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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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"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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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"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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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"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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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"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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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