|  | | | The American Theatre Wing presents Downstage Center a weekly theatrical interview show, featuring the top artists working in theatre, both on and Off-Broadway and around the country. © 2005-2010 American Theatre Wing | |
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| | Wed, 01 Sep 2010 08:34:36 -0400 | | | Cora Cahan, president of The New 42nd Street in New York, discusses her 20 years in the role of recapturing what was once the epicenter of Manhattan sleaze for theatre and family audiences. She talks about her early work as a professional modern dancer; her shift into management with the Feld Ballet, having had no prior experience whatsoever in management (despite being married to the Associate Producer of The Public Theater); her discovery of what became Michael Bennett's fabled 890 Studios; her dual position as the head of the Feld Ballet and the Joyce Theatre, which she and Eliot Feld conceived as a home for dance companies at a time when New York didn't have an appropriate small venue; the Joyce's brief effort in the mid-80s to curate an annual festival of the best work from America's regional theatres -- and why it didn't work; why her first act upon arriving at her 42nd Street job in 1990 was to rename the organization; the chronology of how 42nd Street shifted from Triple XXX to G-rated; the development of The New Victory Theatre as a home for innovative children's and family programming, and why she felt that was a gap in New York's cultural life that needed to be filled; what's on tap for The New 42nd Street now that the environment has changed, the theatres are reclaimed, the rehearsal studios are always filled and even the long-delayed commercial buildings now anchor the corners of the stretch between 7th and 8th Avenues; and what she thinks of nostalgia for the former grit and danger for the street she has reclaimed. Original air date - September 1, 2010. | | |
| | Wed, 25 Aug 2010 08:39:13 -0400 | | | Downstage Center welcomes its second starship captain as actress Kate Mulgrew visits during her stint in the Off-Broadway comedy "Love, Loss, and What I Wore". She talks about being raised in an Iowa household that groomed her for an acting career, even though she saw little theatre and had no TV growing up; getting her big breaks in theatre and TV simultaneously, playing Emily in "Our Town" at the American Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford CT and debuting on "Ryan's Hope"; her participation in the first workshop of Wendy Wasserstein's "Uncommon Women and Others" at the O'Neill Theater Center; playing Desdemona in Stamford CT and Tracy Lord in Anchorage AK; why "Hedda Gabler" was the hardest role she's ever tackled, why she wishes she could do it again, and why it was a relief to be performing it in rep with "The Real Thing" at L.A.'s Center Theatre Group; the particular challenges of the "stew" that is "Titus Andronicus", which she did in Central Park; the lonely but rewarding experience of playing Katharine Hepburn in "Tea At Five" around the country; her joy at having Marian Seldes play her mother in "The Royal Family"; her feelings about having only appeared on Broadway twice in her 35 year career; and her excitement at finally playing the queen in "Antony and Cleopatra", her dream role, this coming season at Hartford Stage. Original air date - August 25, 2010. | | |
| | Wed, 18 Aug 2010 10:03:49 -0400 | | | Costume designer Martin Pakledinaz talks about creating the clothes for the recent Broadway revival of "Lend Me A Tenor", the commencement of planning for the spring 2011 production of "Anything Goes" and the revival of "Oklahoma!" that will be part of Arena Stage's opening of its furbished and expanded venue. He also talks about his early thoughts of acting and who finally disabused him of that notion; his early working doing sketches for the legendary Theoni V. Aldredge and how he ultimately had to rediscover his own voice instead of speaking through hers; his very early - and short-lived - Broadway experiences with "Inacent Black" and "I Won't Dance"; developing his skills through productions at The York Theatre, the New York Shakespeare Festival; the McCarter Theatre; and the Roundabout Theatre Company; why he tried to costume the kids from the 2007 "Grease" without using leather jackets - and how long that idea lasted; the differing production timetables of theatre and opera and how each effects his work; and how much of his designs rely on the particular actor cast in a role. Original air date - August 18, 2010. | | |
| | Wed, 11 Aug 2010 10:35:20 -0400 | | | Lucie Arnaz, the daughter of television legends Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball, talks about how Angela Lansbury and Vivian Vance prompted her towards a career on the stage. She recalls her earliest appearances in regional productions of such shows as "Cabaret" and "Once Upon A Mattress", done while on hiatus from "Here's Lucy"; some pointed direction she received from Michael Bennett during the national tour of "Seesaw"; how she, Sandy Duncan and Stockard Channing mirror the characters they played in the west coast premiere of "Vanities"; getting her first Broadway musical "They're Playing Our Song" and the fun and challenges of acting with Robert Klein, then best known for his stand-up comedy; why she turned down a chance to audition for "City of Angels"; how Hugh Jackman caused her to be the only American cast in the West End musical "The Witches of Eastwick" and why she thinks that production didn't cross the Atlantic; her rewarding and ultimately problematic relationship with the Coconut Grove Playhouse; the many hats she wore in creating her recent concert tribute to her father, "Babalu", seen so far in New York and Miami; and how she came to choose "Baby June" Havoc as a surrogate grandmother for her children. Original air date - August 11, 2010. | | |
| | Wed, 28 Jul 2010 09:46:12 -0400 | | | Veteran director Jerry Zaks talks about his role as Creative Consultant on "The Addams Family" since joining the production after its opening in Chicago and the work he has planned for "Sister Act" as a result of seeing its current London staging. He also talks about his introduction to theatre while a student at Dartmouth; his early years as an actor in productions including "Grease" and "Tintypes"; his role in the founding of Ensemble Studio Theatre; finding Christopher Durang's "Sister Mary Ignatius" and why a nice Jewish boy was drawn to a play about a nun; how he fully made the shift from acting to directing; his relationships with playwrights Durang ("Beyond Therapy", "Baby With the Bathwater", "The Marriage of Bette and Boo"), Larry Shue ("The Foreigner", "Wenceslas Square") and John Guare ("The House of Blue Leaves", "Six Degrees of Separation"); how he approached productions of such revered classics as "Guys and Dolls" and "Anything Goes"; why he likens his relationship with actor Nathan Lane to that of orchestra conductor and concertmaster; his plans for the new revue of Randy Newman songs "Harps and Angels"; and why he's always hoping to provide his audience with an "ecstatic experience." Original air date - July 28, 2010. | | |
| | Wed, 21 Jul 2010 08:41:31 -0400 | | | While playing the "anchor role" in Off-Broadway's "Love, Loss and What I Wore", actress Penny Fuller talked about her wide-ranging career, noting (even to her own surprise) how many times she got roles because someone else dropped out or was let go fairly late in the production process. She recalls her first Broadway break, understudying Elizabeth Ashley (who would later play her mother in "Dividing the Estate") in the original production of "Barefoot in the Park"; standing by for Jill Haworth and going on more than 100 times in the original "Cabaret", performing "Henry IV Parts 1 and 2" in repertory in Central Park with Sam Waterston as Prince Hal and Stacy Keach as Falstaff; playing the world's most infamous understudy, Eve Harrington, opposite Lauren Bacall in "Applause"; the challenges that faced the ill-fated musical "Rex"; the thrill of appearing in William Finn's "A New Brain"; playing Mrs. Kendal both on stage and on TV in Bernard Pomerance's "The Elephant Man"; and why she's a leading lady in the theatre but a character actress on television. Original air date - July 21, 2010. | | |
| | Wed, 14 Jul 2010 08:37:33 -0400 | | | As his play "Vampire Lesbians of Sodom" marks the 25th anniversary of its opening at the Provincetown Playhouse, playwright and actor Charles Busch recalls the circumstances surrounding the play's production and the evolution of his career as a writer and performer, including his years as a solo artist and his transition to writing for other actors -- and himself, as his own leading lady. He also talks about his theatregoing experiences growing up in New York and his study at Northwestern University; explains that despite frequent declarations that his work is rooted in classic films, he believes them to be based more in his knowledge of theatrical history and style; wonders whether he could achieve success today, now that Off-Broadway has become relatively inhospitable to commercial productions of plays; ponders why his forays into musical theatre, including "Taboo", haven't been entirely successful; describes the ups and downs of his relationship with his "co-muse" Julie Halston, including its inauspicious beginning; makes clear why he never had any intention of playing the title role in "The Tale of the Allergist's Wife"; describes the challenges he faced getting the rights to perform a role he's now done several times, "Auntie Mame"; and reflects on why he's inexorably drawn back to Theatre for the New City, most recently with "The Divine Sister", even after success in larger, more upscale environs. Original air date - July 14, 2010. | | |
| | Wed, 07 Jul 2010 08:45:04 -0400 | | | "Promises, Promises" scene stealer Katie Finneran talks about creating the character of Marge McDougall for only two scenes and why she had to be "the anti-Kristin," what it's like having so much free time during the course of a performance and what's beyond the secret door in her dressing room's bathroom. She also talks about why she left Carnegie Mellon's theatre program after a short stay; how she came to New York intent on studying with Uta Hagen and managed to do so, on and off, for some 15 years; why we've only seen her in three musicals over the course of almost two decades of Broadway gigs; how instrumental Lincoln Center Theater has been in her career, providing her with parts in such shows as "Two Shakespearean Actors", "The Heiress" and "My Favorite Year"; what it has been like working with Neil Simon on the "Promises" revival and, earlier, on his new play "Proposals"; how she handled performing in the lengthy "The Iceman Cometh" -- and why she compares that experience to "Love, Loss and What I Wore"; and the often dangerous experience of appearing in the 2001 revival of "Noises Off". Original air date - July 7, 2010. | | |
| | Wed, 30 Jun 2010 09:30:07 -0400 | | | Trans-Atlantic star of "Chicago" Ruthie Henshall discusses her 14 year history with the show, from creating the role of Roxie in the original London company (opposite Ute Lemper) to subsequently playing Velma in both London and New York to her current stint on Broadway as, once again, Roxie; she also reveals her favorite co-star, the inevitable competition between the women playing those two roles, and which role she prefers. She also discusses her early work in the West End in "Cats" and "Miss Saigon"; the experience of creating a role for the first time in "Children of Eden"; her apprenticeship in plays at the Chichester Festival; her breakout success in the London production of "Crazy for You" followed quickly by plaudits for "She Loves Me"; her decision to move to New York and "start again" without any immediate prospect of work; how her "godfather" Cameron Mackintosh continued his support of her career by casting her in Broadway's "Putting It Together", where she appeared with Carol Burnett; what she thinks of the musical "Peggy Sue Got Married" and why it didn't move beyond the West End; the extraordinary collaboration she had with Schönberg, Boublil and Legrand on the musical "Marguerite"; the book she's writing about the craft of musical theatre; and her real first name and whether she'll ever grow up and become just plain Ruth. Original air date - June 30, 2010. | | |
| | Wed, 23 Jun 2010 09:53:27 -0400 | | | "Lend Me a Tenor"'s Tony Shalhoub talks about the challenge of playing farce, including the shifts from rehearsal room to theatre to playing in front of a live audience, how you can suddenly "lose" a consistent laugh, whether the actors ever crack each other up on stage, and why he's lost 20 pounds since starting the run. He also talks about his journey from Green Bay, Wisconsin to the University of Maine to -- with considerable prodding -- the Yale School of Drama; the experience of working in both student productions and with professional actors at Yale Rep during his Drama School days; his continuing education over four years as a member of the company at Cambridge's American Repertory Theatre, under the leadership of his former Yale dean Robert Brustein; his Broadway debut in Neil Simon's gender-reversed "The Odd Couple" -- and why he turned down the role that ultimately went to Kevin Spacey in "Lost in Yonkers"; how he healed after the loss of his own father by playing a yearning son in Herb Gardner's "Conversations with My Father"; why he has appeared twice in "Waiting for Godot", at A.R.T. as Pozzo and for CSC in New York as Didi opposite John Turturro, and why he'd like a chance to do the play yet again; and the continuing "problem" that prompts him to pick up stakes every so often and put himself in the position of starting over again as a novice. Original air date - June 23, 2010. | | |
| | Wed, 16 Jun 2010 08:54:13 -0400 | | | Playwright Sarah Ruhl, whose "Passion Play" made its New York City debut with the Epic Theater Center, talks about the roots of that play during her graduate work at Brown University, what initially got her musing on the story of the people who appear in passion plays, and why she wrote a third act for its production at Arena Stage more than a decade after its debut in Trinity Rep's New Play Festival. She also talks about growing up in a household that was intellectually and theatrically oriented; her days at the Piven Theater Workshop while in her teens; why she thinks that everyone has an "opera inside"; the visual images that become the starting point for her plays, and whether starting a play, "Dead Man's Cell Phone", in which the title character is deceased at the start, was a handicap; the impact of receiving a MacArthur Foundation "genius grant" on her life and career; the unorthodox gift that gave rise to "In The Next Room or the vibrator play" and why she chose to subtitle the play; and she responds to the suggestion that as her career has progressed, her plays have contained their flights of fancy more with each successive work. Original air date - June 16, 2010. | | |
| | Wed, 09 Jun 2010 10:35:31 -0400 | | | Douglas Hodge, who appears as Albin in the current Broadway revival of the musical "La Cage aux Folles", explains what appealed to him about the story and character, which he did not know, when he was first approached to play it at London's Menier Chocolate Factory, and how the show has changed around him as it progressed from that small venue to a West End house to Broadway, notably the impact of his "trois Georges": Philip Quast, Denis Lawson and Kelsey Grammer. He also discusses his earliest days with England's National Youth Theatre; his first failed attempts to enter drama school and his successful efforts just a year later; why he left the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts before completing their program; his early work in regional theatres -- as well as his early London roles as "Coriolanus" for director Deborah Warner at the Almeida and Edmund opposite Anthony Hopkins in "King Lear" at the National; how he found himself acting opposite Harold Pinter in the noted playwright's "No Man's Land" and the professional relationship and personal friendship that led to him appearing in and directing numerous Pinter plays; how as a noted Pinter interpreter he suddenly became a musical comedy star in a "Guys and Dolls" revival opposite Jane Krakowski; and what it was like to play "Titus Andronicus" at London's Globe Theatre -- including how many people fainted from the gore at every show. Original air date - June 9, 2010. | | |
| | Wed, 02 Jun 2010 08:11:49 -0400 | | | Scenic designer Christine Jones, a Tony nominee for "American Idiot", discusses the development of the project from album to Broadway musical, including when she came into the creative process and how her ideas influenced the piece. She also talks about her youth in Canada, including her original plans to be a professional dancer, her flirtation with acting and her shift into the visual medium of scenic design; why she moved to the United States to train; how she got her first design jobs, at Hartford Stage and The Public Theatre; her work on the musical "Spring Awakening", including the genesis of the onstage seating and how the show managed its shift from the Atlantic Theatre Company to its Broadway berth; whether she thinks the Great White Way is hospitable to female set designers; and how she developed "Theatre for One," her unique hybrid of theatrical performance and peep show booth that recently finished a high-profile residency in Times Square. Original air date - June 2, 2010. | | |
| | Wed, 26 May 2010 08:32:14 -0400 | | | "Fences" director Kenny Leon discusses his long association with August Wilson, both personally and professionally, dating back to Leon's 1987 NEA Directing Fellowship which first introduced him to Wilson and continuing through his direction of nine of the ten plays in Wilson's "Century Cycle" -- including five separate productions of "Fences" -- as well as the Broadway debuts of "Gem of the Ocean" and "Radio Golf". He also discusses his rise from an impoverished childhood in Florida to his high school rebellion against a drama club which only cast African-Americans in subservient roles to his pursuit of a political science degree in college; how he rose to the position of artistic director of Atlanta's Alliance Theatre and his efforts there to integrate the audiences and the artistic work; his decision almost immediately after leaving the Alliance to found his own company, True Colors, in Atlanta which would dedicate itself to diversity but with African-American dramatic literature at its center; whether despite his acclaimed work on Broadway he feels that he's not in the running for work beyond the African-American canon; and what projects he'll be working on next, notably Katori Hall's Olivier Award-winning play about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., "The Mountaintop", and why he expects and hopes it will generate controversy over its portrayal of the famed civil rights leader. Original air date - May 26, 2010. | | |
| | Wed, 19 May 2010 09:28:37 -0400 | | | "Collected Stories" star Linda Lavin discusses why she's playing the role of Ruth Steiner in Donald Margulies' play for a fourth time, likens the two-character play to a duet that changes with each new co-star, and explains why she turned the role down the first time she had the opportunity to play it. She also talks about her musical heritage growing up in Maine; how she got her Equity card after her freshman year studying drama at the College of William and Mary; how a chorus role in her first Broadway show, "A Family Affair", grew to afford her four character roles by opening night; the unexpected success of "The Mad Show", which was originally planned for a two-week holiday run; the experience of creating roles in two Neil Simon plays, "The Last of the Red Hot Lovers" and "Broadway Bound", including the story of how swiftly Simon wrote her impressive act two monologue for the latter; whether it was tough for her to be considered for stage roles after nine seasons on TV's "Alice"; how she saw the character of Mama Rose when she took over for Tyne Daly in "Gypsy"; what she thinks prompted Charles Busch to create the title role in "The Tale of the Allergist's Wife" with her in mind; and why when she's not busy with professional acting roles she spends her "spare time" running the Red Barn Theatre, a community theatre in Wilmington NC. Original air date - May 19, 2010. | | |
| | Wed, 12 May 2010 10:23:02 -0400 | | | Progenitor of fight direction in America and 2010 Tony Honor recipient B.H. Barry talks about his decades of developing and staging fights across the country, starting with "Hamlet" in 1978 at Arena Stage and continuing with countless productions for the New York Shakespeare Festival, such Broadway shows as the fabled 1981 "Frankenstein", "City of Angels", "My Favorite Year", "An Inspector Calls" and most recently "Dividing the Estate". He discusses his upbringing and education in England, his early days as an actor and how he was drawn into fight directing, his role in establishing the Society of British Fight Directors -- and his lack of participation in its American counterpart, how he develops fights by probing the director's vision of the characters participating in the fight, why his fights are rooted more in acting then athleticism, and what it was like to be part of a tabloid saga when actors famously strayed from his direction in Broadway's "I Hate Hamlet". Original air date - May 12, 2010. | | |
| | Wed, 05 May 2010 08:05:24 -0400 | | | While appearing the new comedy "White's Lies", Betty Buckley talks about the career that has taken her from Texas to New York to London and back many times over. She discusses why she chose to play her current supporting role in an Off-Broadway comedy by a first-time writer for her first stage role in New York in seven years; how being discovered while still a Texas teen led to her Broadway debut, fresh off the bus, as Martha Jefferson in "1776" -- and what it was like to be one of only two women in a cast of 30 men; how she quickly followed that debut with her West End debut in the leading role of "Promises, Promises"; the professional challenges she faced in even getting seen for a role in "Pippin", where she ultimately replaced Jill Clayburgh; her bi-coastal stints in "I'm Getting My Act Together and Taking It On The Road"; how she convinced Trevor Nunn that she should play Grizabella in "Cats" and when she realized that the role wasn't really very big; what it was like to appear in the solo musical "Tell Me On a Sunday" as part of "Song and Dance"; the circumstances surrounding her succeeding Barbara Cook in the role of Margaret White in the now-legendary musical "Carrie" -- and why she believe the show should have gone the "Rocky Horror" route; why she considers Norma Desmond in "Sunset Boulevard" to have been her most fulfilling acting challenge; her affinity for the role of Mama Rose in "Gypsy" and the main reason that her performance was never seen in New York; and why she has taken so enthusiastically to Twitter. Original air date - May 5, 2010. | | |
| | Wed, 28 Apr 2010 09:10:07 -0400 | | | During her month in the cast of the Off-Broadway comedy "Love, Loss and What I Wore", Shirley Knight discusses the appeal of the "stool and music stand" style of presentation while pointing out that she had the only continuing narrative among the many interwoven stories. She also explains why she considers her every appearance on stage to be a rehearsal, not a performance; her attraction to the groundbreaking play "Dutchman" by LeRoi Jones (now Amiri Baraka), which she did in Los Angeles and on film; how she shifted from a planned career in music to acting and her trek out west to the Pasadena Playhouse to pursue that new goal; the extraordinary experience of appearing as Irina in "The Three Sisters" in her Broadway debut, with Geraldine Page and Kim Stanley as her siblings under the direction of Lee Strasberg -- and why she chose that role over playing Ophelia to Richard Burton's "Hamlet"; her years working in England, notably in plays by her husband John Hopkins, which she continued to perform upon their return to the U.S.; her memorable role in Robert Patrick's "Kennedy's Children"; what it was like to have Tennessee Williams write a role expressly for her in "A Lovely Sunday for Creve Coeur"; her affinity for the plays of fellow Kansan William Inge and her role in creating the ongoing Inge Festival; and her affection for the work of Horton Foote, which marked her most recent Broadway appearance, in the Pulitzer-winning "The Young Man from Atlanta". Original air date - April 28, 2010. | | |
