January 2008--Volume VI, Issue 1 Welcome to The Heard Word! Check here for reviews of audiobooks for adults, young adults, and children, as well as forthcoming audio titles. Featured Publishers Listener's Advisory Each month, we feature handy selection lists that help you identify forthcoming audio titles in a variety of subjects and formats. For the ultimate in convenience, please open ipage®. If your library would like a free subscription to ipage Basic, please e-mail ics.techsupport@ingrambook.com. • February Fiction • February Nonfiction • February Audiobooks on MP3 Auditor's Pick Sweeney Todd and the String of Pearls: An Audio Melodrama in Three Despicable Acts Adapted by Yuri Rasovsky Performed by the Hollywood Theater of the Ear Unabridged on 2 CDs Blackstone Audio Although some recent scholarship has put forth the argument that Sweeney Todd was based on a historical figure, his story is most widely accepted as pure fiction. The character most likely first appeared in a penny dreadful (a salacious story published in installments for a penny a piece) sometime during the mid-19th century in England. The tale appeared again, this time as a play, around 1850, resurfaced later as a film in the 1930s, and was reincarnated as a Stephen Sondheim musical in 1979. The latest film adaptation, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, stars Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter, with direction by Tim Burton. This movie event will likely draw interest in Blackstone Audio's release of Sweeney Todd and the String of Pearls: An Audio Melodrama in Three Despicable Acts. Performed by the Audie Award-winning Hollywood Theater of the Ear, with exceptional character realizations by W. Morgan Sheppard, Moira Quirk, and Rosalind Ayres, this audiobook tells the story of Sweeney Todd, a barber who butchers his customers in his shop on London's Fleet Street. As a means of hiding the crimes and disposing of the bodies, he works out a special arrangement with a local shop owner, Mrs. Lovett. Mrs. Lovett accepts the “meat” that Sweeney Todd provides and includes it in her bestselling meat pies. When a ship captain goes missing, all eyes look to Sweeney Todd's shop. Soon, it's a race to unmask the murderer and his crimes. This audio production is steeped in English music hall ballads, which lends an air of authenticity to this atmospheric tale. A true delight, this is a production not to be missed. --Linda Arrington Lusk Contact Us | Privacy Policy | About Further Developments | Ingram Library Services | ipage.ingrambook.com | E-mail Preferences ©Copyright 2008 Ingram Library Services is a d/b/a of Ingram Book Group Inc. All Rights Reserved.