Scheduled Performances

Friday April 3, 2:30 pm: HALF HOLLOW HILLS COMMUNITY LIBRARY

Monday April 6, 7:00 pm: MIDDLE COUNTRY PUBLIC LIBRARY, CENTEREACH

Tuesday April 7, 2:00 pm: JERICHO PUBLIC LIBRARY

Wednesday April 8, 1:00 pm: MANHASSET PUBLIC LIBRARY

Tuesday April 14, 12:30 pm: EAST MEADOW PUBLIC LIBRARY

Tuesday April 14, 7:00 pm: BABYLON PUBLIC LIBRARY

Wednesday April 15, 7:00 pm: PORT JEFFERSON PUBLIC LIBRARY

Saturday April 18, 2:00 pm: NORTH SHORE PUBLIC LIBRARY, SHOREHAM

Sunday April 19, 2:00 pm LONGWOOD PUBLIC LIBRARY

Tuesday April 21, 7:00 pm: WEST ISLIP PUBLIC LIBRARY

Friday April 24, noon: PORT WASHINGTON PUBLIC LIBRARY

Saturday April 25, 2:00 pm: JOHN JERMAIN MEMORIAL LIBRARY, SAG HARBOR

Monday April 27, 2:00 pm: ELMONT PUBLIC LIBRARY

Tuesday April 28, 1:00 pm: HEWLETT WOODMERE PUBLIC LIBRARY

Thursday April 30, 2:30 pm: WEST BABYLON PUBLIC LIBRARY

Wednesday May 6, noon: THE ROGERS MEMORIAL LIBRARY, SOUTHAMPTON

Photos for Publicity

Ebbets Field 1913-1957		Jackie Robinson 1949 MVP
1955 Brooklyn Dodgers, World Champions		Doris Kearns Goodwin

Links to Helpful Web Sites

The Brooklyn Dodgers http://www.sportsecyclopedia.com/nl/bdodgers/brooklynimages.html

Doris Kearns Goodwin http://www.doriskearnsgoodwin.com/

About her life and work http://womenshistory.about.com/library/bio/blbiogoodwindk.htm

Concerning charges of plagiarism against her http://www.forbes.com/2002/02/27/0227goodwin.html

Bio in Britannica http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1214400/Doris-Kearns-Goodwin

  Reviews and Comments about 
Readings in the Style of Radio Drama

THE COLOR OF WATER by James McBride (David as Narrator, Debbie Starker as Ruth)

Barbara Minerd, Public Relations Director, Shelter Rock Public Library: “Well, if this radio drama doesn't inspire those who haven't read the book to read it, I don't know what will.  The program transported me to another world." Jude Schanzer, Program Director and Publicity, East Meadow Public Library: "Stupendous; meticulous thought obviously given to the material and the venue in which it was to be performed. The audience was visibly moved."  Marion Waller, Professional Theatrical Director, at Copiague Library: "The performances were mesmerizing.  You "saw" these people and never had to wonder who was speaking.  Eras and places were evoked to maximum effect." Penelope Wright, Director of Adult Programs, Rogers Memorial Library, Southampton : "A brilliant adaptation of a remarkable book.  The superbly acted production conveys the pure essence of Mr. McBride's poignant tribute to his remarkable mother." Melissa Gabrielle, Programs, South Country Library, Bellport: "A powerful and wonderful performance that had a great impact on the audience.  The high school students who attended commented that they found that the actors made the story even more relevant to their experiences in class."

TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD by Harper Lee (David as men, Diana as Scout and women)

Lori Abbatepaolo, Librarian, Middle Island Public Library: "The performers were excellent, and the adaptation and staging provided a powerful experience of Harper Lee's book. It was filled with emotion and the audience seemed completely caught up in the performance." Jean Scanlon, Program Director, Freeport Memorial Library: "The performers take you back to the 1930's South. The variations in voice make you feel as though all the litigants and the children are on stage. The reading was wonderful." Bonnie Russell, Program Director, John Jermain Library, Sag Harbor: "Excellent" in all categories, including Audience Response, Literary Content, and Performance. 

SNOW IN AUGUST by Pete Hammil (David as the Rabbi, Matt Stashin as boys' voices)

Lorraine Paesano and Mary Frayne, Librarians, Middle Country Public Library: “The accents, the shifting of characters, the musical accompaniment – all added to a magical reading." Beth Saltalamacchio, Cultural Program Specialist, Plainview Old Bethpage Library: "This program gave me a better sense of the whole book than I thought was possible.  The segments were well planned, and the actors did a wonderful job creating characters and voices."  Evelyn Pusinelli, Program Coordinator, Hicksville Public Library: "The audience was enthralled with the reading; the presentation held their attention.  Excellent."  Barbara Minard, Program Director, Shelter Rock Public Library: "The performance was much more than I expected.  Music selections augmented the reading perfectly.  Foreign accents beautifully transported the audience to a different time and place.  All in all, it was relaxing, entertaining, and very professional."  

