Bay Area theatre reviews with KPFA theatre critic Richard Wolinsky, plus interviews with local Artistic Directors, actors and directors. Older posts include interviews witth former associate KPFA theatre critic C.S. Soong. Dates when reviews airs can be found at http://bookwaves.homestead.com/Theatre_Reviews.html
John Leguizamo, in conversation with Richard Wolinsky, recorded July 7, 2016 in the offices at Berkeley Rep, where Latin History for Morons had opened to rave reviews. The show can now be seen on Netflix. John Leguizamo has been in several films and television shows as an actor. As a performer/writer, his one man shows have all been performed on Broadway, and several have been recorded as films for television.
Nicky Silver, in conversation by phone from New York, live on the air, with host Richard Wolinsky and director John Dixon in the studio, recorded April 27, 2007. Nicky Silver is the author of several successful plays, including “The Lyons,” which premiered on Broadway in 2012, “Beautiful Child” and “Pterodactyls.” At the time of the interview, his play ‘Past Perfect” was making its world premiere at San Francisco’s Theatre Rhino, directed by John Dixon.
Acclaimed novelist Colm Toibin discussing his play “The Testament of Mary” which ran at ACT’s Geary Theatre in October and November, 2014, and also discussing his novel “Nora Webster,” which was published in October 2014. The interview with host Richard Wolinsky was recorded in the KPFA studios the afternoon of October 27, 2014.
Mfoniso Udofia is one of America’s fastest rising playwrights. A second-generation Nigerian-American, plays in her Ufot family cycle have been performed in New York, Los Angeles, and the San Francisco Bay Area. Hosted by Richard Wolinsky.
Suzanne Bradbeer, whose comedy “Shakespeare in Vegas” will be streamed as a Zoom reading with Broadway stars Karen Ziemba and Patrick Page, July 23-July 27, 2020 on the TheatreWorks website, in conversation with host Richard Wolinsky.
Mary Zimmerman is a playwright, director and producer, whose works are sui generis. Her focus is on adaptations and re-adaptations of classical and pre-classical works, as well as librettos for operas and reorganizing films into stage plays. She was interviewed by Richard Wolinsky for the “Open Book” radio program in late 2012 for a production of “The White Snake” at Berkeley Rep.
Arthur Laurents (1917-2011), interviewed on April 7, 2000 by Richard Wolinsky and Richard A. Lupoff, during the tour for his memoir, Original Story By … Arthur Laurents was one of the giants of American culture. A playwright, librettist and director, he was one of the collaborators on two of the greatest musicals in the history of Broadway, West Side Story and Gypsy. In Hollywood, he was best known for the screenplays to The Way We Were and The Turning Point.
In honor of Pride: Legendary playwright, cabaret performer, actor, and drag superstar Charles Busch in conversation with Richard Wolinsky, recorded in New York’s Greenwich Village in late July, 2018.
In honor of Pride: Mart Crowley, author of “The Boys in the Band” and its sequel, “The Men from the Boys,” in conversation with Richard Wolinsky on October 31, 2002 about both plays and about his life in Hollywood. Along with being a fine playwright, Mart Crowley was a terrific story teller. “The Men from the Boys” streams at playbill.com through June 29, 2020.
This week’s podcast is a June, 2011 interview with Anna Deavere Smith, while she was in the Bay Area discussing her then latest project, Let Me Down Easy, which was running at Berkeley Rep into early September of that year. Hosted by Richard Wolinsky.
