American Theatre Wing Announces Podcast

A press release I received the other day:

Interview with Frances Sternhagen to Air on American Theatre Wing & XM Radio’s “Downstage Center”

Weekly show airs on XM’s On Broadway Channel 28 and on ATW Website

The American Theatre Wing and XM Satellite Radio proudly present an interview with Tony Award winning actress, Frances Sternhagen, on their weekly theatrical interview show, “Downstage Center,” on XM’s On Broadway (XM Channel 28).

Sternhagen will appear as the special guest on Friday, January 18 at 6 p.m. The show will repeat on Saturday January 19 at noon, Sunday January 20 at 7 p.m., and Wednesday, January 23 at midnight. The program becomes available as streaming audio and podcast from January 21.

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.

Frances Sternhagen has performed on stage, in films and on television for more than five decades. She is best known today for her motherly roles on The Closer, ER, Sex and the City and Cheers, the latter two earning her Emmy nominations. She was recently seen in The Mist, Frank Darabont's adaptation of the Stephen King chiller, released this past November. Sternhagen's countless stage performances include her Tony-winning turns in The Good Doctor and The Heiress and Tony-nominated roles in The Sign in Sid Brustein's Window, Angel, Equus and as Ethel Thayer in the original Broadway production of On Golden Pond. Her off-Broadway performances include Obie-winning roles in The Pinter Plays and The Admirable Bashville, as well as a two-year run in Driving Miss Daisy.

Each new “Downstage Center” is regularly broadcast at 6 p.m. on Fridays, Saturdays at noon, Sundays at 7 p.m. and Wednesdays at 12 a.m. (all times EST). Following the initial run on XM, each program is made available for free, on-demand, internationally as both streaming audio and podcast on ATW’s website.

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