FAHRENHEIT 451 by Ray Bradbury (Melanie Lipton, Matt Stashin, David Houston)

Lorraine Paesano, Adult Services Librarian, Middle Country Public Library at Centereach: "As always, a polished professional performance.  Being joined by Matt Stashin and Melanie Lipton added to the overall impact.  Listening to the selected pieces made me think of how scary it would be if people's beliefs and freedoms were to be challenged and mandated by others.  Thanks for a great reading!"  Deborah Dellis-Quinn, Program Director, Manhasset Library "FAHRENHEIT 451 was excellent – not only for our adult audience, but would be valuable for high-school students.  The pace was quick, keeping the audience involved in the characters and plot throughout the program.  The message of Ray Bradbury's novel was powerfully portrayed by the cast, and respectfully scripted." Jessica Ley, Program Coordinator, Port Washington Public Library: "I've come to expect excellence from a David Houston production, and I've never been disappointed.  FAHRENHEIT 451 was outstanding."

Literary Entertainments

David Houston's series of small-scale theatrical productions, on themes of history and literature, got its start in 2000 when he portrayed Charles Dickens, circa 1867, at a New York theatre and gathered impressive reviews. In 2001 he toured THE DICKENS! to Long Island libraries, where interest in additional plays was expressed. Houston—an accomplished writer and experienced actor—jumped at the opportunity. He wrote, produced and directed GREAT SCOTT AND ZELDA, with Melanie Lipton and Steve Corbellini, which toured libraries during the 2002 “Long Island Reads” celebration of THE GREAT GATSBY.  Since then he has added other original plays to the repertoire: LILLIE ALONE, a one-woman tour-de-force starring Mary Ellin Kurtz as Lillie Langtry backstage in 1900 as she prepares lies to tell an interviewer and presents monologues from her classic stage successes; MARK TWAIN TELLING TALES, in which Houston, as the elderly Twain, gives a lecture on humor and wit, derived from Twain essays and stories; MURDER AND MADNESS AND POE, starring Rick Heuthe as Edgar Allan Poe attempting to secure a lucrative lecture tour in 1848, quoting and reading poetry and stories in the process; LET'S DO IT!, developed at the request of the Port Washington Library, a one-act musical in which Noel Coward (Houston) and Cole Porter (Heuthe) test material for Coward’s cabaret debut in Las Vegas, ending with Coward's outrageous lyrics for Porter's "Let's Do It"; JAZZ BABY JOAN, with Melanie Lipton as Joan Crawford in 1934 defending her career and reliving her childhood, based on Houston's Crawford biography Jazz Baby (St. Martin's Press); THE GHOST OF DOROTHY PARKER with actress Diana Heinlein as the famed Algonquin Round Table wit trying to make sense of her turbulent life through her poetry and stories; WALT WHITMAN, TO BEGIN WITH in which Houston impersonates Whitman and his critics; FRED AND ADELE ASTAIRE: THE LAST DANCE, starring Melanie Lipton and Steve Corbellini, in which, backstage in 1932, Fred and Adele reminisce in song and dance as she leaves their famous act for good; and new editions of THE DICKENS! featuring "A Christmas Carol" and “The Chimes.” In addition to original plays, Houston's group currently presents Melanie Lipton as Emily Dickinson in William Luce's Broadway play THE BELLE OF AMHERST; Houston in a reading of the first Sherlock Holmes novel STUDY IN SCARLET; Houston in readings of three short stories of ISAAC BASHEVIS SINGER; a three-actor "radio style" dramatization of Ray Bradbury's FAHRENHEIT 451 with Houston, Lipton and Matt Stashin, a reading from JOY COMES IN THE MORNING with Houston and and Gail Merzer Behrens, and a dramatic reading of The Trial of Tom Robinson from TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, with Houston and Diana Heinlein.  For Long Island Reads in past years, Houston has provided "dramatic readings in the form of radio drama" in 2003 HOW THE GARCIA GIRLS LOST THEIR ACCENTS, with Houston and Lipton; 2004 SNOW IN AUGUST with Houston and Stashin; 2005 Houston’s solo reading from Steinbeck’s TRAVELS WITH CHARLIE; 2006 Houston’s solo reading from Mark Mills’s AMAGANSETT; 2007 from James McBride's THE COLOR OF WATER with Houston and Debbie Starker; and for 2008 a solo reading from Chang-rae Lee's ALOFT.