“Wiping my face, I feel half-dried trails from tears I don’t remember shedding. Where am I? I close my eyes against the throbbing pain in my head, leaning against the wall behind me. Think Mae, think. What the hell happened last night?”

Life has never been easy for DonnaMae. After losing her mom as a young girl, she learns to navigate a world full of uncertainty with her dad and brother. Just when she begins to find her footing, a devastating betrayal from someone she trusted turns her world upside down.

Left grappling with the aftermath, DonnaMae faces the ultimate question: Will she let what happened define her, or will she fight to reclaim her life?

Through every twist and turn, you’ll laugh, cry, and root for her as she finds her way. DonnaMae is a powerful story about finding light in the darkest moments and the unbreakable spirit it takes to fight for your future.

Audible/Amazon

Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray presented by The Online Stage.

Vanity Fair centers on the young Becky Sharp and her dear friend Amelia Sedley during the time of the Napoleonic Wars. Rebecca Sharp is the daughter of an art teacher and a French dancer, being ambitious, intelligent, and strong-willed in order to get what she wants out of society. She is often touted as amoral and an anti-heroine. Alternately, her friend Amelia is kind, good-natured, and born into wealth. The interwoven fortunes of the two women play out among a backdrop of social skirmishes and human afflictions of pride and ego.

The novel is presented as a multiplot puppet play at a never-ending fair, using both a preface and a coda to bookend the story. The narrator character also interjects themselves into the story with gossip and opinions about the action occurring in certain scenes. Published as a serial in 19 monthly installments, it is a satire of 19th-century Britain, highlighting hypocrisy and opportunism. After initial release, it was published in full in 1848 with the subtitle of A Novel Without a Hero, a nod to Thackeray’s feelings about heroism in literature.

Cast:

Narrator – Lillian Rachel

Rebecca Sharp – Amanda Friday

Amelia Sedley – Anna Grace

Rawdon Crawley – Jon Bolitho-Jones

George Osbourne – Andy Harrington

William Dobbin – Tyler Hyrchuk

Joseph Sedley – Tim Sailer

Sir Pitt Crawley – Graham Scott

Matilda Crawley – Sarah Mitchell

Pitt Crawley – Rob Goll

Rose Crawley – Merete Mohs

Peggy O’Dowd – P. J. Morgan

Major O’Dowd – David Stifel

Jane Sheepshanks – Ella Lynch

Lady Steyne – Danielle Cohen

Lord Steyne – Jeff Moon

Captain Grigg – Caleb Summers

Miss Pinkerton – Sybil Johnson

Little Girl – Isabelle Friday

Audible/Amazon

The Trojan Women by Euripides, translated by Ian Johnston, presented by The Online Stage.

Euripides’s play follows the fates of the women of Troy after their city has been sacked, their husbands killed, and their remaining families taken away as slaves. It serves as an anti-war narrative as it highlights the suffering of the women left behind. The tragedy also calls attention to how women were treated as commodities in the past by showing how they were divided among the remaining men as spoils of war.

Cast:

Narrator – Jeff Moon

Hecuba – Sara Morsey

Chorus Leader – Sybil Johnson

Chorus / Athena- P. J. Morgan

Talthybius – Jon Bolitho-Jones

Poseidon / Menelaus – Rob Goll

Helen – Amanda Friday

Cassandra – Shaina Summerville

Andromache – Nichole James

Audible/Amazon

We pull into the driveway, from what feels like the longest car ride of my life. Neither of us gets out and we just sit there. I can feel him looking at me. I can’t look back at him. “How do I choose? How do we choose? How does anyone choose?”

MaryLou always has a plan. Born and raised in a small logging town in the Pacific Northwest with a family of all boys, her life is good. She’s got a great family, she gets to work on race cars with her dad, and she knows exactly what she wants for her future. Then she meets Dale, a mysterious older boy who races at the local track, and MaryLou realizes she can’t always get what she wants. As she learns to adjust her plans to accommodate life’s unexpected twists and turns, MaryLou finds happiness along the way. But when destiny chooses for her the last path she ever wanted, MaryLou must let go of her plan and make peace with what she can’t control.

Audible/Amazon

The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri, translated by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, presented by The Online Stage.

Welcome to Dante’s The Divine Comedy, the ultimate journey to Paradise. Follow Italian writer and philosopher Dante Alighieri and his guide, the poet Virgil, through each circle of hell, over the mountain of Purgatory, and ultimately to Paradise, to be reunited with his beloved Beatrice. Dante meets many familiar faces among the sinners and the saved and learns many things of value throughout his long, dangerous journey.

