By Staff
The library has recently added dozens of titles to our CD collection. However, technically, the latest additions are not audiobooks.  The CDs are performances of plays produced by L.A. Theatre Works.  Founded in 1974, L.A. Theatre Works is  made up of a dedicated group of artists use theatre to reach communities traditionally unheard and underserved.
In 1985, the group moved from a conventional theatre producing organization to a &#8221virtual“; theatre company. Utilizing channels of modern communication to make theater widely available, accessible, and affordable resource. L.A. Theatre Works began producing and recording live audio theatre. The plays are recorded in Los Angeles and Washington, DC and are broadcast on public radio and satellite radio throughout the country.
Audio Theatre Collection has received awards from the Audio Publishers Association, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Publisher's Weekly, Writer's Guild of America, American Library Association and many others. Their recording of The Prisoner of Second Avenue, starring Richard Dreyfuss and Marsha Mason, received a Grammy nomination in 2001.
The purchase of these CDs was made possible by a grant to the library from the Michigan Humanities Council as part of the &#8221Arts and Libraries Community Literary Partnership Program.“;
Some of the many titles available, along with the playwrite and featured actors, are listed below.
The Best Man by Gore Vidal features Marsha Mason and Senator Fred Thompson.  This darkly satirical drama finds two presidential contenders seeking the endorsement of an aging ex-president and explores how personal agendas can change the course of a nation's destiny.
Camping with Henry and Tom by Mark St. Germain features Alan Alda, David Dukes and Charles Durning.  President Harding wants to be with his mistress. Industrialist Henry Ford wants to be President. And inventor Thomas Edison wonders how the three of them got stuck in the woods together. Inspired by an actual camping trip taken by the three men in 1921, this off-Broadway hit is an hilarious adventure with surprising relevance to today's politics.
Lady Windermere's Fan by Oscar Wilde features Eric Stoltz.  A lord, his wife, her admirer and an infamous blackmailer converge in the irreverent satire that launched Wilde's succession of classic social comedies.
M. Butterfly by David Henry Hwang features John Lithgow, David Dukes and B.D. Wong.  Lithgow and Wong recreate their original roles from the Tony Award-winning production. Inspired by an actual espionage scandal, a French diplomat discovers the startling truth about his Chinese mistress.
The Odd Couple by Neil Simon features Nathan Lane and David Paymer.  Poker buddies Felix Ungar and Oscar Madison suddenly find themselves bachelors again and innocently decide to share an apartment.  These two legendarily mismatched roommates bring down the house when they try to live together in one eight-room New York City apartment.