Abundance

by Beth Henley Narrated by Ed Begley Jr., JoBeth Williams, Full Cast

Overview

From the Pulitzer Prize winning author of Crimes of the Heart comes this poignant but unromanticized story of the hard lives of pioneers on the high plains of Wyoming in the 1860's. Macon and Bess are two mail-order brides, lured to the West by the promise of new beginnings through marriage to men they've never met. While waiting for their respective husbands-to-be, one bubbling with optimism, the other mousy and plain, the two women become instant best friends. As Abundance follows the two women through their friendship and adventures for the next 25 years, this Western epic unearths the dark underside of American mythology.

An L.A. Theatre Works full-cast performance featuring Ed Begley Jr., Gary Cole, Amy Madigan, Steven Weber and JoBeth Williams.

Editorial Reviews

New Yorker

a real treat...

Variety

Part of the pleasure of the play is seeing the women's differing destinies spelled out deftly, often comically. Henley's gift for the telling image and the absurd situation comes into play regularly.

Village Voice

Henley has an unmistakable talent for making human desperation seem funny, complex and unpredictable.

MARCH 2011 - AudioFile

Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Beth Henley has written a hard-hitting story of two women, each a pioneer in her own way, on the High Plains of Wyoming in the 1860s. JoBeth Williams and Amy Madigan create Macon and Bess, two mail order brides who become friends while each endures a life she did not necessarily want. The story covers 25 years of their tragic adventures and painful mishaps. JoBeth Williams makes Macon a thoroughly fascinating character while Amy Madigan gives Bess a complexity that make you want to love and pity, then hate and pity her. Gary Cole, Steven Weber, and Ed Begley, Jr., are the men in their lives, and each one is cleanly realized with vocal characterizations that in some cases make your skin crawl. This is a plainly produced but undeniably satisfying audio performance. M.R.E. © AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine

Product Details

BN ID:	2940170307807
Publisher:	L.A. Theatre Works
Publication date:	07/25/2009
Edition description:	Unabridged

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