Mary Louise Wilson Featured 'Downstage Center,' June 1

The American Theatre Wing and XM Satellite Radio will present an interview with Tony Award-nominee Mary Louise Wilson on their weekly theatrical interview show, "Downstage Center," on XM's On Broadway (XM Channel 28).

Wilson will appear as the special guest on Friday, June 1 at 6 p.m. The show will repeat on Saturday, June 2 at noon, Sunday, June 3 at 7 p.m., and Wednesday, June 6 at midnight.  The program becomes available as streaming audio and podcast from www.americantheatrewing.org beginning Monday afternoon, June 4.

Tony-nominee Mary Louise Wilson discusses her journey from workshop to Broadway with the musical Grey Gardens; recalls her Broadway debut in the troubled Judy Holliday vehicle Hot Spot; describes working with legendary stage figures George Abbott, Ellis Rabb and Eva LeGallienne in works as diverse as Flora, the Red Menace and Alice in Wonderland; reflects on appearing in two productions of The Women thirty years apart; and considers the extraordinary impact of the Roundabout reinvention of the classic Cabaret.

Wilson was nominated for Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle and Lortel awards and was honored by the Drama League for her performance in Grey Gardens. She starred in Full Gallop, which she co-authored with Mark Hampton. Her performance won both an Obie and a Drama Desk Award, and the play has since been produced across the country and around the world. She was nominated for a Tony Award for her performance as Fraulein Schneider in the Broadway revival of Cabaret, and her many other Broadway credits include Show Boat; Fools; Prelude to a Kiss; Alice in Wonderland; The Philadelphia Story; The Royal Family; Gypsy; The Women; and Flora, the Red Menace. Off-Broadway credits include NYTW's The Beard of Avon (Drama Desk nomination), Bosoms and Neglect and both Flaubert's Latest and Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All for You at Playwrights Horizons. Films include Stepmom, Huck Finn, Green Card, Everybody Wins, She-Devil, Pet Cemetery, The Money Pit, and The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. She has also appeared on television in  "The Sopranos," "Frasier" and "Cosby."

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 Web site, www.americantheatrewing.org.  Visit www.xmradio.com for more on XM Satellite Radio.

Photo by Walter McBride/Retna Ltd.