Work Song

The first act of this drama about the famed twentieth-century architect sounds amateurish. Everyone blusters, using artificially loud voices no matter the setting as they strain to be "dramatic." Robert Foxworth (Wright) is as bad as anyone; his character in this act is unrelievedly irritating. The second and third acts improve, with some good acting, especially by Amy Brenneman, but some actors, and their accents (there are several), are awkward and unconvincing. Listeners should know something about Wright beforehand as the episodes from his life are fragmentary. A panel discussion, referring to incidents in Acts Two and Three, unaccountably follows Act One. All in all, this is a jumble of a program. W.M. (c) AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine