THEATER TALK to Spotlight AN AMERICAN IN PARIS, Josephine Baker This Weekend

This week's THEATER TALK celebrates composer George Gershwin and his 1928 symphonic poem, An American in Paris, now coming to Broadway as an adaptation of the 1951 Academy Award-winning film. THEATER TALK welcomes musical theater historian Robert Kimball (author of the bestselling coffee-table book The Gershwins), and Rob Fisher, musical director of the show, to discuss the composer and how his work is being adapted anew.

Next up, a tribute to the late Jean-Claude Baker, author of the book, Josephine: The Hungry Heart, the biography of his foster mother (and another American in Paris), the legendary entertainer and African-American icon, Josephine Baker (1906-1975). Jean-Claude, who also owned the popular NYC restaurant Chez Josephine, died earlier this year, so THEATER TALK is repeating this interview, not only to remember the legendary Josephine, but Jean-Claude himself, a beloved Broadway personality and a friend of the show.

Hosted by Michael Riedel and Susan Haskins, this THEATER TALK episode premieres in the New York metropolitan area Friday, April 3 (2015) at 1 AM (Saturday morning) on Thirteen/PBS, and continues on CUNY TV* Saturday 4/4 at 8:30 PM, Sunday 4/5 at 12:30 PM, and Monday 4/6 at 7:30 AM, 1:30 PM, and 7:30 PM.

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 CUNY TV Foundation and The Friends of THEATER TALK.

*CUNY TV, the City University of New York television station, is broadcast 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; Optimum/Brooklyn), 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.

Pictured: Robert Kimball and Rob Fisher; George Gershwin; Josephine Baker. Color image courtesy of Theater Talk/CUNY TV; George Gershwin photo courtesy of AmericanPiano.com; Josephine Baker courtesy of the estate of Jean-Claude Baker.