Radio Tales

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Radio Tales® is a American drama anthology radio series produced by Generations Productions LLC^[1]. Premiering on National Public Radio on October 29, 1996^[2], the series has been described by NPR as “music drama programs packed with discovery, mystery and intrigue wrapped in original cinematic music and elaborate sound design”^[3]. The anthology series adapted classic works of American and world literature for the radio, including such titles as War of the Worlds, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Beowulf, Gulliver’s Travels, and Arabian Nights.

The series was conceived and created by producer Winnie Waldron, who also served as on-air host and principal script editor for the series^[4]. Composer Winifred Phillips created over fifty hours of music for the series, and also performed as featured actress^[5]. Waldron and Phillips are co-founders of Generations Productions LLC, and co-producers of the Radio Tales® series. In addition to their work on this series, Waldron and Phillips are also known for their subsequent work as producers and creators of music for the videogame industry, most notably for the Speed Racer videogame in 2008^[6], the Shrek the Third videogame in 2007^[7], The Da Vinci Code videogame in 2006^[8], and the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory^[9] and God of War^[10] videogames in 2005.

The Radio Tales® series has been the recipient of numerous awards, including an International Radio Festivals WorldMedal^[11] for its production of Fortress of Doom (an adaptation of Lord Dunsany’s classic short story The Fortress Unvanquishable Save For Sacnoth) and four Gracie Allen Awards from the Foundation of American Women in Radio and Television, including a Best Actress in a National Network Drama award for Winifred Phillips’ performance in Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s The Yellow Wallpaper.

1 History
2 Programs in the Series
3 Critical Reception
4 Awards
5 Audiocassette Releases
6 Audioville
7 References
8 External Links

[edit] History

Waldron and Phillips’ first venture into the field of radio drama came in 1992, when they collaborated on a limited-run anthology series of original dramas entitled Tales from the Other Side^[12]. The series consisted of 10 half-hour programs. Episodes of the series were chosen by Noah Andre Trudeau, then cultural program director for National Public Radio, to be featured as a part of NPR Playhouse in the summer of 1992^[13]. The entire series was subsequently broadcast on WBAI-FM in NYC in 1994^[14], where it earned comparisons to the Twilight Zone and the Outer Limits^[15].

In 1996, Waldron and Phillips produced the pilot episode for a new series of dramatic radio adaptations of classic stories and novels from around the world. The series was produced for NPR Playhouse initially under the name “Generations Radio Theater Presents”. The pilot episode was an adaptation of the classic Edgar Allan Poe horror story, The Masque of the Red Death, and was described by NPR as "elegantly macabre"^[16]. National Public Radio Playhouse aired the pilot episode on October 29th, 1996.

The “Generations Radio Theater Presents” series aired on National Public Radio affiliate stations from 1996 until 2002, when the series moved to XM Satellite Radio’s Sonic Theater channel^[17]. Retitled “Radio Tales®”, the series made its XM Satellite Radio premiere on Thanksgiving Day with the holiday program, O. Henry's Thanksgiving. Radio Tales® continues to air on XM Satellite Radio’s Sonic Theater channel.

[edit] Programs in the Series

The Time Machine
Beowulf
War of the Worlds
Moon Voyager
The Masque of the Red Death
Edgar Allan Poe's Predicament
O. Henry's Thanksgiving
O. Henry's Last Leaf
The Lost World
The Gift of the Magi
A Matter of Prejudice
Gulliver's Travels
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
Lord of the Celts
Fifth Dimension
Ice Maiden
The Mummy
Homer's Odyssey
Homer's Odyssey, Part Two
Homer's Odyssey, Part Three
Sleepy Hollow
The Invisible Man
The Phantom of the Opera
Chicago 2065
Apocalypse
Celtic Beauty
Frankenstein
The Fall of the House of Usher
Boarded Window
Owl Creek Bridge
Chopin's Locket
A New England Nun
Asteroid
Time Warp
Celtic Hero
The Pit and the Pendulum
Revolt of Mother
Laughin' in Meetin'
Journey to the Center of the Earth
The Yellow Wallpaper
Hop-Frog
The Furnished Room
Edith Wharton's Journey
The Island of Dr. Moreau
The Hunchback of Notre-Dame
Dracula's Guest
The Lone Indian
A Dark Brown Dog
Mrs. Manstey's View
Feet of Clay
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Jason and the Argonauts
Canterville Ghost
Valdemar
Silence, A Fable
Arabian Nights
Arabian Nights, Part Two
Arabian Nights, Part Three
Watchers
Otherworld
Charles Dickens' Ghost Story
The Birthmark
Wuthering Heights
The Tell-Tale Heart
The German Student
Planet Trek
Fortress of Doom

[edit] Critical Reception

The Radio Tales® series has received generally positive reviews for its programs. AudioFile Magazine described the series as delivering “vivid, intriguing new radio drama”^[18]. In its review of The Mummy” (the series’ adaptation of Bram Stoker’s novel, The Jewel of Seven Stars), Billboard Magazine described Phillips’ on-air performance as “a cultured voice that’s appropriate to Stoker’s formal language but is able to convey the appropriate tone of horror,” adding that “subtle and mysterious music adds to the atmosphere”^[19]. In its review of the series’ adaptation of Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s feminist horror story, The Yellow Wallpaper, Publishers Weekly wrote, “Sensational... (Phillips') charged narration is augmented with sound effects and a musical score.”^[20] In reviewing the series’ production of Washington Irving’s Sleepy Hollow, Billboard Magazine wrote, “This telling of Washington Irving’s classic yarn is a real treat”, also describing the music as adding “an effectively spooky touch to the production.”^[21] AudioFile Magazine described the series’ production of Edgar Allan Poe’s Masque of the Red Death as “A magnificent demonstration of the very best the medium has to offer.”^[22]

[edit] Awards

American Women in Radio and Television GRACIE AWARD 2004^[23]
The New York Festivals WORLDMEDAL 2004
American Women in Radio and Television GRACIE AWARD 2003^[24]
American Women in Radio and Television GRACIE AWARD 2001, Outstanding Achievement by an Actress^[25]
American Women in Radio and Television GRACIE AWARD 1998
The International Radio Festivals WORLD'S BEST WORK AWARD, Best Sound Series^[26]
The Audio Publishers Association AUDIE AWARD HONORS
The NFCB GOLDEN REEL AWARD HONORS^[27]

[edit] Audiocassette Releases

The American Classic Collection (DH Audio)^[28]
The Birthmark (Durkin Hayes Publishing Ltd)^[29]
The Fall of the House of Usher (Durkin Hayes Publishing Ltd) ISBN 0-88646-952-0, Published 1997
The Gift of the Magi (Durkin Hayes Publishing Ltd)^[30]
Hop-Frog (Durkin Hayes Publishing Ltd)^[31]
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (Durkin Hayes Publishing Ltd)^[32]
The Masque of the Red Death (Durkin Hayes Publishing Ltd)^[33]
The Tell-Tale Heart (Durkin Hayes Publishing Ltd) ISBN 0-88646-953-8, Published 1997
The Yellow Wallpaper (Durkin Hayes Publishing Ltd)^[34]

[edit] Audioville

In 2005, the Radio Tales® series launched an online partnership with Audioville.co.uk for the distribution of its radio programs via internet download. The Audioville web site launched in Summer 2005, and was a finalist in the 2005 BIMA Consumer Website of the Year Awards. The site posts a banner image on its home page, showing the Radio Tales® logo and linking to an area of the site devoted to the Radio Tales® series.^[35]