William Shakespeare

Waterlogg Classic Literature Pack: Anton Chekhov, O. Henry, Stephen Crane, and William Shakespeare

Publisher Marketing: This collection provides over five hours of radio dramatizations of some of the greatest literature ever written, as adapted, produced, and directed by Joe Bevilacqua."The Bear: A Classic One-Act Play" by Anton Chekhov"The Bear," one of the great works of Anton Chekhov, tells about the strange beginnings of love between the recently widowed Mrs. Popov and Grigory Stepanovich Smirnov. In Russian the word for bear has two meanings: an animal or a rather rude, clumsy, awkward man. The cast includes Cathi Tully, Bob Miller, and William Duff-Griffin. The Gift of the Magi by O. HenryIn a shabby New York apartment, Della sobs as she counts the few coins she has saved to buy a Christmas present for her husband, Jim. A gift worthy of her devotion will require a great sacrifice: selling her long, beautiful hair. Jim, meanwhile, has made a sacrifice for Della that is no less difficult. O. Henry s classic Christmas short story, which paints a masterly portrait of unfaltering love, is charmingly told by Lorie Kellogg and Joe Bevilacqua. The Pace of Youth by Stephen CraneThis adaptation of Crane s classic short story was produced with wonderful sound effects and music by veteran radio-theater producer Joe Bevilacqua, who is joined in the cast by William Melillo, Cathi Tully, Peter Cummings, and Leslie Spital."Hamlet""The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark" dramatizes the revenge Prince Hamlet is instructed to enact on his uncle Claudius, who had murdered his own brother, seized the throne, and married his deceased brother s widow. Joe Bevilacqua produced, directed, and performed in this radio adaptation. The cast includes Margaret Dunn, William Melillo, Jay Snyder, James Cronin, William Evans, Peter Cummings, Christine Solazzi, Rick Ramos, Jayson Ternan, Phil Duffy, Mark Yablonsky, John Fernandez, Thomas Babkowski, Leslie Spital, Keith Lander, Bob O Connor, Alan Cobb, Andrew Heil, John Alston, William Conrad, Ben Wright, John McIntire, Jannette Nolan, Sammy Hill, and Fred McKie." Contributor Bio:  Shakespeare, William Arguably the greatest English-language playwright, William Shakespeare was a seventeenth-century writer and dramatist, and is known as the Bard of Avon. Under the patronage of Queen Elizabeth I, he penned more than 30 plays, 154 sonnets, and numerous narrative poems and short verses. Equally accomplished in histories, tragedies, comedy, and romance, Shakespeare s most famous works include Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Macbeth, King Lear, The Taming of the Shrew, and As You Like It. Like many of his contemporaries, including Christopher Marlowe, Shakespeare began his career on the stage, eventually rising to become part-owner of Lord Chamberlain s Men, a popular dramatic company of his day, and of the storied Globe Theatre in London. Extremely popular in his lifetime, Shakespeare s works continue to resonate more than three hundred years after his death. His plays are performed more often than any other playwright s, have been translated into every major language in the world, and are studied widely by scholars and students. Contributor Bio:  Chekhov, Anton Pavlovich Anton Pavlovich Chekhov 29 January 1860[1] - 15 July 1904)[2] was a Russian physician, dramaturge and author who is considered to be among the greatest writers of short stories in history.[3] His career as a dramatist produced four classics and his best short stories are held in high esteem by writers and critics.[4][5] Chekhov practised as a medical doctor throughout most of his literary career: "Medicine is my lawful wife," he once said, "and literature is my mistress."[6]Contributor Bio:  Crane, Stephen American author Stephen Crane began writing early in life, and was already a published author by the age of sixteen. Among Crane s best known works are Maggie: A Girl of the Streets, which is considered to be the first literary work in the early American tradition of Naturalism, a literary movement marked by detailed realism and the acknowledgement of social conditions of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and The Red Badge of Courage, which was influenced by his own experiences in military school and personal contact with Civil-War veterans. Crane died in 1900 at the age twenty-eight of tuberculosis, but had a significant and lasting impact on twentieth-century literature, influencing early modernist writers such as Ernest Hemingway. Contributor Bio:  Henry, O O. Henry, an American writer best known for his short stories featuring warm characterization, wit, wordplay, and surprise endings. O. Henry led an active social life, including membership in singing and drama groups. He was a good singer and musician. He played both the guitar and mandolin. Contributor Bio:  Kellogg, Lorie Lorie Kellogg is an artist and comedian married to Joe Bevilacqua.