| | Wed, 21 Apr 2010 09:42:42 -0400 | | | Janet McTeer talks about her experiences in "God of Carnage", having starred in the play's London premiere (where the characters were still French) and now playing it on Broadway (as an American) and whether there are differences between her performances as Veronique and Veronica. She also shares her highly fortuitous experience of applying to the top English acting schools, with virtually no prior stage experience; the shock of moving from her hometown of York to London and the emotional crisis that hit her while attending the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art; her first jobs out of school, including the Nottingham Playhouse, the Royal Exchange in Manchester and, after only two years, the Royal Shakespeare Company (in "A Midsummer Night's Dream" as Hippolyta and Titania); her participation as more than simply a performer in the development and production of "A Doll's House" -- and why the role ultimately caused her to take a four year hiatus from the stage; why working on Broadway is such a thrill even after her great acclaim in England; the fun she had playing Petruchio in an all-female "The Taming of the Shrew" at London's Globe Theatre; and how she made the choice between playing Elizabeth or Mary in the acclaimed revival of "Mary Stuart". Original air date - April 21, 2010. | | |
| | Wed, 14 Apr 2010 10:42:14 -0400 | | | Director David Cromer discusses his most recent New York project, Andrew Bovell's "When The Rain Stops Falling" at Lincoln Center Theater, and how even he had to be reassured that the play's intertwining timeline does grow clearer to the audience as the show goes along. He also recounts the story of how he came to direct and appear in "Our Town", and what it's been like to "put in" actors to replace himself multiple times during the play's lengthy New York run; talks about the series of schools he attended without ever finishing; explains how Columbia College launched him into a successful acting career in Chicago, despite his lack of a degree, and how the size of, and fluidity between, Chicago theatre companies fostered his career as a director; shares what he considers the pinnacle of his acting career; reveals how most of his directing projects all stem from a single book; describes what it was like to work with playwright Austin Pendleton on the premiere of "Orson's Shadow" after years of working almost exclusively without an author in residence; considers his feelings about his new-found New York success, and why he'll always go back to Chicago; and reflects on the unfortunate circumstances that surrounded "The Neil Simon Plays" earlier this season, particularly not being able to open "Broadway Bound". Original air date - April 14, 2010. | | |
| | Wed, 07 Apr 2010 09:15:50 -0400 | | | Hallie Foote, perhaps the leading interpreter of the works of her father, the late Horton Foote, talks about her past year of work on "The Orphans' Home Cycle", the epic compilation of nine of her father's plays into a theatrical triptych spanning nine hours of performance. She discusses the process of condensing the plays to in order to find their central storyline; how far work had progressed before her father's passing in early 2009; how the plays have created their own repertory company, with actors even playing different roles in different plays in a single evening; and how it feels to now be playing a character based upon her great-grandmother, having originated the role based on her grandmother in the premieres (and films) of the original plays. She also discusses how she finally came around to a career in theatre after first pursuing music; why she has spent most of her professional life performing in her father's plays; what it has been like to also appear in plays by her sister, Daisy, once under the director of her father, in addition to often appearing with her husband (including playing his aunt in "Dividing The Estate"); the importance of her father's artistic homes at Signature Theatre and Hartford Stage, and their directors James Houghton and Michael Wilson; and her plans for her acting career now that she is also the literary executor of her father's more than 60 plays. Original air date - April 7, 2010. | | |
| | Wed, 31 Mar 2010 08:41:34 -0400 | | | During rehearsals for Keen Company's revival of "I Never Sang For My Father", Marsha Mason talks about the differences between playing in a Broadway house and a small Theatre Row venue. She also talks about her Broadway debut in "Cactus Flower" after countless auditions; her unique experience of appearing in the only plays written by two famed novelists, Norman Mailer and Kurt Vonnegut; appearing on a one-act double bill -- where the other play featured Al Pacino and John Cazale; how she found herself in San Francisco appearing at the American Conservatory Theatre in "Private Lives" -- directed by Francis Ford Coppola; her long-standing partnership with director Jack O'Brien, spanning from ACT's 1972 "You Can't Take It With You" to 2009's "Impressionism" on Broadway; how she met and married her husband, playwright Neil Simon, in only three weeks and why he only wrote movies, not plays, for her, even when "Chapter Two" was based on their life together; what prompted her to buy a farm in New Mexico 17 years ago; her extensive work with L.A. Theatre Works doing plays for radio in front of live audiences; and her efforts to duplicate elements of the British actor training tradition here in the U.S. Original air date - March 31, 2010. | | |
| | Wed, 24 Mar 2010 09:14:45 -0400 | | | Jordan Roth, President of New York's Jujamcyn Theatres, discusses his ascension to the top spot running a quintet of Broadway houses, which makes him one of the handful of people who can decide what is (or isn't) a Broadway show. He talks about his lifelong love of theatre; how he grew to be dissatisfied with performing while still a student at Princeton; his wholly unplanned evolution into the producer of "The Donkey Show" and the freedom on that production to create new ways of putting on a theatrical production; his move into Broadway producing and how he worked to push beyond conventional boundaries with the revival of "The Rocky Horror Show"; the profound impact closing of "The Mambo Kings" out of town had on him; how he came to produce "A Catered Affair" and why he bridles at the show being considered a more conventional work than his previous efforts; and, six months in, how he's enjoying his new role, the difference between being "the producer" and "the house," and how he hopes to achieve artistic goals while operating the theatres. He also explains his new role moonlighting as a moderator for the 92nd Street Y's new "Broadway Talks" series and his role in creating Givenik.com, which merges ticket selling with philanthropy. Original air date - March 24, 2010. | | |
| | Wed, 17 Mar 2010 08:18:55 -0400 | | | Jessica Hecht, now on Broadway as Eddie Carbone's long-suffering but cleared-eyed wife Beatrice in the Broadway revival of "A View From The Bridge", talks about her role in the play's tragic love triangle and why her preparation for this performance was so different than her usual practice. She also discusses how she began studying at Connecticut College, only to have the famed actor Morris Carnovsky send her off to New York to study at New York University; her earliest roles, including an appearance in "Hamlet" at Hartford Stage, near her hometown of Bloomfield CT, as a silent lady-in-waiting to Pamela Payton-Wright as Gertrude; her Broadway debut in "The Last Night of Ballyhoo" where, after being raised in an observant Jewish home, she appeared as part of a Southern family disconnected from their Jewish roots; how she handled portraying a character alternating between dawning love and heart-rending tragedy in the non-linear "Stop Kiss"; working on "After The Fall" at the Roundabout with Arthur Miller and her interaction with the legendary playwright; playing in Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar" with Denzel Washington -- and how that yielded the greatest entrance ovation she's ever experienced; the joy and pain of opening in "Brighton Beach Memoirs" but never being able to perform for an audience in the prematurely closed "Broadway Bound"; and why she's drawn back to the Williamstown Theatre Festival year after year. Original air date - March 17, 2010. | | |
| | Wed, 10 Mar 2010 08:58:45 -0500 | | | The "resident character woman" of Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Rondi Reed, talks about her current stint as Madame Morrible in the Broadway juggernaut "Wicked", a role she originated in the musical's Chicago company, including why we're suddenly seeing her in a big Broadway musical for the first time, after 30 years in Chicago's best-known theatre ensemble. She also discusses her college years at Illinois State University, where she first met the team who would become the founders of Steppenwolf; why after graduation she decamped for Minnesota; when the invitation to join Steppenwolf actually came; why she didn't journey to New York for the famed production of "Balm in Gilead"; her directing debut with John Guare's "Lydie Breeze"; her extended tenure in the original production of "Picasso at the Lapin Agile" and the brief Broadway run of "The Rise and Fall of Little Voice"; whether she has the opportunity at Steppenwolf to ask for plays to be done specifically based on her interest; why the company seems to have so many meetings and how they've sustained that over the years; her reasons for initially declining the role of Mattie Faye, written by Tracy Letts with her in mind, in "August: Osage County", as she sets the record straight about whether or not the company resisted bringing the show to New York; the remarkable experience of returning to "August" for its final performance at the last minute, playing the role she created for a single performance with a company of actors she didn't know, including Phylicia Rashad, why she's only in recent years begun appearing in roles outside of Steppenwolf; and how long we can expect her to stay in the magical world of "Wicked". Original air date - March 10, 2010. | | |
| | Wed, 03 Mar 2010 08:51:14 -0600 | | | Turnabout is fair play, as actor Richard Thomas is the guest host for a conversation with Howard Sherman, Executive Director of the American Theatre Wing. The longtime friends discuss the changes in the Wing since Sherman arrived in 2003, the unifying idea beyond the program expansion that has taken place since that time, and how ATW has evolved repeatedly over its 70 year history to meet the changing needs of the theatre community. Sherman also talks about his high school and college years as a performer; his eight years of "graduate school" at Hartford Stage under the mentorship of artistic director Mark Lamos and managing director David Hawkanson; the celebrity who helped to ease his parents' minds about his choice of a risky career in theatre; how Goodspeed Musicals' executive producer Michael Price gave him the opportunity to move beyond p.r. and into management; his stints at Geva Theatre in Rochester, NY and the Eugene O'Neill Theatre Center in Connecticut; how personal priorities rather than professional ones led him to the Wing; and what has always motivated him throughout his career. Original air date - March 3, 2010. | | |
| | Wed, 24 Feb 2010 07:42:16 -0600 | | | Gregory Mosher, director of the current Broadway revival of Arthur Miller's "A View from the Bridge", talks about how he initiated the production himself, personally approached Liev Schreiber and Scarlett Johansson about appearing in it, then brought the project to a producer after 17 years away from directing on Broadway. Mosher also discusses his journey through three institutions of higher education, including the acting program at The Juilliard School -- all without once graduating; his failed efforts post-college to even get unpaid employment in New York or at the country's major regional theatres; his migration to Chicago, where as assistant to William Woodman at The Goodman Theatre, he did everything from casting to producing their Stage 2 season; his ascension to artistic director and the challenges he faced securing the rights to new plays at a time when Chicago theatre wasn't yet "on the map"; his working relationship with David Mamet on the original production of "American Buffalo" and other plays -- as well as the one Mamet play he rejected and how that turned out; his tenure as artistic director of the new regime at Lincoln Center Theater beginning in 1985, including his early pilgrimage to meet with Peter Brook to understand how to make the Beaumont stage "work" and the LCT show that proved most surprising and rewarding in its success; what prompted his departure from LCT in the early 90s; his unsuccessful attempt to revitalize Circle-in-the-Square in 1997 and the 1998 season that was planned but never produced; and his leadership of the Columbia University Arts Initiative, how that program came to be and how to measure its success five years in. Original air date - February 24, 2010. | | |
| | Wed, 17 Feb 2010 07:56:40 -0600 | | | Veteran scenic designer John Lee Beatty, currently represented in New York by "Time Stands Still", "A View from the Bridge" and "Venus in Fur", talks about why he thinks all American drama is about real estate, making set design particularly integral to every work. He also discusses how he was instantly drawn to set design (as well as flying) when he first saw "Peter Pan" as a child; his self-education in set design through his college years -- and what he discovered when he entered the graduate design program at the Yale School of Drama; his extensive work with not-for-profit companies including the Manhattan Theatre Club, Mark Taper Forum, Goodspeed Musicals, Circle Repertory Company and Lincoln Center Theater -- plus 50 shows for City Center's Encores! series; his affinity for the Victorian era; why he hasn't done many designs for musicals -- and the musical he'd most like to tackle; how he feels about being "typecast" for his interiors and exteriors of homes through the years -- and costume designer Jane Greenwood's sage advice on Beatty's particular specialty; how he chooses his projects -- and the kinds of shows he doesn't like to do; what it was like to imagine different parts of the Talley family property in different eras in Lanford Wilson's famed trilogy; and how the design of "Proof" was actually based on an old sweater. Original air date - February 17, 2010. | | |
| | Wed, 10 Feb 2010 09:19:27 -0600 | | | One of "God of Carnage"'s current combatants on Broadway, Christine Lahti, talks about playing the range of emotions that consume her character over the course of the play's mere 80 minutes, and how the new ensemble developed the rapport for such a physical and intimate work. She also discusses her college years, including the dual lures of social activism and theatre performance; her experience understudying Madeline Kahn and Sigourney Weaver in the premiere of John Guare's "Marco Polo Sings a Solo"; her early Broadway work in plays by Michael Weller and Steve Tesich; being directed by and co-starring with the legendary George C. Scott in "Present Laughter", along with Broadway newbies Nathan Lane and Kate Burton; how studying with another iconic figure, Uta Hagen, taught her how to be "director-proof"; her multiple appearances in Jon Robin Baitz's monologue-driven "Three Hotels"; and her great affinity for the work of Wendy Wasserstein, evidenced by her performances in "The Heidi Chronicles" (on Broadway), "Third" (at the Geffen Playhouse) and "An American Daughter" (for television). Original air date - February 10, 2010. | | |
| | Mon, 01 Feb 2010 10:54:31 -0600 | | | The multi-talented Andre De Shields describes the development of his new one-man show, "Mine Eyes Have Seen The Glory: From Douglass to Deliverance", and why it may be a work-in-progress for several years to come. He also talks about growing up in a family of 11 children in Baltimore and why he was unexpectedly the one to make a career in entertainment; his undergraduate years at the University of Wisconsin, including an infamous production he described as "the nude Peter Pan," directed by Stuart Gordon (who would later create the Organic Theatre in Chicago and direct the film "Re-Animator"); why he had to sleep in a public park in order to secure his first professional role in a show he'd never seen -- "Hair"; why he can lay claim to being the man who made Bette Midler's back-up singers, The Harlettes, dance; how the process of elimination ended up yielding him the title role in "The Wiz"; why it was Jackie Onassis who revealed to him and his castmates in "Ain't Misbehavin'" that they were in a hit; whether he'd tackle the multiple roles of director, choreographer, bookwriter, songwriter and star of "Harlem Nocturne" if he had to do it all over again; his thoughts on African-American actors taking on traditionally Caucasian roles, having had the opportunity to play Willy Loman in "Death of a Salesman" and "Our Town"'s Stage Manager; why he feels that the musical "Play On!" was misunderstood; and the incredible liberation of his big number in "The Full Monty". Original air date - February 1, 2010. | | |
| | Mon, 25 Jan 2010 09:04:58 -0600 | | | Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award honored playwright Doug Wright discusses his virtually genetic passion for theatre and how that matched up with his conservative Texas childhood; his escape to New Haven and later New York for college and grad school; his early work at the O'Neill Theatre Center and the Yale Repertory Theatre; why he describes his early plays, including "Interrogating the Nude" and "Watbanaland", as having been fueled by rage; how "Quills" was inspired in part by the political culture wars of the mid-90s; where he found inspiration for the macabre and comic one-acts collected as "Unwrap Your Candy"; how he feels about having personally revealed himself in his writing, both as a character in "I Am My Own Wife" and in his essay for the book "The Play That Changed My Life"; why he signed on to collaborate with Scott Frankel and Michael Korie on the musical of "Grey Gardens" after the failure of his only prior musical, "Buzzsaw Berkeley" with Michael John LaChiusa; what drove him to actively lobby for the position of bookwriter on Disney's "The Little Mermaid"; and whether he plans to do more directing after adapting and staging Strindberg's "Creditors" at the La Jolla Playhouse in the summer of 2009. Original air date - January 25, 2010. | | |
| | Mon, 18 Jan 2010 11:10:30 -0500 | | | As she celebrates her 20th season as artistic director of Princeton's McCarter Theatre, Emily Mann recalls the factors she considered when taking on the job; counsel she received at the time from directors Peter Hall and Mark Lamos; how she has evolved the McCarter audience in the direction of the work that most appeals to her; and her unique role as artistic director, director and playwright - including whether each of those roles ever gets in the way of the others. She also talks about making her way in the theatre as a female director and playwright coming up in the 1970s; her breakthrough as the first woman to direct on the mainstage of the Guthrie Theatre during Alvin Epstein's brief tenure leading the company; the development of her own playwriting style of documentary theatre through such acclaimed plays as "Still Life" and "Execution of Justice"; sharing a toast with Harold Pinter just after President Obama's election; working with Edward Albee on several plays, notably his newest, "Me Myself & I"; and why she chose to revisit "Having Our Say" at McCarter 14 years after its original Broadway success. Original air date - January 18, 2010. | | |
| | Mon, 11 Jan 2010 09:43:46 -0500 | | | With Theresa Rebeck's "The Understudy" soon to close at the Roundabout and Douglas Carter Beane's "Mr. and Mrs. Fitch" beginning rehearsals at Second Stage, director Scott Ellis discusses his attraction to both projects and the delays and opportunities that caused each of them to land in New York a bit later than originally expected. He also discusses his early and absolute conviction that he was destined for a career as an actor, and how quickly that changed; how his friendship with John Kander and Fred Ebb from his acting in "The Rink" helped him to land his very first directing job, a revival of "Flora the Red Menace" at the Vineyard Theatre; the enormous opportunities afforded to him by artistic director Todd Haimes at the Roundabout, where Ellis is Associate Artistic Director; how and why he and Susan Stroman came to devise "And The World Goes Round"; his early work on the plays "Picnic" and "A Month in the Country" after his successes with "A Little Night Music" at the New York City Opera and "She Loves Me" -- Roundabout's first musical; the opportunity to collaborate on the creation of "Steel Pier" and the challenges of opening an original book musical in New York without benefit of an out-of-town tryout; why he feels "The Look of Love", his Bacharach and David revue didn't succeed -- and why he thinks it was always meant to be done "drinks in hand"; and how he tackled "Twelve Angry Men", a seemingly familiar work which had never been produced professionally in New York. Original air date - January 11, 2010. | | |
| | Mon, 04 Jan 2010 08:50:59 -0600 | | | Legendary composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim is the guest for the 250th "Downstage Center" interview. He discusses a wide range of topics, including whether, as many have asserted, he actually dislikes giving interviews and why; his experiences doing Q&A sessions with Frank Rich around the country; how the upcoming "Sondheim on Sondheim" is developing and how he feels about being the central character in a Sondheim show; his process in preparing the forthcoming two-volume, annotated edition of his complete lyrics, to be titled "Finishing the Hat"; his reaction to seeing his work done in scaled down versions; how involved get gets with major revivals of his works and whether he makes adjustments to shows long after their original productions; whether he ever gets the urge to write songs outside of the context of musical theatre; why he considers his work on the films "The Last of Sheila" and "Stavisky" the two happiest working experiences of his life; who originated the many projects he's undertaken over the course of his career and how he's worked with such collaborators as Arthur Laurents, John Weidman, George Furth, James Lapine and Harold Prince; what he thinks about seeing opera companies produce some of his shows; why he was moved to found Young Playwrights, Inc. and why it's not Young Composers instead; if he has had the opportunity to mentor young composers, just as Oscar Hammerstein has mentored him; and whether of all of his songs, all written for specific characters in specific situations, there are any that most reflect him personally. Original air date - January 3, 2010. | | |
| | Mon, 28 Dec 2009 10:49:21 -0600 | | | "Mamma Mia!"'s newest leading lady, Beth Leavel, talks about slipping into the polyester disco gear of Donna Sheridan, describing the rare opportunity of joining a long-running production and still getting a full rehearsal period, as well as the benefit of coming in with an almost entirely new set of leading actors. She also talks about one of her earliest professional experiences, understudying Lynn Redgrave in "The King and I" at the St. Louis MUNY; snagging a role in the first national tour (and later joining the Broadway cast) of the original "42nd Street", even though she hadn't studied tap dancing since childhood; originating the role of Tess -- initially a two-line part -- in the original production of "Crazy for You"; taking over the role of Dorothy Brock after first standing by for Christine Ebersole in the 2001 Broadway revival of "42nd Street"; how playing Vera in "Mame" and the Countess in "A Little Night Music" informed her Tony-winning performance as "The Drowsy Chaperone"; why she loves playing Miss Hannigan in "Annie" (including the time she appeared with some 70 orphans at once); her work in the new musicals "Dancing in the Dark" and "Minsky's" on the west coast and the recent workshop of "Elf"; and how she managed to research one of her roles at a diner in New Jersey. Original air date - December 28, 2009. | | |
