SueMedia Productions / Midsummer Sound Company present the original audio drama, Never Again War: The Sacrifice of Käthe Kollwitz by Helen Engelhardt.
Begun as a stage play by Engelhardt, this audio adaptation of Never Again War focuses on key biographical moments in Kollwitz's long life to give the audience an understanding of the complex world in which she lived and the destructive nature of war. Engelhardt is now working on a feature film to further bring awareness of Kollwitz's story to a larger audience.
Hosted by Marsha Mason, Oscar nominee and Golden Globe winner, Never Again War takes us into the mind and life of the great German graphic artist and sculptor, Käthe Kollwitz, renowned for her body of work dedicated to depicting the lives of the working poor.
After her youngest son Peter was killed in Belgium in October 1914 during the opening weeks of World War I, she devoted the rest of her life to using her art in the service of her grief and opposition to war.
Our play begins in Berlin in February 1914 at a party in the Kollwitz home celebrating the eighteenth birthday of her younger son Peter. A few months later, as soon as war begins, Peter implores his parents for permission to join his older brother Hans to become a soldier in the army.
To support the idealism of her sons to offer themselves for sacrifice on behalf of the Fatherland, the socialist Käthe finds herself supporting her sons in a war she deeply disapproved of. When the play concludes in Moritzburg, two weeks before Germany's defeat at the end of World War II in 1945, Kollwitz has learned that every war is answered by a new war until everything is smashed because every war already carries within it the war that will answer it, as World War II answered World War I.
Cast:
Käthe Kollwitz: Yelena ShmulensonHans amd Karl Kollitz: Nick SullivanPeter Kollwitz: Robert FassJutta Kollwitz: Katherine KellgrenAdditional voices: Natalia Bell, Wilson Bridges, Butch D'Ambrosio, Nicholas Herd, Ryan McCabe, and Alan SklarProduction credits:
Audio play and booklet: Helen EngelhardtPoem translations: Professor Robert KramerTranslation assistants: Hanny Budnick, Almut FitzgeraldSpecial thanks: Dr. Krishna WinstonPackage design: David ShinnSculpture photos: Marjorie Van HalterenFront cover design: Sue ZizzaCrowd recordings: Natalie CorderoEngineering/Mastering: David ShinnDirector/Producer: Sue ZizzaSpecial thanks: The staff of the Käthe Kollwitz Museum Köln
About the Author :
Helen Engelhardt is an activist, author, poet, storyteller, and independent audio artist.
Marsha Mason is an American actress and director. She has twice won the Golden Globe Award and has been nominated four times for an Academy Award.
Yelena Shmulenson is an actress and Earphones Award-winning audiobook narrator. She emigrated to the United States with her family in 1993 from Ukraine. Her theater credits include five seasons with the Folksbiene, two seasons at the Ellis Island Theatre, Enemies: A Love Story in Russian, and The Essence: A Yiddish Theater Dim Sum. On film, she can be seen in The Good Shepherd, Romeo & Juliet in Yiddish, Fire at the Triangle, and A Serious Man.
Nick Sullivan has narrated audiobooks for over twenty years and has recorded over four hundred titles. An Audie Award winner, he is also the recipient of numerous AudioFile Earphones Awards. His TV and film credits include The Good Wife, The Affair, Bull, Boardwalk Empire, 30 Rock, Our Idiot Brother, and Private Life.
Katherine Kellgren (1969-2018), narrator and actress, appeared onstage in London, New York, and Frankfurt, including in the role of Laura in a regional production of The Glass Menagerie and appearances on Comedy Central. In recognition of her mastery of audiobook narration, she received many honors, including the prestigious Audie Awards, with four for best female narrator; the Odyssey Award; Publishers Weekly Listen Up Award; dozens of AudioFile magazine Earphones Awards; an AudioFile Golden Voice Award; Booklist Voice of Choice award; and acclaim from press and listener reviews.
Robert Fass is a veteran actor and twice winner of the prestigious Audie Award for the year's best narration. He has earned many Earphones Awards and AudioFile magazine "Best of the Year" accolades.
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.
Review :
"A full cast makes this production that much more powerful; listeners hear the anguish and loss felt by Käthe and her family as they struggle to make sense of what seems to be endless wars. The cast members' strong emotional performances draw listeners in with their raw tone, pitched sadness, and accented voices. Sue Zizza's leadership as director produces some great audio mixing, including a well-aligned musical score and overlapping voices that enhance meaning within the story."
-- "AudioFile"
"A lovely, meditative production of a story from a point of view very rarely, if ever heard, on American radio. Kollwitz' story, as detailed in her diaries, is indeed moving and dramatic and will interest listeners as something quite new to them. Beautiful words, music, sound, and performances."
-- "Marjorie Van Halteren, Peabody Award-winning producer"
"I was deeply moved by Never Again War, a very sensitive, quiet, and reflective production. And daring too, to show a German's point of view in a positive light during the two great wars. Wonderful performances by everyone. I haven't heard anything that touched me so deeply in a long, long time."
-- "Tom Lopez, president of the ZBS Foundation"
