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American Theatre Wing - Downstage Center
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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.
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| Date Added |
20-Jul-2005 |
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ATW - Downstage Center Episodes - | Jayne Houdyshell (#243) - November, 2009 | "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. | Get at Short URL | Download Jayne Houdyshell (#243) - November, 2009 | Play in Popup.
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| Rosemary Harris (#242) - November, 2009 | "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. | Get at Short URL | Download Rosemary Harris (#242) - November, 2009 | Play in Popup.
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| Tracy Letts (#241) - November, 2009 | "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. | Get at Short URL | Download Tracy Letts (#241) - November, 2009 | Play in Popup.
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| Anne Bogart (#240) - October, 2009 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Anne Bogart (#240) - October, 2009 | Play in Popup.
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| Emanuel Azenberg (#239) - October, 2009 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Emanuel Azenberg (#239) - October, 2009 | Play in Popup.
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| Charlayne Woodard (#238) - October, 2009 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Charlayne Woodard (#238) - October, 2009 | Play in Popup.
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| Daryl Roth (#237) - October, 2009 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Daryl Roth (#237) - October, 2009 | Play in Popup.
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| Adrian Bryan-Brown (#236) - September, 2009 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Adrian Bryan-Brown (#236) - September, 2009 | Play in Popup.
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| Sergio Trujillo (#235) - September, 2009 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Sergio Trujillo (#235) - September, 2009 | Play in Popup.
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| Victoria Bailey (#234) - September, 2009 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Victoria Bailey (#234) - September, 2009 | Play in Popup.
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| Susan Hilferty (#233) - September, 2009 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Susan Hilferty (#233) - September, 2009 | Play in Popup.
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| Ken Davenport (#232) - August, 2009 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Ken Davenport (#232) - August, 2009 | Play in Popup.
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| Douglas Aibel (#231) - August, 2009 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Douglas Aibel (#231) - August, 2009 | Play in Popup.
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| Allison Janney (#230) - August, 2009 | "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. | Get at Short URL | Download Allison Janney (#230) - August, 2009 | Play in Popup.
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| Brian d'Arcy James (#229) - August, 2009 | "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. | Get at Short URL | Download Brian d'Arcy James (#229) - August, 2009 | Play in Popup.
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| Gregory Jbara (#228) - August, 2009 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Gregory Jbara (#228) - August, 2009 | Play in Popup.
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| Jan Maxwell (#227) - November, 2008 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Jan Maxwell (#227) - November, 2008 | Play in Popup.
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| Tom Viertel (#226) - October, 2008 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Tom Viertel (#226) - October, 2008 | Play in Popup.
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| James Naughton (#225) - October, 2008 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download James Naughton (#225) - October, 2008 | Play in Popup.
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| Lanford Wilson (#224) - October, 2008 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Lanford Wilson (#224) - October, 2008 | Play in Popup.
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| Gregg Edelman (#223) - October, 2008 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Gregg Edelman (#223) - October, 2008 | Play in Popup.
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| Lynne Meadow (#222) - October, 2008 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Lynne Meadow (#222) - October, 2008 | Play in Popup.
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| B.D. Wong (#221) - September, 2008 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download B.D. Wong (#221) - September, 2008 | Play in Popup.
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| Bernard Telsey (#220) - September, 2008 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Bernard Telsey (#220) - September, 2008 | Play in Popup.
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| Estelle Parsons (#219) - September, 2008 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Estelle Parsons (#219) - September, 2008 | Play in Popup.
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| Diane Paulus (#218) - September, 2008 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Diane Paulus (#218) - September, 2008 | Play in Popup.
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| Michael Berresse (#217) - August, 2008 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Michael Berresse (#217) - August, 2008 | Play in Popup.
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| William Ivey Long (#216) - August, 2008 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download William Ivey Long (#216) - August, 2008 | Play in Popup.
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| David Stone (#215) - August, 2008 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download David Stone (#215) - August, 2008 | Play in Popup.
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| Tony Meola (#214) - August, 2008 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Tony Meola (#214) - August, 2008 | Play in Popup.
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| John Glover (#213) - August, 2008 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download John Glover (#213) - August, 2008 | Play in Popup.
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| Randy Graff (#212) - July, 2008 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Randy Graff (#212) - July, 2008 | Play in Popup.
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| Todd Haimes (#211) - July, 2008 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Todd Haimes (#211) - July, 2008 | Play in Popup.
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| Michael Yeargan (#210) - July, 2008 | "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. | Get at Short URL | Download Michael Yeargan (#210) - July, 2008 | Play in Popup.
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| Michael Boyd (#209) - July, 2008 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Michael Boyd (#209) - July, 2008 | Play in Popup.
