About the Book
Based on Johnston McCulley's The Curse of Capistrano first published in 1919 by pulp magazine All-Story Weekly
Set in Los Angeles during the era of early nineteenth century Colonial Spanish California, the story introduces us to wealthy, young aristocrat Don Diego de la Vega, son of the richest ranchero in the country. Don Diego is an idler who has never concerned himself with more than the cut of his clothes. Unlike other full-blooded youths of his age, he presents himself as a fop, lacking in vigor, vitality, and strength. But Vega's timorous reputation is merely a mask to conceal his alter ego-El Zorro. As Zorro, dressed in black and wearing a mask, he is transformed into a cunning swordsman who fearlessly pulls off dashing and daring escapades in his quest to avenge the helpless, aid the poor and oppressed, and punish cruel officials. Deemed an outlaw by California's corrupt governor, he is ever-hunted by the Commandante of La Reina de Los Angeles, Capitan Ramon, and his henchman, Sergeant Pedro Gonzalez.
Forced to find a wife or lose his inheritance, Diego sets off to romance the fiery, outspoken Lolita Pulido, the most beautiful senorita in Los Angeles. Unimpressed with Diego's passionless efforts to win her affections, Lolita finds herself attracted to the dashing and courageous Zorro. With the Pulido family having been impoverished by the corrupt governor, her father would see her married to the rich Don Diego. At the same time, the nobly born, but morally dissolute, Captain Ramon has also taken an interest in the fair senorita, making matters worse. As tensions heighten between Ramon and the Pulido family and pursuit of the masked avenger intensifies, Zorro leaves his mark on those who would perpetrate injustice.
The Mark of Zorro, masterfully adapted into a full-cast audio drama by the award-winning Hollywood Theater of the Ear especially for Blackstone Audio, is an exciting, action-packed, swashbuckling adventure that will have listeners on the edge of their seats.
About the Author :
Johnston McCulley (1883-1958) created his most famous character, Zorro, in 1919. He was the author of hundreds of stories, fifty novels, and numerous screenplays for film and television. He wrote sixty Zorro stories during his career.
Yuri Rasovsky (1944-2012) was the leading writer, producer, and director of audio drama in the United States. Also a distinguished actor, narrator, and critic, his numerous honors include two Peabody Awards, eight Audie Awards, and a Grammy.
Val Kilmer is one of the most prolific actors of his generation. From his more recent work as a career military officer in David Mamet's Spartan, back through his work with Oliver Stone in The Doors and Michael Mann in Heat, to his early work in Top Gun, Kilmer has worked with many of film's most respected directors and actors. His latest films include Kill the Irishman, opposite Linda Cardellini and Christopher Walken, and Riddle, alongside Elisabeth Harnois and Diora Baird.
Dylan Thomas was born in Swansea, Wales on 27 October 1914. In 1934 his first book of poetry, Eighteen Poems appeared, followed by Twenty-five Poems in 1936, Deaths and Entrances in 1946 and in 1952 his final volume, Collected Poems. He also published many short stories, wrote filmscripts, broadcast stories and talks, did a series of lecture tours in the United States and wrote Under Milkwood, the radio play.During his fourth lecture tour of the United States in 1953, a few days after his 39th birthday, he collapsed in his New York hotel and died on November 9th at St. Vincent's Hospital. His body was sent back to Laugharne, Wales, where his grave is marked by a simple wooden cross.In June 1994, his wife, Caitlin Thomas, died in Italy, where she had spent most of the years of her life after the death of Dylan Thomas. Her body is buried next to his.
Daryl McCullough is a writer, producer, radio drama enthusiast, indie filmmaker, and Zorro aficionado. For over a decade he has been the driving force behind Zorro's return to the world of full-cast audio drama and audiobooks. He has written several original Zorro adventures, worked with multiple audio publishers, radio theater groups and some of Hollywood's finest talent. As an expert on Zorro, he has been interviewed by various publications and radio shows. He is frequently a guest speaker at nostalgia and western conventions across North America. Additionally, he provides social media marketing for actors, artists and movie makers.
Scott Brick, an acclaimed voice artist, screenwriter, and actor, has performed on film, television, and radio. He attended UCLA and spent ten years in a traveling Shakespeare company. Passionate about the spoken word, he has narrated a wide variety of audiobooks. winning won more than fifty AudioFile Earphones Awards and several of the prestigious Audie Awards. He was named a Golden Voice by AudioFile magazine and the Voice of Choice for 2016 by Booklist magazine.
Stefan Rudnicki first became involved with audiobooks in 1994. Now a Grammy-winning audiobook producer, he has worked on more than three thousand audiobooks as a narrator, writer, producer, or director. He has narrated more than three hundred audiobooks. A recipient of multiple AudioFile Earphones Awards, he was presented the coveted Audie Award for solo narration in 2005, 2007, and 2014, and was named one of AudioFile's Golden Voices in 2012.
Phil Proctor is an original member of the three-time Grammy-nominated Firesign Theatre. He has performed on stage, television, through interactive games, and in film, including the Emmy Award-winning Rugrats, Finding Nemo, Monsters, Inc., and the Dr. Doolittle films. He is part of Los Angeles' celebrated Antaeus Classical Ensemble.
Ned Schmidtke has played leading roles on Broadway, on national tours, and at dozens of regional theaters in the United States and Canada. He currently resides in Los Angeles, where he continues to work in theater, film, and television.
Armin Shimerman is familiar to science fiction fans as Quark on Star Trek: DS-9 and as Principal Snyder on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. An acclaimed stage actor, he has also cowritten four science fiction novels.
Keith Szarabajka has appeared in many films, including The Dark Knight, Missing, and A Perfect World, and on such television shows as The Equalizer, Angel, Cold Case, Golden Years, and Profit. Szarabajka has also appeared in several episodes of Selected Shorts for National Public Radio. He won the 2001 Audie Award for Unabridged Fiction for his reading of Tom Robbins' Fierce Invalids Home from Hot Climates and has won several Earphones Awards.
Kristoffer Tabori made his screen debut when he was six years old and appeared on Broadway for the first time at age sixteen. He has garnered numerous honors for his stage, screen, television, and radio acting and directing, including an Emmy and three Earphones Awards. His first solo narration won the 1993 Audie Award for best audiobook of the year.
Elizabeth Pena (1959 - 2014) was an American actress and director. She starred in the mystery film Lone Star, for which she won the 1996 Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Actress and a Bravo Award for Outstanding Actress in a Feature Film from the National Council of La Raza.
Review :
"A succession of thrills from first page to last...Original...Captivating."
-- "Boston Traveler"
Cunning, suave, fearless, and a friend to the poor, the masked El Zorro first appeared in the pulp magazine All-Story Weekly in 1919. This sparkling full-cast audio adaptation of the original short story, 'The Curse of Capistrano, ' provides the sounds of plenty of swords clashing and bullets ricocheting. Where the real sparks fly is in the wonderfully honed playful dialogue, performed by an A-list Hollywood cast. Val Kilmer uses subtle vocal changes to play both the aristocratic idler Don Diego de la Vega and Diego's alter ego-the dashing El Zorro, who easily bests the villainous and foolish Captain Ramon and Sergeant Gonzalez, played with great energy by Keith Szarabajka and Meshach Taylor. But Zorro is no match for the stinging words of the lovely, proud Lolita Pulido, played with fiery grace by Ruth Livier. Good-natured fun.
-- "AudioFile"
