Beautiful Dreamer: An Audio Drama

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  • Performing Arts
  • Updated Weekly

Beautiful Dreamer is a weekly, six-part audio drama about the life and music of America’s first professional composer, Stephen Foster. It’s perfect for fans of history, music, or performing arts.

Episodes

  1. Aug 8

    Episode 6: Hard Times

    As the Civil War breaks out, Jane leaves Stephen in New York. Stephen writes war songs with Union soldier George Cooper—until tragedy strikes one final time. Credits Voices: Stephen Foster: GianPaolo Lattanzio Jane McDowell Foster: Victoria Lynn Carroll (@victoriahogan) Morrison Foster: Nick (@nicks_voice) Marion Foster and huckster girl: Saanvi Khokha William Pond: Tavaras Nixon (@nullva) George Cooper: Eric Yang (@ericyinyang) Thaddeus Firth and extras: Matt (@jdvoices) John Mahon: Mark Manning (@begorrah_2013) Henry Wood: Quinn Donovan Musical Recordings: “Beautiful Dreamer”: Stephen Foster, 1862. Midi by Robert A. Hudson. CC 3.0. https://imslp.org/wiki/Beautiful_Dreamer_(Foster%2C_Stephen) “Come Where My Love Lies Dreaming”: Stephen Foster, 1855. Midi by Robert A. Hudson. CC 3.0. https://imslp.org/wiki/Come_Where_My_Love_Lies_Dreaming_(Foster%2C_Stephen)

  2. Aug 2

    Episode 5: Gentle Annie

    After multiple family tragedies, Stephen finds himself homeless and unable to write. With the Civil War approaching, he decides to move his family to New York. Credits Voices: Stephen Foster: GianPaolo Lattanzio Jane McDowell Foster: Victoria Lynn Carroll (@victoriahogan) Morrison Foster: Nick (@nicks_voice) Eliza Foster: Kathy Curtis (@kathycurtisvo) Marion Foster: Saanvi Khokha Extras: Kristina (@kristina_vo) William Foster, Jr.: Braydon H. (@nintendolt) Dunning Foster, Dick Cowan, and William Pond: Tavaras Nixon (@nullva) Andy Robinson, Thaddeus Firth, and extras: Matt (@jdvoices) Musical Recordings: “Beautiful Dreamer”: Stephen Foster, 1862. Midi by Robert A. Hudson. CC 3.0. https://imslp.org/wiki/Beautiful_Dreamer_(Foster%2C_Stephen)

  3. Jul 26

    Episode 4: Old Folks at Home

    After returning to Pittsburgh, Stephen marries neighbor Jane McDowell, and they have a daughter, Marion. His songs “Old Folks at Home” and “My Old Kentucky Home, Good Night!” propel him to the height of fame. His friend, the abolitionist Charles Shiras, encourages Stephen to include anti-slavery themes in his work, with “My Old Kentucky Home” being inspired by the anti-slavery novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Credits Voices: Stephen Foster: GianPaolo Lattanzio Jane McDowell Foster: Victoria Lynn Carroll (@victoriahogan) Morrison Foster: Nick (@nicks_voice) William Foster, Sr.: Bernard Guttnick Eliza Foster: Kathy Curtis (@kathycurtisvo) Extras: Kristina (@kristina_vo) Dick Cowan and William Pond: Tavaras Nixon (@nullva) Charles Shiras: Eric Yang (@ericyinyang) Andy Robinson, Thaddeus Firth, and extras: Matt (@jdvoices) E.P. Christy: Quinn Donovan Musical Recordings: “Beautiful Dreamer”: Stephen Foster, 1862. Midi by Robert A. Hudson. CC 3.0. https://imslp.org/wiki/Beautiful_Dreamer_(Foster%2C_Stephen) “Wilt Thou Be Gone, Love”: Stephen Foster, 1851. Midi by Robert A. Hudson. CC 3.0. https://imslp.org/wiki/Wilt_Thou_Be_Gone%2C_Love_(Foster%2C_Stephen)

