The Little Women Collection by Louisa May Alcott presented by The Online Stage.

This collection includes the remastered Online Stage productions of Little Women, Little Men, Jo’s Boys as well as Comic Tragedies by Jo & Meg.

Little Women is the story of four sisters growing up against the background of the American Civil War. Alcott wrote the book at the urging of the publisher, Thomas Niles, who was seeking a story about girls that would have popular appeal. Although it was commenced essentially as a children’s book, it developed into something of a bildungsroman, which touches on more serious issues such as the difficulties faced by single-parent families, the death of a sibling, and fractured relationships.

Little Men tells the continuing story of Jo March, who has married Professor Bhaer, with whom she now runs a small school.

In Jo’s Boys, we revisit the Plumfield clan 10 years later, all grown up and finding their way through life’s adventures and misadventures. Simmering romances blossom for some while the bravery and strength of others are tested. Through it all, Jo and Professor Bhaer desperately hope they have done their duty in raising up good citizens of the world with dreams, passions, empathy, and intelligence. Alcott shines once again with her ability to write human emotion through real-world scenarios that are still relevant today.

Comic Tragedies by Jo & Meg is a collection of plays written by Jo and Meg March, often discussed and performed in the March family attic by the beloved Little Women as the Pickwick Players. Our cast returns as Jo, Meg, Amy, and Beth to perform every role with dramatic flair from damsels in distress to evil villains, and no shortage of mistaken identities and sword fights.

Cast:

Narrators—Lee Ann Howlett and Erin Grassie

Jo—Amanda Friday

Meg—P. J. Morgan

Beth—Tiffany Halla Colonna

Amy—Becca Maggie and Anna Grace

Laurie—Andy Harrington

Professor Bhaer—Ben Lindsey-Clark

Various other roles performed by Elizabeth Klett, Ron Altman, Ben Stevens, Nancy German, Maureen Boutilier, Jeff Moon, Jennifer Fournier, Miranda Hodges, Izzy Lindsey-Clark, Rebecca Thomas, Brett Downey, Sarah Pignatello, Chris Marcellus, Leanne Yau, Cate Barratt, Libby Stephenson, Marty Krz, David Prickett, Arielle Lipshaw, Ted Wenskus, Tomas Peter, Anastasia Durning, Josh Innerst, Tim Sailer, Sydnee Fullmer, Lance Rasmussen, Tyler Hyrchuk, Max Gallo, Anna Grace, Jennie VanderLugt, and Trisha Rose.

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Charles Dickens’ classic Yuletide tale is one of the most popular tales of personal redemption in world literature, and has been adapted many times for presentation on film and on stage.

This dramatic reading features the voices of the Online Stage. All proceeds from the sale of this audiobook will be donated to Concerns of Police Survivors, a non-profit organization which provides support for the families of police officers who lose their lives in the line of duty.

The cast of narrators includes Bob Neufeld, Ron Altman, Ed Humpal, Alan Weyman, Elizabeth Klett, Chyanne Donnell, K. G. Cross, Evie Maria, Denis Daly, John Burlinson, Beth Thomas, Charlotte Duckett, Jeff Moon, Amanda Friday, Marty Krzywonos, Becca Maggie, Jennifer Fournier, and Brett Downey.

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Danny’s mother assures him that snowmen can’t talk. In this whimsical adventure, Danny discovers that her assertion is not entirely correct.

Cast: Weatherman – Brett Downey; Danny – Amanda Friday; Mom – Susan Iannucci; Snowman – Alan Weyman.

Additional voices supplied by Leanne Yau, Beth Thomas, and K.G. Cross.

Audio edited by Amanda Friday.

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Cast:
Hjalmar Ekdal – David Prickett
Gregers Werle – Jeff Moon
Gina Ekdal – K.G.Cross
Hedvig – Becca Maggie
Old Ekdal – Ron Altman
Håkon Werle – John Burlinson
Relling – Brett Downey
Mrs Sørby – Linda Barrans
Pettersen – Peter Tucker
Molvik – Ben Lindsey-Clark
Gråberg – Denis Daly
A flabby gentleman – Tovarisch
A thin-haired gentleman – Ed Humpal
A short-sighted gentleman – Marty Krz
Stage directions read by Sarah Hulslander
Afterword written and narrated by K.G. Cross. Text copyright 2018 K.G.Cross.

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Play translated by Samuel A. Eliot Jnr. Prologue translated by Leanne Yau and Alan Weyman and rendered into verse by Charlotte Duckett. Presented by The Online Stage.

This play is the sequel to “Earth Spirit”, in which the adventurous and manipulative Lulu marries and rids herself of three husbands, only to be arrested for the murder of the third. In “Pandora’s Box”, Lulu escapes from prison only to be forced into the life of a courtesan. Reduced to desperate poverty, she meets her end at the hands of a murderous customer in London. In Wedekind’s sordid morality tale, all Lulu’s main associates suffer premature and unnatural deaths, except for the degenerate Schigolch, who is one of the most unpleasant characters in the European drama. In Wedekind’s dark world, virtue is a practical improbability and vice, although often punished, continues to thrive. In the prologue, which has been specially translated for this production, Wedekind pillories the forces of censorship and critical approval, against which he contended almost continuously throughout his writing career.

The full cast of narrators includes:

The Enterprising Publisher – John Burlinson
The Ordinary Reader – K.G.Cross
The Bashful Author – Joseph Tabler
The Attorney General – Alan Weyman
Play Rodrigo Quast – Ron Altman
Lulu – Charlotte Duckett
Countess Geschwitz – Leanne Yau Schigolch
Marty Kryz Alva Schön – Brett Downey
Count Casti Piani – John Burlinson
Detective and Jack – Garrison Moore
Heilmann and Dr. Hilti – Joseph
Tabler Puntschu and Kungu Poti- Alan Weyman
Alfred Hugenberg and Kadidia – Chyanne Donnell
Bianetta and Magelone – K.G.Cross
Ludmilla Steinherz and Bob – P.J. Morgan
Stage directions read by Denis Daly. Audio edited by Denis Daly. Copyright for the verse version of the Prologue is held by Charlotte Duckett.