| | Mon, 21 Dec 2009 09:25:50 -0600 | | | Bernard Gersten, Executive Producer of Lincoln Center Theater, takes listeners on a highly condensed tour of his 60-year career in the theatre, including his joining Maurice Evans' US Army Special Services Unit while stationed on Hawaii during World War II; his subsequent New York debut as assistant stage manager, ensemble member and understudy in Evans' "G.I." "Hamlet"; his years as a stage manager, including the threat to his job at the American Shakespeare Festival in Connecticut after he was called before the infamous House Un-American Activities Committee; how he met and came to work with Joseph Papp at the New York Shakespeare Festival, a tenure that included the construction of the "temporary" Delacorte Theatre, the opening of The Public Theater on Astor Place with the original "Hair", and the phenomenal success of "A Chorus Line"; his work with Frances Ford Coppola on four films, including the oft-discussed but little seen "One From the Heart"; how he signed on at the inception of Lincoln Center Theater in 1985 when the Vivian Beaumont was thought to be a highly undesirable venue; and his role in the selection of Andre Bishop as LCT's artistic director upon the departure of Gregory Mosher in 1991. Original air date - December 21, 2009. | | |
| | Mon, 14 Dec 2009 07:52:47 -0600 | | | Actor Jim Norton, Tony and Olivier Award winner for "The Seafarer" and now on Broadway in the notably sunnier current revival of "Finian's Rainbow", discusses how the Irish view that Irish-inflected musical; how he wasn't entirely unprepared to appear in a musical, even though he's done extremely few in a 50 year career (despite an early appearance as Lt. Cable in "South Pacific"); and why appearing in a Broadway musical is unlike anything he's ever done before. He also takes us through his days as a child actor on radio; his emergence in the Irish theatre community in the 1960s and his subsequent decision to move to London at the decade's end, resulting in an exile from the Irish stage that would last 18 years; his quick discovery in London by noted director Lindsay Anderson; why he worked to keep the English theatre community from thinking of him as an Irish actor; why he made his American stage debut in California; how difficult he found it to perform in "The Pillowman"; what it was like to perform in "The Weir" in a variety of countries and venues; and his extensive work with a group of major playwrights over his career, including David Storey, Alan Ayckbourn, Tom Murphy, Sebastian Barry, Frank McGuinness and most notably, Conor McPherson. Original air date - December 14, 2009. | | |
| | Mon, 07 Dec 2009 09:25:29 -0600 | | | "Ordinary Days"' Hunter Foster talks about performing a musical in such an intimate space (Roundabout Underground's black box) and why the unusually close proximity makes the audience into the fifth character in this new work. He also talks about his discovery of musicals in high school; his steady and successful acting gigs right after high school and why despite them he chose to enroll at the University of Michigan; how he came to New York not long after graduation and almost immediately got offers for a national tour of "Cats" and "Grease" on Broadway -- managing to take them both; how much he had to learn about discipline and professionalism while touring in "Cats"; how he kept himself challenged during more than three years (on and off) with "Grease"; his retrospective admiration for the musical "Footloose" -- where he received the famed "gypsy robe" because he was the company's ensemble veteran before turning 30; his complete surprise at the success of "Urinetown", which he joined beginning with its Off-Broadway incarnation at the American Theatre of Actors, and at finding himself sharing a stage with John Cullum; how he managed to get cast in the play "The Government Inspector" at The Guthrie Theatre when he was not a member of the company and best known for musicals; and his own work as a writer of musicals and plays, including "Summer of '42" and "Bonnie and Clyde: A Folk Tale" -- and whether he ever intends to write a role for himself. Original air date - December 7, 2009. | | |
| | Mon, 30 Nov 2009 09:20:19 -0600 | | | America's leading practitioner of "documentary theatre," Anna Deavere Smith, discusses her newest work, "Let Me Down Easy", and how it developed from its original commission by the Yale Medical School, through productions at Long Wharf Theater and American Repertory Theater, to its current Off-Broadway run at Second Stage. She also talks about making a career choice between being a social activist or theatre artist while in graduate school; how she began to create her unique works under the banner of "On The Road" in the early 80s and the process she has used to develop her plays; how she came to the decision to play all the roles in her multi-character works; whether she feels other performers can or should endeavor to mimic the original voices in her plays; why after tackling the Crown Heights riots in her breakthrough work "Fires in the Mirror" she next took up a thematically similar topic in "Twilight: Los Angeles"; what her role has been as an artist within think-tanks including Harvard's Institute for Arts and Civic Dialogue and Washington DC's Center for American Progress; why she felt compelled to write the book "Letters to a Young Artist: Straight Up Advice on Making a Life in the Arts"; and the reason she considers being called a "clown" the highest form of compliment. Original air date - November 30, 2009. | | |
| | Mon, 23 Nov 2009 09:08:38 -0600 | | | Guest host Ted Chapin, chairman of the board of the American Theatre Wing, talks with director Robert Longbottom about his current Broadway production of "Bye Bye Birdie" at The Roundabout, including the challenge of auditioning 1400 teenagers, as well as his new revival of "Dreamgirls", which like the story itself. starts its national climb to fame at New York's Apollo Theater, but only after a truly out of town tryout in South Korea. Longbottom also talks about how he managed to get his Equity card at age 10, despite being raised in Maine; his years as a dancer in Broadway ensembles and national tours; developing the piece that ultimately became "Pageant" while on tour with "42nd Street"; the joy of both workshopping and rehearsing "Side Show" directly on Broadway stages, as opposed to rehearsal rooms; his work on plays including "Hay Fever" and "Mr. Roberts" (asking when first approached about the latter, "Who wrote music for it?"); and why he thinks the "revisal" of Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Flower Drum Song" was such a success in Los Angeles but didn't work as well in New York. Original air date - November 23, 2009. | | |
| | Mon, 16 Nov 2009 10:09:13 -0600 | | | "Bye Bye Birdie"'s domineering mom, Jayne Houdyshell, talks about finding the good in meddling Mae Peterson, who she calls "Archie Bunker in a mink coat" and whether she'd ever appeared in "Birdie" previously during her career, which has spanned some 300 shows (though only 15 in New York). She also describes growing up as a child on a Kansas farm; her first stage appearance as the mother in "Enter Laughing" (at age 14); finding her way to a conservatory in Detroit staffed largely by English acting teachers; starting her career by moving to Iowa where she was part of literally building the Old Creamery Theatre; her move to New York -- which precipitated a 20 year career working in regional theatres across the country, despite having no agent or manager; her sudden discovery by the New York theatre community in Lisa Kron's "Well"; how her appearance in "Hello Dolly" in the early 80s led to her appearance as Madame Morrible in "Wicked" on Broadway, what she thought when director Leigh Silverman asked her to play a child in "Coraline", and why she'd like to sing more on stage -- but we shouldn't be looking for her cabaret act anytime soon. Original air date - November 16, 2009. | | |
| | Mon, 09 Nov 2009 09:44:52 -0500 | | | "The Royal Family"'s own theatre royalty Rosemary Harris talks about her current role as Fanny Cavendish at Manhattan Theatre Club and her 1975 performance as Julie Cavendish with such costars as Sam Levene and Eva Le Gallienne (including what she's stolen from "Miss Le G"). She also takes us back to her childhood role as "The Queen" in a play written and staged by her older sister; her discovery by Moss Hart and her Broadway debut in an unsuccessful show that he both wrote and directed; her illustrious directors and leading men, including Laurence Olivier (who personally demonstrated how she was to play Ophelia's mad scene), John Gielgud (who fired her at one point), Richard Burton and Peter O'Toole, among many others; whether she agrees with the generality that she plays English roles in America and American roles in England; her participation in the founding of such influential theatre companies as the APA (later the APA-Phoenix), the Chichester Festival and the Royal National Theatre, and why she feels the disappearance of the company structure is such a loss for actors today. Original air date - November 9, 2009. | | |
| | Mon, 02 Nov 2009 08:22:20 -0600 | | | "Superior Donuts" and "August: Osage County" playwright Tracy Letts. talks about writing "Donuts" as his first "Chicago" play in homage to his adopted home city. He also discusses his childhood with his mother and father, college professors who would forge second careers as novelist and actor respectively; his own dual career as actor and playwright and why he won't appear in one of his own plays; the impact of joining Chicago's famed Steppenwolf Company; how his early plays "Killer Joe" and "Bug", and their reception in England, included him in part of a mini-movement that included Mark Ravenhill and Sarah Kane; what he thinks of the film version of "Bug"; how much of "August: Osage County" is based on his family's own history; why he creates characters who have difficulty articulating their thoughts and feelings -- including the hyper-articulate ones; and whether after the avalanche of publicity in the wake of "August"'s international success, he thinks he has anything left to say. Original air date - November 2, 2009. | | |
| | Mon, 26 Oct 2009 10:31:16 -0400 | | | Director Anne Bogart discusses the formation of her SITI Company and why, after 16 years of existence, they're only now staging their first New York season at Dance Theatre Workshop. She also talks about her family's heritage in the Navy and how theatre played a role in her life as she moved from school to school (including two years in Japan), and why theatre and the Navy are alike; her "All About Eve"-like assumption of the direction of her first show, while in high school in Rhode Island; the profound effect of seeing "Macbeth" at Trinity Rep; her journey through four colleges over five years on her way to a degree; her early work in New York, including sit-specific theatre on a shoestring; her time running the Experimental Theatre Wing at NYU, including her acclaimed production of "South Pacific" set in a veterans' mental institution; her "great and horrible" year as artistic director of Trinity Rep; how the SITI Company married the teachings of Tadashi Suzuki and the "Viewpoints" system of performance; and why she sees Violence, Terror, and Eroticism as central to the task of directing. Original air date - October 26, 2009. | | |
| | Mon, 19 Oct 2009 08:12:13 -0400 | | | Producer Emanuel Azenberg talks about the upcoming repertory production of "Brighton Beach Memoirs" and "Broadway Bound", including the choice of David Cromer as director, whether the plays are being revised for the tandem run, and why he thinks they'll make audiences think of these plays -- and Neil Simon himself -- in a whole new way. He also discusses how he began his career as part of a group of softball and poker playing buddies that included Robert Redford, James and William Goldman, and on occasion Carl Reiner; how he came to be Neil Simon's exclusive producer on every play since 1972's "The Sunshine Boys"; how he's handled the challenge of dealing with shows that haven't succeeded, including "Fools", "Division Street" and "Einstein and the Polar Bear"; why he has dared to produce the supposedly cursed "Scottish Play" on Broadway not just once, but twice; what he sought to impart to his students at Yale and later Duke University about theatre over some 25 years and how he feels that students have changed over that time; shows he's done for love and shows he's done for money; what has drawn him to be involved in the upcoming revival of "Ragtime"; and why he thinks the much-admired "Side Show" didn't succeed on Broadway, and possibly never will. Original air date - October 19, 2009. | | |
| | Mon, 12 Oct 2009 09:48:39 -0500 | | | Actress Charlayne Woodard (who declines to call herself a playwright) talks about the creation of her one-actor shows "Pretty Fire", "Neat", "In Real Life" and her newest, "The Night Watcher", currently in performance at Primary Stages in New York. And while she has chronicled segments of her life in plays, she further illuminates her career, discussing her leap from the church choir to performing theatrical works; her move to New York after college and the remarkable ease with which she got cast in the Broadway musical "Ain't Misbehavin'"--only to find she needed to develop a true work ethic to retain her role; her struggle to be thought of as something more than just a musical performer and the opportunities she was given by Joseph Papp and later George C. Wolfe at The Public Theater; how as a writer she interacts with other playwrights, such as Suzan-Lori Parks, when performing in their works; her efforts to master a South African dialect sufficiently to please playwright and director Athol Fugard; and whether she has ever seen anyone else perform in one of her own solo works. Original air date - October 12, 2009. | | |
| | Mon, 05 Oct 2009 07:07:43 -0400 | | | Producer Daryl Roth, talks about her current and upcoming projects, including the Off-Broadway plays "Vigil", "The Temperamentals" and "Love, Loss and What I Wore". She also discusses how she plunged into producing with Maltby and Shire's "Closer Than Ever", after having been solely a member of the audience up to that point; her ongoing partnership with producer Elizabeth McCann on the plays of Edward Albee ("Three Tall Women", "The Goat", "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?"); her relationships with a number of not-for-profit theatre companies, notably the Manhattan Theatre Club; how she finds plays and what factors into her decisions on what to produce; what it's like to be both a theatre owner and an independent producer; how she varies her role from being lead producer to being "part of the team" from project to project; the show she most wishes she'd been a part of; the impact of getting letters from members of the audience, and which show of hers generated the most mail; how "Wit" was prevented from playing on Broadway; the painful decisions that led to closing "The Mambo Kings" out-of-town; and how she feels about starting a theatrical dynasty now that her son Jordan is heading Jujamcyn Theatres. Original air date - October 5, 2009. | | |
| | Mon, 28 Sep 2009 09:39:27 -0400 | | | Veteran Broadway press agent Adrian Bryan-Brown ranges over his 30 year career as one of theatre's most successful "drumbeaters," from his first Broadway show, the 1979 "A Taste of Honey" through the 1985 "Big River" and 1992 "Guys and Dolls" to this season's most-discussed new musical "Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark". He also discusses how the role of the press agent has changed as the media has evolved, how social networking has reestablished word of mouth as a key promotional tool, and why when Twittering he can be neither Perez Hilton nor Pollyanna; whether he invests emotionally in the shows he represents; what he has to say to critics after they've beaten up on one of his shows; if he's even been tempted to produce a show himself; how he works with actors facing the press and who he considers the real pros at that game; why he got a degree in zoology when he was planning to embark on a career in film -- and he reveals his special talent for making an iconic NYC-area ice cream cake character. Original air date - September 28, 2009. | | |
| | Mon, 21 Sep 2009 10:26:41 -0400 | | | Choreographer Sergio Trujillo talks about the development of the new Broadway musical "Memphis" and how the dance styles he employs in it draw upon research he'd already done for several other musicals. He also talks about his childhood in Colombia and how music was part of the country's daily life; his discovery, while studying science at the University of Toronto, of his love and aptitude for dancing; his journeyman years as a Broadway dancer in shows including "Jerome Robbins' Broadway", the 1992 "Guys and Dolls" and "Fosse"; his transition into choreography at Canada's Stratford Festival and in London's West End; how he created dance moves for "Jersey Boys" when the original Four Seasons only stood and sang; why "The Mambo Kings" was vital to his career even though it was never seen in New York; his many collaborations with director Des McAnuff, including the 2009 "Guys and Dolls" -- where he took his inspiration not from Frank Loesser, but from Louis Prima; why his credit isn't "choreographer" on "Next to Normal"; his meticulous preparation, which includes already having all the choreography worked out for this spring's "The Addams Family"; and his plans for his directing debut in 2010 with "Havana", and whether he thinks that will cause him to ultimately leave choreography behind. Original air date - September 21, 2009. | | |
| | Mon, 14 Sep 2009 10:32:09 -0400 | | | Theatre Development Fund executive director Victoria Bailey talks about the newest icon of Broadway, the red steps of the redesigned TKTS Booth in Times Square, and talks about both how the lines at the booth have created a "town square for the casual theatregoer," as well as what TDF is doing to combat their discovery that many of the people lounging on the steps don't necessarily realize they can buy discounted theatre tickets directly below where they're seated. She talks about her own career in theatre, from her early days taking classes and performing in Washington DC and Minneapolis to her nearly two-decade long tenure at the Manhattan Theatre Club; what drew her to TDF and what she hopes the organization can focus on in the coming years; how TDF's subsidy program for theatre productions works; TDF's efforts to introduce students to theatre, with particular attention to the Open Doors program created by Wendy Wasserstein and boasting mentors including William Finn and Frank Rich; and identifies what she believes is perhaps TDF's least known but most influential program. Original air date - September 14, 2009. | | |
| | Tue, 08 Sep 2009 10:33:00 -0400 | | | With her Tony-winning costume designs for the hit musical "Wicked" virtually circling the globe, costume designer Susan Hilferty describes the detailed process by which the show's creative team conceived their own vision of Oz, and the level of work required to execute the show's distinctive costumes. She also talks about her initial interest in both fine art and scenic design, even as she worked in costume shops as an artisan; the lucky break that got her professional design credits while still an undergraduate; her decision to go to the Yale School of Drama after several years of working in New York and how that led to her 30-year collaboration with South African playwright Athol Fugard; her quick takes on the varying directorial styles of her most frequent collaborators, including James Lapine, Des McAnuff, Carole Rothman, Robert Woodruff and the late Garland Wright; her counsel to students, as the head of the graduate design program at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts; and why she felt she was going to have to protect Frank Wedekind when she began work on the musical "Spring Awakening". Original air date - September 8, 2009. | | |
| | Mon, 31 Aug 2009 11:51:25 -0400 | | | Multi-tasking multi-hyphenate producer (and more) Ken Davenport talks about his varied projects, from stage to computer screen. He recalls his childhood years performing in community theatre and his acting studies at NYU; how his interest in company management helped him to learn the ropes of the theatre business and gave him access to the creative talents behind major musicals including ""Ragtime and "Thoroughly Modern Millie"; the key message he got from a seminal meeting with the famed producer and director Hal Prince; the creative process behind his own shows "The Awesome 80s Prom", "Altar Boyz" and "My First Time"; his drive to blog and whether his strong opinions have ever provoked comment amongst his various collaborators; his belief in the power of social networking and viral marketing in the challenging climate facing Off-Broadway; how he came to be a producer on his first four Broadway shows, all in the past 12 months; and who he considers "The Trekkies of Broadway." Original air date - August 31, 2009. | | |
| | Mon, 24 Aug 2009 10:32:49 -0400 | | | Douglas Aibel, artistic director of New York's Vineyard Theatre, reflects upon the six year run and impending closing of the Broadway musical "Avenue Q", which made its Off-Broadway debut at the Vineyard and has been the company's longest-running commercial transfer -- out of a field that also includes "[title of show]", "How I Learned to Drive", "Three Tall Women", "Fully Committed", "Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill" and "Goblin Market", among many others. He also talks about his vision for the Vineyard and how it grew out of a 65-seat, multi-disciplinary performance space into a full-fledged theatre company; how his father's love of Broadway musicals, and incessant playing of cast albums, put him on the path towards a career in theatre; his early years doing five and six internships or part-time jobs at theatres around the city in order to break into the business and make connections; how a job in fundraising at Manhattan Theatre Club led him to work in film; how his dual career as theatrical artistic director and noted film casting director inform each other; and why he believe that people in theatrical chat rooms should be required to use their real names. Original air date - August 24, 2009. | | |
| | Mon, 17 Aug 2009 11:10:53 -0400 | | | "9 to 5" star Allison Janney talks about her transformation into a musical comedy performer, and why the dancing didn't worry her but the singing did. She also discusses her theatrical education at Kenyon College, the Neighborhood Playhouse and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts; what it was like to be directed in her very first college show by Paul Newman and her subsequent tutelage under mentor Joanne Woodward; her challenge in finding an agent; what an aptitude test said she was most suited for professionally; how the movie "Hoosiers" helped her conquer her fear of making her Broadway debut opposite Frank Langella in "Present Laughter"; why she's not a Shakespeare aficionado in general and why we'll never again see her performing in Central Park, where she starred in "The Taming of the Shrew"; how "The West Wing"'s "walk and talk" sequences reminded her of theatre; and "the truth" about how she scarred Anthony LaPaglia for life when they appeared on Broadway in "A View from the Bridge". Original air date - August 17, 2009. | | |
| | Mon, 10 Aug 2009 09:24:36 -0400 | | | "Shrek"'s big green hero, Brian d'Arcy James, talks about the opportunities and limitations of creating the title character in the Broadway musical drawn from the first of the blockbuster animated films. He also discusses his journey from Michigan to the New York stage and the two dominant strains on his resume - serious Irish plays (including "Public Enemy", "The Good Thief", "Port Authority" and "The Lieutenant of Inishmore") and serious new musicals ("Floyd Collins", "Titanic", Lippa's "The Wild Party", "Sweet Smell of Success" and the Off-Broadway production of "Next to Normal"). Along the way, he also touches upon his roles in the original Broadway production of "Blood Brothers", the directorial expertise of Nicholas Hytner and Tina Landau, the experience of replacing Norbert Leo Butz in "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" -- and explains his familial bond to TV's most famous dolphin, "Flipper". Original air date - August 10, 2009. | | |