  4. Jul 19

    Episode 3: Susanna

    While clerking at his brother’s warehouse in Cincinnati, Stephen’s song, “Susanna,” becomes a hit with the help of publisher W.C. Peters and performer E.P. Christy. Credits Voices: Stephen Foster: GianPaolo Lattanzio Dunning Foster: Tavaras Nixon (@nullva) William Gallagher: Eric Yang (@ericyinyang) Archibald Irwin and extras: Matt (@jdvoices) Nate: Mac (@madmac) Samuel Thompson: Dylan Teter (@dylanteter) John Mahon: Mark Manning (@begorrah_2013) W.C. Peters: Ed A. (@warmvo) E.P. Christy: Quinn Donovan Musical Recordings: “Beautiful Dreamer”: Stephen Foster, 1862. Midi by Robert A. Hudson. CC 3.0. https://imslp.org/wiki/Beautiful_Dreamer_(Foster%2C_Stephen) “Down By the Riverside”: Louis Armstrong and the All Stars, Sy Oliver Choir, from the album “Swing Low, Sweet Satchmo,” 1959. CC 4.0. https://archive.org/details/02-louis-armstrong-with-sy-oliver-choir-brunswick-12142 “Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen”: Elks Male Quartet No. 863, Edison, 1927. Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Edison matrix ​Nobody knows the trouble I've seen / Elks Male Quartet No. 863," accessed May 6, 2026,http://adlp.library.ucsb.edu/index.php/matrix/detail/2000158900/18074- Nobody_knows the trouble Ive seen. “Santa Anna’s Retreat”: Stephen Foster, 1848. Midi by Robert A. Hudson. CC 3.0. https://imslp.org/wiki/Santa_Anna's_Retreat_(Foster%2C_Stephen) SFX: Delta Queen: LP recording, 1965. steamboats.org, 2026. https://www.steamboats.org/whistle-calliope/eblow.html

  5. Jul 11

    Episode 2: Open Thy Lattice, Love

    Stephen publishes his first song, “Open Thy Lattice, Love,” at 18, and writes songs for the neighborhood glee club. He also meets Charles Dickens, who gives him some advice about art. Credits Voices Stephen Foster: GianPaolo Lattanzio Morrison Foster: Nick (@nicks_voice) William Foster, Sr.: Bernard Guttnick Eliza Foster: Kathy Curtis (@kathycurtisvo) Dick Cowan: Tavaras Nixon (@nullva) Charles Shiras: Eric Yang (@ericyinyang) Andy Robinson and extras: Matt (@jdvoices) Charles Dickens: Ed A. (@warmvo) Musical Recordings “Beautiful Dreamer”: Stephen Foster, 1862. Midi by Robert A. Hudson. CC 3.0. https://imslp.org/wiki/Beautiful_Dreamer_(Foster%2C_Stephen) “Clarinet Concerto in A major, K.622”: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, 1791. Rondo: Allegro performed by University of Washington Symphony, December 1987. William McColl basset clarinet. Pandora Records/Al Goldstein Archive. EFF Open Audio License. https://imslp.org/wiki/Clarinet_Concerto_in_A_major,_K.622_(Mozart,_Wolfgang_Amadeus) “A Collection of New Cotillions”: Francis Johnson, 1818. Midi by Open Music Theory, 2025. CC 4.0. https://imslp.org/wiki/A_Collection_of_New_Cotillons_(Johnson,_Francis) “Woodman! Spare That Tree!”: Clifford Jackson singer, William Bolcom piano. from the album “An Evening with Henry Russell,” Nonesuch Records, 1977. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=u-tji2_gUzI

  6. Jul 5

    Episode 1: The Tioga Waltz

    Stephen, encouraged by his school friend Frances Welles, writes his first composition, “The Tioga Waltz,” at the age of 14. Credits Voices Stephen Foster: GianPaolo Lattanzio Frances Welles: Sarah Taylor William Foster, Jr., Frederick Gunn, and Robert: Braydon H. (@nintendolt) Ben Knightly: Mac (@madmac) Extras: Matt (@jdvoices) Musical Recordings “Beautiful Dreamer”: Stephen Foster, 1862. Midi by Robert A. Hudson. CC 3.0. https://imslp.org/wiki/Beautiful_Dreamer_(Foster%2C_Stephen) “Roll, Jordan, Roll”: Lieut. Jim Europe’s Singing Serenaders, Pathé Frères, 1919. https://archive.org/details/78_roll-jordan-roll_lieut-jim-europes-singing-serenaders_gbia0520054a “Tioga Waltz”: Stephen Foster, 1841. Midi by Robert A. Hudson. CC 3.0. https://imslp.org/wiki/Tioga_Waltz_(Foster%2C_Stephen)

  • 6 Episodes

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Beautiful Dreamer is a weekly, six-part audio drama about the life and music of America’s first professional composer, Stephen Foster. It’s perfect for fans of history, music, or performing arts.

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