Michael Sheen Stars in Live Broadcast of Dylan Thomas' UNDER MILK WOOD This Afternoon at 92Y

In 1953, the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas premiered his masterpiece, Under Milk Wood, in front of a live audience at New York's 92nd Street Y. In celebration of Thomas's centenary, this beloved "play for voices" will come full circle this afternoon, October 26 - when actor Michael Sheen directs and stars in a live broadcast reading of Under Milk Wood at 92Y.

The reading will be broadcast live by BBC Radio Wales today, October 26 at 3 pm (EST) (8 pm in Wales); 92Y will livestream the audio at www.92y.org/livecast. WNYC, New York's flagship public radio station, will offer an encore broadcast and webcast on Sunday, November 2, from 8-10 pm (EST) on 93.9 FM, AM 820 and via live webstream on www.wnyc.org. For more info on this event, visit www.92y.org/dylanthomas.

Under Milk Wood at 92Y kicks off a series of New York events, "DT/100," celebrating Dylan Thomas's centenary (he was born on October 27, 1914). Other events include: the 92Y exhibition, Dylan Thomas in America, opening just after the reading on October 26 with a collection of photos, letters, drawings and manuscripts from archives around the world chronicling the poet's legendary trips to the U.S. in the 1950s; a reading of Thomas's verse at Bowery Poetry Club (evening of Oct. 26); a screening of the new Dylan Thomas biopic, Set Fire to the Stars (Chelsea Hotel, Oct. 27); an evening of classical music inspired by Thomas's work and the renowned waterways of Wales (Salmagundi Club, Oct. 28); walking tours of Greenwich Village (Oct. 29); and a panel discussion featuring Hannah Ellis, Thomas's granddaughter, and former U.S. Poet Laureate Philip Levine (92Y, Oct. 31). These citywide programs are sponsored by the British Council and the Welsh government.

For Sheen, who is Welsh, this is a unique opportunity. "It's a real honor and an absolute thrill to be able to perform Under Milk Wood in this very special year and on the stage that it first found its voice," he said. "And the live radio broadcast is an opportunity to celebrate him and his work in both New York-a city that became so important to Dylan-and, at the same time, in Wales, his inspiration and home."

In addition to directing, Sheen reads "First Voice," the play's narrator and a part Thomas himself read in the '53 premiere. The all-Welsh cast also features actress Kate Burton, whose parents, Sybil Williams and Richard Burton, participated in the first BBC radio recording of Under Milk Wood in 1954-just two months after Thomas's tragic death in New York. Burton also starred in the 1972 film adaptation of Under Milk Wood.

"It is very meaningful for me to be participating in this event as my parents were in the original recording," said Burton. "I am very proud to be Welsh and to carry on the family tradition."

It was 92nd Street Y's Poetry Center that introduced Thomas to an American audience. Former Poetry Center director John Malcolm Brinnin brought Thomas to 92Y for his first U.S. reading in 1950, and the poet made 11 more appearances at 92Y between 1950 and 1953, including four performances of Under Milk Wood. Brinnin also acted as Thomas's agent in the U.S., arranging the reading tours that took him to colleges and universities across the country.