True West

Sam Shepard rose from the fringe theater of '60s counterculture to become a Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and movie star. His plays explore the deep roots of competition and violence in the American psyche. Take TRUE WEST, a black comedy about two adult brothers sojourning in their mother's house while she's away. One brother writes screenplays; the other commits petty larcenies. They hate each other. They fight. They might even have killed each other had not mom returned from Alaska in the nick of time. The Oscar-nominated Alfred Molina and Fran Guinan, who appeared in the celebrated Steppenwolf Theater production of the play, pour on the testosterone in this vigorous audio version, taped before an appreciative audience. Director Simonson keeps the pace brisk but orchestrates the tempo masterfully from hot to cold and back again. Charlotte Rae as the mother does a wonderful little star turn at the end. Y.R. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award (c) AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine

June 3, 2002
This compelling play opens in the kitchen of a modest, southwestern home that Austin, a brainy scriptwriter, has borrowed from his mother, who is traveling in Alaska. Austin is working on his latest project when his brother, Lee, turns up. They're not the best of friends. Lee is a petty thief and hustler, and when Austin's agent stops by to have him sign an agreement for a screenplay, Lee hustles the agent into accepting his own idea instead of Austin's. Things turn ugly as roles appear to reverse, but Shepard's intense humor embellishes the gripping anguish that results. This play is just right for audio production, since it takes place in one room; dialogue is its essence; and visuals are presented through sounds: the typewriter clicking, silverware clattering across the room, a toaster popping. Dean Cameron is dull as Austin's agent, but his role is small, as is Charlotte Rae's as Mom. Francis Guinan and Alfred Molina are formidable as Austin and Lee, respectively; their characters are entirely convincing and deeply moving, and their timing is superb.