| | Mon, 03 Aug 2009 08:35:20 -0400 | | | Gregory Jbara traces his stage career from his first grade appearance as the title role in "Frosty the Snowman" all the way to his Tony Award-winning turn in the current Broadway musical "Billy Elliot". Along the way, he discusses a college career that began at the University of Michigan and wrapped up at the Juilliard School; his first significant role as The Monster in the campy "Have I Got a Girl For You (The Frankenstein Musical)"; chronicles the sudden acclaim (off-Broadway) and quick demise (on Broadway) of Caryl Churchill's "Serious Money"; his various appearances in "Forever Plaid" around the country -- and how he made more doing it in Washington DC than the original cast made in the New York company; what it was like to work with show business icons like Jerry Lewis (in "Damn Yankees") and Julie Andrews (in "Victor/Victoria"); how his role of André, and the songs, in "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" were shaped as the show was being developed; and what's its like to play opposite a different actor as Billy every single night in "Billy Elliot" -- often not knowing who he'll be on with until moments before the curtain rises. Original air date - August 3, 2009. | | |
| | Mon, 5 Jan 2009 16:46:15 -0500 | | | If you enjoy Downstage Center you might be interested in our new program, SDCF Masters of the Stage. | | |
| | Mon, 10 Nov 2008 19:57:36 -0500 | | | Two-time Tony nominee Jan Maxwell talks about whether she's been influenced by Carole Lombard and Anne Bancroft, her film predecessors as the leading ladies of "To Be or Not To Be", as well as the difficulty of working in a new play when the author was on the other side of the ocean. She also relates a tale of how she managed her first visit to New York under the guise of a youth mission trip; her multiple experiences coming into shows with relatively little preparation, including "A Doll's House" and "The Dinner Party", and Neil Simon's withering assessment of her work at an early preview of the latter; literally getting lost backstage at City Center while running between the theatre's for Alan Ayckbourn's "House and Garden"; why she thinks she's being typecast as a child tormentor in such shows as "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" and "Coram Boy"; her deep affinity for the work of playwright Howard Barker, and why we shouldn't expect to see her collaborating with her brother, noted downtown theatre artist Richard Maxwell, anytime soon. Original air date - November 7, 2008. | | |
| | Mon, 03 Nov 2008 19:17:11 -0500 | | | Prolific producer Tom Viertel, who with his partners Richard Frankel, Steve Baruch and Marc Routh have been responsible for such shows as "The Producers", "Hairspray", and the John Doyle-directed "Company" and "Sweeney Todd", talks abut producing on Broadway and the pending closing of the long-running "Hairspray". He relates his own theatrical heritage -- his grandfather was a contractor who built the Mark Hellinger Theatre, among many others, and his father was a playwright -- and how he began his own theatrical career as a hobby while working at the family real estate concern. Among the shows he discusses are his first theatrical foray with two magicians he first saw in a 50 seat theatre in Los Angeles -- Penn and Teller; the extraordinary auditions of two now well-known actresses, Donna Murphy and Laura Benanti, for "Song of Singapore" and "The Sound of Music" respectively; the counterintuitive decisions that led him to produce Theatre de Complicite's "Mnemonic" as a commercial production and to revive "Gypsy" with Patti LuPone on Broadway only five years after the prior production; the travails of producing "Smokey Joe's Cafe"; and why in his spare time he's so committed to his volunteer role as chairman of Connecticut's Eugene O'Neill Theater Center. Original air date - October 31, 2008. | | |
| | Mon, 27 Oct 2008 15:47:23 -0500 | | | Two-time Tony Award-winner James Naughton explains why he's at home in the Irish Repertory Theatre's "The Master Builder" and why it's his three Broadway musical appearances which are really the anomalies in his long stage career. He also shares how a casual college audition launched him into acting; discusses his artistic homes at both Williamstown Theatre Festival and the Westport Country Playhouse; marvels at the good fortune of his early connection to composer Cy Coleman, first with "I Love My Wife" and later on "City of Angels"; recalls the excitement of being on stage with Elaine May as she improvised her way through Edward Albee's "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?"; relates a funny incident involving President Clinton and the chorus girls of "Chicago"; and confides why his next Broadway musical role should turn up very soon. Original air date - October 24, 2008. | | |
| | Mon, 20 Oct 2008 14:12:03 -0500 | | | Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Lanford Wilson discusses the creation of his famed "Talley trilogy," including "Fifth of July", which stemmed in part from his equating an Eskimo folk tale with the war in Vietnam, and "Talley's Folly", now in revival at the McCarter Theatre, and how it grew out of an acting suggestion made to one of the original cast members of "Fifth of July". He also talks about his original aspirations of being an artist, with writing being simply something to fall back on; his move from Chicago to New York and his introduction to Off-Broadway's famed Cafe Cino in the mid-60s; the genesis of his landmark plays "Balm in Gilead" and "The Hot l Baltimore"; how he came to write "Burn This" to break away from his growing reputation as a "suburban" playwright and as the antithesis of "Talley's Folly"; and whether we'll be seeing new plays from him any time soon. Original air date - October 17, 2008. | | |
| | Mon, 13 Oct 2008 12:08:53 -0500 | | | Multiple Tony nominee Gregg Edelman describes about the creation of the new Broadway musical "A Tale of Two Cities", including a song that was cut and that he misses terribly, and explains to Dickens purists where the musical's plot diverges a bit from the novel. He also talks about his college years at Northwestern University, where his connection to theatre began not as an actor but as a songwriter, and how an excuse for skipping classes landed him in Chicago company of "Evita"; the challenges of appearing in revivals -- as he did in the 1987 "Cabaret" and the 1984 "Oliver!" -- where the goal seems to be recreating the original hit production, as opposed revivals open to new interpretations, such as "Wonderful Town" and "Into The Woods"; the thrill of creating roles in the original "City of Angels" and "Passion"; and how he tackled the role of Rutledge in the 1997 revival of "1776". Original air date - October 10, 2008. | | |
| | Mon, 6 Oct 2008 17:57:32 -0500 | | | Just after returning from a year-long sabbatical, Manhattan Theatre Club artistic director Lynne Meadow talks about what she did and didn't do during her hiatus and explains how she shared planning for last season and the coming year with interim artistic director Daniel Sullivan. She also recalls her childhood as a stage struck youth in New Haven, including her performance in a new Maltby & Shire musical when she was only 12 years old; her struggle to be accepted into the directing program at the Yale School of Drama; her first experience at the Manhattan Theatre Club and how she came to be named its artistic director; the play she couldn't get the rights to until Joseph Papp agreed to co-produce with MTC; the impact of MTC's successive venues (East 73rd Street, City Center and Broadway's Friedman Theatre) on the company's repertoire; and the company's long history with playwright Terrence McNally and the controversy that surrounded the late 90s production of "Corpus Christi". Original air date - October 3, 2008. | | |
| | Tue, 30 Sep 2008 15:32:52 -0500 | | | Tony-winner B.D. Wong talks about his ongoing fascination with the 11-character, one-actor musical "Herringbone", from seeing the original production in 1981 through appearing in it for the third time, currently at New Jersey's McCarter Theater Center. He also recalls his earliest appearances on stage in high school musicals in San Francisco; his brief matriculation in college and how he forged a career without standard academic credentials; the personal and professional impact of landing the role of Song Liling in David Henry Hwang's "M. Butterfly" -- including how that famous story of identity led him to drop his own first name in favor of his initials and the problems it created when he sought subsequent roles; the travails of being brought in to play a role based on himself in Hwang's troubled "Face Value" -- and how he felt about being portrayed in the more recent "Yellowface"; the joy of being part of the ensemble of "You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown"; and his youthful connection to "Pacific Overtures", and how it came full circle when he appeared in the Broadway revival. Original air date - September 26, 2008. | | |
| | Mon, 22 Sep 2008 17:19:56 -0500 | | | Prolific Broadway casting director (and recent reality TV judge) Bernard Telsey discusses his parallel careers as the head of Telsey + Company and the artistic director of Off-Broadway's MCC Theater. He shares some tidbits about his own training as an actor, his few acting gigs (including understudying Matthew Broderick) and how that training effects his casting work; the impetus behind MCC Theater and what his plans are for the company; what he thinks of casting theatre by reality TV in general and the "Legally Blonde" program in particular; and he talks about the varied challenges of casting, with particular focus on the actor-musicians of both the John Doyle-directed "Company" and the original cast and many companies of "Rent" over its 12 year run, as well as the distinctive characters of "Wicked". Original air date - September 19, 2008. | | |
| | Mon, 15 Sep 2008 15:39:31 -0500 | | | Oscar-winner Estelle Parsons talks about taking on the role of the pill-popping Violet Weston in Broadway's "August: Osage County", noting that she's played many drinkers in her career but this is her first drug addict, and also describes the incredible challenge of joining members of the original cast in the midst of the run. She also recounts her earliest days in theatre and her original dreams of musical stardom, why she has directed but doesn't like directing, how she came to play her signature role in "Miss Margarida's Way", her experience creating the title role in Tennessee Williams' "The Seven Descents of Myrtle", her work with the famed Actor's Studio, and the job -- not on stage -- that first got her noticed when she came to New York in the early 50s. Original air date - September 12, 2008. | | |
| | Mon, 08 Sep 2008 17:36:02 -0500 | | | Diane Paulus, director of the acclaimed 40th anniversary revival of the musical "Hair" in Central Park, talks about her long-standing love of the musical -- despite the fact that she'd never actually seen it -- and how she indoctrinated her youthful cast with the spirit of the 60s. Paulus also discusses her development as a theatre artist, from her collegiate days at Harvard to staging a show in a New York City community garden to her sojourn in Wisconsin to her return to New York for graduate school at Columbia; how she created "The Donkey Show" and why she often turns to Shakespeare for source material for her work; what she knew of Laura Nyro before directing "Eli's Coming"; and her plans for her new role as the artistic director of the American Repertory Theatre Cambridge. Original air date - September 5, 2008. | | |
| | Tue, 02 Sep 2008 10:45:10 -0500 | | | Michael Berresse, director of the musical "[title of show]", talks about the show's journey from speed-writing exercise to Broadway hit and whether the self-referential story ever included the character of a director named Michael. He also talks about his evolution from gymnast to dancer to singer to actor, sharing stories about his early days performing at Disney theme parks; the notes he received from the legendary Jerome Robbins while making his Broadway debut in "Fiddler on the Roof"; the challenge of Christopher Chadman's choreography in the 1992 revival of "Guys and Dolls"; what Ann Reinking said to him about his work in the original cast of the "Chicago" revival; how he came to create his own spectacular acrobatic dance sequence for "Kiss Me Kate"; why he loved his ne'er-do-well character in "The Light in the Piazza"; and whether the actors had freedom to reinterpret their characters for the recent revival of "A Chorus Line". Original air date - August 29, 2008. | | |
| | Mon, 25 Aug 2008 09:12:29 -0500 | | | Five time Tony-winner William Ivey Long talks about his extensive career as one of Broadway's top costume designers, from his earliest days on stage -- living in a dressing room at the Raleigh Little Theatre in North Carolina -- to his upcoming projects "9 To 5" and "Dreamgirls". Along the way, he describes how shocked he was by the first thing he saw on stage at the Yale School of Drama; how his career developed largely thanks to the support of his drama school friends; how he came up with Anita Morris' iconic body suit for "Nine" -- and how it resulted in his never working with Tommy Tune again; whether there's a difference between designing musicals and plays; how the paintings of Gauguin influenced his designs for "Guys And Dolls"; what its like to revisit the "Chicago" costumes for a variety of different actresses; and why he chooses to wear a largely unvaried "uniform" every single day. Original air date - August 22, 2008. | | |
| | Mon, 18 Aug 2008 18:02:03 -0500 | | | As "Wicked" approaches its fifth anniversary on Broadway, producer David Stone talks about the ever-expanding life of the international hit musical, including how the show first came into being, how the production quality is maintained across multiple companies, and whether the show has to be adjusted for local audiences when it plays in other countries. He also talks about how he came to produce his first Off-Broadway hit, "Family Secrets", and his first Broadway failure, "What's Wrong With This Picture?"; his relationship with not for profit theatres, including Barrington Stage Company and Second Stage, on "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" and "Next To Normal"; his particular pride in producing "The Vagina Monologues"; which show he produced for his mother; and why he'd rather create controversy than respond to it. Original air date - August 15, 2008. | | |
| | Mon, 11 Aug 2008 17:32:29 -0500 | | | Veteran sound designer Tony Meola talks about the many issues involved in designing such musicals as "Wicked" and "The Lion King" on Broadway and around the world, dissecting such issues as changes in technology over the course of his 30 year career, whether the theatre has lost something with the rise of the amplified voice, microphone placement at the hairline vs. the jawline, and why its hard to have two performers singing a romantic song face to face, only inches apart, on stage. He also describes his own growth as a designer, from his earliest days on the electrics crew at The Public Theater on a new show called "A Chorus Line" to his "big break" thanks to Jerry Zaks on the 1987 revival of "Anything Goes" to the nuances of sound in his design of the recent revival of "The Ritz" to what factors he uses to decide whether to sign on to design a production. Original air date - August 8, 2008. | | |
| | Mon, 04 Aug 2008 19:27:32 -0500 | | | Tony-winning actor John Glover talks about the revival of Christopher Durang's "The Marriage of Bette and Boo" at the Roundabout, and how he grappled with the distinctly unpleasant aspects of his character, based upon Durang's own grandfather. He also talks about why he found the prospect of teaching more daunting than acting; how he's managed to maintain a steady diet of theatre work throughout his years of television and film work; the pivotal role that director Harold Prince played early in his career; his memories of the legendary Broadway production of "Frankenstein", which closed on its opening night; how he came to the role of the Jeckyll twins in Terrence McNally's "Love! Valour! Compassion!"; his rare musical appearances in "Hans Christian Anderson" in San Francisco and "The Drowsy Chaperone" on Broadway; and why some four decades after his stage debut he decided to start taking acting lessons. Original air date - August 1, 2008. | | |
| | Mon, 28 Jul 2008 17:46:03 -0500 | | | Tony Award winning actress Randy Graff talks about her role as Meg Boyd in the current Encores! revival of "Damn Yankees", including what she learned from reading the novel on which the show is based and what she thinks of the enhanced intimacy between her character and the youthful Joe Hardy. She also talks about one of her earliest Broadway experiences, in the little-remembered flop "Sarava!"; the rehearsal process for the U.S. production of "Les Miserables", in which she was the original Fantine, as well as why she doesn't like to hear herself on the "Les Miz" cast album; how her show-stopping song in "City of Angels" came together; her experiences working with comedy legends Neil Simon and Carol Burnett on "Laughter on the 23rd Floor" and "Moon Over Buffalo"; how she felt about the change of director and choreographer midway through "High Society"; what it was like to be directed by and play opposite her close friend Lonny Price in "A Class Act"; and her special feelings for "Fiddler on the Roof". Original air date - July 25, 2008. | | |
| | Mon, 21 Jul 2008 11:32:57 -0500 | | | 25 years after coming to New York's Roundabout Theatre Company, artistic director Todd Haimes talks about the company's growth from a financially troubled Off-Broadway group into one of the country's largest not-for-profit theatres; his own transition from managing the business side to setting the artistic agenda; the relationship of the company to the world of commercial theatre, since both produce on Broadway; how he manages to attract top level artists to work at Roundabout for relatively minimal salaries; why he planned to leave the company 10 years ago -- and why he ended up staying put; and how the company expanded its repertoire from Ibsen, Shaw and Shakespeare into more modern works, musicals and even brand-new plays. Original air date - July 18, 2008. | | |
| | Tue, 15 Jul 2008 09:31:14 -0500 | | | "South Pacific"'s Tony Award-winning set designer Michael Yeargan discusses the visual approach taken for the first Broadway revival of this classic musical, including the negotiation behind the dramatic reveal of the show's orchestra, as well as the lessons he learned about working in the vast space of Lincoln Center's Vivian Beaumont Theatre on both "South Pacific" and "The Light In The Piazza". Yeargan also recalls his introduction to theatre and opera as a youth in Dallas; his studies -- and later his teachings -- at the Yale School of Drama; his early Broadway experiences with Terrence McNally's "Bad Habits" and "The Ritz"; and his sustained collaborations with directors Andrei Serban, Mark Lamos and Bartlett Sher. Original air date - July 11, 2008. | | |
| | Mon, 07 Jul 2008 15:04:56 -0500 | | | Royal Shakespeare Company artistic director Michael Boyd gives an overview of the company's work, including its acclaimed "Complete Works" Festival and the recent two-year journey of the "Histories" cycle. He also talks about his own evolution as a theatre artist, with significant stints in Moscow and Glasgow; the experience of joining the RSC as Associate Director and later rising to the artistic directorship; the work he had to do addressing the variety of troubles that surrounded the RSC as the time of his appointment; why he speaks of 'knocking Shakespeare off his pedestal'; the status of the rebuilding of the main theatre in Stratford; and what his plans are for the company in the next few years. Original air date - July 4, 2008. | | |
| | Mon, 30 Jun 2008 14:11:24 -0500 | | | On the eve of his fourth Tony Award win, actor Boyd Gaines talks about his busy year, including "Journey's End", "Pygmalion" and both the Encores and Broadway runs of "Gypsy". He also describes his early training and extensive work in regional theatre, both before and after his years on the sitcom "One Day at a Time"; his breakthrough role in Wendy Wasserstein's "The Heidi Chronicles"; his first Broadway musical experiences in the first Broadway revivals of "She Loves Me" and "Company"; how the dance musical "Contact" was developed; and what it was like to step into Henry Fonda's shoes in "12 Angry Men". Original air date - June 27, 2008. | | |
| | Mon, 23 Jun 2008 15:49:57 -0500 | | | Barbara Gaines, founder and artistic director of the newly Tony-recognized Chicago Shakespeare Theater, talks about the company's evolution from a classical acting workshop to a major institution with an impressive home on Chicago's Navy Pier. She discusses her own background, including training at Northwestern University and an acting stint in NYC, alongside her approach to classical theatre, the expanding repertoire of the company (including why their next production features Willy Wonka), the nature of the Chicago theatre community, the development of Chicago Shakespeare's international work, and her plans for the company's future -- including a 1,000 proscenium theatre to complement their current 500 seat thrust stage. Original air date - June 20, 2008. | | |
| | Mon, 16 Jun 2008 15:36:02 -0500 | | | Tony-winner Priscilla Lopez talks about what drew her to the new musical "In The Heights" and talks about her patience and faith that by the time it reached Broadway, she'd have her own song in the show. She also talks about her early training, including additional details about her high school years that didn't make it into the song "Nothing" in "A Chorus Line"; both her attempted and actual Broadway debuts in "Breakfast at Tiffany's" and "Henry Sweet Henry"; her recollections of the workshop sessions that ultimately became "A Chorus Line"; how she came to channel Harpo Marx for the musical "A Day in Hollywood/A Night in the Ukraine"; and how she came to make her Broadway dramatic debut in Nilo Cruz's "Anna in the Tropics", some 35 years after her musical debut. Original air date - June 13, 2008. | | |
| | Mon, 09 Jun 2008 17:26:23 -0500 | | | Tony-winner Harriet Harris talks about being "the adult" in a company of kids in the Broadway musical "Cry-Baby" and reveals which of the musical numbers in the show convinced her that she needed to be in the production. She also talks about being sent to theatre school as a child in Texas to cure her shyness; her Juilliard auditions for formidable directors John Houseman and Michael Kahn; her touring years with The Acting Company; how she transitioned from classical to comic roles under the tutelage of Christopher Ashley and Paul Rudnick, who wrote her multiple characters in "Jeffrey"; her belated Broadway debut in 2000 opposite Nathan Lane in "The Man Who Came to Dinner"; branching into musicals with Broadway's "Thoroughly Modern Millie" and the Kennedy Center's "Mame"; and finding the humor in the character of Amanda in "The Glass Menagerie" at The Guthrie, as role she'd wanted to play since she was 13. Original air date - June 6, 2008. | | |
| | Mon, 02 Jun 2008 15:14:00 -0500 | | | Broadway's newest Gypsy Rose Lee, Laura Benanti, talks about playing the title role in "Gypsy" both last summer at City Center and again this year on Broadway, including her thoughts on formidable author and director Arthur Laurents, as well as a few facts about the real Gypsy and Rose that didn't make it into the musical. Benanti also discusses her vocal training under the tutelage of her mother (who unlike Rose expressly forbid young Laura from turning pro in her youth); her big break understudying Rebecca Luker in "The Sound of Music" -- and playing a romantic role opposite someone 45 years her senior; how she handled her first professional disappointment, at the fate of the musical "Time and Again"; the serious injury -- and nasty rumors -- that plagued her during the revival of "Into the Woods" and nearly derailed her performance in "Nine"; and what it was like, after playing many period roles, for this Jersey girl to play a girl from New Jersey in "The Wedding Singer". Original air date - May 30, 2008. | | |
