Selected Shorts: A Touch of Magic

By: Andrew Lam, Ray Bradbury, Haruki Murakami, Donald Barthelme, Kevin Brockmeier, Jonathan Safran Foer, T. C. Boyle

Narrated by: James Naughton, Stephen Colbert, John Lithgow, Daniel Gerroll, Maria Tucci, Anthony Rapp, Jerry Zaks

By turns funny, moving, romantic and surreal, and filled with unexpected twists and turns, each of the tales on this lineup has a magical element.

• Andrew Lam's "The Palmist", performed by James Naughton. A chance encounter on a bus between a fortune-teller and a teenage boy.
• Ray Bradbury's "The Veldt", performed by Stephen Colbert. A room which can take you anywhere in the world - sometimes with dangerous consequences
• W. W. Jacobs' "The Monkey's Paw", performed by John Lithgow. A wonderful ghost story about a trinket with terrible powers.
• Saki's "The Occasional Garden", performed by Daniel Gerroll. If you can't grow a garden; poof! - you can rent one.
• Donald Barthelme's "The Balloon", performed by Maria Tucci. There's something suddenly in the sky in midtown Manhattan....
• Kevin Brockmeier's "The Year of Silence", performed by Anthony Rapp. What if everything went quiet?
• Jonathan Safran Foer's "The Sixth Borough", performed by Jerry Zaks. Yes, New York had a Sixth Borough, but it drifted away....
• Aimee Bender's "Drunken Mimi", performed by Bernadette Quigley. A romance between a mermaid and an imp.
• Haruki Murakami's "The Little Green Monster", performed by Dana Ivey. A piece of Murakami magic: Is this a monster I see before me?
• T. C. Boyle's "Swept Away", performed by René Auberjonois. This story's weather forecast: Very windy and very funny.

©2009 Symphony Space (P)2009 Symphony Space

Critic reviews

"In this latest collection from Symphony Space, there are, oddly enough, no magicians, but the art of illusion is broadly represented." (Publishers Weekly)

"As usual for 'Selected Shorts,' this is a high-quality, entertaining collection." (AudioFile)