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| Boyd Gaines (#208) - June, 2008 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Boyd Gaines (#208) - June, 2008 | Play in Popup.
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| Barbara Gaines (#207) - June, 2008 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Barbara Gaines (#207) - June, 2008 | Play in Popup.
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| Priscilla Lopez (#206) - June, 2008 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Priscilla Lopez (#206) - June, 2008 | Play in Popup.
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| Harriet Harris (#205) - June, 2008 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Harriet Harris (#205) - June, 2008 | Play in Popup.
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| Laura Benanti (#204) - May, 2008 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Laura Benanti (#204) - May, 2008 | Play in Popup.
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| Laura Linney (#203) - May, 2008 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Laura Linney (#203) - May, 2008 | Play in Popup.
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| Sherie Rene Scott (#202) - May, 2008 | "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. | Get at Short URL | Download Sherie Rene Scott (#202) - May, 2008 | Play in Popup.
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| Patrick Stewart (#201) - May, 2008 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Patrick Stewart (#201) - May, 2008 | Play in Popup.
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| Harold Prince (#200) - May, 2008 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Harold Prince (#200) - May, 2008 | Play in Popup.
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| David Zippel (#199) - April, 2008 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download David Zippel (#199) - April, 2008 | Play in Popup.
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| Paul Rudnick (#198) - April, 2008 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Paul Rudnick (#198) - April, 2008 | Play in Popup.
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| James Earl Jones (#197) - April, 2008 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download James Earl Jones (#197) - April, 2008 | Play in Popup.
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| Ken Billington (#196) - April, 2008 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Ken Billington (#196) - April, 2008 | Play in Popup.
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| David Ives (#195) - March, 2008 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download David Ives (#195) - March, 2008 | Play in Popup.
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| Leigh Silverman (#194) - March, 2008 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Leigh Silverman (#194) - March, 2008 | Play in Popup.
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| Michael Cumpsty (#193) - March, 2008 | "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. | Get at Short URL | Download Michael Cumpsty (#193) - March, 2008 | Play in Popup.
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| Kathleen Chalfant (#192) - March, 2008 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Kathleen Chalfant (#192) - March, 2008 | Play in Popup.
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| Alice Ripley (#191) - February, 2008 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Alice Ripley (#191) - February, 2008 | Play in Popup.
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| Nathan Lane (#190) - February, 2008 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Nathan Lane (#190) - February, 2008 | Play in Popup.
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| Michael Rupert (#189) - February, 2008 | "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. | Get at Short URL | Download Michael Rupert (#189) - February, 2008 | Play in Popup.
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| Edward Albee (#188) - February, 2008 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Edward Albee (#188) - February, 2008 | Play in Popup.
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| Richard Easton (#187) - February, 2008 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Richard Easton (#187) - February, 2008 | Play in Popup.
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| Tom Stoppard (#186) - January, 2008 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Tom Stoppard (#186) - January, 2008 | Play in Popup.
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| Frances Sternhagen (#185) - January, 2008 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Frances Sternhagen (#185) - January, 2008 | Play in Popup.
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| Norbert Leo Butz (#184) - January, 2008 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Norbert Leo Butz (#184) - January, 2008 | Play in Popup.
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| Tony Walton (#183) - January, 2008 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Tony Walton (#183) - January, 2008 | Play in Popup.
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| John Cullum (#182) - December, 2007 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download John Cullum (#182) - December, 2007 | Play in Popup.
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| Alan Menken (#181) - December, 2007 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Alan Menken (#181) - December, 2007 | Play in Popup.
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| Jack O'Brien (#180) - December, 2007 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Jack O'Brien (#180) - December, 2007 | Play in Popup.
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| David Henry Hwang (#179) - December, 2007 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download David Henry Hwang (#179) - December, 2007 | Play in Popup.
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| André Bishop (#178) - November, 2007 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download André Bishop (#178) - November, 2007 | Play in Popup.
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| Shuler Hensley (#177) - November, 2007 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Shuler Hensley (#177) - November, 2007 | Play in Popup.
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| Terrence McNally (#176) - November, 2007 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Terrence McNally (#176) - November, 2007 | Play in Popup.
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| Judy Kuhn (#175) - November, 2007 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Judy Kuhn (#175) - November, 2007 | Play in Popup.
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| Kevin Chamberlin (#174) - November, 2007 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Kevin Chamberlin (#174) - November, 2007 | Play in Popup.
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| Christopher Ashley (#173) - October, 2007 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Christopher Ashley (#173) - October, 2007 | Play in Popup.
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| F. Murray Abraham (#172) - October, 2007 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download F. Murray Abraham (#172) - October, 2007 | Play in Popup.