| | Tue, 27 May 2008 12:36:22 -0500 | | | Actress Laura Linney talks about returning to Broadway as the Marquise de Merteuil in the Roundabout production of "Les Liaisons Dangereuses" and whether she thinks her character is truly evil. She also discusses her earliest theatrical experiences, including working on the stage crew at a summer theatre while still in her "tween" years; appearing in a play written by her father, inspired in part by their own relationship, while a student at Brown; battling back from stage fright while at the Juilliard School; her big break appearing in the original production of "Sight Unseen" in its Off-Broadway debut -- and what it was like to return to the play, in a different role -- in its Broadway debut a dozen years later; how she handles appearing in shows that -- both fairly and unfairly -- don't meet with critical and popular success; and taking on a much-read but not often-seen classic like Arthur Miller's "The Crucible". Original air date - May 23, 2008. | | |
| | Mon, 19 May 2008 14:08:30 -0500 | | | "The Little Mermaid"'s Sherie Rene Scott talks about creating the role of Ursula in the stage version of the beloved animated film, including what she believes the character thinks of herself. She also talks about her earliest dreams of being on stage while still a child in Kansas, her training at the Neighborhood Playhouse when she came to New York, her particular affection for Randy Newman's "Faust" and why it never made it to New York, working amidst the turmoil of the changing creative team of Disney's "Aida", how her family reacted when she got the title role in the stage version of "Debbie Does Dallas", creating the role of Christine Colgate in "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" and the future of her one-woman show "You May Now Worship Me". Original air date - May 16, 2008. | | |
| | Mon, 12 May 2008 17:27:12 -0500 | | | Shakespeare veteran Patrick Stewart talks about finally having the opportunity to play the title role in "Macbeth", some 50 years after he first memorized the play's great speeches, and chronicles the production's swift journey from Chichester to London to Brooklyn to Broadway. He also talks about his decades-long association with the Royal Shakespeare Company, including his appearances in multiple productions of such plays as "The Merchant of Venice", "A Midsummer Night's Dream", "Antony and Cleopatra" and "Titus Andronicus"; the impetus behind his one-man adaptation of "A Christmas Carol" -- including its interminable first performance; his enthusiasm for playing Prospero in "The Tempest" with an American cast in Central Park and on Broadway; the thrill of creating a role in Arthur Miller's "The Ride Down Mount Morgan"; why he's "finished" with certain roles and still hopes to play others yet again; and some of the plays he's looking forward to doing in the next few years, including a nascent project with his film nemesis Ian McKellen. Original air date - May 9, 2008. | | |
| | Mon, 05 May 2008 16:23:16 -0500 | | | Legendary producer and director Harold Prince surveys his career from his start in 1948 working for another legendary theatrical figure, George Abbott, to his newest project, the musical "Paradise Found", which was presented in a workshop in New York just last week. Over the course an hour, Prince talks about trends in the theatre and what has changed, both for better and worse; recalls working as a stage manager on the first show he produced, "The Pajama Game", so that he could collect a salary; describes his personal impact on the development of "West Side Story" and "Fiddler on the Roof", which he produced; reflects on his creative partnership and friendship with composer Stephen Sondheim, including how he got a handle on "Sweeney Todd"; explains his role in transforming "Evita" from a concept album to a stage musical; ponders the period in the 1980s when he had a string of commercially unsuccessful shows -- and which of those he feels is under-appreciated; marvels at the 22-year run of "The Phantom of the Opera"; and shares his thoughts about seeing revivals of musicals that he was so instrumental in creating. Original air date - May 2, 2008. | | |
| | Mon, 28 Apr 2008 12:32:29 -0500 | | | Lyricist David Zippel discusses the development of "Pamela's First Musical", the challenges posed by the untimely passing of two of his collaborators on the project -- composer Cy Coleman and author Wendy Wasserstein, and the upcoming benefit performance which will mark the show's first public performance. He also talks about his earliest lyric writing efforts, including the pre-Broadway "Rotunda" and "Going Hollywood", an adaptation of "Once in a Lifetime" which is about to get a new workshop presentation 38 years after Zippel first thought to adapt it; how he came to collaborate with Coleman and Larry Gelbart on "City of Angels", before the show's acclaimed dual-story structure was even in place; what drew him to musicalize "The Goodbye Girl"; and the challenge of creating the lyrics his first through-sung musical "The Woman in White", a collaboration with Andrew Lloyd Webber. Original air date - April 25, 2008. | | |
| | Mon, 21 Apr 2008 17:07:58 -0500 | | | Playwright Paul Rudnick discusses his evening of one-act plays, "The New Century", currently playing at Lincoln Center Theatre, including how he came to combine characters originally written for separate plays into a single work and how he hopes they play against their stereotypes; how he announced his plans to be a playwright to his parents as a young child, before he'd even seen a play; the senior class project that he threw together at the last minute only to see it swiftly produced as a one-night-only event at Yale; the famously troubled Broadway run of "I Hate Hamlet"; the difficulty he experienced trying to get "Jeffrey", a comedy set in the era of AIDS, produced; and the story behind his longest-running character, film critic Libby Gelman-Waxner of "Premiere" magazine. Original air date - April 18, 2008. | | |
| | Tue, 15 Apr 2008 10:04:41 -0500 | | | In a startlingly candid interview, actor James Earl Jones talks about what drew him to playing the role of Big Daddy in the current revival of "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" and his views on the play being performed by African-American actors. He also charts his journey from stuttering youth to acclaimed actor, including his early training (in part at the American Theatre Wing School), his appearance in the acclaimed 1960 production of Genet's "Les Blancs" with co-stars including Cicely Tyson and Maya Angelou, his years with the fledgling New York Shakespeare Festival, his landmark performances in "The Great White Hope" and "Fences", his experiences working with playwright Athol Fugard and director Lloyd Richards, and why he never wants to be anyone's mentor. Original air date - April 11, 2008. | | |
| | Mon, 07 Apr 2008 15:55:28 -0500 | | | Lighting designer Ken Billington, veteran of more than 80 Broadway productions ranging from the original "Sweeney Todd" to the current "Sunday in the Park with George", discusses the art of lighting design, including how lighting can be used to emotionally enhance the theatre experience, how he discovered his calling during a fourth grade play, what audience members might look for when assessing a lighting designer's work, the speed with which his design for "Sweeney" came together, how he collaborated with the English creative team of "Sunday", how rock and roll helped Broadway lighting, and how his career has encompassed work for performers as diverse as Liza Minnelli and Shamu the Killer Whale. Original air date - April 4, 2008. | | |
| | Wed, 02 Apr 2008 15:25:53 -0500 | | | Playwright David Ives talks about his many acts of "literary ventriloquism," channeling the voices of the authors of classic musicals for City Center's Encores series, including the current "Juno" and upcoming "No, No Nanette", as well as the distinctive voice of Mark Twain for the recent Broadway production of "Is He Dead?" He also describes the luck that led to his first play being produced at New York's famed Circle Repertory Company right after he graduated from college; explains why he enrolled at the Yale School of Drama only after his early successes; chronicles how his work for a theatre company that consisted of little more than a copy machine and an artistic director ultimately led to his success with "All In The Timing"; reflects on the role of pain in writing short comedies; considers whether he was typecast only as a writer of one-acts; and shares the genesis of his interest in the philosopher Spinoza, which led to his writing "New Jerusalem", seen Off-Broadway at CSC earlier this season. Original air date - March 28, 2008. | | |
| | Mon, 24 Mar 2008 21:05:47 -0500 | | | Director Leigh Silverman talks about the development of the Off-Broadway "Beebo Brinker Chronicles" and its transition from an Off-Off-Broadway space to a larger venue; how she juggles so many projects in a season where she has already staged "Yellowface" and "Hunting And Gathering" and is currently working on "From Up Here" at Manhattan Theatre Club and "Of Equal Measure" for the Center Theater Group in Los Angeles; the genesis of her involvement in the acclaimed play "Wit", as well as the sad circumstances that led her to direct the play's West End debut; and the impact of Lisa Kron's "Well" on her career, as it traveled from The Public Theatre to San Francisco's American Conservatory Theatre then back to New York for the play's -- and her own -- Broadway debut. Original air date - March 21, 2008. | | |
| | Mon, 17 Mar 2008 16:12:23 -0500 | | | "Sunday in the Park with George"'s Michael Cumpsty talks about the challenges of performing in the Stephen Sondheim-James Lapine musical, how the script and score match the pointillism of George Seurat's paintings, and why he'd like to call in sick just one night during the show's run. He also recalls the single day in his youth when his family's theatrical heritage was fleetingly revealed to him; describes how his passion for theatre evolved from his upbringing in England and South Africa through his training in North Carolina; remembers being selected by Joseph Papp for the "Shakespeare core" at the New York Shakespeare Festival in the late 80s; shares an assessment of his own musical skills in shows including "42nd Street" and "1776"; considers his roles in the Michael Frayn dramas "Democracy" and "Copenhagen"; and chronicles his continuing work at New York's Classic Stage Company as both leading actor and director. Original air date - March 14, 2008. | | |
| | Mon, 10 Mar 2008 16:40:21 -0500 | | | Tony Award nominee Kathleen Chalfant talks about doing double duty on New York stages right now: as the mother of the title character in "Dead Man's Cell Phone" at Playwrights Horizons and as the latter of the two title characters in "Vita And Virginia" at the Zipper Factory Theater. Chalfant ranges over her extensive career, explaining why she took the role in "Cell Phone" without having even read the script and her heritage as an early staff member at Playwrights Horizons; what Harvey Fierstein taught her about "upstaging"; how "The Jack Benny Show" influenced an aspect of her performance in the landmark "Angels In America"; and how she coped with personal loss during the her acclaimed run in Margaret Edson's "Wit". Original air date - March 7, 2008. | | |
| | Mon, 03 Mar 2008 16:36:06 -0500 | | | Alice Ripley, star of the new musical "Next To Normal" at New York's Second Stage Theatre, talks about the challenge of playing the emotionally disturbed mother of a "typical" American family and describes how the show's music drives both the character and her performance. She also talks about her parallel career as a rock singer and songwriter, her Broadway debut in "The Who's Tommy", the remarkable experience of appearing as one-half of the conjoined Hilton Sisters in "Side Show", the unique style of "James Joyce's The Dead", and the difficulty of playing a role while being doused by audience-wielded water guns in "The Rocky Horror Show". Original air date - February 29, 2008. | | |
| | Mon, 25 Feb 2008 14:33:00 -0500 | | | Tony Award-winning actor Nathan Lane charts the course of his career, from touring New Jersey schools in the historical musical "Jerz" to starring on Broadway as the President of the United States in David Mamet's comedy "November". Along the way, he recalls losing out on the leading role in the original "Little Shop Of Horrors" and making his Broadway debut in George C. Scott's production of "Present Laughter"; discusses a few of the quirks of his next big show, the musical "Merlin"; considers his longstanding partnerships with both playwright Terrence McNally (revealing the only play that McNally specifically wrote for him) and director Jerry Zaks; chronicles his challenging and charmed experience as Max Bialystock in the musical "The Producers" on Broadway and in London; and reflects on the impact of "Butley" -- first when he saw it as a teenager, and later when he took on the title role in the play's Broadway revival. Original air date - February 22, 2008. | | |
| | Wed, 20 Feb 2008 10:20:07 -0500 | | | "Legally Blonde"'s resident legal shark Michael Rupert talks about why his role as that musical's unsavory Professor Callahan is consistent with other roles he often plays and talks about being the senior member of a youthful company; recalls being cast at age 15 by Gower Champion in "The Happy Time" and what he learned from Robert Goulet, Charles Durning and Kander & Ebb in that production; describes working with Bob Fosse on two productions -- replacing John Rubenstein in the title role of "Pippin" (which Rupert says was Fosse's metaphor for the Manson Family) and later playing Oscar in the 1986 revival of "Sweet Charity"; reflects on the role of Marvin in the various incarnations of William Finn's "Falsettos" over more than a decade; and chronicles his parallel theatrical career as the composer of "3 Guys Naked Form The Waist Down", "Mail" and the upcoming "Streets Of America". Original air date - February 15, 2008. | | |
| | Mon, 11 Feb 2008 15:49:16 -0500 | | | Multiple Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winner Edward Albee talks about the "inadvertent festival" of his works in the New York area, explaining why he declined to allow any synopsis of "Me, Myself and I" for its production at Princeton's McCarter Theatre, whether "The American Dream" and "The Sandbox" at New York's Cherry Lane Theater will look any different than in their original productions, and why we won't see productions of "The Zoo Story" without its new first act, "Home Life". In a wide ranging conversation, he touches upon his approach to playwriting, what he looks for in students seeking to study playwriting with him, the effect of the fame that he achieved from "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?", the experience of being critically out of favor during the 80s and early 90s, the two-decade disparity in ages between the actors who played the leads in the original "Seascape" and those who took on those roles in the Broadway revival, why we have seen so few films based upon his plays, how he chooses when to direct one of his plays himself, and the unique quality that his two long-time producers share. Original air date - February 8, 2008. | | |
| | Mon, 04 Feb 2008 16:10:13 -0500 | | | Tony Award-winning actor Richard Easton talks about his role in David Ives' play "New Jerusalem" and why he didn't spend much time trying to parse Spinoza's philosophy in preparation for the show (and why audiences needn't either); recalls how an off-hand contest entry as a schoolboy set him off on a theatrical career; describes the very first season of Canada's famed Stratford Festival; chronicles his peripatetic journey from Canada to New York to San Diego to London and all points in between; remembers his unsatisfying years with the Royal Shakespeare Company, which nevertheless brought about his friendship with Kenneth Branagh; considers his appearances in Tom Stoppard's "The Invention of Love", "The Coast of Utopia" and "Every Good Boy Deserves Favour"; reflects on the health challenges that befell him over the past year; and offers some practical advice for actors just starting out on the stage. Original air date - February 1, 2008. | | |
| | Mon, 28 Jan 2008 21:24:23 -0500 | | | Multiple Tony Award-winning playwright Sir Tom Stoppard talks about his latest work to appear on Broadway, "Rock 'n' Roll", including why he feels the play's love story, not its intellectual themes, ultimately drove the shape of the story and whether there's truth to the rumor that he wanted to cut the play but was persuaded not to by director Trevor Nunn; recounts the development of his epic "The Coast Of Utopia" and the extraordinary experience of seeing the trilogy performed in Russia; considers whether there's any thematic link between "Utopia" and "Rock 'n' Roll", as bookends to the rise and fall of communism; recalls his overnight success (after seven years of writing) with "Rosencrantz And Guildenstern Are Dead"; reveals the play of his that he feels has perhaps not gotten its due before audiences; speaks out about those who claim viewers need to read up before seeing a Stoppard play; muses on the differences between theatre programs in the U.S. and Britain; and shares what rock and roll album is tops on his personal playlist right now. Original air date - January 25, 2008. | | |
| | Wed, 23 Jan 2008 13:54:01 -0500 | | | Two-time Tony-winner Frances Sternhagen surveys her six-decade career in the theatre, ranging from her decision to stop teaching "dramatics" to schoolchildren to her most recent Broadway appearance in Edward Albee's "Seascape". In between she talks about her time in such illustrious theatre companies as Washington DC's Arena Stage and New York's APA; her Broadway debut in a revival of "The Skin Of Our Teeth" with Mary Martin, Helen Hayes and George Abbott; the wonderful experience of performing Chekhov by way of Neil Simon in "The Good Doctor"; her efforts to be cast in the U.S. production of "Equus" based solely on having read a review of the play's London debut; why she thinks Terrence McNally's "A Perfect Ganesh" is due for a revival; how she came to create the role of Ethel Thayer in "On Golden Pond" while she was still in her 40s; and why she works so steadily, at theatres large and small, after all these years. Original air date - January 18, 2008. | | |
| | Mon, 14 Jan 2008 15:44:26 -0500 | | | Tony Award-winner Norbert Leo Butz talks about his first reaction on being approached about appearing in a "new" Mark Twain play, "Is He Dead?", and about the construction of farce and how David Ives crafted the version of the play currently on Broadway; recalls his classical training at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival; marvels at the good fortune that landed him in the company of "Rent" only two weeks after moving to New York; considers the experience of appearing in the critically unpopular Harry Connick musical "Thou Shalt Not"; describes the feeling of playing a character in "The Last Five Years" based on composer Jason Robert Brown -- with Brown often directly behind him as he sang; recounts the loss of a song for Fiyero when "Wicked" was out of town in San Francisco and how he worked with Stephen Schwartz in choosing a replacement; and delineates the difference between performing in "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" with John Lithgow and his successor, Jonathan Pryce. Original air date - January 11, 2008. | | |
| | Mon, 07 Jan 2008 13:53:47 -0500 | | | Designer turned director Tony Walton talks about his work directing the plays of George Bernard Shaw, Oscar Wilde and Noel Coward for New York's Irish Repertory Theatre; considers how his work as a designer influences his work as a director -- and vice versa; remembers his earliest days both at art school in England and as a fledgling designer in the U.S.; recounts anecdotes from his first major Broadway success, "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum", including a tension filled encounter between star Zero Mostel and show doctor Jerome Robbins; and shares stories about his work with such varied artists and collaborators as George Abbott, Bob Fosse, Boris Aronson, Stephen Sondheim, Mike Nichols -- and even Michael Jackson and Winnie-the-Pooh. Original air date - January 4, 2008. | | |
| | Mon, 31 Dec 2007 16:13:35 -0500 | | | Actor John Cullum, currently appearing in the title role of Shakespeare's "Cymbeline" at Lincoln Center Theater, but better known for his musical performances, talks about his experiences in classical theatre -- from his current work with director Mark Lamos to his earliest New York auditions to being directed by John Gielgud in the Richard Burton "Hamlet"; recalls how he landed roles in such classic Broadway musicals as "Camelot", "On A Clear Day You Can See Forever", and "Shenandoah"; reflects on the much discussed quick departure of actress Madeline Kahn from the original production of "On The Twentieth Century"; and tells how he didn't understand "Urinetown" when it first came his way. Original air date - December 28, 2007. | | |
| | Mon, 24 Dec 2007 12:14:10 -0500 | | | Alan Menken, composer of both the film and Broadway musical versions of "The Little Mermaid" and "Beauty And The Beast", talks about going "under the sea" with Ariel so many years after writing the score for the Disney film, reflects on the impact of puberty and The Beatles on his songwriting career, recalls his acceptance into the BMI Musical Theatre Workshop under the tutelage of the legendary Lehman Engel, describes his collaboration with lyricist, bookwriter and director Howard Ashman, recounts his parents' dismay over certain content in "Little Shop Of Horrors" -- and plays and sings bits of some of the new songs from "Mermaid" and songs that were cut from "Little Shop". Original air date - December 21, 2007. | | |
| | Mon, 17 Dec 2007 14:19:30 -0500 | | | Director Jack O'Brien announces his new title as Artistic Director Emeritus at San Diego's Old Globe Theatre and charts his quarter-century tenure as Artistic Director from his hiring in 1981; reveals his original plans to be a musical comedy writer and star; describes his apprenticeship as a director in the APA Repertory Company under such mentors as Ellis Rabb and John Houseman; remembers his final acting appearance -- opposite Christopher Walken -- and how that set him firmly on the directing path for good; discusses his emergence as an acclaimed director of both musical comedies (including "Hairspray" and "The Full Monty") and the plays of Tom Stoppard (including "Hapgood" and "The Coast of Utopia"); and shares the impetus behind the creation of the stage version of "How The Grinch Stole Christmas". Original air date - December 14, 2007. | | |
| | Mon, 10 Dec 2007 13:56:52 -0500 | | | Playwright David Henry Hwang talks about putting a version of himself -- and his father -- onstage in his new play "Yellowface" and why he doesn't want to reveal what in the play is fact and what is fiction; recalls his extraordinary leap from having his first play produced in his college dorm to having a series of plays done at The Public Theatre only a short time later; explains the origins of his award-winning Broadway hit "M. Butterfly"; reflects on his role in the controversy over the hiring of Jonathan Pryce to appear in "Miss Saigon"; shares his thoughts on the failure of his farce "Face Value"; describes his work on the musicals "Aida", "Flower Drum Song" and "Tarzan", and contemplates what he hopes to explore next on stage. Original air date - December 7, 2007. | | |
| | Mon, 03 Dec 2007 14:05:11 -0500 | | | Lincoln Center Theater artistic director André Bishop talks about the selection of "Cymbeline" and "South Pacific" for the current season and the thread that unifies the work on the company's two stages; explains why its unlikely we'll see certain types of plays in their Lincoln Center complex; recalls his start in theatre and the ragtag early days of Playwrights Horizons, which he led for more than a decade; considers why he's perhaps less of a public figure than many artistic directors; and muses on why he's starting to feel like King Lear. Original air date - November 30, 2007. | | |
| | Mon, 26 Nov 2007 16:45:37 -0500 | | | Shuler Hensley, the creature from "Young Frankenstein", talks about the development of his character in the new Mel Brooks musical, as well as his seeming affinity for playing monsters; sings a bit from "The Phantom Of The Opera" in German, recreating the role he played in Hamburg a decade ago; recalls the experience of playing Jud Fry in "Oklahoma", contrasting the London and New York runs; describes the cast's training in simian mannerisms and theatrical flying for "Tarzan"; and draws an unexpected parallel between "The Great American Trailer Park Music" and a Jessye Norman recital. Original air date - November 23, 2007. | | |
