ATW - Downstage Center

With the cast album of "Dessa Rose" now in stores, here's the "Downstage Center" March 2005 interview with Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty in which they survey their career from jingle writing to "Ragtime" and everything in between (including "Once on this Island" and "My Favorite Year"), with Stephen briefly at the keyboard to illuminate a few stories. Original airdate - March 25, 2005.

Legendary composer Jerry Herman plays and sings snippets of some of his most famous compositions as he recalls the creation of such seminal musicals as "Hello Dolly", "Mame" and "La Cage aux Folles" in this one-of-a-kind interview from November 2004. Original airdate - November 5, 2004.

One of the busiest directors in New York, Tony-winner Doug Hughes, talks about revisiting "Doubt" with a new cast; how he handles the heightened expectations for "Defiance", his next collaboration with playwright John Patrick Shanley; and whether, for the child of two actors, becoming a director is the ultimate revenge on your parents. Original airdate - January 6, 2006.

Stage veterans Rosemary Harris and John Cullum talk about meeting for the very first time to play husband and wife in Ariel Dorfman's "The Other Side", discuss their feelings about seeing their children follow in their acting footsteps, and recall the subdued 1966 Tony Awards, when Cullum was nominated for "On a Clear Day..." and Harris won for "The Lion in Winter". Original airdate - December 30, 2005.

Audra McDonald recounts her start in theatre as an alternative to therapy for childhood hyperactivity, her teenage years at small theatres in northern California (including her performance as Eva in "Evita"), balancing her stage and concert careers, and the wide variety of musical styles to which she is devoted. Original airdate - December 23, 2005.

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.

Michael Ball discusses straddling the worlds of musical theatre and pop music in his native England, as well as the irony of returning to the Broadway stage after 15 years to gain greater recognition in the U.S. in the role of Count Fosco in "The Woman in White" - where he's rendered unrecognizable by costume and make-up. Original airdate - December 9, 2005.

Gary Beach takes off his "La Cage aux Folles" feathers to discuss playing Zaza in the musical's first Broadway revival, his Tony-winning success in "The Producers" and even his lesser known history in the unlamented short run of "The Mooney Shapiro Songbook". Original airdate - February 4, 2005.

During the Off-Broadway run of "The Foreigner", Matthew Broderick addresses whether he's really as shy as news reports would portray him, talks about his early years growing up in New York and on both stage and screen, and reflects upon the runaway success of "The Producers". Original airdate - December 3, 2004.

Director-choreographer Susan Stroman charts her career from her early days as a chorus member in regional theatre to her triumph with "The Producers" to her work with Nathan Lane bringing Stephen Sondheim's legendary but little seen "The Frogs" to life at Lincoln Center Theatre. Original airdate - October 1, 2004.

Playwright Christopher Durang contemplates issues of faith, family, humor and falling space debris during the concurrent runs of his new play "Miss Witherspoon" in New York and his new musical "Adrift in Macao" in Philadelphia. Original airdate - December 2, 2005.

Judy Kaye talks about recreating the spirit and decidedly unique voice of 1940s-era vocal phenomenon Florence Foster Jenkins in "Souvenir", and talks about her star-making experience taking over the role of Lily Garland in "On The 20th Century", as well as her roles in "Phantom of the Opera", "Ragtime" and "Mamma Mia". Original airdate - November 25, 2005.

Jill Clayburgh talks about the joys of returning to the Broadway stage for the first time in two decades in Richard Greeenberg's "A Naked Girl on the Appian Way", her anticipation of her immediate follow-up with Neil Simon's "Barefoot in the Park", and her not-so-happy experiences years ago in "Jumpers" and "Pippin"-which drove her out to the west coast and film stardom. Original airdate - November 18, 2005.

On the eve of his debut as a film director, Craig Lucas discusses transforming "The Dying Gaul" from play to screenplay and talks about his journey from a narrow-minded Philadelphia suburb to the chorus of musicals like "Sweeney Todd" and "Shenandoah" to his place as one of our most adventurous and outspoken playwrights. Original airdate - November 11, 2005.

On the eve of her solo concert at Carnegie Hall, Lea Salonga chronicles her journey from the Philippines to the West End to Broadway with "Miss Saigon", the experience of being in a "new" Rodgers & Hammerstein show with the revised "Flower Drum Song", and the challenges for Asian performers in America. Original airdate - November 4, 2005.