Sounds of Greatness: “You bow to no one” May 30, 2009
Posted by William Spear in >> Out Basket.Tags: Aragorn, Frodo, Gondor, hobbit, JRR Tolkien, Merry, Peter Jackson, Pippin, Samwise, Sauron, the return of the king, Viggo Mortensen
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Towards the end of Peter Jackson’s marvelous adaptation of JRR Tolkien’s THE RETURN OF THE KING, the third film of the trilogy based upon Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, Aragorn (as played by Viggo Mortensen) assumes the position of king of Gondor. Aragorn’s ascension to the throne is an epic crusade in which he must overcome external enemies and internal demons.
Central to Aragorn’s storyline are four Hobbits – Frodo, Samwise, Pippin, and Merry. They play pivotal roles in defeating the Dark Lord Sauron. Frodo, with Sam’s great assistance, destroys the One Ring which Sauron seeks. As Aragorn works his way through the adoring crowd celebrating his newly starting reign and Sauron’s defeat, he comes upon the Hobbits. They are appropriately bowing to the new king as is the rest of Gondor’s inhabitants.
Aragorn stops, beckons to the comrades who fought to their near-deaths and beyond everyone’s expectations, and offers this line of respect and self-humility:
ARAGORN: My friends. You bow to no one.”
He and all the inhabitants of his kingdom first bow, then kneel, to the Hobbits.
That line, and many others through the three films, have spine. Great sounding dialogue – irrespective of the media in which they are delivered – are magic.
Radio, of the available media and in particular, works, and it bows to no one.
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LA TheatreWorks: The Crucible by Arthur Miller on Saturday May 30 at 10:00pm May 30, 2009
Posted by William Spear in >> Radio Drama.Tags: >> Radio Drama, Arthur Miller, audio theatre, KPCC, L. A. Theatre Works, Richard Dreyfuss, Stacy Keach, the crucible
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L.A. Theatre Works
This weekend, beginning May 30, L.A. Theatre Works will air its production of The Crucible by Arthur Miller, starring Richard Dreyfuss and Stacy Keach. The broadcast can be heard locally in Southern California on Saturday from 10pm to midnight on KPCC 89.3 FM, and can also be streamed on demand at www.latw.org.
Arthur Miller’s classic play about the witch-hunts and trials in 17th century Salem is a searing portrait of a community engulfed by hysteria. Written in 1952, The Crucible famously mirrors the anti-communist hysteria that held the United States in its grip.
L.A. Theatre Works’ radio theater series can also be heard on the following stations (check local listings for broadcast times): 89.7 WGBH in Boston; 91.5 FM WBEZ in Chicago; 94.9 KUOW in Seattle; 93.5 FM KRTS “Marfa Public Radio” in Texas; 90.5 FM KUT in Austin; 88.9 FM KUNM in Albuquerque; 91.5 FM, Interlochen Public Radio in Northern Michigan; 90.1 FM KKFI in Kansas City, MO; 90.7 FM KVNO in Omaha; 94.1 KPFA in Northern California; 91.1 FM KRCB in Sonoma County; and 89.1 KUOR in Redlands.
Major funding for L.A. Theatre Works broadcast series is provided by the S. Mark Taper Foundation. Founded in 1989, the S. Mark Taper Foundation is a private family foundation dedicated to enhancing the quality of people’s lives by supporting non-profit organizations and their work in the community.
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