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Presented by the Online Stage

Frank Wedekind (1864-1918) was the most controversial dramatist of his age. Most of his work focuses on the ubiquity and inevitably corrupting influence of sexual attraction. His most famous plays are the two that depict the rise, fall, and eventual gruesome death of the vampish Lulu, who, in Wedekind’s presentation, became a ghastly parody of Goethe’s “Eternal Feminine”.

The first of the plays is Earth Spirit, in which Lulu marries and survives three husbands, only to face prosecution for the shooting of the third. Lulu’s later adventures are described in the following play, Pandora’s Box. The two plays were later bundled with Death and the Devil and Castle Wetterstein to form a tetralogy that was published as Tragedies of Sex.

Cast
Ringmaster/Rodrigo – Ron Altman
Lulu – Charlotte Duckett
Countess Geschwitz – Leanne Yau
Schigolch – Marty Krz
Alva Schön – Brett Downey
Dr. Schön – John Burlinson
Schwartz – Garrison Moore
Prince Escerny and Ferdinand – Joseph Tabler
Dr. Goll and Escherich – Alan Weyman
Alfred Hugenberg and Henriette – Chyanne Donnell

Stage directions read by Denis Daly
Audio edited by Denis Daly

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In Oedipus at Colonus, the banished king, after years of wandering, accompanied by his faithful daughter Antigone, finds himself in Athens. Receiving a warm if guarded welcome from Theseus, King of Athens, he prepares to settle himself to spend his last days in peace. However, unwelcome visitors from his tortured past continue to haunt him until the very end.

Before his passing, Oedipus makes a baleful prediction of the continuing family strife which will be played out in Antigone, the final play in the series.

Cast:

Denis Daly as Oedipus, formerly King of Thebes; Libby Stephenson as Antigone, daughter to Oedipus; Elizabeth Klett as A Stranger, an inhabitant of Colonus; Marty Krzywonos as First Citizen/Citizens; Amanda Friday as Ismene, daughter to Oedipus; Alan Weyman as Creon, brother to Jocasta the Queen; Peter Tucker as Theseus, king of Athens; Jennifer Fournier as Polynices, son to Oedipus; Ed Humpal as a Messenger, an Athenian attending on Theseus

Chorus of Theban Senators performed by Brett Downey, K G Cross, Cate Barratt, and John Burlinson

Stage directions read by John Burlinson

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Text copyrights held by Mike Murphy. Audio edited by Amanda Friday, K.G.Cross, Ed Humpal, and Eileen Tipping.

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Unusually for Ibsen, this play has a lot of humour and a more-or-less happy ending.

Cast

Stensgaard, a lawyer – Ben Lindsey-Clark

Chamberlain Brattsberg, an ironmaster – John Burlinson

Anders Lundestad, a farmer – Brett Downey

Daniel Heire – Phil Benson

Dr. Fjeldbo, the works’ doctor – Peter Tucker

Mons Monsen, of Storli, a landowner – Marty Kryz

Aslaksen, a printer – Tovarisch

Thora, Brattberg’s daughter – K. G.Cross

Mrs. Rundholmen, a tradesman’s widow – Jennifer Fournier

Bastian Monsen, Monsen’s son – Chris Marcellus

Erik Brattsberg, Brattsberg’s son, a lawyer, and businessman – Ed Humpal

Selma, Erik’s wife – Maureen Boutiler

Ragna, Monsen’s daughter – Rebecca Thomas

Helle, tutor at Storli – Jeff Moon

Ringdal, works’ manager – David Prickett

A maidservant in the Chamberlain’s household – Leanne Yau

A waiter – Andrew Coleman

A servant girl – Charlotte Duckett

Stage directions read by Denis Daly

Afterword read by K. G. Cross

Audio edited by K. G. Cross

Presented by The Online Stage

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This play, which bears an alternate title of What You Will, was written in about 1602. The plot consists of three basic strands:
The separation and eventual meeting of the identical twins Sebastian and Viola, each of whom believes the other to have perished
The triangular love relationship involving Olivia; her unsuccessful suitor, Duke Orsino; and Viola, masquerading as the duke’s male attendant under the name of Cesario

A cruel and humiliating deception played upon Olivia’s pompous steward, Malvolio, by Sir Toby Belch, Olivia’s drunken uncle, and Maria, her maid.

The inevitable confusion is eventually resolved by marriage contracts between Olivia and Sebastian, Orsino and Viola, and Sir Toby Belch and Maria while Malvolio storms off, swearing revenge on all the conspirators in his humiliation.

Twelfth Night has always been one of Shakespeare’s most popular comedies, and many adaptations have been made for film and musical theatre.

Cast
Viola – Arielle Lipshaw
Olivia – Elizabeth Klett
Maria – Maureen Boutilier
Sir Toby Belch – Marty Kryz
Sir Andrew Aguecheek – Ron Altman
Malvolio – Ben Lindsey-Clark
Fool – Alan Weyman
Fabian – K. G.Cross
Sebastian – Brett Downey
Antonio – John Burlinson
Duke Orsino/Servant – Denis Daly
Valentine/First Officer/Captain – Bob Neufeld
Curio/Second Officer/Priest – Joseph Tabler
Narrator – Michele Eaton
Audio edited by Denis Daly
The script for this recording was kindly provided by playshakespeare.com.

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Amazon/Audible • iTunes

Amazon/Audible • iTunes