Revolutionary Road

Mark Bramhall single-handedly delivers this squalling American masterpiece with all the variety of a full-cast production, and none of the confusion. Each character has a distinct voice, and each alters as the drama requires. "Still, I don't suppose one picture window is necessarily going to destroy our personalities," says Frank Wheeler, when he and his wife, April, first view the "charming" suburban house on Revolutionary Road. "'Oh that's marvelous,' Mrs. Givings cried, and her laughter enclosed them in a warm shelter of flattery . . . " The real estate agent means to sound cheerful. Frank means to sound brave and self-aware. They both fail, and you can hear this in Bramhall's nuanced performance. An overlooked American tragedy has finally hit the ear. B.H.C. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine

January 26, 2009
Yates's debut 1961 novel revealed a growing and present malaise about middle-class existence as seen through the eyes of protagonists Frank and April. Believing themselves a cut above the rest of their neighbors and friends, the two set their sights upon a scheme to move to France and live a nontraditional life. However, much like the illusion of the white picket fence home, their dreams are not enough to stave off the reality of their unhappy life. Mark Bramhall sways back and forth between successful and annoying narration. Some character voices are caricatures, grating on the listeners' ears without much justification from the text. For others, the chosen voice helps to emphasize the sense (or source) of alienation that Frank and April feel about the people in their lives. However, Bramhall's tone does wonders for eliciting the ironic throughout Yates's prose. A Vintage paperback.