Showing results for title "Sister Carrie", by author "Theodore Dreiser" in All Categories

A magnificent portrayal of 1890's America and the harsh realities of a dog-eat-dog world, Sister Carrie lies at the forefront of American Naturalism. When poor young provincial woman Carrie Meeber arrives in Chicago, she little expects to be catapulted from lower-class woman to prominent Broadway actress. Passive and yielding, she lets circumstances coerce her into action and by good fortune she arrives at fame. It is in Chicago that Carrie meets a successful businessman, Hurstwood, who helps her establish her name.

Adapted for radio by award-winning dramatist Steve Chambers, it follows 18-year-old Carrie as she travels to Chicago to start a new life, only to find her idealistic dreams crushed by grim reality. Destiny takes over when her fresh prettiness attracts the attention of smooth-talking salesman Charlie Drouet. Carrie’s desire for the good life overcomes her misgivings about living in sin, and she allows herself to be seduced by him.

Sister Carrie is an epic of urban life, the story of an innocent heroine adrift in an indifferent city. When small-town girl Carrie Meeber sets out for Chicago, she is equipped with nothing but a few dollars, a certain unspoiled beauty and charm, and a pitiful lack of preparation for the complex moral choices she will face. Her story is one of struggle, from sweatshop to stage success, and of the love she inspires in a married man twice her age, whose obsession with her threatens to destroy him.

NBC University Theater initially started in Chicago with a remit to bring adaptations of classic novels, usually Anglo-American, to a radio audience. In its later years, it also included short stories and plays and went on to win the distinguished Peabody award. University Theater relied on excellent distillations of the novels and first-class acting alongside high production values.

Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser is a novel about Carrie Meeber's journey from a small town to Chicago and New York, exploring themes of ambition, love, and betrayal in the pursuit of the American Dream. Dreiser, an American novelist of the naturalist school, is known for his unflinching portrayal of life's struggles.