This week THEATER TALK spotlights the creators of the new original musical Kid Victory, currently at THE VINEYARD Theatre - librettist/lyricist Greg Pierce, composer/co-librettist John Kander, and one of the show's stars, Karen Ziemba. Also, in observance of the soon-to-begin-previews of the revival of HELLO DOLLY! with Bette Midler and David Hyde Pierce (Fun Fact - Greg Pierce's uncle) at the Shubert Theatre, THEATER TALK presents an encore of a 2002 interview with Dolly's songwriter, Jerry Herman.
Kid Victory tells the unconventional story of a teenage boy's frightening disappearance, his horrific ordeal during his absence and his difficult re-entry into his family and community 11 months later. That said, composer Kander tells co-hosts Michael Riedel of the New York Post and Susan Haskins that he had the "time of my life" making the show, clearly relishing his collaboration with Pierce, with whom he previously wrote The Landing. He also is overjoyed to be working again with Ziemba, whom he first met in 1991 doing the Off-Broadway Kander & Ebb revue, And the World Goes 'Round, and with whom he has worked frequently in the 26 years since.
Jerry Herman, with characteristic enthusiasm, tells Riedel and Haskins of his songwriting gift, his debt to songwriter/publisher Frank Loesser and his own mother, and his life changing first meeting with producer David Merrick - where he received a copy of "Matchmaker, Draft #1," librettist Michael Stewart's earliest adaptation of the Thornton Wilder play that was to become Hello, Dolly! He then stayed up all-night reading it, and wrote 4 songs (still in the show) in just 4 days to land the job as composer/lyricist for the 1964 smash hit.
This week's episode of THEATER TALK premieres Friday, March 10 (2017) on PBS station Thirteen/WNET at 1:30 AM (Saturday morning) and repeats there on Sunday 3/12 at 11:30 AM; it reairs on CUNY TV* Saturday 3/11 at 8:30 PM, Sunday 3/12 at 12:30 PM, and Monday 3/13 at 7:30 AM, 1:30 PM, and 7:30 PM; and also airs on WLIW/21 on Monday 3/13 at 5:30 PM and on NYCLife/25 on Thursday 3/16 at 11 PM.
THEATER TALK is jointly produced by the not-for-profits Theater Talk Productions and CUNY TV. The program is taped in the Himan Brown TV and Radio Studios at The City University of New York (CUNY) TV in Manhattan, and is distributed to 100+ participating public television stations nationwide. THEATER TALK is made possible in part by The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, The CUNY TV Foundation, and The Friends of THEATER TALK.
*CUNY TV, the City University of New York television station, is broadcast in the NYC metropolitan area on digital Ch. 25.3 and cablecast in the city's five boroughs on Ch. 75 (Time Warner & Optimum Brooklyn), Ch. 77 (RCN), and Ch. 30 (Verizon FiOS). THEATER TALK episodes are available online anytime at www.cuny.tv and www.theatertalk.org and via iTunes.
Images courtesy of Theater Talk Productions/CUNY TV
