Otherworld Cottage fires listener's imaginations with old-time radio-style performances of narrative rhymes, complete with music and effects

August 26, 2014 (PRLEAP.COM) Entertainment News
August 26, 2014 - American storytellers are generally aware of Travis Edward Pike's original epic narrative rhyme, Grumpuss. In its review of the 99 minute video of his 1997 world premiere live performance at Blenheim Palace, the Newsletter for the Council of the Literature of the Fantastic at the University of Rhode Island reported it was "… classic British fantasy at its best. Reminiscent of Lewis Carrol, C. S. Lewis, and J. R. R. Tolkkien, Pike's Grumpuss is poignantly true of both the foibles and triumphs of humankind … quality family entertainment." That video production won a Silver Plaque Award for Special Achievement, Writing in the 1999 Chicago Film Festival's International Communications Competition, a first for an epic narrative rhyme.

Of the original 84 minute dual cassette audio theater production of Grumpuss, The October, 1999 School Library Journal review stated, "Pike's superb skill as a storyteller elevates the tale to a rare level. The rich language and Pike's voice variations paint vivid pictures in the listener's mind … an outstanding choice for school and public library collections." And that audio production later won a 2003 National Youth Storytelling Pegasus Award.

Those 1998 releases are no longer in production, but last year Otherworld Cottage Industries updated, sweetened and remixed Grumpuss for its complete, 79 minute , dual CD, 15th Anniversary Audio Theater Edition and a fan of the current release wrote, "Grumpuss is a triumph, a marvelous epic poem, told with wit and gusto by a master storyteller."

But that's not the only narrative rhyme CD in the Otherworld Cottage catalog. Fan's will be delighted to know Pike's nearly 35 minute "Odd Tales and Wonders Stories in Rhyme" CD features eight of his shorter, audio theater performances, and is available on both CD, and as digital downloads of the album or individual rhymes. One new fan wrote, "'Santa's Magic' is a new favorite of mine, now. "The Twaddle and the Gurck' is another one of my favorites … I try to imitate the way you tell it, but it sounds funny coming from my mouth. I really love it!"

The holiday season is still a way off, but with a bit of luck, the inclusion of "Santa's Magic" on the Odd Tales and Wonders Stories in Rhyme CD may bode well in the months ahead. Audiences of all ages enjoy narrative rhyme and Otherworld Cottage Industries offers two superb entertainments in its collection. Samples from the Odd Tales and Wonders Stories in Rhyme CD may be heard online at http://oddtalesandwonders.com/STORIES%20IN%20RHYME%20SAMPLES.html. The Grumpuss 15th Anniversary Audio Theater Edition samples are posted at http://grumpuss.com/AUDSAMPLES.html.

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