Nick Kroll And John Mulaney To Star In Reading Of MY DINNER WITH ANDRE At The Wallis

Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts and Film Independent present a special, one-night only live read of the 1981 comedy My Dinner with Andre, starring Emmy Award-winning writer and comedian John Mulaney ("Saturday Night Live," Kid Gorgeous) and noted film and Broadway actor Nick Kroll (Loving, Big Mouth, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse), on Tuesday, March 19, 2019, at 7:30 pm. Elvis Mitchell, Film Independent Curator will host.

My Dinner with Andre, directed by Louis Malle, premiered in 1981. Written by and starring Andre Gregory (Andre) and Wallace Shawn (Wally), it depicts the actors playing fictionalized versions of themselves and sharing a wide-ranging conversation in a restaurant over the film's 110 minutes. According to critic Roger Ebert's Chicago Sun-Times review, "[Shawn and Gregory] are simply carriers for a thrilling drama -- a film with more action than Raiders of the Lost Ark." The critic later named it best film of the year. A touchstone of popular culture, My Dinner with Andre has been hailed as "the quintessential 'talk' film" (Rotten Tomatoes) and has been parodied or referenced in in such wide-ranging television shows as "The Simpsons," "Frasier," "Touched by an Angel" and "Family Guy" as well as Gary Larson's "Far Side" comic strip.

"The Wallis is pleased to collaborate with Film Independent to bring to the stage a live read of this wonderfully urbane and charming cult classic," says The Wallis' Artistic Director Paul Crewes. "The dialectic structure of My Dinner with Andre lends itself beautifully to this format, particularly in the hands of the talented and hilarious John Mulaney and Nick Kroll."

"I'm confident this live read of My Dinner with Andre will keep the spirit of the original alive while bringing a new zest to it," said Film Independent Curator Elvis Mitchell.

Single tickets are $50. Visit TheWallis.org/Andre, call 310.746.4000, or stop by in person at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts Ticket Services Office located at 9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills, CA 90210.

Nick Kroll is an actor, writer and producer. He most recently co-created and voiced numerous roles on the Netflix animated series "Big Mouth," which has been heralded by the Hollywood Reporter as "sweet, progressive and breathtakingly filthy," and was nominated for an Annie Award for "Best General Audience Animated Television/Broadcast Production." He recently wrapped productions on MGM's Operation Finale opposite Oscar Isaac and Ben Kingsley and can also be seen in Lionsgate's Uncle Drew. In January 2017, he wrapped his Broadway debut with the critical and financial hit Oh, Hello on Broadway. Recent film credits include Jeff Nichols' critically acclaimed film Loving, Seth Rogen's Sausage Party and Illumination's Sing. Nick had his own Comedy Central sketch show "Kroll Show" and starred as Ruxin the hit FX show "The League."

John Mulaney is an Emmy Award-winning writer and comedian. He has spent the past year touring the United States with his most recent show, Kid Gorgeous, which was also released as a Netflix Special in May 2018 and won the Emmy for Outstanding Writing in a Variety Special. Previously, John starred in the Broadway hit, Oh, Hello alongside Nick Kroll. He can most recently be heard in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse which won the Golden Globe for best Animated Feature Film.

In 2015 Mulaney released his third stand up special, a Netflix Original titled The Comeback Kid, which the AV Club called "his best hour of his career." He began his career in New York's East Village and has since toured around the world.

In 2008, he began writing at "Saturday Night Live" where he appeared as a "Weekend Update" correspondent and co-created characters such as "Stefon" with Bill Hader. He currently writes for IFC's Documentary Now and for Netflix's "Big Mouth" on which he voices the character of Andrew. Mulaney's first comedy album, The Top Part, was released in 2009. He released his second Comedy Central special and album New In Town in 2012, and upon review Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly hailed Mulaney as "one of the best stand-up comics alive.

Elvis Mitchell is an American film critic and host of KCRW's nationally syndicated pop culture and entertainment show, "The Treatment," since its inception in 1996. Mitchell was born in Highland Park, Michigan and graduated in 1980 from Wayne State University, where he majored in English. He has served as a film critic for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, where he received the 1999 AASFE award for criticism, the LA Weekly, the Detroit Free Press, and the New York Times. He served for a number of years as a pop culture commentator for Weekend Edition on NPR. In 2008, Elvis Mitchell: Under the Influence began airing on Turner Classic Movies. On the program Mitchell interviews actors and directors about their favorite classic films.

In 2002, he gave the prestigious Alain Locke lectures on African American culture at Harvard University, and subsequently, has been a visiting lecturer at Harvard in Visual and Environmental Studies, and in African American Studies. A WGA Award nominee for his work on The AFI Lifetime Achievement Award: Sidney Poitier, Mitchell has also served as editor-at-large at Spin magazine and is currently special correspondent for Interview magazine.

Mitchell is the producer and co-creator of The Black List: Volume One, a documentary film

Photo Credit: Walter McBride / WM Photos