MRS. KIMBLE

Jennifer Haigh reveals charismatic, philandering Ken Kimble by entering the lives of the damaged women who marry him. Martha Plimpton's performance offers an achingly accurate portrait of Birdie, who lives somewhere outside herself in an alcoholic daze, lost and disoriented after Kimble abandons her with two children. As second wife Joan, recovering from a devastating mastectomy, Plimpton is particularly poignant, making Joan's vulnerability to the master manipulator understandable and forgivable. As third wife Dinah, born with a disfiguring birthmark, Plimpton is first grateful, later shocked, as Kimble's duplicity is revealed. Plimpton's performance is top-notch. Her tones are round and soothing, her diction is first-rate, and her attitude as each woman is flawless. S.J.H. © AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine [Published: JUN/ JUL 06]