THE BALLAD OF FRANKIE SILVER

What could a century-old hanging have to do with an upcoming Tennessee electrocution? Based on a true story and told partly in flashback from four perspectives, FRANKIE seems a natural for a multi-cast production; shifts in time and character would be clearer. Even so, this is a listening experience that grips and doesn't let go. Setting is important here, and Herbert's husky voice conveys but doesn't overdo an Appalachian drawl while she expertly paces the pre-execution suspense. Perhaps by design, she is most effective as the two prisoners, especially the doomed Frankie, whose fragile, frightened words travel hauntingly through time. J.B.G. ©AudioFile, Portland, Maine [Published: JUN/JUL 99]