Rudetsky, Riedel and Others in Tony Talk 2005 Tonight, June 1

By: BWW News Desk Jun. 01, 2005

New York Post theatre columnist Michael Riedel, producer Jeffrey Seller, Avenue Q bookwriter Jeff Whitty and musical director/producer Seth Rudetsky will dish about and deconstruct the Tonys on June 1st at 7:30 PM at Ars Nova.

Riedel has been with the New York Post since 1998. A recent profile in New York magazine described him as "the columnist Broadway loves to hate. An attack dog in a world of lapdogs, this magna cum laude Columbia graduate, who reads Dante and Suetonius for fun, is an unlikely tabloid bad boy. But his twice-a-week, mean, often funny, always dishy, ruthlessly vitriolic behind-the-scenes gossip column has made him the scourge and the talk of the theater world." Riedel previously worked for the New York Daily News, the now-defunct Theatre Talk magazine and currently co-hosts the WNET Thirteen show Theater Talk with Susan Haskins.

Seller, who produced Avenue Q, has also worked as a publicist, booking agent. With business partner Kevin McCollum, he produced Rent, for which he won the Tony Award for Best Musical, De La Guarda, and Baz Luhrmann's mounting of Puccini's La Bohème.

Whitty's book for Avenue Q also won the Tony last year. His plays include The Hiding Place, The Plank Project, Balls, Suicide Weather and The Further Adventures of Hedda Gabler. His screenplays include Zora, a feature for Warner Brothers to star Jennifer Aniston, and an untitled musical project for Paramount with music by Andre 3000 of Outkast. He has also acted on film, television, off-Broadway and regionally.

Rudetsky has teamed up with The Actor's Fund as Artistic Producer, conductor and musical director on star-studded productions of Hair, Chess, Funny Girl and the Dreamgirls 20th Anniversary Concert. His hit Rhapsody in Seth, which he originally developed at Ars Nova, was nominated for a GLAAD Award. As a pit pianist and conductor, Rudetsky has leant his talents to over 15 Broadway shows, including 42nd Street, The Full Monty, Phantom of the Opera, Mamma Mia! and The Producers. Rudetsky was part of the three-time Emmy-nominated comedy writing team for The Rosie O'Donnell Show and wrote the lyrics and opening numbers of the 1998 and 2000 Tony Awards shows.

Rudetsky's other deconstructive evenings at Ars Nova include Seth Deconstructs: The Good, the Bad and the Headachy, in which he put his video collection of Broadway and pop culture up for public viewing.

Ars Nova is located at 511 W. 54 St. Tickets to Tony Talk 2005 are available by calling 212-868-4444, or by going to www.smarttix.com.

For more information, visit www.arsnovanyc.com.

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Rudetsky, Riedel and Others in Tony Talk 2005 Tonight, June 1

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