LCT's Platform Series to Continue with Anthony Giardina & Doug Hughes, 5/1

Lincoln Center Theater's Platform Series, a forum for public discussion between Lincoln Center Theater artists and interested theatergoers, continues its 16th season on Thursday, May 1 at 6 pm with ANTHONY GIARDINA and DOUG HUGHES, the playwright and director, respectively, of THE CITY OF CONVERSATION, currently in previews at the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater.

Platform Series events take place in the early evening in the lobby of the Vivian Beaumont Theater (150 West 65th Street). Admission is free and open to all; however, seating in the lobby is limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis only, beginning at a half hour before the talk. (Speakers and schedules are subject to change. Call 212-362-7600 to confirm on the day of the event.)

Henry James once described Washington D.C. as "the city of conversation." THE CITY OF CONVERSATION, tells the story of political hostess Hester Ferris (played by Jan Maxwell), a behind the scenes mover and shaker in the nation's capital, and of the political gains and personal losses that her choices inflict on her family over a period of 30 years, from the waning days of the Carter administration to the beginning of the Obama presidency.

Anthony Giardina is a playwright and novelist. His plays, including Living at Home, An American Family, Scenes from La Vie de Boheme, The Beach, Black Forest and Custody of the Eye, have been produced at Playwrights Horizons and Manhattan Theatre Club in New York and regionally at Arena Stage, Seattle Repertory, Yale Repertory, Long Wharf Theatre and the Cleveland Playhouse. He is the author of five novels, including his most recent Norumbega Park and The Country of Marriage, a collection of stories.

Doug Hughes directed the LCT production of Richard Greenberg's The House in Town. He is currently represented on Broadway with his critically acclaimed production of John Patrick Shanley's new play Outside Mullingar at Manhattan Theatre Club. His recent New York credits include The Big Knife, An Enemy of the People, Born Yesterday, The Royal Family, Mauritius, Doubt (for which he won a Tony Award), Frozen and The Whipping Man.

LCT's next platform is scheduled for Thursday, May 8 at 6:00 pm with SANTINO FONTANA, ANDREA MARTIN and TONY SHALHOUB, cast members of ACT ONE, currently playing at LCT's Vivian Beaumont Theater.

Lincoln Center Theater's Platform series was introduced in the summer of 1998. Transcripts of the previous talks are available on-line at www.lct.org.