Cast:

Dante – Josh Innerst

Virgil – David Stifel

Other Voices – Anna Grace, Erin Grassie, Marcia Dunbar, Chris Marcellus, Merete Mohs, Ted Wenskus, Trisha Rose, John Burlinson, Andy Harrington, Hann Lightwood, Rob Goll, Ron Altman, Alyssa Petrey, Andrew Coleman, Tyler Hyrchuk, Russell Gold, P. J. Morgan, Stephen Indrisano, Lee Ann Howlett, Jeff Moon, Rosie O’Toole, Marty Krz, J.D. Sutter, Ariana Mertz, Linda Barrans, and Grace Keller Scotch.

Audible/Amazon

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.

Amazon/Audible • iTunes

The Online Stage presents Comic Tragedies by Jo & Meg by Louisa May Alcott.

This 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:

Jo—Amanda Friday

Meg—P. J. Morgan

Beth—Tiffany Halla Colonna

Amy—Anna Grace

Stage Directions—Erin Grassie

Amazon/Audible • iTunes

Anna Katharine Green (1846 – 1935) was one of the first crime novelists and paved the way for later female writers of detective novels, like Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, and Ngaio Marsh.

Among her prolific output are 12 novels featuring her main character, detective Ebenezer Gryce of the New York Metropolitan Police Force. This collection contains the second group of three novels in the series:

1. Behind Closed Doors (1888)
2. A Matter of Millions (1890)
3. The Doctor, His Wife and the Clock (1895)

Amazon/Audible • iTunes

Collected Short Stories

By Lucy Maud Montgomery

Between 1896 and 1922, in addition to a series of full-length novels Lucy Maud Montgomery published over 140 short stories.

In general, these tales are reflective of the coming of age themes and the sylvan settings which are explored in greater detail in the novels. 

Short Stories – 1896-1901 narrated by P J Morgan

Short Stories – 1902-1903 narrated by Michelle Marie

Short Stories – 1904 narrated by Sarah Bacaller

Short Stories – 1905-1906 narrated by Christianne Lupher

Short Stories – 1907-1908 narrated by Suzanne Barbetta

Short Stories – 1909-1922 narrated by Melissa Green

Amazon/Audible • iTunes

As the curtain falls on the March family’s tale, 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.

Cast:

Narrator – Lee Ann Howlett

Jo – Amanda Friday

Dan – Josh Innerst

Ted – Tim Sailer

Josie – Sydnee Fullmer

Demi – Lance Rasmussen

Professor Bhaer – Ben Lindsey-Clark

Meg – P. J. Morgan

Nan – Leanne Yau

Laurie/Nat – Andy Harrington

Rob – Tyler Hyrchuk

Daisy – Tiffany Halla Colonna

George – Tomas Peter

Adolphus – Max Gallo

Amy – Anna Grace

Tom – Ted Wenskus

Emil – Jeff Moon

Frau Tetzel – Elizabeth Klett

Ann – Jennie VanderLugt

Mr. March – Ben Stevens

Mrs. Hardy – Trisha Rose

Amazon/Audible • iTunes

The Online Stage presents Two Tragedies in One Act by William Shakespeare, edited and condensed by J. P. Crabb.

Hamlet and Macbeth are two of Shakespeare’s best-known plays and contain some of the most famous speeches in world literature. These one-act versions of the plays, which were edited by J. P. Crabb (the details of whose life and other works have disappeared into obscurity) retain the significant monologues and dialogues while presenting a streamlined view of the action.

Featuring the voices of Alan Weyman, Amanda Friday, Anna Grace, Blythe Melin, David Shears, Denis Daly, Graham Scott, Huw Brentnall, Jeff Moon, Lance Rasmussen, P. J. Morgan, Rob Goll, Ron Altman, Sarah Bacaller, Senn Annis, Sydnee Fullmer, and Tyler Hyrchuk.

Amazon/Audible • iTunes

The Online Stage presents The Green Cockatoo by Arthur Schnitzler.

The Green Cockatoo is a short play set in a busy tavern on the night of the storming of the Bastille. Rich Parisian nobles come to watch some actors play at being rogues, thieves, and other criminals, but they quickly find reality and fantasy blending together in the most alarming of ways.

Cast:

Stage Directions – Linda Barrans

Prosper – Phil Benson

Emile – Tomas Peter

François – Tom Saer

Albin – Mark Crowle-Groves

Marquis de Lansac – Alan Weyman

Severine – Sarah Mitchell

Rollin – Lance Rasmussen

Grasset – David Prickett

Lebret – Peter Tucker

Grain – Blythe Melin

The Commissaire of Police – Craig Franklin

Henri – Andy Harrington

Leocadie – P. J. Morgan

Scaevola – David Stifel

Jules – Andrew Coleman

Michette –  Anna Grace

Flipotte – Amanda Friday

Guillaume – Graham Scott

Georgette – Leanne Yau

Balthasar – Ted Wenskus

Maurice –  Noel Badrian

Etienne – Marty Krz

Audio edited by Anna Grace

Amazon/Audible • iTunes