FANCY STRUT

Narrator Linda Stephens has her hands full with the huge cast of characters taking part in Speed, Alabama's, sesquicentennial celebration. Given the eccentricities of newspaper society columnist Miss Iona, the waywardness of sesquicentennial coordinator Buck Fire and more than one of the town's ladies, and the slow descent into near madness of half the population, Linda Stephens wisely limits her vocal characterizations to the most noteworthy of the town folk. Delving into issues of racism, marriage, and self-actualization, Stephens delivers a clear, almost clipped, reading. She delights in vocally highlighting the indignation of philandering Bob Pitt's cold wife and Lloyd Warner's prim mother. While the accents Stephens applies to African-American and Northern characters don't ring true, perhaps that's her interpretation of their roles in 1960s' Alabama. As always, Smith succeeds in making her reader laugh hard and think harder. J.J.B. © AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine [Published: APR/MAY 05]