Atw - Downstage Center

The challenging business decisions that decide whether you get to hear your favorite musicals on CD is the topic of a roundtable discussion with three experts in the field of cast album recording: Kurt Deutsch of Sh-K-Boom & Ghostlight Records, Brian Drutman of Decca/Universal, and Bill Rosenfield, consultant to RCA-BMG. Original air date - December 24, 2004.

New York Musical Theatre Festival founders Kris Stewart and Isaac Robert Hurwitz talk about the original impulse to start the festival and place it in the context of New York City's other theatrical festivals, explain their producing process and the different categories of participating shows, and consider the effect of Manhattan media attention on their musicals which are, so often, at the beginning of their stage lives. Original air date - September 15, 2006.

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.

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.

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.

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.

he work of a theatre critic is explored with two of America's most-read theatre journalists: Michael Kuchwara> of the Associated Press and Charles Isherwood of Variety -- the latter just as it was announced he'd be joining the staff of the New York Times. Original air date - September 3, 2004.

John Selya and Ashley Tuttle, original cast members of the dance musical "Movin' Out", discuss the development of Twyla Tharp's unique show, the difference between classical dance and the requirements of this new musical, and the physical rigors of a life of dance. Original air date - July 23, 2004.

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.

Before "Avenue Q"'s Tony Awards triumph, original cast members Stephanie D'Abruzzo and John Tartaglia chronicle the show's journey from workshop to Broadway, share their own paths to leading roles in an unlikely hit musical, and talk about their hopes that they'll be seen as actors -- separate from the puppets they bring to life. Original air date - May 14, 2004.

Michael Ritchie, artistic director of Los Angeles' Center Theatre Group, talks about taking the reins of the city's largest theatre organization and considers his tenure as head of the acclaimed Williamstown Theatre Festival in this interview that caught Ritchie amidst his transition between these two esteemed companies. Original air date - December 17, 2004.

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.

During the Broadway run of Michael Frayn's "Democracy", Emmy winner Richard Thomas talks about his decision to move back to his hometown of New York after 30 years on the west coast, his acclaimed appearance in Terrence McNally's "The Stendhal Syndrome", and the perennial question about how his fame from "The Waltons" meshes with his personal passion for classical stage work. Original air date - October 22, 2004.

"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.

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.

Late in the run of Disney's "Aida" and two years before "Tarzan" began swinging on 46th Street, Thomas Schumacher, president of Disney Theatrical Productions, discusses the Disney approach to theatrical production and the process that brought "Beauty And The Beast" and "The Lion King" to stage life—and brought Disney to Broadway. Original air date - August 13, 2004.

Elena K. Holy, artistic director of New York's International Fringe Festival, discusses the genesis of the Fringe as part of the Off-Off-Broadway Present Company, and its explosive growth as a vehicle for new work in New York, amidst the endless logistics of the 2004 Festival. Original air date - August 20, 2004.

With his debut solo CD now on sale, Brian Stokes Mitchell ranges over his career, from his first performances with a youth theatre in San Diego to seven years on television's "Trapper John M.D." to David Merrick's production of "Oh, Kay" to his rapid succession of leading roles in "Ragtime", "Kiss Me Kate" and "Man Of La Mancha". Original air date - July 14, 2006.

American-raised but acclaimed in England for his work in musicals, John Barrowman visited Downstage Center in 2004 to talk about his trans-Atlantic career, his new solo album, and the experience of playing Billy Crocker in two acclaimed London revivals of "Anything Goes" - 15 years apart. Original air date - September 17, 2004.

With Des McAnuff the toast of Broadway for "Jersey Boys" and set to join the artistic leadership at Canada's Stratford Festival, this Downstage Center interview from late 2004 captures the acclaimed director during the runs of "700 Sundays" and "Dracula" - and the original La Jolla Playhouse engagement of "Jersey Boys". Original air date - December 10, 2004.