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| Kristen Johnston (#171) - October, 2007 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Kristen Johnston (#171) - October, 2007 | Play in Popup.
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| James Houghton (#170) October, 2007 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download James Houghton (#170) October, 2007 | Play in Popup.
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| Horton Foote (#169) September, 2007 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Horton Foote (#169) September, 2007 | Play in Popup.
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| Carole Shelley (#168) September, 2007 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Carole Shelley (#168) September, 2007 | Play in Popup.
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| Kerry Butler (#167) September, 2007 | "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. | Get at Short URL | Download Kerry Butler (#167) September, 2007 | Play in Popup.
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| Michele Pawk (#166) August, 2007 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Michele Pawk (#166) August, 2007 | Play in Popup.
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| Terry Teachout (#165) August, 2007 | "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. | Get at Short URL | Download Terry Teachout (#165) August, 2007 | Play in Popup.
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| Anthony Rapp (#164) August, 2007 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Anthony Rapp (#164) August, 2007 | Play in Popup.
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| Debra Monk (#163) August, 2007 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Debra Monk (#163) August, 2007 | Play in Popup.
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| John P. Connolly (#162) August, 2007 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download John P. Connolly (#162) August, 2007 | Play in Popup.
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| Stephen Lang (#161) July, 2007 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Stephen Lang (#161) July, 2007 | Play in Popup.
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| Dori Berinstein (#160) July, 2007 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Dori Berinstein (#160) July, 2007 | Play in Popup.
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| Michael Wilson (#159) July, 2007 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Michael Wilson (#159) July, 2007 | Play in Popup.
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| Vanessa Redgrave (#158) July, 2007 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Vanessa Redgrave (#158) July, 2007 | Play in Popup.
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| Catherine Zuber (#157) June, 2007 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Catherine Zuber (#157) June, 2007 | Play in Popup.
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| Douglas Carter Beane (#156) June, 2007 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Douglas Carter Beane (#156) June, 2007 | Play in Popup.
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| Marian Seldes (#155) June, 2007 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Marian Seldes (#155) June, 2007 | Play in Popup.
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| Joe Dowling (#154) June, 2007 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Joe Dowling (#154) June, 2007 | Play in Popup.
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| Mary Louise Wilson (#153) June, 2007 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Mary Louise Wilson (#153) June, 2007 | Play in Popup.
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| David Hyde Pierce (#152) May, 2007 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download David Hyde Pierce (#152) May, 2007 | Play in Popup.
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| Frank Langella (#151) May, 2007 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Frank Langella (#151) May, 2007 | Play in Popup.
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| Jerry Mitchell (#150) May, 2007 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Jerry Mitchell (#150) May, 2007 | Play in Popup.
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| Richard M. Sherman and George Stiles (#148) April, 2007 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Richard M. Sherman and George Stiles (#148) April, 2007 | Play in Popup.
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| Jeff Daniels (#147) April, 2007 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Jeff Daniels (#147) April, 2007 | Play in Popup.
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| Judith Ivey (#146) April, 2007 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Judith Ivey (#146) April, 2007 | Play in Popup.
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| John Mahoney (#145) April, 2007 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download John Mahoney (#145) April, 2007 | Play in Popup.
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| Eric Bogosian (#144) March, 2007 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Eric Bogosian (#144) March, 2007 | Play in Popup.
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| Walter Bobbie (#143) March, 2007 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Walter Bobbie (#143) March, 2007 | Play in Popup.
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| Neil Pepe (#142) March, 2007 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Neil Pepe (#142) March, 2007 | Play in Popup.
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| Amy Irving (#141) March, 2007 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Amy Irving (#141) March, 2007 | Play in Popup.
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| Billy Crudup (#140) March, 2007 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Billy Crudup (#140) March, 2007 | Play in Popup.
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| Kristin Chenoweth (#139) February, 2007 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Kristin Chenoweth (#139) February, 2007 | Play in Popup.
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| Len Cariou (#137) February, 2007 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Len Cariou (#137) February, 2007 | Play in Popup.
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| Rita Moreno (#136) January, 2007 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Rita Moreno (#136) January, 2007 | Play in Popup.
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| Margot Harley (#135) January, 2007 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Margot Harley (#135) January, 2007 | Play in Popup.
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| Barbara Walsh (#134) January, 2007 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Barbara Walsh (#134) January, 2007 | Play in Popup.
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| Rebecca Luker (#133) January, 2007 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Rebecca Luker (#133) January, 2007 | Play in Popup.
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| Blair Brown (#132) December, 2006 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Blair Brown (#132) December, 2006 | Play in Popup.
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| Daphne Rubin-Vega (#130) December, 2006 | "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. | Get at Short URL | Download Daphne Rubin-Vega (#130) December, 2006 | Play in Popup.
