Producer Jeffrey Finn announced today additional panelists for the TAKE A SIDE: THE OLEANNA TALK-BACK SERIES, the special post-show series for audiences during previews of the first-ever Broadway production of OLEANNA, the provocative drama by Pulitzer Prize winner David Mamet starring Bill Pullman and Julia Stiles. Beginning with tonight's first preview, the ongoing event will take place on-stage after every preview performance (September 29 - October 10) at The Golden Theatre (252 West 45th Street).
New panelists confirmed include Emmy-winning TV talk show host Montel Williams, New York Post theater columnist Michael Riedel, "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" star and Tony nominee Kathryn Erbe; former NY Knicks Senior Vice President Anucha Browne Sanders, who won a headline-grabbing 2006 sexual harassment suit against Madison Square Garden; 3-time Tony nominee Marc Kudisch, NYC Commissioner of the Department of Cultural Affairs Kate D. Levin and attorney Ned H. Bassen. They join a roster that includes the previously-announced former New York City mayor David Dinkins; NYC Deputy Mayor of Education and Community Development Dennis Walcott; FOX News Channel legal analyst Lis Wiehl; Partner of Vladeck, Waldman, Elias & Engelhard, P.C. Anne C. Vladeck; Dean of the Tisch School of the Arts Mary Schmidt Campbell; Lies My Mother Never Told Me author Kaylie Jones; Founding and Managing Partner of Outten & Golden LLP Wayne N. Outten; Legal Partner of Proskauer Rose LLP Kathleen M. McKenna; NYU Professor of Urban Policy and Planning Mitchell Moss; and NYU/Tisch Associate Arts Professor and Laurence Maslon, with more to be announced.
Since its instantly incendiary debut in 1992, OLEANNA has consistently been a provocative and stimulating experience for audiences that incites conversation, discussion and intellectual conflict. The TAKE A SIDE: THE OLEANNA TALK-BACK SERIES is being produced to offer a lively forum for each audience to collectively discuss, debate and comment on the controversial themes of the play with a direct correlation to today's current issues. Regarded as one of the most provocative dramas of our time, OLEANNA has always divided audiences into heated, post-show debates often compelling them to fiercely side with either character. Critics weighing in on this new production during its pre-Broadway, Los Angeles engagement at The Mark Taper Forum confirm that the play hasn't lost any of its bite, power or relevance, noting the intense post-show conversations that erupt nightly.
With THE OLEANNA TALK-BACK SERIES, for 20-30 minutes following each preview performance, distinguished celebrities from the worlds of media, entertainment, politics, law and education will discuss and debate the issues brought up by this production. The group of panelists has been specifically chosen to contribute their specialized expertise and further stimulate spirited debate.
Alternating moderators for the series will be Judith Kaye, JD (Juris Doctor from Harvard and President of Judith Kaye Training & Consulting) and Cynthia Tornquist (President of Tornquist Productions LLC and former CNN correspondent).
The first talk-back in the series, will be held after the first preview tonight, Tuesday evening, September 29 at 8PM. It will feature moderator Judith Kaye and panelists Lis Wiehl, legal analyst for FOX News Channel and attorney Kathleen M. McKenna, partner in Proskauer Rose LLP, who is an expert in litigating employment disputes, including sexual harassment.
This week's schedule also includes:
Wednesday matinee, September 30, 2PM
Moderator Judith Kaye, JD
Wednesday evening, September 30, 8PM
Moderator Judith Kaye, JD, panelists NYU/Tisch Dean Mary Schmidt Campbell and 3-time Tony Award nominee Marc Kudisch
Thursday evening, October 1, 8PM
Moderator Cynthia Tornquist, panelist NYU Professor of Urban Policy and Planning Mitchell Moss