| | Mon, 19 Nov 2007 13:09:21 -0500 | | | Terrence McNally talks about "The Ritz" then (1975) and now (the current Roundabout revival) and reveals his own cameo performance at the show's first opening night; describes his emergence as a playwright in the Off-Off-Broadway scene of the 1960s; considers the extraordinary run of productions he had at Manhattan Theatre Club from the mid-80s to mid-90s, as well as their culmination in the controversial production of Corpus Christi; remembers his work on such musicals as "The Rink", "Kiss of the Spider Woman" and "Ragtime"; and explains the difference between writing musicals and opera, specifically his adaptation of "Dead Man Walking". Original air date - November 16, 2007. | | |
| | Mon, 12 Nov 2007 14:06:11 -0500 | | | Judy Kuhn reflects on returning to the cast of "Les Misérables" 20 years after appearing in the original Broadway cast and how her perspective has changed now that she's playing Fantine, the mother of her original character Cosette; recounts her Broadway debut in "The Mystery of Edwin Drood", including living through every understudy's nightmare; describes the challenges of the fabled but troubled production of "Rags"; explains how "Chess" was restructured between its London and New York debuts; and talks about her affinity for the work of songwriter Laura Nyro. Original air date - November 9, 2007. | | |
| | Mon, 05 Nov 2007 13:56:52 -0500 | | | Kevin Chamberlin talks about his role in the Roundabout Theatre revival of Terrence McNally's "The Ritz", including whether his "midwestern" looks match up to his character of Gaetano Proclo; how his seasons in the acting company at the McCarter Theatre led to his first New York gig Off-Broadway in "Smoke on the Mountain"; why the Drama Department's "As Thousands Cheer" was his happiest time in the theatre ; what his experience was creating the role of Horton in "Seussical"; how Claudia Shear created a role for him in "Dirty Blonde"; and why he's skeptical of the workshop process, following stints in William Finn's "Muscle" and Stephen Sondheim's "Wise Guys". Original air date - November 2, 2007. | | |
| | Mon, 29 Oct 2007 13:04:30 -0500 | | | The new artistic director of California's La Jolla Playhouse, Christopher Ashley, talks about his plans for the theatre, including whether he sees himself continuing or departing from the repertoire of his predecessor, Des McAnuff; explains how he found himself with an agent by age 22; describes his long-standing working relationships with playwrights Douglas Carter Beane and Paul Rudnick; considers the process of creating new musicals out of existing songs and how audience expectations are heightened for that music; and describes the evolution of of "Xanadu" the musical from social commentary to comic love story. Original air date - October 26, 2007. | | |
| | Mon, 22 Oct 2007 14:04:11 -0400 | | | F. Murray Abraham talks about his role as a dangerous yet avid stamp collector in Theresa Rebeck's "Mauritius", a role he compares to Shakespeare's Mercutio; describes his transition from gang punk to aspiring actor in his Texas youth -- including the accent he had to lose; remembers his audition for Harold Pinter for what became his Broadway debut; clarifies his unique connection to a famous ad campaign; considers his experiences playing countless classical roles; and recalls his appearances in many early works by Terrence McNally, including creating the role of Chris in the original production of "The Ritz". Original air date - October 19, 2007. | | |
| | Mon, 15 Oct 2007 13:03:29 -0500 | | | Kristen Johnston talks about her nightly mantra that prepares her to go on stage in the current Atlantic Theatre Company production of Lucy Thurber's "Scarcity"; recalls her early years as drama student and how teachers tried to steer her out of the profession, as well as her joy at becoming a student at the Atlantic with teachers like William H. Macy and David Mamet; shares which of her performances she feels were not successful -- as well as the role where she thinks she finally found the ideal blend of herself and her character; and talks about her enthusiasm for teaching and why for one of her very next projects, we'll likely see her as a director. Original air date - October 12, 2007. | | |
| | Wed, 10 Oct 2007 09:19:30 -0400 | | | James Houghton, the founding artistic director of New York's Signature Theater Company discusses the impulse that began the acclaimed Off-Broadway theater, which each season produces the work of a single playwright, and how that mission is still being played out 17 years later, and also describes the start of his tenure as director of the Drama Division at the famed Juilliard School -- including how it feels to fill the shoes of the esteemed John Houseman, who had given Houghton one of his first acting jobs more than 20 years ago. Original air date – October 5, 2007. | | |
| | Mon, 01 Oct 2007 16:41:01 -0400 | | | Playwright Horton Foote reflects on his long career, including the traveling tent shows that first inspired his love of theatre; the contrast between his Texas neighbors' responses to his winning the Oscar and the Pulitzer; Brooks Atkinson and Ben Brantley's differing opinions on "The Trip To Bountiful"; his appreciation for theatres like Signature and Primary Stages, for giving him homes for his work; the experience of returning to Broadway with "The Young Man From Atlanta" after a hiatus of forty years; and how closely his characters model on some of their real-life inspirations. Original air date – September 28, 2007. | | |
| | Mon, 17 Sep 2007 10:19:32 -0400 | | | Upon her return to the Broadway production, "Wicked"'s original Madame Morrible, Carole Shelley, talks about whether she's hissed as a villain by fans on the street; explains how a childhood incident almost kept her off the musical stage; recalls her "trifecta of success" in "The Odd Couple", appearing in the Broadway, film and TV versions; remembers an agent who wanted to steer her away from appearing in "The Elephant Man"; and reflects on her only two appearances on the English stage since she emigrated to New York over forty years ago. Original air date – September 14, 2007. | | |
| | Mon, 10 Sep 2007 15:47:44 -0400 | | | "Xanadu" star Kerry Butler talks about her childhood performances of Olivia Newton-John songs and how they've informed her Broadway role as Kira, as well as the ins and outs of roller-skating on stage; her deep affection for the musical "Blood Brothers" and her experience in the Broadway production; her separate appearances in two somewhat blood-thirsty musicals, "Bat Boy" and "Little Shop Of Horrors"; why she took the originally underdeveloped role of Penny in the original "Hairspray"; and which of her roles fans most frequently mention when she meets them at the stage door. Original air date – September 7, 2007. | | |
| | Mon, 03 Sep 2007 18:10:04 -0400 | | | Days after joining the "Hairspray" cast as Velma von Tussle, Michele Pawk talks about the experience of being "put into" a long-running show and how one finds their character in that situation; shares her journey from a "Broadway-style" revue at Disney World to her first Broadway appearance in "Mail"; describes how she turned down an offer to appear in "Crazy For You", only to get a second offer months later for a more prominent role; recalls her experiences working on the new musicals "Seussical" and "Bounce"; reveals some guidance she received from Carol Burnett while playing Burnett's mother in "Hollywood Arms", and offers a special message to those who see try-outs and early previews of new shows and write about them on the Internet. Original air date – August 31, 2007. | | |
| | Mon, 27 Aug 2007 11:24:15 -0400 | | | "Wall Street Journal" drama critic Terry Teachout talks about his theatergoing experiences over the four years he's held that position, including what he's learned and what has surprised him; reveals the results of focus group research on arts coverage at the "Journal", and how it has influenced his reviewing; explains why he is an inveterate blogger and how he compares bloggers to old media arts critics; shares the story of how he came to be commissioned by Santa Fe Opera to write the libretto for a new work to premiere in 2009 -- as well as why we won't be seeing his one playwriting effort on stage anytime soon; and declares his opinion on the role of enthusiasm in arts criticism. Original air date – August 24, 2007. | | |
| | Mon, 20 Aug 2007 11:06:57 -0400 | | | Stage and film actor Anthony Rapp, upon his return to the long-running show "Rent", talks about working with the show's composer Jonathan Larson; the longevity and impact of "Rent"; getting his first professional audition for "Mr. Scrooge" at age 8; previewing "The Little Prince and The Aviator" on Broadway; meeting and later auditioning for director John Guare for "Six Degrees of Separation"; acting opposite Stockard Channing; how his mother was supportive, and how he'd like to work again with his brother, playwright/director Adam Rapp; playing the title role in "You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown" alongside Roger Bart (Snoopy) in a short 5-month Broadway run; the long process of writing his book "Without You: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and the Musical Rent"; and his future plans. Original air date – August 17, 2007. | | |
| | Mon, 13 Aug 2007 13:17:57 -0400 | | | Actress Debra Monk talks about her six year journey through the development of the musical "Curtains", and passionately reflects on the things she learned from the legendary team of Kander and Ebb on both "Curtains" and "Steel Pier"; recalls how she came to create both "Pump Boys And Dinettes" and "Oil City Symphony", and why she worried that she'd never be seen as anything but a country singer after the success of the first show; ponders what prompted Lanford Wilson to write a role specifically for her in the drama "Redwood Curtain"; and discusses her experiences on two Sondheim shows -- the first Broadway revival of "Company" and the original Off-Broadway premiere of "Assassins". Original air date – August 10, 2007. | | |
| | Mon, 06 Aug 2007 11:46:02 -0400 | | | John P. Connolly, the new executive director of Actors Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers, talks about the challenges and concerns facing the union and its members, chronicles his own professional career as an actor and how he became increasingly involved with union activities, recounts his own transition from being the elected head of AFTRA to the number one staff position at AEA, and explains why we won't be seeing him on stage or screen anytime soon. Original air date – August 3, 2007. | | |
| | Mon, 30 Jul 2007 10:32:38 -0400 | | | Actor Stephen Lang describes his process developing the book "Beyond Glory" for the stage, why he was drawn to portray eight recipients of the Medal of Honor, and how his tribute is perceived amidst present-day war politics; considers why, with no military background of his own, many of his major roles have been playing military men of varying stripes; reviews his performances in varying roles in multiple productions of "Hamlet", and why he's learned more about the title role in the fifteen years since he's played it himself than in all the years leading up to it; and declares playwright Aaron Sorkin to be today's George Bernard Shaw. Original air date – July 27, 2007. | | |
| | Mon, 23 Jul 2007 12:04:47 -0400 | | | Producer Dori Berinstein discusses the process behind creating the film "ShowBusiness: The Road to Broadway", her unprecedented chronicle of the 2003-2004 theatrical season, including how she winnowed 250 hours of film down to less than two and why the film's narrator Alan Cumming largely ended up on the cutting room floor; talks about how she got in theatre by way of film producing, including her role as a production executive on "Dirty Dancing"; and surveys her theatrical credits from Bill Irwin and David Shiner in "Fool Moon" to her current project, "Legally Blonde". Original air date – July 20, 2007. | | |
| | Mon, 16 Jul 2007 09:39:34 -0400 | | | Director Michael Wilson discusses his work on the first Broadway revival of John Van Druten's "Old Acquaintance" at the Roundabout and why the play is so different than the Bette Davis film; describes his theatrical education while working as house manager and company manager at Cambridge's American Repertory Theatre; recalls his hiring as artistic director of the Hartford Stage Company after many years of seeing the company's productions from the audience; explains his affinity for the work of Tennessee Williams and the ongoing Williams marathon in Hartford; and describes his ongoing professional relationships with actresses Annalee Jeffries and Elizabeth Ashley and the playwright Horton Foote. Original air date – July 13, 2007. | | |
| | Mon, 09 Jul 2007 09:39:34 -0400 | | | Actress Vanessa Redgrave explains why, despite the character name in the program, she's not specifically playing "Joan Didion" in Broadway's "The Year Of Magical Thinking"; explores the transformation of Wallace Shawn's "The Fever" from stage monologue to multi-character film; considers the experience of working with the many members of her acclaimed multi-generational family of actors and directors; discusses why she has tackled Shakespeare's "Antony And Cleopatra", as both actor and director in five different productions; declares that theatre should really performed outdoors in the blazing sun; and recalls childhood memories of her earliest experiences in the theatre -- as well as idyllic moments in her youth gathered with her parents and siblings around a piano singing Broadway show tunes. Original air date – July 6, 2007. | | |
| | Mon, 02 Jul 2007 12:39:34 -0400 | | | Three-time Tony Award-winning costume designer Catherine Zuber talks about the process of costume design and the nature of the collaboration between designers and a director; explains how she chooses her projects -- and how many she takes on each year; recounts the challenge of creating 600 costumes for the Lincoln Center Theatre production of "The Coast Of Utopia"; describes the development of the costumes for the multiple incarnations (and changing cast members) of "The Light In The Piazza"; shares how she made the career transition from photographer to designer; and dispenses some tips to aspiring designers about how to develop their skills. Original air date – June 29, 2007. | | |
| | Mon, 25 Jun 2007 12:13:57 -0400 | | | Playwright Douglas Carter Beane talks about how his fascination with Greek myths dovetailed with a producer's overture to adapt a famously bad movie, resulting in the new musical "Xanadu"; describes his years of making ends meet by staffing the hearing device booths at Broadway theatres, and manning the stage door at the Neil Simon Theatre; recalls his break-through year as a writer with "Advice From A Caterpiller" and "The Country Club"; chronicles the origin of his influential Off-Broadway company The Drama Department; and considers why he's managed to write roles with specific actresses in mind in both "As Bees In Honey Drown" and "The Little Dog Laughed", only to have those shows play to great success with entirely different women in the leads. Original air date – June 22, 2007. | | |
| | Mon, 18 Jun 2007 14:18:47 -0400 | | | Revered stage veteran Marian Seldes touches upon a few of the highlights of her storied career, from her current role on Broadway opposite Angela Lansbury in "Deuce" (a role written specifically for Ms. Seldes by Terrence McNally) to her earliest Broadway appearances with luminaries like Judith Anderson and John Gielgud; her longstanding association with the works of Edward Albee, including her Tony-winning turn in "A Delicate Balance"; her long run in "Equus" and her record-setting run in "Deathtrap"; and her ongoing passion for the stage, from childhood to today. Original air date – June 15, 2007. | | |
| | Mon, 11 Jun 2007 12:42:28 -0400 | | | Guthrie Theatre Artistic Director Joe Dowling talks about the company's move from its historic home into a brand new facility, including the reaction of the Minneapolis audiences to the shift; his own training as an actor at Ireland's Abbey School of Acting and his swift rise to the position of artistic director at the Abbey at age 29 -- only to depart seven years later; why his post-Ireland career took him to America instead of England; his first New York productions -- an acclaimed "Translations" for Manhattan Theatre Club and a panned "Playboy of the Western World" for Roundabout; why he particularly enjoyed working with American actors when he arrived -- even more than with their Irish counterparts; and why he believes there will never be an American national theatre on the European model. Original air date – June 8, 2007. | | |
| | Mon, 04 Jun 2007 13:20:54 -0400 | | | Tony nominee Mary Louise Wilson discusses her journey from workshop to Broadway with the musical "Grey Gardens"; recalls her Broadway debut in the troubled Judy Holliday vehicle "Hot Spot"; describes working with legendary stage figures George Abbott, Ellis Rabb and Eva LeGallienne in works as diverse as "Flora The Red Menace" and "Alice In Wonderland"; reflects on appearing in two productions of "The Women" thirty years apart; and considers the extraordinary impact of the Roundabout reinvention of the classic "Cabaret". Original air date – June 1, 2007. | | |
| | Mon, 28 May 2007 12:00:53 -0400 | | | David Hyde Pierce talks about joining in the development of the long-aborning "Curtains" and how he faced the challenge of a full-fledged character-driven musical on Broadway; recalls the circumstances that led him in very short order from his rejection by the Yale School of Drama to his Broadway debut in "Beyond Therapy"; considers his "on-the-job training" in theatre with such esteemed directors as Peter Brook and Mike Nichols; shares how working with Uta Hagen really opened up new horizons for him as a stage actor; and recaps the experience of translating the humor of Monty Python into the musical comedy format of "Spamalot". Original air date – May 25, 2007. | | |
| | Thu, 17 May 2007 09:36:58 -0400 | | | Frank Langella talks about the challenge of making the character of Richard Nixon in "Frost/Nixon" more than just a caricature, and whether it was easier to develop his performance as such a pivotal American figure for English audiences than it would have been in the U.S.; remembers a man unknown to him (who turned out to be Edward Albee) approaching him at a bar and asking to take on what became his Tony-winning role in "Seascape"; explains how he was determined to escape the typecasting the plagued Bela Lugosi when he played "Dracula"; reflects why he's been drawn multiple times to the characters of Sherlock Holmes and Cyrano de Bergerac; recalls how he worked with Arthur Miller to make significant cuts in "After The Fall"; declares that he's looking forward to directing more in the future, but will never again be a producer; and asks for someone to write him a role in a Broadway musical. Original air date – May 18, 2007. | | |
| | Mon, 14 May 2007 10:34:32 -0400 | | | Tony Award-winning choreographer Jerry Mitchell talks about taking on the dual roles of director and choreographer for the first time with "Legally Blonde" and charts the development of the musical from the selection of the writing team to its San Francisco tryout to its Broadway debut. He also shares his experience of becoming a professional dancer while still in college, when he was chosen by the legendary Agnes DeMille for the 1980 revival of "Brigadoon", his work with two other legends -- Michael Bennett on "Scandal" and Jerome Robbins on "Jerome Robbins' Broadway"; how he develops a dance vocabulary for each of his shows according to the needs of the material, with sources as diverse as 60s dances (for "Hairspray") and basketball (for "The Full Monty"); and how dancing nearly naked on a drum for Tommy Tune in "The Will Rogers Follies" led to "Broadway Bares", which has raised millions of dollars for Broadway Cares. Original air date – May 11, 2007. | | |
| | Mon, 07 May 2007 11:02:34 -0400 | | | The team of Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil talk about why they broke from their usual practice of originating their own projects and took on writing "The Pirate Queen"; how they first began to collaborate in the wake of "Jesus Christ Superstar"; the immediate success of the concept album and stage version of their first musical, "La Révolution Française"; what happened in the five year gap between "Les Misérables"’ Paris and London debuts; and why they continue to tweak their "Martin Guerre", 11 years after its London debut. Original air date – May 4, 2007. | | |
| | Mon, 30 Apr 2007 12:33:14 -0400 | | | Richard M. Sherman and George Stiles, the film and stage composers of "Mary Poppins", come together for a special program that explores the creation of the original film score and how it was adapted and supplemented for the stage musical. Sharing a piano, they play and sing snippets of a variety of "Poppins" songs - including songs that were cut from both versions, some of which ended up in other familiar scores. Separately, Sherman and Stiles also provide quick overviews of their respective careers, with Sherman recalling how he and his brother Robert became the house composers for Disney and later wrote the stage musicals "Over Here" and "Busker Alley", and Stiles reviewing his partnership with Anthony Drewe and how they spent seven years writing "Just So", only to win the Olivier Award for their more swiftly created "Honk!" Original air date – April 27, 2007. | | |
| | Mon, 23 Apr 2007 19:47:44 -0400 | | | Jeff Daniels talks about his return to the New York stage after a 14 year absence in David Harrower's Olivier Award-winning "Blackbird" at Manhattan Theatre Club, including how he works himself up to a performance level of fear and anger for the very first moment in the play; recalls being taken out for a drink while still in college by director Marshall Mason and invited to join the Circle Repertory Company as an apprentice, and the extraordinary ensemble feeling fostered at Circle Rep; discusses his lengthy relationship with playwright Lanford Wilson and how it has influenced his own playwriting for his Purple Rose Theatre Company in Chelsea Michigan; and describes how he has built the Purple Rose as both an arts resource and economic engine for his community. Original air date – April 20, 2007. | | |
| | Mon, 16 Apr 2007 10:18:44 -0400 | | | Two-time Tony-winning actress Judith Ivey talks about her transition to directing; why she was drawn to direct Lee Thuna's "Fugue" at the Cherry Lane Theatre rather than play the leading role; what she's learned from directors she's worked with, including Mike Nichols and Daniel Sullivan; why she moved from Chicago to New York in order to get better roles in Chicago -- only to find great success in New York once casting directors realized she wasn't British; her extraordinary year with "Hurlyburly"; and why she's willing to direct musicals, but won't ever act in them again. Original air date – April 13, 2007. | | |
| | Mon, 09 Apr 2007 15:59:07 -0400 | | | John Mahoney talks about returning to Broadway after a 20-year hiatus in the Roundabout Theatre production of "Prelude to a Kiss", including why he had to be conscious of not making his stage role of The Old Man reminiscent of his long-running TV role as "Frasier"'s father; recounts the story of his emigration to America from Manchester, England and how, at age 37, he suddenly decided to take up acting; recalls his early stage work with the St. Nicholas Theatre and being invited by John Malkovich to join the now-celebrated Steppenwolf Theatre ensemble; explains why he declined to travel to New York with Steppenwolf's productions of "And a Nightingale Sang" and "Balm in Gilead"; and remembers his breakthrough performances in "Orphans" and "The House of Blue Leaves", the latter his first major show outside of his Chicago theatre family. Original air date – April 6, 2007. | | |
| | Mon, 02 Apr 2007 10:53:13 -0400 | | | Author and actor Eric Bogosian explains why he left the text of "Talk Radio" essentially unchanged for its current Broadway revival, but made more significant rewrites in "subUrbia" for its revival at Second Stage last fall; shares why he was perfectly happy to pass the role of "Talk Radio"'s radio host Barry Champlain on to Liev Schreiber; recalls the genesis of his acclaimed solo shows, including "Sex Drugs Rock and Roll" and "Drinking in America" in the 1980s and 90s; and frankly declares why, after a lifelong passion for theatre, he has turned to writing novels. Original air date – March 30, 2007. | | |
