APRIL & OLIVER

April and Oliver grew up as inseparable best friends whose lives took drastically different paths. The death of April's younger brother brings them back together, but long-buried family secrets and unresolved sexual tension complicate the reunion. In spite of the conflicts inherent in their unacknowledged attraction, complicated by Oliver's engagement to the saintly Bernadette, narrator Abby Craden's performance comes across as detached and lifeless. Only one character, the Spanish Nana, has a unique accent, and it doesn't sound authentic. The fault doesn't lie solely with Craden; Callahan's forced writing hints at electricity sparking between April and Oliver, but it never ignites. N.E.M. © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine [Published: SEPTEMBER 2009]