The Substance of Fire

A dysfunctional family comes even further apart as its members struggle over the future of their financially troubled publishing firm, made so by the megalomaniac father who maliciously disparages his three adult children's considerable accomplishments and their attempts to right the wrongs he foists upon them. Led by Ron Rifkin as the domineering father and Shirley Knight as the social worker charged with sifting through his--and her own--mental baggage, this LA Theatre Works production crackles with intensity wrought by anger, pity, sorrow, and guilt--all colored by tones of malignant inevitability. THE SUBSTANCE OF FIRE is, indeed, substantial, a powerful and flawlessly delivered audioplay. T. H. (c) AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine