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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 other Wednesday from this website, where you can listen online, download the programs or subscribe to the podcast. |
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Rondi Reed |
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With:
Rondi Reed
The "resident character woman" of Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Rondi Reed, talks about her current stint as Madame Morrible in the Broadway juggernaut Wicked, a role she originated in the musical's Chicago company, including why we're suddenly seeing her in a big Broadway musical for the first time, after 30 years in Chicago's best-known theatre ensemble. She also discusses her college years at Illinois State University, where she first met the team who would become the founders of Steppenwolf; why after graduation she decamped for Minnesota; when the invitation to join Steppenwolf actually came; why she didn't journey to New York for the famed production of Balm in Gilead; her directing debut with John Guare's Lydie Breeze; her extended tenure in the original production of Picasso at the Lapin Agile and the brief Broadway run of The Rise and Fall of Little Voice; whether she has the opportunity at Steppenwolf to ask for plays to be done specifically based on her interest; why the company seems to have so many meetings and how they've sustained that over the years; her reasons for initially declining the role of Mattie Faye, written by Tracy Letts with her in mind, in August: Osage County, as she sets the record straight about whether or not the company resisted bringing the show to New York; the remarkable experience of returning to August for its final performance at the last minute, playing the role she created for a single performance with a company of actors she didn't know, including Phylicia Rashad, why she's only in recent years begun appearing in roles outside of Steppenwolf; and how long we can expect her to stay in the magical world of Wicked.
Original air date - March 10, 2010
Running Time - 1:03:44
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