John Mahoney to Appear on Downstage Center, April 6

John Mahoney will appear as the special guest on 'Downstage Center,' on XM's On Broadway (XM Channel 28) this Friday, April 6 at 6 p.m. The show will re-air on Saturday, April 7 at noon, Sunday, April 8 at 7 p.m., and Wednesday, April 11 at midnight.  The program becomes available as streaming audio and podcast Monday, April 9.

Mahoney will talk about about returning to Broadway after a 20-year hiatus, in the Roundabout Theatre production of Prelude to a Kiss. Among the topics discussed are why he had to try not to make his stage role of The Old Man reminiscent of his famous TV role as the father on Frasier,  the story of his emigration to America from Manchester, England, and how he suddenly decided to take up acting, at age 37. Mahoney will also talk about his early stage work with the St. Nicholas Theatre and being invited by John Malkovich to join the now-celebrated Steppenwolf Theatre ensemble.

Mahoney made his Broadway debut in The House of Blue Leaves (Tony Award, Clarence Derwent Award). Other recent theatre credits include David Mamet's play Romance at the Almeida Theatre in London, The Drawer Boy at Steppenwolf, Dublin and Galway, Ireland, as well as the Geffen Theatre's production of The Weir in Los Angeles. Prior to that he appeared in Long Day's Journey Into Night at the Irish Repertory Company in Chicago and Galway. Other Steppenwolf credits include The Man Who Came to Dinner (also in London), No Man's Land, Balm in Gilead, Orphans (also New York; Theatre World Award), The Collection, The Dresser and I Never Sang for My Father. For Steppenwolf he directed Talking Heads. On screen John has appeared in many films including Say Anything, Moonstruck, Betrayed, In the Line of Fire, The American President, Primal Fear and Reality Bites. He voiced major roles in the animated films Antz, The Iron Giant and Atlantis. John played the role of Martin Crane for 11 years on NBC's "Frasier" and has twice been nominated for Golden Globe and Emmy Awards. 
 
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 the American Theatre Wing's web site, www.americantheatrewing.org.  Visit www.xmradio.com for more information.

Photo of John Mahoney by Paul Kopelow