SONG OF AN INNOCENT BYSTANDER

This erratic story recounts the long-term psychological effects of Freda Opperman's thirty-six-hour experience as a hostage of a deranged gun-totting man in a fast food restaurant when she was 9. Flashing back to the incident, Opperman slowly reveals her struggles with the madman and the other hostages, and, later on, her strained relationships with her parents and friends. Caroline Lee stumbles through this production. She never acquires a distinct voice for the different narrative angles and doesn't manage to vocally differentiate the adult Freda from the child Freda, a weakness that causes occasional confusion. However, her consistency with the character of the deranged man fits perfectly with the text. L.E. © AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine [Published: OCT/ NOV 06]