Wow. It's a pity this casting wasn't announced sooner. I can imagine many fans who would have traveled across country for this being unable to do so due to the short notice.
When LATW first started performing and recording audio dramas in the mid-1980s, the intent, as explained by some of the actors at the initial performance, was to give them the opportunity to experiment with new material in an environment that did not require the time commitment of a fully staged play or other projects such as television and film. The rehearsals occur quite close to the actual performances, and casts are typically confirmed on very short notice because of potential scheduling conflicts with projects that require more time. The short notice is usually not an issue as far as ticket sales are concerned. Recently, Jon Hamm appeared in
The Three Sisters. The announcement was made 3 weeks before the performances, and they sold out. Of course, this was also aided by the publicity surrounding the status of the next season of
Mad Men. In the case of
Dracula, Selby's involvement has been publicized since September of last year, which is remarkably long notice for an LATW performance.
Do they always release these shows on CD? This is something would buy.
The typical procedure is to have a series of live performances on stage in Los Angeles. The program is then eventually broadcast on NPR stations [snarky political comment deleted] and also made available online for about a week on the LATW web site to stream on demand. A couple of weeks ago, they aired a performance that was originally recorded in November, so it usually takes a few months for the recording to be available. I believe the CD is usually made available around the time of the broadcast.
