John Barrymore was the black sheep of America’s most illustrious acting family. Celebrated for his charisma and matinee idol looks, he was for awhile America’s most popular actor. Famous for his stage roles in Richard III and Hamlet, he also made more than fifty films. But alcoholism soon dissipated his talents, and he became known more for his Falstaffian behavior and outrageous high jinx than for his art. In Barrymore, William Luce has adapted his acclaimed Broadway hit especially for audio in this stunning production.
The spellbinding Julie Harris takes us on a magic carpet into the beautiful and haunting world of writer Isak Dinesen (pen name of Karen Blixen), romantic author and heroine of Out of Africa. Through her fanciful pact with Lucifer, Dinesen becomes a defiant spirit, an eccentric storytelling sorceress-passionate and wickedly witty.
Act I opens on New Year's Eve 1958, as Karen Blixen prepares for a three-month visit to the United States. Addressing the audience as an unseen ghost, she weaves together stories of her fascinating, complex, and courageous life. In Act II, the writer has returned to Denmark and is dying-yet her life-affirming spirit continues to shine through the brilliant performance of Julie Harris.