| | Mon, 26 Mar 2007 12:15:40 -0400 | | | Director and actor Walter Bobbie talks about returning to the acting stage in the "Encores!" production of "Face The Music", and how he feels preparing to act in the famously brief "Encores" rehearsal period that he helped to create; recalls his experiences in the original cast of "Grease", and shares his thoughts about the revivals and the current TV competition; remembers when Jerry Zaks asked him to don a "fat suit" to play Nicely-Nicely in the 1992 "Guys and Dolls" revival; explains how he became a director without the usual years of apprenticeship; describes the origins of the long-running revival of "Chicago"; and explains why he wants his next production to involve three actors and two folding chairs. Original air date – March 23, 2007. | | |
| | Mon, 19 Mar 2007 10:07:43 -0400 | | | Neil Pepe, artistic director of New York's Atlantic Theater Company, discusses the development of the company as an outgrowth of acting classes led by playwright David Mamet and actor William H. Macy; his own introduction to the company as both carpenter and actor; the Atlantic's acclaimed work with playwright Martin McDonagh on his American debut, "The Beauty Queen of Leenane", and -- almost a decade later -- "The Lieutenant of Inishmore"; and how the Atlantic came to produce its most expensive production and first-ever musical, "Spring Awakening". Original air date – March 16, 2007. | | |
| | Mon, 12 Mar 2007 11:34:50 -0400 | | | Amy Irving talks about her experience seeing part two of "The Coast of Utopia" when it premiered in England, and her response when director Jack O'Brien asked her to play two roles in the trilogy's U.S. premiere; her homecoming to the Vivian Beaumont Theatre, where she spent her teenage years as her parents led the Repertory Theatre of Lincoln Center; her good fortune of working Arthur Miller on the premiere of "Broken Glass" and both acting with and being directed by Athol Fugard in his "The Road to Mecca"; and the experience of having a play, "Celadine", written expressly for her. Original air date – March 9, 2007. | | |
| | Mon, 05 Mar 2007 10:37:25 -0500 | | | Billy Crudup recalls how he messed up his first audition but still managed to be cast in his Broadway debut, "Arcadia"; describes the communal spirit that guided the 2002 production of "The Elephant Man", and how it differed from his work with director Simon McBurney in "The Resistible Rise Of Arturo Ui"; relates the thrill of manipulating audiences in Martin McDonagh's "The Pillowman"; and reflects on whether we -- and he -- should be reading up on Russian history to prepare for "The Coast Of Utopia". Original air date – March 2, 2007. | | |
| | Mon, 26 Feb 2007 10:45:36 -0500 | | | Kristin Chenoweth reminisces about her move from Oklahoma to Manhattan and how she was discovered after an all-day wait for an audition; tells how she was cast as Patty in the revival of "You're A Good Man Charlie Brown", but ultimately won a Tony as Sally; charts the evolution of her role as Glinda in "Wicked"; explains why she was drawn to "The Apple Tree" and what she hopes she's achieved with her multiple roles; describes how she constructed the song list for her solo concert debut at the Metropolitan Opera -- including what she had to leave out; and shares her thoughts about her upcoming Met Opera debut in "The Ghosts Of Versailles". Original air date – February 23, 2007. | | |
| | Tue, 20 Feb 2007 12:02:55 -0500 | | | Kevin McCollum talks about how his "contrarian" nature applies to his work as a producer, including mounting the 22-actor musical "In The Heights" Off-Broadway when many say even small musicals can't succeed off the Great White Way, deciding to send "Avenue Q" to Las Vegas rather than on a standard national tour, and creating a multi-city model for "Irving Berlin's White Christmas". Original air date – February 16, 2007. | | |
| | Mon, 05 Feb 2007 10:24:38 -0500 | | | Len Cariou looks back over his career on stage, from his days with his own cabaret act in his native Canada to his immersion into classical theatre at the Manitoba Theatre Center and the Stratford Festival to his triumphs on Broadway in two Sondheim premieres. Along the way, he tells the stories of his first meeting with director Harold Prince, his "A Little Night Music" audition -- for the role of Carl-Magnus, which he was prepared to turn down -- and why he actually did turn down the role of Frederik when it was offered; and the experience of the very first preview of "Sweeney Todd" -- which took place with the show not having completed a full tech rehearsal. Original air date - February 2, 2007. | | |
| | Mon, 29 Jan 2007 11:52:42 -0500 | | | Rita Moreno reflects on her career, from her Broadway debut at age 13; her efforts to break out of being constantly cast as a Latin spitfire; her arduous preparation for her audition for "West Side Story"; her experience working on the debut of Lorraine Hansberry's second Broadway play; her London appearances in "She Loves Me" and "Sunset Boulevard"; and how she came to find herself only five feet from Dr. Martin Luther King as he delivered his legendary "I Have A Dream" speech. Original air date - January 26, 2007. | | |
| | Mon, 22 Jan 2007 10:19:24 -0500 | | | Margot Harley, co-founder and Producing Artistic Director of The Acting Company, talks about the troupe's origins as an outgrowth of the acting program at The Juilliard School in the early 70s, the challenges of touring serious drama as an ongoing series of one-night-stands around the country, and the state of actor training today; she also provides some insight into how her co-founder John Houseman made his professional acting debut so late in his illustrious life in the theatre. Original air date - January 19, 2007. | | |
| | Tue, 16 Jan 2007 09:10:26 -0500 | | | Barbara Walsh, Joanne in the John Doyle revival of "Company", talks about taking on a role so indelibly associated with Elaine Stritch, explains why her character doesn't really "join the band" in this production and offers her own suggestion of how "Forbidden Broadway" should spoof her; reflects on shows she appeared in first at regional theatres that made it to Broadway ("Company" at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park and "Falsettos" at Hartford Stage) and those that didn't ("The Rhythm Club" at Signature and "Houdini" at Goodspeed); and the recalls her Broadway debut playing Grace Slick and Joan Baez in the briefly seen "Rock 'N Roll!: The First 5,000 Years". Original air date - January 12, 2007. | | |
| | Mon, 8 Jan 2007 11:10:00 -0500 | | | Rebecca Luker confesses to not reading the original "Mary Poppins" books despite her role as Mrs. Banks in the current Broadway musical version; recalls her Broadway debut understudying and then assuming the role of Christine in "The Phantom of the Opera"; talks about her great experience appearing in a (almost completely) non-singing role in A.R. Gurney's "Indian Blood"; and explains why she's exploring singing in a register lower than her pristine and acclaimed soprano voice. Original air date - January 5, 2007. | | |
| | Tue, 2 Jan 2007 15:15:00 -0500 | | | Blair Brown discusses her role on stage in the Lincoln Center Theatre production of Sarah Ruhl's "The Clean House", and her part in the play winning the prestigious Susan Smith Blackburn Award; explains how she ended up going to drama school and beginning her career in Canada; recalls her role in the triumphant Richard Foreman production of "The Threepenny Opera" and her anguish over the brief Broadway life of "The Secret Rapture"; and considers the experience of humanizing so-called "intellectual" plays like "Copenhagen" and "Arcadia". Original air date - December 29, 2006. | | |
| | Fri, 22 Dec 2006 12:35:00 -0500 | | | The leaders of the two best known theatre-based charitable group, Joe Benincasa of The Actors' Fund and Tom Viola of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, talk about the wide range of work done by their two organizations, their origins more than 100 years apart, the symbiotic relationship between them, and how they manage to produce such elaborate entertainments as a means of raising funds for their worthy causes. Original air date - December 22, 2006. | | |
| | Tue, 19 Dec 2006 11:55:00 -0500 | | | "Rent" veteran Daphne Rubin Vega talks about the challenge of tackling the "classic" music of "Les Miserables" after being known for rock-oriented show music, and why she feels a bit lonely as Fantine in "Les Miz"; chronicles how she transitioned from fine arts to rock and roll to theatre; recalls the origins of "Rent" at New York Theatre Workshop; and why she wanted to take a two month break from her fourth Broadway show in order to do a four-character play with LAByrinth Theatre Company in 2007. Original air date - December 15, 2006. | | |
| | Mon, 11 Dec 2006 12:35:00 -0500 | | | Two-time Tony winner Stephen Spinella talks about joining the youthful cast of "Spring Awakening" as the only male adult in the show, and why he's spent so much time reading the original Wedekind play from which the show is adapted; charts his long-time friendship with Tony Kushner from its start as a college-era intellectual debate through their mutual triumphs with "Angels In America", and surveys his works in stage classics both ancient ("Electra") and modern ("A View From The Bridge"). Original air date - December 8, 2006. | | |
| | Mon, 4 Dec 2006 11:30:00 -0500 | | | Composer William Finn explains how he became involved in "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" and what drew him to the show's quirky characters; charts the development of the "Marvin" trilogy, including "March Of The Falsettos" and "Falsettoland", and talks about the differing approaches of James Lapine and Graciela Daniele to that material; tells the story of his own early-1990s medical crisis and how that became the basis for "A New Brain"; and recounts his extreme trepidation about the new revue of his songs, "Make Me A Song", during its debut in Connecticut. Original air date - December 1, 2006. | | |
| | Wed, 29 Nov 2006 11:45:00 -0500 | | | Director John Doyle talks about the development of his unique actor-musician approach to classic musicals, including the current production of "Company" and the recent "Sweeney Todd"; why he's not worried about being seen as a "one-trick pony"; how he matches instruments to characters; why we won't see him directing "West Side Story" in his trademark style; and why he's feeling more pressure now than he did during his Broadway debut. Original air date - November 24, 2006. | | |
| | Mon, 20 Nov 2006 12:45:00 -0500 | | | Lyricist Sheldon Harnick explains the genesis of "The Apple Tree" as he prepares for its first Broadway revival, recalls his days as a writer of revue songs and his early encouragement from famed broadcaster Dave Garroway, recounts how he began his collaboration with composer Jerry Bock, shares why he's particularly proud of the title song from "She Loves Me", and reflects on the experience of hearing his words to "Fiddler On The Roof" sung in Scandinavian languages. Original air date - November 17, 2006. | | |
| | Mon, 13 Nov 2006 11:45:00 -0500 | | | On the occasion of the 10th anniversary of their Broadway production of "Chicago", producers Fran and Barry Weissler reflect on 10 years with "Chicago" not just in the U.S., but internationally; recall their start producing tours of classic plays for Catholic schools in New Jersey; take exception to the application of the word 'revival' to their productions; and talk about the challenge of producing in the glare of tabloid attention. Original air date - November 10, 2006. | | |
| | Tue, 31 Oct 2006 11:10:00 -0500 | | | Swoosie Kurtz talks about tackling her first role in a play by George Bernard Shaw in "Heartbreak House"; how she went from Air Force brat to the only American student at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art; her major stage appearances in the original "Uncommon Women and Others", "Fifth of July" and "The House of Blue Leaves"; and why she personally raised $250,000 to insure that "Frozen" made the leap to Broadway. Original air date - October 27, 2006. | | |
| | Mon, 23 Oct 2006 09:30:00 -0500 | | | Pulitzer Prize-winner Marsha Norman compares the gathering and rituals shared by theatre and houses of worship; explains why she could never have written "'night Mother" now that she's had children; talks about her specific goals in crafting the lyrics for "Lily's Eyes" in "The Secret Garden"; considers whether playwriting has actual rules and can be taught; and compares the story of "The Color Purple" to the classic tale of Cinderella. Original air date - October 20, 2006. | | |
| | Tue, 17 Oct 2006 14:00:00 -0500 | | | With her autobiography "Time Step" now in bookstores, Donna McKechnie reminisces about coming to New York in the late 50s with dreams of being a ballet star; her first Broadway show, "How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying", with choreographer Bob Fosse and dance captain Gwen Verdon; being part of the ensemble of the groundbreaking "Company", and the process that led to her Tony-winning role as Cassie in the original "A Chorus Line". Original air date - October 13, 2006. | | |
| | Tue, 10 Oct 2006 12:00:00 -0500 | | | Activist-author-actress Eve Ensler discusses her newest work, "The Treatment", part of the Impact Festival at The Culture Project in New York, and the place of political theatre in today's America; recalls the phenomenal success of her signature work, "The Vagina Monologues"; talks about the experience of leading a writing group at the Bedford Hills Correctional Center for Women; and shares her excitement over the publication of her first book, "At Last: Losing It in a Security Obsessed World". Original air date - October 6, 2006. | | |
| | Tue, 3 Oct 2006 12:00:00 -0500 | | | Renaissance man Simon Callow talks about "Hello Americans", the second book in his multi-volume biography of Orson Welles and his ongoing inquiry into Welles' life; explains how writing was his first passion, long before he began acting; considers how his manifesto against a director-driven theatre in his book "Being an Actor" has been tempered since he began directing himself; and recalls the experience of creating the role of Mozart in "Amadeus" opposite the legendary Paul Scofield. Original air date - September 29, 2006. | | |
| | Tue, 26 Sep 2006 11:30:00 -0500 | | | New York Musical Theatre Festival founders Kris Stewart and Isaac Robert Hurwitz talk about the original impulse to start the festival and place it in the context of New York City's other theatrical festivals, explain their producing process and the different categories of participating shows, and consider the effect of Manhattan media attention on their musicals which are, so often, at the beginning of their stage lives. Original air date - September 15, 2006. | | |
| | Wed, 13 Sep 2006 16:30:00 -0500 | | | With the world's longest-running musical, "The Fantasticks", back on stage in New York after a short hiatus, author Tom Jones recounts the time-honored tale of how he and Harvey Schmidt created this theatrical legend; reflects on their subsequent ventures on Broadway, including the soon-to-be-revived "110 In The Shade"; and talks about the hubris that surrounded their creation of a theatrical development workshop, the Portfolio Studio, in the wake of the early successes. Original air date - September 8, 2006. | | |
| | Tue, 5 Sep 2006 16:00:00 -0500 | | | Eric Schaeffer, founder and artistic director of Virginia's Signature Theatre, discusses the company's growth and acclaim as a home for musical theatre in the Washington DC area; the company's impending move from their 136-garage space into a two-theatre state of the art facility; how he's developed relationships with theatre royalty like Stephen Sondheim and Cameron Mackintosh; his view on the rumored Broadway move of his Kennedy Center "Mame"; and why he's looking forward to revisiting the musical "The Witches Of Eastwick" in a theatre roughly 1/6th the size of its original London home. Original air date - September 1, 2006. | | |
| | Mon, 28 Aug 2006 11:30:00 -0500 | | | Tony Award-winning actor Ruben Santiago-Hudson talks about his responsibility as part of the fraternity of "August Wilson actors"; his desire to direct the complete 10-play Wilson cycle of plays, having begun with the two in which he appeared on Broadway ("Seven Guitars" and "Gem of the Ocean"); the experience of adapting his own life into "Lackawanna Blues" for both stage and television, and the challenges of producing work which portrays the diversity of African-American life and issues in film and on television. Original air date - August 25, 2006. | | |
| | Mon, 21 Aug 2006 16:00:00 -0500 | | | Hinton Battle, a three-time Tony winner for "Sophisticated Ladies", "The Tap Dance Kid" and "Miss Saigon", surveys his career from his Broadway debut at age 15 in "The Wiz" to a trio of new projects: choreographing the Outkast film "Idlewild", directing and choreographing a stage version of the "Evil Dead" movies, and appearing on screen in the much anticipated "Dreamgirls". Original air date - August 18, 2006. | | |
| | Mon, 14 Aug 2006 11:30:00 -0500 | | | Director Mark Lamos explores his affinity for the W.A.S.P. world portrayed by playwright A.R. Gurney as he directs the world premiere of "Indian Blood" at New York's Primary Stages, and talks about his long tenure as artistic director of the Hartford Stage Company, the experience of free-lancing after nearly two decades at the helm of that company, and the differing challenges of directing theatre and opera. Original air date - August 11, 2006. | | |
| | Mon, 7 Aug 2006 15:30:00 -0500 | | | With the "DruidSynge" circle of plays visiting briefly in the United States, director Garry Hynes describes the process of melding six works by John Millington Synge into a marathon theatrical event; talks about the founding and development of the Druid Theatre Company, her artistic home in Ireland; considers the effect of "The Beauty Queen of Leenane" and her Tony Award (the first for a woman director) on both the Druid and her own career; and surveys the current crop of up and coming Irish dramatists. Original air date - August 4, 2006. | | |
| | Wed, 2 Aug 2006 16:00:00 -0500 | | | "Spamalot"'s newest king, Harry Groener, talks about the process of slipping into the cast (and the chain-mail costume) of the hit musical, recalls his Broadway debut in "Oklahoma" - including some diction notes from famed choreographer Agnes de Mille, describes a number cut from the original production of "Crazy For You", and considers why he's thought of as a "serious actor" on the West Coast but a musical comedy guy in New York City. Original air date - July 28, 2006. | | |
| | Mon, 24 Jul 2006 15:00:00 -0500 | | | As "The Light In The Piazza" prepares for its national tour, director Bartlett Sher talks about the experience of living with and working on the show for more than three years, explains his approach to "Awake And Sing" and why he felt it belonged in the same theatre where its premiered 70 years ago, and professes his amazement at the enthusiastic response in the Seattle community to the Intiman Theatre (where Sher is artistic director) receiving the 2006 Regional Theatre Tony Award. Original air date - July 21, 2006. | | |
| | Mon, 17 Jul 2006 15:00:00 -0500 | | | With his debut solo CD now on sale, Brian Stokes Mitchell ranges over his career, from his first performances with a youth theatre in San Diego to seven years on television's "Trapper John M.D." to David Merrick's production of "Oh, Kay" to his rapid succession of leading roles in "Ragtime", "Kiss Me Kate" and "Man Of La Mancha". Original air date - July 14, 2006. | | |
| | Tue, 11 Jul 2006 11:30:00 -0500 | | | Director Michael Mayer explains the juxtaposition of turn of the 20th century German teenage angst with modern rock and roll in "Spring Awakening", recounts his first meeting with master playwright Arthur Miller before "A View From The Bridge", addresses why he felt "You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown" needed a freshening up for its Broadway revival, and shares the process that made Sutton Foster the star of "Thoroughly Modern Millie". Original air date - July 7, 2006. | | |
| | Wed, 5 Jul 2006 14:22:00 -0500 | | | Martha Plimpton talks about her acting journey from "The Goonies" to "Hedda Gable", exploring her experience growing up in the theatre, with childhood performances at The Public; the importance of her joining Chicago's noted Steppenwolf ensemble, and the unique challenge of capturing her character with a single scene in the current Broadway production of Conor McPherson's "Shining City". Original air date - June 30, 2006. | | |
| | Fri, 23 Jun 2006 10:21:00 -0500 | | | Liev Schreiber takes time out from The Public Theatre's production of "Macbeth" to reflect on the humanity of that villainous role, his love for the Delacorte Theatre in Central Park, how directing his first film has informed his own work as an actor, and why he thinks Pinter and Mamet are similar to Shakespeare. Original air date - June 23, 2006. | | |
| | Mon, 19 Jun 2006 10:52:00 -0500 | | | Three-time Tony nominee Kate Burton discusses her newest show, the family drama "The Water's Edge" by Theresa Rebeck, and why she's drawn to characters who are once dark and witty, and she talks about other family matters as well, including how her famous father Richard felt about her entering the family business and her 17 summers at the Williamstown Theatre Festival, including 9 years when it was led by her husband Michael Ritchie. Original air date - June 16, 2006. | | |
| | Fri, 16 Jun 2006 22:12:00 -0500 | | | Stage and screen legend Angela Lansbury surveys her theatre career, from her wartime drama school scholarship (courtesy of the American Theatre Wing) to her acclaimed work in the musicals of Stephen Sondheim ("Anyone Can Whistle" and "Sweeney Todd") and Jerry Herman ("Mame" and "Dear World") to dramatic roles in Shakespeare and Albee and muses on whether audiences might see her on the stage once again. Original air date - June 9, 2006. | | |
| | Tue, 6 Jun 2006 12:25:00 -0500 | | | Actor and author Bob Martin chronicles the journey of "The Drowsy Chaperone" from sophisticated bachelor party entertainment to success on the Toronto fringe to its current berth as a full-scale Broadway musical, and talks about the creation of his critically acclaimed television series "Slings & Arrows", which portrays life on stage and off at a Canadian Shakespeare festival. Original air date - June 2, 2006. | | |
| | Sun, 4 Jun 2006 21:32:00 -0500 | | | During the run of her solo gig at the Cafe Carlyle in New York, Maria Friedman talks about her extensive relationship with the work of Stephen Sondheim, including English productions of "Merrily We Roll Along" and "Passion"; the health challenge that faced her during the Broadway run of "The Woman In White"; and working with her sister, producer Sonia Friedman. Original air date - May 26, 2006. | | |
| | Sat, 27 May 2006 17:10:00 -0500 | | | One of America's most prolific playwrights, Richard Greenberg discusses the wave of media attention that has accompanied the current Broadway revival of "Three Days of Rain", and its effect on him in a theatre season which has seen premieres of his new works on Broadway ("A Naked Girl on the Appian Way" at Roundabout), Off-Broadway ("The House in Town" at Lincoln Center), in Chicago ("The Well-Appointed Room" at Steppenwolf) and in Washington DC ("Bal Masque" at Theater J). Original air date - May 19, 2006. | | |
| | Thu, 25 May 2006 11:50:00 -0500 | | | Zoe Wanamaker reflects on her personal connection to the drama of "Awake And Sing", remembers her journey from Chichester to London to Princeton to Broadway in "Electra", describes her experience being raised in England as the child of expatriate Americans, and talks about the evolution of her perspective on working on stage in London and the United States. Original air date - May 12, 2006. | | |
| | Fri, 19 May 2006 11:53:00 -0500 | | | Broadway's current Macheath, Alan Cumming, talks about the political relevance of "The Threepenny Opera" in America today, chronicles his experiences after drama school as part of a comedy duo in Scotland, recalls the development of his Tony-winning role as the Master of Ceremonies in "Cabaret", first in London and later in the U.S., and considers what may be next in his creative career. Original air date - May 5, 2006. | | |