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| Stephen Spinella (#129) December, 2006 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Stephen Spinella (#129) December, 2006 | Play in Popup.
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| William Finn (#128) December, 2006 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download William Finn (#128) December, 2006 | Play in Popup.
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| John Doyle (#127) November, 2006 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download John Doyle (#127) November, 2006 | Play in Popup.
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| Sheldon Harnick (#126) November, 2006 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Sheldon Harnick (#126) November, 2006 | Play in Popup.
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| Swoosie Kurtz (#124) October, 2006 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Swoosie Kurtz (#124) October, 2006 | Play in Popup.
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| Marsha Norman (#123) October, 2006 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Marsha Norman (#123) October, 2006 | Play in Popup.
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| Donna McKechnie (#122) October, 2006 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Donna McKechnie (#122) October, 2006 | Play in Popup.
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| Eve Ensler (#121) October, 2006 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Eve Ensler (#121) October, 2006 | Play in Popup.
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| Simon Callow (#120) September, 2006 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Simon Callow (#120) September, 2006 | Play in Popup.
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| Tom Jones (#118) September, 2006 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Tom Jones (#118) September, 2006 | Play in Popup.
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| Eric Schaeffer (#117) September, 2006 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Eric Schaeffer (#117) September, 2006 | Play in Popup.
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| Ruben Santiago-Hudson (#116) August, 2006 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Ruben Santiago-Hudson (#116) August, 2006 | Play in Popup.
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| Hinton Battle (#115) August, 2006 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Hinton Battle (#115) August, 2006 | Play in Popup.
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| Mark Lamos (#114) August, 2006 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Mark Lamos (#114) August, 2006 | Play in Popup.
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| Garry Hynes (#113) August, 2006 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Garry Hynes (#113) August, 2006 | Play in Popup.
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| Harry Groener (#112) July, 2006 | "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. | Get at Short URL | Download Harry Groener (#112) July, 2006 | Play in Popup.
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| Bartlett Sher (#111) July, 2006 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Bartlett Sher (#111) July, 2006 | Play in Popup.
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| Michael Mayer (#109) July, 2006 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Michael Mayer (#109) July, 2006 | Play in Popup.
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| Martha Plimpton (#108) June, 2006 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Martha Plimpton (#108) June, 2006 | Play in Popup.
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| Kate Burton (#106) June, 2006 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Kate Burton (#106) June, 2006 | Play in Popup.
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| Angela Lansbury (#105) June, 2006 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Angela Lansbury (#105) June, 2006 | Play in Popup.
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| Bob Martin (#104) June, 2006 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Bob Martin (#104) June, 2006 | Play in Popup.
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| Maria Friedman (#103) May, 2006 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Maria Friedman (#103) May, 2006 | Play in Popup.
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| Richard Greenberg (#102) May, 2006 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Richard Greenberg (#102) May, 2006 | Play in Popup.
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| Zoe Wanamaker (#101) May, 2006 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Zoe Wanamaker (#101) May, 2006 | Play in Popup.
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| Alan Cumming (#100) May, 2006 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Alan Cumming (#100) May, 2006 | Play in Popup.
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| Tony Roberts (#98) April, 2006 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Tony Roberts (#98) April, 2006 | Play in Popup.
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| Richard Maltby, Jr. (#96) April, 2006 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Richard Maltby, Jr. (#96) April, 2006 | Play in Popup.
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| Cynthia Nixon (#95) March, 2006 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Cynthia Nixon (#95) March, 2006 | Play in Popup.
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| Graciela Daniele (#92) March, 2006 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Graciela Daniele (#92) March, 2006 | Play in Popup.
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| LaChanze (#90) February, 2006 | "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. | Get at Short URL | Download LaChanze (#90) February, 2006 | Play in Popup.
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| Martha Lavey (#89) February, 2006 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Martha Lavey (#89) February, 2006 | Play in Popup.
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| Patti LuPone (#88) February, 2006 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Patti LuPone (#88) February, 2006 | Play in Popup.
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| Oskar Eustis (#81) December, 2005 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Oskar Eustis (#81) December, 2005 | Play in Popup.
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| Carol Channing (#74) October, 2005 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Carol Channing (#74) October, 2005 | Play in Popup.
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| A.R. Gurney (#63) July, 2005 | 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 | Get at Short URL | Download A.R. Gurney (#63) July, 2005 | Play in Popup.
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| Leslie Uggams (#51) April, 2005 | 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 | Get at Short URL | Download Leslie Uggams (#51) April, 2005 | Play in Popup.
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| Lee Blessing (#47) April, 2005 | 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. | Get at Short URL | Download Lee Blessing (#47) April, 2005 | Play in Popup.
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