Six New Theater Originals Coming to Audible
Audible Inc. today announced a new slate of six Audible Original theater titles, debuting exclusively on Audible on September 8, 2022. These releases continue to deliver the theater experience to a wider audience, through audio.
Mrs. Wickham, brought to life by actors Jessie Buckley (The Lost Daughter) and Johnny Flynn (Emma), puts a spin on Jane Austen's classic novel Pride and Prejudice and takes an imagined look from the perspective of Elizabeth Bennet's younger sister, Lydia. Gilly Gilly, which reunites Olivier Award-nominated actress Cush Jumbo and Tony Award-nominated director Phyllida Lloyd following their acclaimed collaboration for Josephine and I, tells a haunting new story that explores the joys and complexities that exist between parents and children. Fade, by acclaimed playwright and screenwriter Tanya Saracho (Vida), touches on issues of class and race within the Latinx community and beyond, exploring the reality that rising status can’t change who you are at your core. The Comedians, told through individual stand-up acts featuring Drew Droege and Gabe González, is a hilariously relatable modern queer love story. And finally, the slate includes two powerful one-woman shows previously performed live at the Minetta Lane Theatre, Audible’s home for live entertainment in New York City: An Evening with Ali Stroker and An Evening with Amber Iman.
“Our Fall slate exemplifies how Audible Theater brings together diverse talent in the theater community – all while providing access to dynamic theatrical original content for listeners,” said Kate Navin, Head of Audible Theater. “The outstanding talent you’ll hear transcend time periods—from the Jane Austen-era Mrs. Wickham to the multi-generational Gilly Gilly—to explore topics that are relevant to our modern world. With The Comedians and Fade, we are proud to have representation from the LGBTQIA and Latinx communities. For those who could not experience Ali Stroker and Amber Iman’s live performances at Minetta Lane, they can now listen anywhere.”
To listen to these new titles, visit Audible.
ABOUT THE NEW RELEASES:
Mrs. Wickham (Cast: Jessie Buckley and Johnny Flynn) Imagine if you made one little mistake when you were young and were punished for it for the rest of your life. Well, that’s what happened to Lydia (yes, that Lydia, the youngest Bennet sister from Pride and Prejudice), and she’s here to set the record straight. Hold on to your teacups and get ready for sophisticated (and a little bit naughty) hot takes and witty banter that’ll make you laugh—and think.
We meet Lydia just as she is denounced by her family, exiled miles from home, and married to the rogue George Wickham, who seems to love all women … except his own wife. She must learn to summon great bravery to carve out a place for herself in the society that has brutally rejected her.
Lydia isn’t the traditional Austen heroine, and this isn’t a traditional, polite period drama. Lydia is a badass. A trailblazer. She’s fierce and fiercely funny. And she might inhabit the Regency period, but she’s fighting the same battle many of us are today—having to defend the decisions she’s made and the person she chooses to love, to shut out the “trolls” and gossips, to hold her head high in a world that will judge her for any mistake she makes.
Starring Academy Award nominee Jessie Buckley (Fargo, The Lost Daughter) and Johnny Flynn (Lovesick, Stardust), this hilarious and timely listen is for fans of classics with a twist. Writer and creator playwright Sarah Page says that she wrote Mrs. Wickham to “entertain people with a romantic, optimistic, and seductive comedy,” but that there’s also a “message held at its heart to treat each other with kindness.”
Created by Sarah Page, an Audible Theater commissioned playwright, and directed by Eleanor Rhode.
Gilly Gilly (Cast: Cush Jumbo) The kitchen is the beating heart of every home—but for one woman summoned to an empty house in northern England, it’s also the portal to a complicated past. Forced to confront her family’s dark history or risk perpetuating it for generations to come, she sets out to do what her mother and grandmother before her never could. Written and performed by Olivier Award nominee Cush Jumbo (Josephine and I) and directed by Tony Award nominee Phyllida Lloyd (The Iron Lady), Gilly Gilly is a haunting and powerful new play that explores the joys and complexities that exist between parents and children—and asks just how many secrets one kitchen can hold.
Fade (Cast: Karla Souza and Carlos Miranda) When Mexican-born novelist Lucia lands her first TV writing job, she immediately feels out of place in the white, male-dominated writers room. Before long, she’s drawn to the only other Latino around, a janitor named Abel, and the two begin an unlikely friendship—one that’s tested when Abel’s confidences start showing up in Lucia’s scripts. Written and directed by acclaimed playwright and screenwriter Tanya Saracho (Vida) and originally performed on stage Fade touches on issues of class and race within the Latinx community and beyond, exploring the reality that status can’t change who you are at your core. Brought to vivid life by performers Karla Souza (How to Get Away with Murder) and Carlos Miranda (Station 19).
The Comedians (Cast: Drew Droege and Gabe González) Stop me if you’re heard this one: Veteran comic Chauncy and social-media star José are the very definition of “opposites attract.” But sparks, and jokes, fly after the two of them embark upon a beautiful romance for the ages…two vastly different ages. From playwright Philip Dawkins, directed by Nick Borenstein, and starring Drew Droege and Gabe González, The Comedians is a modern queer love story, told through individual stand-up acts. We hear the ups and downs of their journey—from falling hard to failing harder than a botched punchline—in this hilariously relatable play about love, loss and, above all, The Laugh. Written/commissioned as a part of Audible’s Emerging Playwrights Program.
An Evening with Ali Stroker (Cast: Ali Stroker) Ali Stroker won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her role as Ado Annie in a revival of Oklahoma!, and before that made history as the first actor in a wheelchair to appear on Broadway. Listeners can now experience her incredible one-woman show as she performs crowd favorites as well as some unexpected songs while telling stories from her life and talking about her personal motto, “turn your limitations into opportunities.” Directed by David Perlow.
An Evening with Amber Iman (Cast: Amber Iman) Amber Iman’s powerful concert melds her onstage work in shows such as Shuffle Along and Soul Doctor, with her work off-stage as a founding member of the Broadway Advocacy Coalition and Black Women on Broadway. Using personal stories and songs, she takes the audience on a journey through love, rejection, race, artistry, and heartbreak in a performance that challenges, encourages, and uplifts, reminding us that we have the capacity to move forward from any setback. Directed by Christian Dante White.