| | Thu, 11 May 2006 19:43:00 -0500 | | | Kelli O'Hara discusses her transition from ingenue to leading lady in "The Pajama Game", the personal and professional challenge of taking over the role of Clara in "The Light in the Piazza" after starting in the role of Franca, and the things she learned while doing "The Sweet Smell of Success" and "Dracula". Original air date - April 28, 2006. | | |
| | Fri, 28 Apr 2006 10:50:00 -0500 | | | A veteran of the original Broadway production of "Barefoot in the Park" and now appearing in the current revival, Tony Roberts reflects on the nature of Neil Simon's play both then and now, talks about his career creating roles in major shows even as he regularly joined others later in their runs, and recalls his unsuccessful early auditions for an artists with whom he would become a frequent collaborator - Woody Allen. Original airdate - April 21, 2006. | | |
| | Wed, 12 Apr 2006 11:02:00 -0500 | | | With his newest play Defiance premiering at Manhattan Theatre Club and the award-winning Doubt entering its second year on Broadway, John Patrick Shanley talks about the evolution of his trilogy including these plays; the influence on his work of institutions he's encountered, including the military and the church; and why he gives out his e-mail address to audiences in his Playbill biography. Original airdate - April 14, 2006. | | |
| | Wed, 12 Apr 2006 11:02:00 -0500 | | | Lyricist and director Richard Maltby, Jr. talks about how he grew to be fond of Johnny Cash (who he never met) as he developed the musical "Ring of Fire", recalls creating "Ain't Misbehavin'" in the cabaret of the original Manhattan Theatre Club, describes the process of his four-decade-long collaboration with composer David Shire, explains his role in the writing of "Miss Saigon" and expresses some significant ambivalence over being labeled as "the father of the jukebox musical." Original airdate - April 7, 2006. | | |
| | Thu, 6 Apr 2006 19:20:00 -0500 | | | Nearing the end of her run in David Lindsay Abaire's "Rabbit Hole", Cynthia Nixon discusses the experience of listening to audiences at every performance of this emotional play, how she chose this part as her first Broadway role following the conclusion of "Sex and the City", and her early stage work including "The Philadelphia Story", "Romeo and Juliet" and her simultaneous appearances in "Hurlyburly" and "The Real Thing". Original airdate - March 31, 2006. | | |
| | Mon, 3 Apr 2006 14:35:00 -0500 | | | Composer Michael John LaChiusa explains his longtime fascination with the works of Lorca, which led to his new musical work "Bernarda Alba"; how he transformed a trio of Japanese stories into "See What I Wanna See"; tantalizingly hints at other literary works that he may pull off his shelf and adapt one day; and describes writing for the voices of performers like Audra McDonald and others. Original airdate - March 24, 2006. | | |
| | Fri, 24 Mar 2006 16:55:00 -0500 | | | Two-time Tony winner Jonathan Pryce describes his journey from a small political theatre company in England to being the star of such musicals as "My Fair Lady" in London, "Miss Saigon" in London and New York, and the current Broadway production of "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels", with stops along the way for "The Taming of the Shrew", "Hamlet" and "The Goat". Original airdate - March 17, 2006. | | |
| | Fri, 17 Mar 2006 11:09:00 -0500 | | | During previews for the new musical "Bernarda Alba", director-choreographer Graciela Daniele recalls being compelled to explore American musical theatre after encountering "West Side Story" while she was living in Paris, her apprenticeship with such dance masters as Jack Cole and Bob Fosse, and her collaborations with composers Michael John LaChiusa, William Finn, and Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens. Original airdate - March 10, 2006. | | |
| | Fri, 10 Mar 2006 10:25:00 -0500 | | | Malcolm Gets talks about being groomed for musical comedy from his very earliest years, his sudden transition from Radio City Christmas Spectacular dancer to Yale School of Drama graduate student, his deep affinity for the work of William Finn and-very carefully-what he thinks conspired against the success of "Amour". Original airdate - March 3, 2006. | | |
| | Fri, 3 Mar 2006 10:12:00 -0500 | | | "The Color Purple"'s LaChanze talks about The Oprah Effect on that show, as well as her personal identification with the challenges faced by her character Celie; reflects on her fruitful artistic partnerships with director Graciela Daniele and the team of Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty; and considers the challenges and opportunities she's had on occasion to explore roles originally conceived for causcasian actors. Original airdate - February 24, 2006. | | |
| | Thu, 23 Feb 2006 11:01:00 -0500 | | | With Adam Rapp's "Red Light Winter" marking another export from Chicago to New York for the Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Steppenwolf's artistic director Martha Lavey talks about the company's 30th anniversary all-premiere season, the maturation of a company once identified as rough and tumble rock-and-roll theatre, and her own experiences becoming part of, and ultimately the leader of, this acclaimed actor-driven theatre. Original airdate - February 17, 2006. | | |
| | Fri, 17 Feb 2006 17:16:00 -0500 | | | While Mrs. Lovett playing the tuba may seem strange to some, "Sweeney Todd"'s Patti LuPone explains that she's no stranger to the tuba, as she recalls her years in the high school band, as well her formative years at Juilliard and in John Houseman's Acting Company, the mixed blessings of her triumph as "Evita" and why she always wants to be thought of as an actor, not a star. Original airdate - February 10, 2006. | | |
| | Thu, 16 Feb 2006 15:25:00 -0500 | | | When theatre fans peruse the Sunday New York Times, the vast majority of Broadway ads they see are the work of the dominant theatre agencies: Serino Coyne and SpotCo. The CEOs of each company, Nancy Coyne and Drew Hodges, unite for a discussion of theatre marketing today, the work of the ad agency, setting audience expectations and how to find the essence of a show - often before the show is even complete. Original airdate - February 3, 2006. | | |
| | Tue, 7 Feb 2006 15:50:00 -0500 | | | Sarah Jones talks about the shift from slam poet to Broadway star, performing at United Nations, the melting pot of Queens, NY, and what its like to have Meryl Streep as your number one fan. And she brings along a few of her characters from "Bridge and Tunnel" as well. Original airdate - January 27, 2006. | | |
| | Fri, 20 Jan 2006 14:45:00 -0500 | | | Straddling the worlds of musical comedy and rock and roll, "Sweeney Todd"'s Michael Cerveris talks about how his extensive work with Stephen Sondheim makes it hard to sing more conventional musical theatre works, recounts learning how to be a rock star from Pete Townshend of The Who in preparation for "Tommy", and recalls how his disparate performing worlds united in "Hedwig and the Angry Inch". Original airdate - January 20, 2006. | | |
| | Thu, 12 Jan 2006 11:42:00 -0500 | | | One of the busiest directors in New York, Tony-winner Doug Hughes, talks about revisiting "Doubt" with a new cast; how he handles the heightened expectations for "Defiance", his next collaboration with playwright John Patrick Shanley; and whether, for the child of two actors, becoming a director is the ultimate revenge on your parents. Original airdate - January 6, 2006. | | |
| | Thu, 12 Jan 2006 11:42:00 -0500 | | | Stage veterans Rosemary Harris and John Cullum talk about meeting for the very first time to play husband and wife in Ariel Dorfman's "The Other Side", discuss their feelings about seeing their children follow in their acting footsteps, and recall the subdued 1966 Tony Awards, when Cullum was nominated for "On a Clear Day..." and Harris won for "The Lion in Winter". Original airdate - December 30, 2005. | | |
| | Thu, 29 Dec 2005 12:20:00 -0500 | | | Audra McDonald recounts her start in theatre as an alternative to therapy for childhood hyperactivity, her teenage years at small theatres in northern California (including her performance as Eva in "Evita"), balancing her stage and concert careers, and the wide variety of musical styles to which she is devoted. Original airdate - December 23, 2005. | | |
| | Tue, 27 Dec 2005 14:34:00 -0500 | | | Early in his first season at the helm, Oskar Eustis, the new artistic director of The Public Theater, talks about his plans for that seminal theatrical institution, both on stage and off, lets slip plans to pay tribute to the company's original traveling Shakespeare mandate with new theatrical ventures in all of the city's five boroughs, and reflects on the choice of Rinne Groff's "The Ruby Sunrise" as his first directing project of his tenure. Original airdate - December 16, 2005. | | |
| | Tue, 27 Dec 2005 14:34:00 -0500 | | | Michael Ball discusses straddling the worlds of musical theatre and pop music in his native England, as well as the irony of returning to the Broadway stage after 15 years to gain greater recognition in the U.S. in the role of Count Fosco in "The Woman in White" - where he's rendered unrecognizable by costume and make-up. Original airdate - December 9, 2005. | | |
| | Tue, 13 Dec 2005 13:31:00 -0500 | | | Playwright Christopher Durang contemplates issues of faith, family, humor and falling space debris during the concurrent runs of his new play "Miss Witherspoon" in New York and his new musical "Adrift in Macao" in Philadelphia. Original airdate - December 2, 2005. | | |
| | Thu, 8 Dec 2005 12:33:00 -0500 | | | Judy Kaye talks about recreating the spirit and decidedly unique voice of 1940s-era vocal phenomenon Florence Foster Jenkins in "Souvenir", and talks about her star-making experience taking over the role of Lily Garland in "On The 20th Century", as well as her roles in "Phantom of the Opera", "Ragtime" and "Mamma Mia". Original airdate - November 25, 2005. | | |
| | Tue, 22 Nov 2005 09:05:00 -0500 | | | Jill Clayburgh talks about the joys of returning to the Broadway stage for the first time in two decades in Richard Greeenberg's "A Naked Girl on the Appian Way", her anticipation of her immediate follow-up with Neil Simon's "Barefoot in the Park", and her not-so-happy experiences years ago in "Jumpers" and "Pippin"-which drove her out to the west coast and film stardom. Original airdate - November 18, 2005. | | |
| | Thu, 17 Nov 2005 12:54:00 -0500 | | | On the eve of his debut as a film director, Craig Lucas discusses transforming "The Dying Gaul" from play to screenplay and talks about his journey from a narrow-minded Philadelphia suburb to the chorus of musicals like "Sweeney Todd" and "Shenandoah" to his place as one of our most adventurous and outspoken playwrights. Original airdate - November 11, 2005. | | |
| | Wed, 9 Nov 2005 11:49:00 -0500 | | | On the eve of her solo concert at Carnegie Hall, Lea Salonga chronicles her journey from the Philippines to the West End to Broadway with "Miss Saigon", the experience of being in a "new" Rodgers & Hammerstein show with the revised "Flower Drum Song", and the challenges for Asian performers in America. Original airdate - November 4, 2005. | | |
| | Wed, 19 Oct 2005 10:57:00 -0500 | | | Stage legend Carol Channing reminisces about her extraordinary career, ranging from her naive yet successful audition for the William Morris Agency (which she briefly recreates) to her early success as Lorelei Lee (whom she describes as a "semi-idiot who knew how to become the richest woman in the world") to her recent Honorary Doctorate from the California State University system. Original airdate - October 21, 2005. | | |
| | Wed, 2 Nov 2005 10:03:00 -0500 | | | Veteran critic John Simon reflects on decades of theatregoing, including 38 years with New York Magazine, as he marks the publication of "John Simon On Theatre," a comprehensive anthology of his reviews. Original airdate - October 14, 2005. | | |
| | Wed, 2 Nov 2005 10:03:00 -0500 | | | Noted architect David Rockwell talks about branching into scenic design ("Hairspray", "All Shook Up") as an extension of his childhood love of theatre, which included working on amateur productions in his mother's New Jersey troupe and his teenage years soaking in the "theatre of open spaces" in Mexico. Original airdate - October 7, 2005. | | |
| | Tue, 11 Oct 2005 11:40:00 -0500 | | | Gerard Alessandrini shares the process of turning Broadway into "Forbidden Broadway" and why after all these years of skewering stage stars and shows, he's still an optimistic fan of the theatre. Original airdate - September 30, 2005. | | |
| | Tue, 4 Oct 2005 12:43:00 -0500 | | | Returning to the New York stage for the first time in more than a decade, Chris Sarandon talks about joining the company of "A Light In The Piazza" and reflects on his early stage work in regional theatre both before and after his initial film success in "Dog Day Afternoon". Original airdate - September 23, 2005. | | |
| | Wed, 14 Sep 2005 10:12:00 -0500 | | | With "Two Gentlemen of Verona" back on stage at The Public Theater's Delacorte in Central Park, Galt MacDermot reminisces about the great successes of "Hair" and "Two Gents", as well as the brief runs of "Dude" and "Via Galactica" - and why terms like rock, jazz and funk are all too limiting to him as a composer. Original airdate - September 9, 2005. | | |
| | Wed, 7 Sep 2005 13:15:00 -0500 | | | Charles Strouse takes listeners back to the creation of "Bye Bye Birdie", including the behind the scenes challenges of retooling the musical for Chita Rivera and figuring out how to make Dick Van Dyke a star, and the multi-year struggle to get a certain redheaded orphan named "Annie" into production. Original airdate - August 26, 2005. | | |
| | Wed, 31 Aug 2005 14:30:00 -0500 | | | Joanna Gleason talks about signing on to "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" before her part was fully written, recalls her Broadway debut in "I Love My Wife" and the thrill of premiering "Into The Woods", and considers her return to Broadway after a 13 year hiatus. Original airdate - August 19, 2005. | | |
| | Tue, 16 Aug 2005 10:00:00 -0500 | | | Tony Award-winner Dan Fogler and castmate Sarah Saltzberg track the creation of the hit musical "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee", and the many fortunate meetings that made the musical possible - from the high school links to their college friendship to performing the non-musical "Crepuscule" in a condemned theater on the Lower East Side to the best payoff to any child care job in theatre history. Original airdate - August 12, 2005 | | |
| | Mon, 8 Aug 2005 16:00:00 -0500 | | | Producer Robyn Goodman discusses her role in the creation of the musicals "Avenue Q" and "Altar Boyz", talks about her transition from running the not-for-profit Second Stage Theatre to the commercial arena, and the many considerations that go into producing revivals, including the recent "Steel Magnolias" and the upcoming "Barefoot In The Park". Original airdate - August 5, 2005 | | |
| | Fri, 5 Aug 2005 10:00:00 -0500 | | | Terrence Mann talks about the development of the musical "Lennon", including what it's like to speak the words of John Lennon with Yoko Ono only 20 feet away, as well as his experience creating roles in the original Broadway productions of "Cats", "Les Miserables" and "Beauty and the Beast". Original airdate - July 29, 2005 | | |
| | Thu, 28 Jul 2005 15:00:00 -0500 | | | Prolific playwright A.R. Gurney discusses his recent turn into political playwriting ("O Jerusalem", "Mrs. Farnsworth", "Screen Play"), how he developed his career while keeping a "day job" for more than 20 years -- teaching humanities to aspiring engineers and scientists at M.I.T., and why one of America's most popular playwrights has taken to premiering his new plays in a tiny theatre Off-Off-Broadway. Original airdate - July 22, 2005 | | |
| | Thu, 21 Jul 2005 11:00:00 -0500 | | | Lynn Redgrave talks about life as part of one of the great theatrical dynasties -- including the challenging experience of acting with one's relatives, her drive to commemorate her family through her own work as a playwright ("Shakespeare for My Father", "The Mandrake Root"), and her current role in the revival of "The Constant Wife". Original airdate - July 15, 2005 | | |
| | Thu, 21 Jul 2005 11:00:00 -0500 | | | Broadway Producer Arielle Tepper ("Spamalot", "The Pillowman") talks about complexity of mounting her labor of love, New York's Summer Play Festival, now in its second season of introducing new plays by new writers. Original airdate - July 8, 2005 | | |
| | Tue, 19 Jul 2005 18:00:00 -0500 | | | Bill Irwin, details his journey from being a clown in a San Francisco troupe to winning a Tony Award for starring opposite Kathleen Turner in "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?". Original airdate - July 1, 2005 | | |
| | Tue, 19 Jul 2005 18:00:00 -0500 | | | Denis O'Hare, Tony Award winning actor from "Take Me Out", and currently starring in the Broadway revival of "Sweet Charity", shares his thoughts on working in both plays and musicals - and what draws him to a particular project. Original airdate - June 24, 2005 | | |
| | Tue, 19 Jul 2005 18:00:00 -0500 | | | Tony Award winning actor ("The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby"), Roger Rees, joins "Downstage Center" to talk acting in the Royal Shakespeare Company, as well as on Broadway, and about his newest "role" - as Artistic Director of the Williamstown Theatre Festival. Original airdate - June 17, 2005 | | |
| | Tue, 19 Jul 2005 18:00:00 -0500 | | | Alan Ayckbourn, who is back in the United States for the US premiere of his newest play, "Private Fears in Public Places", joins the hosts of "Downstage Center" to talk about how he approaches being an author and director. Original airdate - June 10, 2005 | | |
| | Tue, 19 Jul 2005 18:00:00 -0500 | | | Yet another Tony Award winner (Best Performance by an Actress in a Play, "The Heiress") who is nominated again this year (Best Performance by an Actress in a Play, "Doubt"), Cherry Jones, talks with "Downstage Center" about her voyage from a small town in Tennessee to Broadway stage, film and TV screens. Original air date - June 3, 2005 | | |
| | Tue, 19 Jul 2005 18:00:00 -0500 | | | The Tony Award nominee (Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical, "The Light in the Piazza") Victoria Clark, describes the trip that she took with "A Light In The Piazza" from a small workshop to Tony-nominated Broadway musical at Lincoln Center. Original sir date - May 27, 2005. | | |
| | Tue, 19 Jul 2005 18:00:00 -0500 | | | The Tony Award winning actress (Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical, "Thoroughly Modern Millie") and current nominee (same category, "Little Women"), Sutton Foster, talks about many of her roles including the most recent, Jo in "Little Women", and the title role in "Thoroughly Modern Millie" on Broadway. Original air date - May 20, 2005 | | |
| | Tue, 19 Jul 2005 18:00:00 -0500 | | | Tony Award nominated actor (Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical, "Spamalot"), Tim Curry, discusses his wide-ranging career; from "Hair" on the West End to King Arthur in "Spamalot" on Broadway; with a stop along the way for the film "The Rocky Horror Picture Show". Original air date - May 13, 2005. | | |
| | Tue, 19 Jul 2005 18:00:00 -0500 | | | This week Barbara Cook (currently in "Tribute" at the Cafe Carlyle), visits "Downstage Center" to talk about her five decade career - from intimate cabarets to the Broadway stage; the people she has met and a lot more. Original air date - May 6, 2005. | | |
| | Tue, 19 Jul 2005 18:00:00 -0500 | | | New blog offering Downstage Center podcasts. The American Theatre Wing, in association with XM Satellite Radio, presents "Downstage Center" a weekly theatrical interview show, featuring the top artists working in theatre, both on and Off-Broadway and around the country. The interviews are conducted by Howard Sherman, the Executive Director of The American Theatre Wing and John von Soosten of XM Satellite Radio. This episode (#51) features Leslie Uggams, currently on Broadway in "On Golden Pond". She discusses her career, from working as a singer in some of America's best known nightclubs to starring on Broadway opposite James Earl Jones. Original air date - April 29, 2005 | | |
| | Thu, 18 Aug 2005 15:00:00 -0500 | | | Versatile leading man Raúl Esparza explains why he's taken on a light musical like "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" after a strong of dark and tormented roles, and recalls earlier performances, including taking on roles as the authors' alter egos in works like "The Normal Heart" and "Tick...Tick...Boom". Original airdate - April 22, 2005 | | |
| | Mon, 29 Aug 2005 10:30:00 -0500 | | | John Lithgow talks about his plunge back into theatre after years of absence from the New York stage, with a succession of acclaimed performance in "Sweet Smell of Success", "The Retreat from Moscow", "Mrs. Farnsworth" and "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" - all in the past three years. Original airdate - April 15, 2005. | | |
| | Mon, 3 Oct 2005 10:27:00 -0500 | | | During the run of her one-woman show "What Of The Night", Jane Alexander discusses the challenges of portraying the life and words of Djuna Barnes, and talks about the effect of her years as head of the National Endowment for the Arts on both her life and her work as an artist. Original airdate - April 8, 2005. | | |
| | Fri, 20 Apr 2007 09:54:26 -0400 | | | Playwright Lee Blessing talks about his play "Going to St. Ives" with its theme, of politics, women, and motherhood, and its similarities to his best-known play "A Walk In The Woods". Blessing explains how his writing evolved from emulating historical playwrights to penning contemporary stories influenced by his Midwest upbringing; the varied topical issues of his works; the contrast between having an American drama produced on Broadway or in regional theaters; the value in play development workshops such as the O'Neill Playwrights Conference; and his upcoming works: "The Scottish Play" and "A Body of Water". Original air date – April 1, 2005. | | |
| | Tue, 17 Jan 2006 09:15:00 -0500 | | | With the cast album of "Dessa Rose" now in stores, here's the "Downstage Center" March 2005 interview with Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty in which they survey their career from jingle writing to "Ragtime" and everything in between (including "Once on this Island" and "My Favorite Year"), with Stephen briefly at the keyboard to illuminate a few stories. Original airdate - March 25, 2005. | | |
| | Fri, 23 Feb 2007 08:54:30 -0500 | | | Mercedes Ruehl shares her passion for art and for playing art patron Peggy Guggenheim in "Woman Before A Glass" talks about her early training and her roles in regional theatre, her Off-Broadway success in the financial comedy "Other People's Money", and her Tony Award-winning turn in Neil Simon's "Lost In Yonkers". Original air date – March 18, 2005. | | |
| | Sat, 4 Feb 2006 11:45:00 -0500 | | | Donald Margulies talks about his Broadway experiences during the run of "Brooklyn Boy" in 2005, as well as the experience of revisiting "Sight Unseen" with Manhattan Theatre Club more than a decade after their acclaimed Off-Broadway production, and surveys his own work from "Found a Peanut" to the Pulitzer Prize-winning "Dinner with Friends". Original airdate - March 11, 2005. | | |
| | Tue, 16 May 2006 23:32:00 -0500 | | | Andrea Martin talks about her great successes in shows she was originally inclined to turn down, including "Oklahoma", "Candide" and "Fiddler on the Roof", as well as her start in the legendary Toronto production of "Godspell" and her Tony-winning turn in "My Favorite Year". Original air date - February 25, 2005. | | |
| | Fri, 13 Apr 2007 16:39:24 -0400 | | | Acclaimed director Michael Blakemore discusses his ongoing collaboration with playwright Michael Frayn during the Broadway run of "Democracy" and explores his famed virtuosity staging both plays and such musicals as the revival of "Kiss Me Kate" and the original production of "City of Angels". Original air date – February 18, 2005. | | |
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managing editor