George S. Kaufman and THE ROYAL FAMILY To Guest This Week On Theater Talk, 11/13

Theater Talk, a weekly expose of world theater that airs on PBS Friday nights (PBS/Thirteen) and 5 times weekly on CUNY TV will feature Broadway's best, including the creative team of Fela, Finian's Rainbow master magician, Neil Simon, George S. Kaufman and The Royal Family and more it's upcoming broadcasts this month.

Theater Talk, the series devoted to the world of the stage, is co-hosted by Michael Riedel, Broadway columnist for the New York Post and series producer Susan Haskins.

The broadcast schedule is as follows:

This Week on Thirteen and CUNY TV...

George S. Kaufman and The Royal Family

On Thirteen:
Friday, November 13th at 1:00 AM

George S. Kaufman and Edna Ferber's classic comedy, The Royal Family, now being revived at the Manhattan Theatre Club. Critic Charles Isherwood of The New York Times and humorist Paul Rudnick will discuss the genius of George S. Kaufman, who essentially created the genre of screwball comedy.

On CUNY TV:

Fela's Innovative Creative Team plus A Fabulous Feat of Magic from Finian's Master Magician

Saturday, November 14th at 8:30 PM
Sunday, November 15th at 12:30 PM and
Monday, November 16th at 7:30 AM, 1:30 PM, and 7:30 PM

A conversation with the creative team of the exciting new Broadway show Fela!: director Bill T. Jones, producer Stephen Hendel, and the dynamic Sahr Ngaujah who plays the title role of the legendary Nigerian superstar and activist Fela Kuti.

Next up, master illusionist, Matthew Holtzclaw and actor Chuck Cooper of Finian's Rainbow perform a dazzling magic trick that will fulfill the dream of every producer on Broadway.

Coming Up: Idiot Savant and Jude Law's "Cerebral" Hamlet

On Thirteen:
Friday, November 20th at 1:00 AM

On CUNY TV:
Saturday, December 5th at 8:30 PM
Sunday, December 6th at 12:30 PM and
Monday, December 7th at 7:30 AM, 1:30 PM, and 7:30 PM

Actor Willem Dafoe and director Richard Foreman, one of the most celebrated avant-garde auteurs of the American theater discuss Foreman's latest work, Idiot Savant, in which Dafoe stars at the Public Theater.

Next up, Professor James Shapiro of Columbia University (author of 1599: A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare). Shapiro discusses the "unbroken" tradition of Shakespeare's Hamlet from Burbage through Olivier and right up to Jude Law, whose "cerebral" yet "physically dynamic" interpretation of the skeptical prince is now a hit on Broadway.

Theater Talk is taped at CUNY-TV Studios in New York City. The Executive Producer for CUNY TV is Bob Isaacson, the Producer of Theater Talk is Steven Doloff and Associate Producers are Rossmary

Cruz and Vanessa Mourner. It is directed by Adam Walker with engineering by John Harvi and lighting design by Jonathan Belcher. The show is edited by Larry Guo, Quan Ou and Sylvester Lukasiewicz. The program is funded by contributions from private foundations and individuals, as well as The New York State Council on the Arts and The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs. For more information on Theater Talk, e-mail theatertlk@aol.com or visit www.theatertalk.org.

Theater Talk is also telecast every Thursday night on PBS Station NJN, which is available to
all over-the-air digital and cable TV viewers in the NYC area.

For clips and highlights from the show, please visit https://www.youtube.com/user/theatertalk.

To watch the show in streaming video or iTunes, visit http://www.cuny.tv/series/theatertalk/listen.lasso?year=2008.