Richard Easton to Appear on 'Downstage Center' Tomorrow

The American Theatre Wing and XM Satellite Radio proudly present an interview with Tony Award winning actor, Richard Easton, on their weekly theatrical interview show, "Downstage Center," on XM's On Broadway (XM Channel 28). Easton will appear as the special guest on Friday, February 1 at 6 p.m. The show will repeat on Saturday February 2 at noon, Sunday, February 3 at 7 p.m., and Wednesday, February 6 at midnight.  The program becomes available as streaming audio and podcast from www.americantheatrewing.org beginning Monday afternoon, February 4.

Tony Award-winning actor Richard Easton talks about his role in David Ives' play New Jerusalem at New York's Classic Stage Company and why he didn't spend much time trying to parse Spinoza's philosophy in preparation for the show (and why audiences needn't either); recalls how an off-hand contest entry as a schoolboy set him off on a theatrical career; describes the very first season of Canada's famed Stratford Festival; chronicles his peripatetic journey from Canada to New York to San Diego to London and all points in between; remembers his unsatisfying years with the Royal Shakespeare Company, which nevertheless brought about his friendship with Kenneth Branagh; considers his appearances in Tom Stoppard's The Invention of Love, The Coast of Utopia and Every Good Boy Deserves Favour; reflects on the health challenges that befell him over the past year; and offers some practical advice for actors just starting out on the stage.

Richard Easton most recently appeared on Broadway in the highly acclaimed, Tony Award-winning production of Tom Stoppard's The Coast of Utopia. Other Broadway performances include: his Tony-winning appearance in The Invention of Love, The Rivals, Noises Off, Exit the King, The Misanthrope, Cherry Orchard, Hamlet, Cock-a-Doodle Dandy, Back to Methuselah, The Country Wife, and School for Scandal. Off-Broadway performances include: Echoes of the War, Give Me Your Answer, Do!, Waste, and Hotel Universe. Easton has also appeared in films including: Henry V, Dead Again, and Finding Forester.

 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. 

Richard Easton (photo by Walter McBride / Retna Ltd)