Secret Order

by Bob Clyman Narrated by George Segal, Richard Schiff, Full Cast

Overview

In the high-stakes world of cancer research, Dr. William Shumway has just made a stunning breakthrough. But is it really the long-sought cure for cancer? Despite the young scientist's reservations, a senior mentor pressures him to trumpet his findings to the world. Part medical drama, part suspense-filled thriller, Secret Order turns its microscope on bioethics, money and power.

Includes an interview with Dr. Harvey Herschman, Director for Basic Research at the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center.

An L.A. Theatre Works full-cast performance featuring Angela Goethals, Will McCormack, Richard Schiff and George Segal.

Secret Order is part of L.A. Theatre Works' Relativity Series featuring science-themed plays. Major funding for the Relativity Series is provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation to enhance public understanding of science and technology in the modern world.

Editorial Reviews

Library Journal

This recording of the West Coast premiere of Clyman's 2007 Off-Broadway play starring Richard Schiff (The West Wing) and George Segal (Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf?) centers on a young scientist's search for a cure for cancer. Its move from an audiovisual to a strictly audio performance is strikingly successful thanks to top-rate acting on the one end and smooth postproduction editing on the other. With each disc divided into approximately 20 tracks, this would make an especially useful teaching tool for aspiring playwrights and storytellers wanting to anatomize scene/act structure. [At one time, as part of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation's "Relativities" series, this was a free iTunes podcast; audio clip available through www.latw.org.-Ed.]
—Raya Kuzyk

OCTOBER 2008 - AudioFile

This somewhat overheated drama gives us a young scientist pursuing breakthrough cancer research who is pressured into dishonesty by high expectations and the lure of big rewards. The play is predictable, but also uncomfortable, even disagreeable. There’s no one to root for. Still, it's at times absorbing. William Shumway, as the researcher, is sturdy, if at times awkward. The only female in the cast, Angela Goethals, overacts. Veterans Richard Schiff and George Segal do an effortlessly skilled job, perhaps verging sometimes into shtick—Schiff, the slick, abrupt man-in-charge; Segal, a crafty old Jewish survivor of turf wars. An added interview with a medical researcher casts helpful light on the play but is marred by the interviewer's insistence on her own points. W.M. 2009 Audies Finalist © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine

Product Details

BN ID:	2940170336012
Publisher:	L.A. Theatre Works
Publication date:	04/01/2008
Edition description:	Unabridged

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