This is a compilation of highlights from holiday broadcasts of the popular radio program A Prairie Home Companion. It's available as a 2-CD or 2-tape set through Minnesota Public Radio. Sound clips are available on this site.
This excellent CD is now, unfortunately, out of print and commercially unavailable. From time to time it pops up on eBay, where it usually fetches an exorbitant price. (I was lucky enough to buy a copy in 1999 while it was still in print, but even then it could only be ordered over the phone from a vendor in Canada.) Since it's so hard to find, and since the profits from the auctions go to private sellers and not to Paul Gordon or any of the talented people who worked on the recording, I've made MP3s of the tracks to share with other fans of the show. You can download the MP3s here.
Since this CD was recorded before the show opened on Broadway, it differs from the final Broadway score in a few interesting ways. For instance, the CD includes Marla singing "My Maker," a song which was cut from the show during previews. The lyrics for "Secret Soul" were significantly altered for Broadway (read the new lyrics here). Minor lyric changes were also made to several other tracks, including "The Orphan" and "Children of God." "Poor Sister," which tells the story of Bertha's death, is sung here by Bertha's brother (played by Bill Nolte). The song was later transferred to Mrs. Fairfax (Mary Stout) in order to streamline the plot, but Bill's deep, tender rendition is preserved on the disc.
The CD is available for $14 or so on Amazon.com,
Barnes & Noble,
Footlight Records,
and plenty of other online merchants.
Sound clips are available on this site.
Marla stars in this independent film, which MGM picked up at Sundance in 1997. I Love You...Don't Touch Me! was written, directed, edited, and produced by Julie Davis, who has been friends with Marla since high school. The cast includes Michael Harris, Mitchell Whitfield, Meredith Scott Lynn, and Darryl Theirse. (Nell Balaban, who played Grace Poole in Jane Eyre, makes a brief appearance.) The film had a limited release in theaters and was commercially available for a while. It's now out of print, but pretty easy to find at reasonable prices on
Amazon.com's zShops or
eBay. It also airs occasionally on the Sundance Channel and AMC (check your local TV listings). Marla gets to sing three great songs in the film: "All I've Needed Most" and "This Is My Heaven" (both written by Jane Ford), and "The Egg Jingle" (written by Marla!).
Since no soundtrack was released for the film, MP3s of the three songs are available on this site.
Marla was part of the singing ensemble for the soundtrack. She has no solo parts, although I must say the chorus sounds marvelous. :) The CD is available at most music stores as well as from Amazon.com and other online merchants. Be sure you buy the film soundtrack, because two spinoff albums—one country, one inspirational—were also released.
How often does Hollywood turn out a star-studded film about the history of musical theater? Not very often. But Tim Robbins likes to be original. Robbins' 1999 film tells the story of the original production of Marc Blitzstein's musical The Cradle Will Rock and the controversy and censorship it incited. Marla has a smallish role as the Beaver Woman (yes, the Beaver Woman). The film features an impressive cast: Hank Azaria, Joan Cusack, John Cusack, Cary Elwes, Philip Baker Hall, Cherry Jones, Bill Murray, Vanessa Redgrave, Susan Sarandon, John Turturro, and Emily Watson, to name a few. Incidentally, lots of Broadway folks, including several of Marla's Titanic castmates, also have small roles: Audra McDonald (voice only), Victoria Clark, Michele Pawk, Henry Stram, Gregg Edelman, David Costabile, Matthew Bennett, etc. Cradle Will Rock is widely commercially available through
Amazon.com and other merchants. The soundtrack is also widely available, but Marla isn't on it. The film airs occasionally on Bravo, a basic cable channel (check your local TV listings).
TNT, a basic cable channel available in most areas, sometimes airs reruns of this 1993–97 TV show. (Search TV Guide's listings for current information.) The show starred Chris Potter as Peter Caine, a street-wise police officer, and David Carradine, a Shaolin priest who just happens to be Peter's long-lost father.
Marla guest-starred in two episodes: "Initiation" (the two-hour pilot) and "Sunday at the Hotel with George" (the fourth episode of the first season). She played Tyler Smith, Peter's on-and-off girlfriend. Tyler is a club singer, so Marla got to perform a couple of rock songs in the episodes. The episodes are definitely worth watching just to see Marla wear REALLY big earrings and sing rock songs and play a character that's about as far from Jane Eyre as you can get. If you want to learn more about the TV show, there's a great fan site you should check out.
This tie-in book includes the complete script of the film, 115 photos, commentary from Tim Robbins, cast interviews, and articles about the historical events that inspired the film. There are a few photos of Marla as the Beaver Woman. The book is available on
Amazon.com,
Barnes & Noble, etc.
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Please email comments, questions, or suggestions to webmaster(at)currerwells.net.
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Jane Eyre
(book—official Broadway edition)
This 717-page paperback edition of Charlotte Bronte's brilliant novel was published by The Modern Library and includes an introduction by Diane Johnson, author of Le Mariage.
The front cover features a picture of Marla and James Barbour as Jane and Rochester. Special features include a short biography of Charlotte Bronte, endnotes which reference literary allusions and define obscure words, commentary by eight authors (ranging from William Thackeray to Anthony Trollope), and a study guide for reading groups. The edition is available at most book stores and from online merchants such as
Amazon.com and
Barnes & Noble
Jane Eyre
(miscellaneous merchandise)
The following items are available through BroadwayNewYork.com:
14x22-inch poster
magnet
matchbox
cap
souvenir program
You can also find Marla items on eBay.