Finks by Joe Gilford, the award-nominated play about the blacklist travails of his parents, Jack Gilford and Madeline Gilford, that received much acclaim last season at the Ensemble Studio Theatre, will debut as both a public radio and streaming podcast hosted by onetime blacklisted actor Lee Grant and in print from Dramatists Play Service tonight, December 12, at 6:00pm at The Drama Bookshop, 250 West 40th Street.
At the event in its downstairs theater of the Drama Bookshop, members of the original cast of Finks will read excerpts from the play. There will also be a presentation of excerpts from the radio production followed by playwright Joe Gilford and veteran radio producer and director Sue Zizza in a talkback. A reception and a book signing will follow.
The radio production features the entire original stage cast and host Oscar-winning actress Lee Grant. The special radio production includes an exclusive interview and discussion with Ms. Grant and the author Joe Gilford. Both Ms. Grant and Mr. Gilford's parents were blacklisted actors and close colleagues during the darkest days of McCarthyism in New York's TV, film and radio industries. In an exclusive discussion and interview as part of the radio production, Ms. Grant and Mr. Gilford discuss and share their experiences about this difficult time in show business history.
The Finks radio play and original Off Broadway cast are Michael Cullen, Ned Eisenberg, Leo Ash Evans, Jason Liebman, Kenney M. Green, Thomas Lyons, Aaron Serotsky and Miriam Silverman
The radio production will be launched for both online streaming and available to public radio stations around the country from the Radio Drama Network produced by veteran radio producer and director Sue Zizza, with support from the Himan Brown Radio Drama Network Foundation and CUNY TV & Radio Networks.
Finks was nominated for Two Drama Desk Awards for Outstanding Play & Outstanding Leading Actress (Miriam Silverman); and for the OFF-BROADWAY Alliance's Best New Play Award. It was also recorded for Lincoln Center's Performing Arts Library Video Collection.
The Radio Drama Network is a foundation founded by the legendary Himan Brown, creator, director and producer of the early radio dramas Inner Sanctum, Bulldog Drummond, The Goldbergs, and The Shadow, among others. The foundation is dedicated to the creative arts on radio and the spoken word in particular.
