Jeremy Gerard Set for THEATER TALK this Week

This week's guest on THEATER TALK is journalist Jeremy Gerard, author of the new book, Wynn Place Show, subtitled A Biased HISTORY of the Rollicking Life & Extreme Times of Wynn Handman and the American Place Theatre (Smith and Kraus Publishers). Gerard tells co-hosts Michael Riedel of the New York Post and Susan Haskins about the remarkable place in theater HISTORY occupied by Handman, Artistic Director and Co-Founder of The American Place Theatre and, at age 91, still one of New York's most sought-after acting teachers.

This latest edition of THEATER TALK premieres in the New York metropolitan area on Friday, January 17 (2014) at 1 AM (early Saturday morning) on Thirteen/PBS, with repeats on CUNY TV* on Saturday 1/18 at 8:30 PM, Sunday 1/19 at 12:30 PM, and Monday 1/20 at 7:30 AM, 1:30 PM, and 7:30 PM.

Gerard provides an overview of the American Place's distinguished history. Handman co-founded the theatre in 1963 with Sidney Lanier and Michael Tolan. During its glory days, it operated from a performance space designed to Handman's specs on West 46th Street near Times Square (now occupied by Roundabout's Laura Pels Theatre). Handman launched playwrights like Ed Bullins, Maria Irene Fornes, Jonathan Reynolds, Ronald Ribman, Sam Shepard and Steve Tesich, among others, and nurtured talents like Dustin Hoffman, Faye Dunaway, Anna Deveare Smith, Eric Bogosian, John Leguizamo, Aasif Mandvi and Dael Orlandersmith.

A self-described "Off-Broadway baby," Gerard has written for Variety, New York Magazine, the New York Times, and Bloomberg News. Called "a damn fine reporter" by co-host Riedel, he also shares details of his career as a theater critic, a profession, which he admits, is " in dire straits."

THEATER TALK is jointly produced by the not-for-profits Theater Talk Productions and CUNY TV. The program is taped in the Himan Brown TV and Radio Studios at The City University of New York (CUNY) TV in Manhattan, and is distributed to 100+ participating public television stations nationwide. THEATER TALK is made possible in part by The New York State Council on the Arts, The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, The TDF/TAP Plus Program, The CUNY TV Foundation and The Friends of THEATER TALK.

*CUNY TV, the City University of New York television station, is broadcast over-the-air in the New York metropolitan area on digital Ch. 25.3, and cablecast in the five boroughs of New York City on Ch. 75 (Time Warner and Cablevision/Optimum), Ch. 77 (RCN), and Ch. 30 (Verizon FiOS). The show is available online anytime at www.cuny.tv and www.theatertalk.org, and via iTunes podcasts. CUNY TV is also live-streamed on www.Aereo.com.

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