#131 Die Snow White! Die Damn You! (Yuri Rasovsky)

Famed audio dramatist Yuri Rasovsky's last production "Die Snow White! Die Damn You!" is pure genius. Rasovsky masterfully merges elements from more than one Brothers Grimm fairy tale with the original Snow White story forming an all new twisted yet funny, witty and highly entertaining fable. Listeners should be warned this tale certainly contains a more adult telling of the Snow White account. This retelling may have the Grimm brothers rolling over in their grave but "Die Snow White! Die Damn You!" will leave you rolling on the floor laughing and wishing there were more. Sadly this is the last masterpiece from perhaps the greatest audio dramatist of the modern era. Its distinguished cast features the talents of Sandra Oh (Grey's Anatomy), Kate Burton (Grey's Anatomy), Simon Helberg (The Big Bang Theory), Armin Shimerman (Star Trek: Deep Space 9), Robin Sachs (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Babylon 5), Melinda Peterson, Ned Schmidtke, and Barry Creyton.

From Blackstone Audio:
With the premiere of two new film versions of the Snow White tale, Blackstone enters the fray with its own adult, edgy, and not altogether serious full-cast exposé of fairy-taledom. At last it can be told! Was Snow White really as pure as the driven snow? Did her allegedly wicked stepmother get a bum rap from the Grimm brothers? What went on behind the closed Dutch doors of the dwarves’ cottage? How many handsome princes does it take to screw in a light bulb? These and other burning questions may or may not be answered in this new pseudogothic audio play that Blackstone commissioned from award-winning author and audio dramatist Yuri Rasovsky. 

YURI RASOVSKY won wide critical acclaim during his forty-year career as an audio dramatist, writer, producer, and director. His numerous honors include two Peabody Awards, nine Audie® Awards, and a Grammy®. His last two productions for Blackstone, The Maltese Falcon and The Mark of Zorro, were both nominated for a Grammy. 

http://www.amazon.com/Snow-White-Grimm-Audio-Theater/dp/1455127280

Audio clip of Die Snow White! Die Damn You courtesy of AudioFarm and Blackstone Audio.

The Audio Drama World Mourns The Loss of One of The Greatest

 1944-2012

Renowned audio dramatist Yuri Rasovsky passed away on January 18, 2012. He was a leading writer, director, and producer of both audio books and full-cast audio dramas. Mr. Rasovsky's drama productions included such classic titles as The Maltese Falcon (featuring Michael Madsen and Sandra Oh), Saint Joan (with Amy Irving), Sherlock Holmes (with Martin Jarvis and Kris Tabori), The Cabinet of Dr. Calagari (with John de Lancie) and The Mark of Zorro (with Val Kilmer).

Over his forty years as a writer, director and producer Yuri created hundreds of shows, worked with some of the best talent and won numerous awards, among which are two Peabody Awards, nine Audie Awards, and a Grammy. Two of his current works, The Mark of Zorro and Hamlet, are Grammy Award finalists for 2012.

Mr. Rasovsky despite fighting cancer for the past year continued to work. Within the last month he finished recording his final production Die, Snow White! Die, Damn You!

He was perhaps the greatest audio dramatist of the modern era and will be missed greatly. The world of audio drama will never be the same without him.

Some of the great audio drama productions of Yuri Rasovsky.

The Maltese Falcon - Received a 2011 Grammy Nomination.

 http://radiodramaspotlight.blogspot.com/2011/07/8-maltese-falcon.html


The Mark of Zorro - Received a 2012 Grammy Nomination. Also nominated for two Audie Awards.

http://radiodramaspotlight.blogspot.com/2011/07/4-mark-of-zorro.html

The Black Mask Audio Magazine - Winner of the 2010 Audie Award for Best Anthology.

 http://radiodramaspotlight.blogspot.com/2011/07/38-black-mask-audio-magazine-hte.html

St. Joan - Winner of the 2010 Audie Award for Best Audio Drama.

http://radiodramaspotlight.blogspot.com/2011/07/13-st-joan.html

Sherlock Holmes Theater - Winner of the 2009 Audie Award for Best Audio Drama.

http://radiodramaspotlight.blogspot.com/2011/07/10-sherlock-holmes-theatre.html

Sweeney Todd and the String of Pearls - Winner of of three 2008 Audie Awards for Best Audio Drama, Best Original Work and Achievement in Production.

 http://radiodramaspotlight.blogspot.com/2011/11/113-sweeney-todd-and-string-of-pearls.html

Craven Street - Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award.

http://radiodramaspotlight.blogspot.com/2011/08/94-craven-street-hte.html

 Die Snow White! Die Damn You! - The production of Yuri Rasovsky.

http://radiodramaspotlight.blogspot.com/2012/05/131-die-snow-white-die-damn-you-yuri.html

#79 The Outcasts of Poker Flat - HTE

California (1850). Poker Flat is a rough and tumble town out of control and the citizens want it cleaned up. In doing so John Oakhurst (a professional gambler) is run out of town along with "The Duchess" (a saloon girl), "Mother Shipton" (a brothel owner), and Uncle Billy, (the town drunkard and suspected robber). Half  way to their destination the party meets up with pair of young lover's (Piney Woods, a fifteen year old girl and Tom Simson, a young man) who have run away to get married. What happens from there is a tragic tale of western proportions. Poker Flat is very different from a Louis L'Amour western as it leaves out the western romanticism and retains the gritty, realistic feel of the old west. Forest Tucker (F-Troop, Chisum) stars in this full-cast western. Produced and directed by Yuri Rasovsky.

From HTE:
Although both Harte's popularity and critical admiration for his work have declined since his death, "The Outcasts of Poker Flat" (1869) remains an important piece of American literature and one of the best tales of the rough-and-tumble days of the California Gold Rush In his use of the Western setting and local color, Harte proved to be a model for other authors, including Mark Twain, whose career he helped launch. Indeed, the familiarity of many of Harte's characterizations — the quick-witted gambler or the prostitute with a heart of gold — attest to the durability of his impact on popular culture.

http://www.irasov.com/outcasts.htm

#10 Sherlock Holmes Theatre

This full-cast radio drama production is a flawless work of art by the master of radio drama greatness Yuri Rasovsky. In this feature he expertly taps the genius of Conan Doyle to recreate the world of the immortal detective Sherlock Holmes. Martin Jarvis' performance as Holmes would surely have brought a smile from Basil Rathbone himself. Kristoffer Tabori is the perfect Watson. The Sherlock Holmes Theatre once again displays the genius that is Rasovsky. A must have for any mystery lover.

From HTE:
The first audio recordings ever of the only two Holmes plays written by his creator, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, in new, specially commissioned productions of The Hollywood Thater of the Ear starring Audio Award Winners Martin Jarvis as Holmes and Kristoffer Tabori as Watson. 

http://www.irasov.com/Holmes.htm