THE AGE OF SHAKESPEARE

This brief primer on Elizabethan England and Shakespeare's theater is given more solemnity by the narrator than the author. Paul Hecht has the beautifully modulated voice of the veteran radio actor and the skill of an intelligent and well-read narrator. However, he misses the humorous touches the author uses to add vitality to his discussion. Further, the producers have left in annoying wheezes and lip-smackings that should have been cut as a matter of routine. Y.R. (c) AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine [Published: OCT/ NOV 04]