New full-cast production of a children's classic from Voices of Today!

 

I was very happy to play a role in the recent production of Freckles by Gene Stratton-Porter as a member of Voices of Today.  This is a full-cast production.

"Freckles is primarily set in the Limberlost Swamp of Indiana, U.S.A., with brief scenes set in Chicago. 

Freckles is the only name he has ever known. His right hand is missing at the wrist, and he is haunted by not knowing how it happened. Raised since infancy in a Chicago orphanage, he speaks with a slight Irish accent and sings with a beautiful voice. Now, exhausted after many days of walking, he applies for a job with the Grand Rapids Lumber Company, guarding timber in the Limberlost Swamp from timber thieves.

Along with timber thieves, visitors to the swamp are the Bird Woman, who often comes to photograph birds' nests, and a lovely young woman whom Freckles promptly falls in love with and names his "Swamp Angel". He fears that he is descended from criminals who abused their baby and cut off his hand intentionally and so he cannot be worthy of her. The Swamp Angel declares her love for him and promises that she will find his parents and prove that Freckles comes from "a race of men that have been gentlemen for ages, and couldn't be anything else."

Be sure to follow up by listening to this book with the sequel, The Girl of the Limberlost, also produced by Voices of Today."

To listen to the sample and/or purchase the book, head to Audible here.

Release day on Audible for my latest book!

A nice long book for my newest release on Audible.  The Reluctant Spiritualist: The Life of Maggie Fox is by Nancy Rubin Stuart.  Nancy also wrote the book about Marjorie Merriweather Post that I narrated called American Empress. Marjorie actually consulted with the spiritualist Maggie Fox at one point during her life. Here's the info on this book:

"American Spiritualism—a movement that at its peak claimed more than a million followers—was born out of the basic human longing for contact with a loved one lost to death. But Spiritualism's true spark came in 1848 from something no more or less powerful than a bored teenage girl.

This is the first authoritative biography of Maggie Fox, the world-famous medium and cofounder of the Spiritualism movement that swept America in the mid-1800s. 

In 1848, 15-year-old Maggie and her sister Katy created rapping sounds by manipulating their toe joints, practicing until they convinced their parents that their farmhouse was haunted.

By 1853, more than 30,000 mediums were at work with Maggie among the most famous.

But when she denounced the faith in 1888, Spiritualism withered almost as quickly as it had bloomed.

Through the memoirs of the Fox sisters, the letters of Maggie's Arctic explorer husband, contemporary newspaper accounts, and other primary sources, Nancy Rubin Stuart creates a vibrant portrait of a Victorian-era woman at the heart of the controversies of her era.

Maggie Fox's Spiritualistic legacy continues today with mediums, channeling, and celebrity spiritualists.

Yet the origins of American Spiritualism were surprisingly humble. In 1848, 15-year-old Maggie and her sister Katy created rapping sounds by manipulating their toe joints, practicing until they convinced their parents that their farmhouse was haunted. 

What started as a prank soon transformed into a movement. By 1850, Maggie’s séances stunned author James Fenimore Cooper, New York Tribune editor Horace Greeley, and other prominent citizens. Within a matter of weeks, Maggie and her sisters—dubbed the Rochester Rappers by the press—became celebrities.

By 1853, more than 30,000 mediums were at work with Maggie among the most famous.

Award-winning author Nancy Rubin Stuart’s The Reluctant Spiritualist was five years in the making during which time she received a William Randolph Hearst Fellowship from the American Antiquarian Society to research the book. The American Society of Journalists and Authors awarded The Reluctant Spiritualist honorable mention for its 2006 Outstanding Book Awards. It was also nominated for the 2006 History Book Award of the New York Historical Society."

To listen to the sample and/or purchase the book, head to Audible here.