Robert Behr
Doctor John Watson: lorda

4. Hills Like White Elephants by Ernest Hemingway
Coordinated and edited by Chuck Williamson.
Just a man and a girl, passing through on their way to anywhere else. They arrive together, and they leave together, but they seem to be anything but in agreement as to what she should do when they get to their destination.
In addition to the copyright notice for folks outside the USA (Hemingway died in 1961), this story implies some adult issues, though it is not explicit.

The Girl (Jig): Winnifred Assmann
The Man: Brian Fullen
The Woman: Agnes Robert Behr
Narration: redrun

5. The Knight's Move, by Katharine Fullerton Gerould
Coordinated and edited by Brian Fullen.
Two argumentative young men discuss what ended the life of a mutual acquaintance. Was it intentional? If so, by whom was it intended, and why?
This story explores themes of death (intentional and otherwise), and when and why one human life might be valued over another.

Havelock: Inkell
Chantry: Michael Faze
Narrator: Steve C

6. The Brothers, by Louisa May Alcott
Script adaptation and PL by Jenn Broda. Additional PL by Rapunzelina. Edited by Brian Fullen.
A woman works in a hospital in the American Civil War. She is faced, not only with the terrible aftermath of the war itself, but with the conditions in which some people were forced to live, long before the United States were ever dis-united in arms.
This story is told in the vernacular, and with the prejudices of the time.

Miss Dane/Narrator: ShrimpPhish
Doctor Franck: Greg Giordano
Bob: Larry Wilson
Captain Fairfax: Brian Fullen
A Soldier Boy: Alan Mapstone
A Mother: Winnifred Assmann

7. The Adventure of the Speckled Band, by Arthur Conan Doyle
Coordinated and edited by MaybeCordelia.
Dr. Watson and his friend Sherlock Holmes are faced with a locked-room murder mystery, involving a young woman and... a strange piece of head-wear?

Narrator/Dr. John Watson: Brian Fullen
Helen Stoner: WendyKatzHiller
Sherlock Holmes: ToddHW
Driver: Brian Fullen
Dr. Grimesby Roylott: Greg Giordano
Julia Stoner: MaybeCordelia

8. "The Soul Call" from Over the Footlights, by Stephen Leacock
Coordinated and edited by Winnifred Assmann.
In this story - which is both a criticism of its contemporary "piffle play", and an example of such a play, at the same time! - two souls call to each-other, in spite of the ties that bind. And what are two lovers to do, when each has sworn "til death do us part," to someone else? Isn't it obvious?

Narrator: Winnifred Assmann
Lionel Derwent: Larry Wilson
Meadows and Annette: Inkell
Charles Chown: Brian Fullen
Helga Chown: ShrimpPhish
Mabel Derwent: Rapunzelina

9. This Finer Shadow, Chapter 11, by Harlan Cozad McIntosh
Coordinated and edited by Brian Fullen.
A man with a secret past tells his lover a story about himself. Her answer leaves him seeing his future in a new light.
This scene also implies adult themes, but is not explicit. It is chapter 11 of a novel; you can find he entire novel as a solo reading in the LibriVox catalog.

Narrator: Greg Giordano
Cat: Agnes Robert Behr
Martin: Brian Fullen
Flower Lady: Winnifred Assmann
Deane: valroth

10. Oliver Twist, Chapter 2, by Charles Dickens
Coordinated and edited by Rapunzelina.
In this iconic chapter, a young orphan has the audacity to ask the the, erm, economical folk to whom his well-being is entrusted, whether he might have a larger portion of food for his sustenance.

For anyone who only saw this scene in a movie, you may have missed the biting satire which is here present in the narration. If you wish to hear more of this, our LibriVox volunteers have actually agreed to your outlandish demands, and you can surely find one of our full readings to satisfy your astonishing appetite.

Mrs Mann: The Countess
Mr. Bumble: Brian Fullen
Oliver: Inkell
Mr. Limbkins: Rapunzelina
A second board member: Winnifred Assmann
A third board member: Shelly Weingart
Narrator: Agnes Robert Behr (6 hr 2 min)