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Playhouse
- A Novel
- Narrated by: Lee Osorio
- Length: 15 hrs and 45 mins
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Publisher's summary
From the prize-winning fiction writer Richard Bausch (“A master of the novel as well as the story . . . Effortlessly engaging”—Sven Birkerts, The New York Times), a sharp, affecting, masterly new novel about a close-knit theater community in Memphis and one turbulent, transformative production of King Lear.
As renovations begin at the Shakespeare Theater of Memphis, life for the core members of the company seems to be falling into disarray. Their trusted director has just retired, and theater manager Thaddeus Deerforth—staring down forty and sensing a rift growing slowly between himself and his wife, Gina—dreads the arrival of an imperious, inscrutable visiting director. Claudette, struggling to make ends meet as an actor and destabilized by family troubles, is getting frequent calls from her ex-boyfriend—and also the narcissistic, lecherous television actor who has been recruited to play King Lear in their fall production.
Also invited to the cast is Malcolm Ruark, a disgraced TV anchor muddling through the fallout of a scandal involving his underaged niece—and suddenly in an even more precarious situation when the same niece, now eighteen, is cast to play Cordelia. As tensions onstage and off build toward a breaking point, the bonds among the intimately drawn characters are put to extraordinary tests—and the fate of the theater itself may even be on the line.
Deftly weaving together the points of view of Thaddeus, Claudette, and Malcolm, and utterly original in its incorporation of Shakespeare’s timeless drama, Playhouse is an unforgettable story of men and women, human frailty, art, and redemption—a work of inimitable imaginative prowess by one of our most renowned storytellers.
Cover images: The Storm (detail) by Georges Michel. The Art Institute of Chicago; (theater seats) Paleha/Getty Images
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Critic reviews
“Transporting and true . . . Chock-full of events both large and small, and issues both timely and timeless . . . Bausch holds us most rapt when he directs our attention to the vexingly wobbly line between authenticity and art.” —The New York Times Book Review
“A masterful, lyrical satire . . . In many ways, Playhouse is a send-up of culture-making itself . . . Playhouse showcases both poetic description and double-edged dialogue. Any given paragraph can provoke a sigh, then a snort . . . This is domestic tension at its finest.” —Chapter16
“[Bausch is] an expert of dialogue . . . Often the discussions touch meaningfully upon King Lear, particularly those involving the actress who has removed her ailing father from a care facility against her stepmother’s wishes.” —The Wall Street Journal
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Story
Mizuki is a Japanese housewife. She has a hardworking husband, two adorable children, and a beautiful Tokyo apartment. It’s everything a woman could want, yet sometimes she wonders whether she would rather throw herself off the high-rise balcony than spend another evening not talking to her husband and hanging up laundry.
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Confused by the choice of narrator
- By Bri T. on 02-13-22
By: Emily Itami
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Where Love Has Gone
- By: Harold Robbins
- Narrated by: Vikas Adam
- Length: 11 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
In love and soon to be a father, Luke Carey has the life he's always wanted. That is until a mysterious, late-night phone call summons him to San Francisco. Luke's first daughter, whom he hasn't seen in six years, 14-year-old Danielle, needs him, and he's desperate to do anything he can to help. But coming back into Danielle's life means facing his ex-wife, Nora, and the explosive, violent drama of the life he left behind.
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Will it ever end?
- By Amazon Customer on 04-23-22
By: Harold Robbins
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The Royal We
- By: Heather Cocks, Jessica Morgan
- Narrated by: Christine Lakin
- Length: 17 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Story
An American girl finds her prince in this "fun and dishy" (People) royal romance inspired by Prince William and Kate Middleton. American Bex Porter was never one for fairy tales. Her twin sister Lacey was always the romantic, the one who daydreamed of being a princess. But it's adventure-seeking Bex who goes to Oxford and meets dreamy Nick across the hall - and Bex who finds herself accidentally in love with the heir to the British throne. Nick is wonderful, but he comes with unimaginable baggage.
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I deserve a medal for getting to the endless end.
- By Anne on 09-30-17
By: Heather Cocks, and others
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A Killing in the Hills
- A Novel (Bell Elkins, Book 1)
- By: Julia Keller
- Narrated by: Shannon McManus
- Length: 12 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
What’s happening in Acker’s Gap, West Virginia? Three elderly men are gunned down over their coffee at a local diner, and seemingly half the town is there to witness the act. Still, it happened so fast, and no one seems to have gotten a good look at the shooter. Was it random? Was it connected to the spate of drug violence plaguing poor areas of the country just like Acker’s Gap? Or were Dean Streeter, Shorty McClurg, and Lee Rader targeted somehow?
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A wonderful treat!
- By Joanne on 09-11-12
By: Julia Keller
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Before the Storm
- By: Diane Chamberlain
- Narrated by: Abby Craden, Kris Koscheski
- Length: 11 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Laurel Lockwood lost her son once through neglect. She's spent the rest of her life determined to make up for her mistakes, and she has succeeded in becoming a committed, protective parent-maybe even overprotective. Still, she loosens her grip just enough to let Andy attend a local church social-a decision that terrifies her when the church is consumed by fire. But Andy survives...and remarkably, saves other children from the flames.
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Great book...HORRIBLE performance
- By Andrea on 03-10-15
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Under the Midnight Sun
- A Novel
- By: Keigo Higashino, Alexander O. Smith - translator, Joseph Reeder
- Narrated by: David Shih
- Length: 19 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
In Osaka in 1973, the body of a murdered man is found in an abandoned building. Investigating the crime, Detective Sasagaki is unable to find the killer. Over the next 20 years, through the lens of a succession of characters, Higashino tells the story of two teens, Ryo and Yukiho, whose lives are most affected by the crime, and the obsessed detective, Sasagaki, who continues to investigate the murder, looking for the elusive truth.
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So many subplots and twists
- By Janani Vasudevan on 07-03-20
By: Keigo Higashino, and others
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Neither Present Time
- By: Caren J. Werlinger
- Narrated by: Eliza Foss
- Length: 9 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Can a house save the lives of the people who live in it? Can an inscription written in a book over 60 years ago change the fates of people not even born when it was written? Beryl Gray is solid and dependable - her partner, Claire, thinks so, her family thinks so, her colleagues think so. She has a job she likes as a university librarian. Her life seems settled, content - except nothing is as it seems. Aggie Bishop's last girlfriend left her three years ago and she hasn't had a date since. She now takes care of her great-aunt Cory who doesn't want to be taken care of.
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A beautiful instant classic!
- By MissLynn on 04-15-21
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What listeners say about Playhouse
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Lisa Cupolo
- 03-05-23
Lee Osorio nails it, beautifully
Voice to voice, including the narrative voice are impeccably performed; a full and expansive treatment of the novel.
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