Laura Linney to be Guest on Downstage Center

The American Theatre Wing and XM Satellite Radio proudly present an interview with actress Laura Linney, on their weekly theatrical interview show, "Downstage Center," on XM's On Broadway (XM Channel 28).

Linney will appear as the special guest on Friday, May 23 at 6 p.m. The show will repeat on Saturday, May 24 at noon, Sunday, May 25 at 7 p.m., and Wednesday, May 28 at midnight (all times eastern; transmission is simultaneous across the country).  The program becomes available as streaming audio and podcast from www.americantheatrewing.org and iTunes beginning Tuesday afternoon, May 27.

Actress Laura Linney talks about returning to Broadway as the Marquise de Merteuil in the Roundabout production of Les Liaisons Dangereuses and whether she thinks her character is truly evil.  She also discusses her earliest theatrical experiences, including working on the stage crew at a summer theatre while still in her "tween" years; appearing in a play written by her father, inspired in part by their own relationship, while a student at Brown; battling back from stage fright while at the Juilliard School; her big break appearing in the original production of Sight Unseen in its Off-Broadway debut -- and what it was like to return to the play, in a different role -- in its Broadway debut a dozen years later; how she handles appearing in shows that -- both fairly and unfairly -- don't meet with critical and popular success; and taking on a much-read but not often-seen classic like Arthur Miller's The Crucible.

Laura Linney currently appears in Les Liaisons Dangereuses. Her most recent theatre credits include Daniel Sullivan's production of Sight Unseen at the Manhattan Theatre Club and Sir Richard Eyre's production of The Crucible with Liam Neeson for which she received Tony nominations. Other credits include Uncle Vanya; Honour; Holiday; Hedda Gabler; The Seagull; Beggars in the House of Plenty and Six Degress of Separation. Television credits include "John Adams"; "Frasier"; "Wild Iris"; Armistead Maupin's "Tales of the City," "More Tales of the City," "Further Tales of the City"; and "The Laramie Project" among others. She received Academy Award nominations for her work in The Savages, Kinsey and You Can Count on Me. Other film works include: The Squid and the Whale, Jindabyne, Love Actually, Mystic River, The Nanny Diaries, Breach, Man of the Year, The Hottest State, Driving Lessons, The Exorcism of Emily Rose, P.S.: The Life of David Gale, The Mothman Prophecies, Maze, The House of Mirth, The Truman Show, among others. Upcoming projects include Richard Eyre's The Other Man with Liam Neeson and Antonio Banderas and City of Your Final Destination with Sir Anthony Hopkins. Laura was trained at The Julliard School and is a member of Actor's Equity and The Screen Actor's Guild.  

Each new "Downstage Center" is regularly broadcast at 6 p.m. on Fridays, Saturdays at noon, Sundays at 7 p.m. and Wednesdays at 12 a.m. (all times EST). Following the initial run on XM, each program is made available for free, on-demand, internationally as both streaming audio and podcast on ATW's Web site, www.americantheatrewing.org.