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Downstage Center
Go in-depth with the leading artists and professionals working on stage today when you go Downstage Center. Downstage Center is the American Theatre Wing's acclaimed weekly theatrical interview program that spotlights the creative talents on Broadway, Off-Broadway, across the country and around the world, with in-depth conversations that simply can't be found anywhere else. Now in its sixth year, Downstage Center, produced in association with CUNY Graduate School of Journalism, has been featured by the Associated Press and Slate.com as the place to go for theatrical talk. New editions will be available every Wednesday from this website, where you can listen online, download the programs or subscribe to the podcast.

Linda Lavin
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With:
Linda Lavin

Collected Stories star Linda Lavin discusses why she's playing the role of Ruth Steiner in Donald Margulies' play for a fourth time, likens the two-character play to a duet that changes with each new co-star, and explains why she turned the role down the first time she had the opportunity to play it. She also talks about her musical heritage growing up in Maine; how she got her Equity card after her freshman year studying drama at the College of William and Mary; how a chorus role in her first Broadway show, A Family Affair, grew to afford her four character roles by opening night; the unexpected success of The Mad Show, which was originally planned for a two-week holiday run; the experience of creating roles in two Neil Simon plays, The Last of the Red Hot Lovers and Broadway Bound, including the story of how swiftly Simon wrote her impressive act two monologue for the latter; whether it was tough for her to be considered for stage roles after nine seasons on TV's Alice; how she saw the character of Mama Rose when she took over for Tyne Daly in Gypsy; what she thinks prompted Charles Busch to create the title role in The Tale of the Allergist's Wife with her in mind; and why when she's not busy with professional acting roles she spends her "spare time" running the Red Barn Theatre, a community theatre in Wilmington NC.

Original air date - May 19, 2010
Running Time - 1:01:40



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