Sullivan To Direct New Alan Alda Play Starring LaPaglia

 The World Science Festival ( www.worldsciencefestival.com ) will present the world premiere staging of Dear Albert, a new work written by Emmy Award-winner and Academy and Tony Award-nominee Alan Alda.  This humorous and provocative reading of selections from the letters of Albert Einstein, his wives and his friends, will star Tony Award-winning actor Anthony LaPaglia and will be directed by Tony Award-winning director Daniel Sullivan.

This one-night only event runs Sunday, June 1, beginning at 7pm at Columbia University's Miller Theatre, 2960 Broadway at 116th Street.

Tickets are $40 and can be purchased at the World Science Festival website:  www.worldsciencefestival.com

Dear Albert delves into the treasure trove of letters written by Einstein, tracing an intimate and unfamiliar line across his life and work. Unquestionably one of the greatest – if not the greatest – mind of the 20th century, Einstein was as celebrated for his wit as for his Theory of Relativity.  Dear Albert humanizes a giant in the pantheon of great scientists and sheds light upon his momentous scientific insights through first-hand accounts of groundbreaking discoveries.

"As I read through his letters, I was fascinated by him," said Alda.  "This was the voice of Albert at his most intimate and passionate as he was courting his first wife, his second wife and a number of other women.  At the same time, he was just as passionate about courting the cosmos. And the cosmos often came out ahead."

The first annual World Science Festival, an unprecedented celebration of scientific discovery, will take place throughout New York City from May 28th through June 1st, 2008, and will bring together over a dozen Nobel Laureates, leading researchers, top-level technologists, dedicated educators, and high-level policy makers with creative artists, filmmakers, and performers to create more than 40 unique events that will shine a spotlight on science and explore the many ways in which scientific discovery and innovation are shaping modern life.

The World Science Festival springs from the vision of its two co-founders, Brian Greene and Tracy Day.  Brian Greene is a Columbia University professor of physics and of mathematics and the star of the PBS series The Elegant Universe, based on his Pulitzer Prize finalist bestselling book. Tracy Day is a four-time National News Emmy Award winning journalist and producer whose credits include Nightline and This Week with David Brinkley.

"We are thrilled to debut Alan Alda's latest work, Dear Albert, at the inaugural World Science Festival," said Festival Co-Founder Brian Greene.  "Alan's dedication to the Festival is infectious and his ability to weave together science and theater brings new experiences to scientists and theatergoers alike, which is the kind of novel programming that typifies the Festival."

 

Alan Alda hosted the award-winning series "Scientific American Frontiers" on PBS for eleven years, interviewing leading scientists from around the world. Probably best known for his role as "Hawkeye Pierce" on the classic television series "M*A*S*H," where he also wrote and directed many of the episodes, Alda is the only person to be honored by the TV Academy as top performer, writer and director. He has the distinction of being nominated for an Oscar, a Tony, and an Emmy -- as well as publishing a bestselling book -- all in the same year. In 2005, his memoir, Never Have Your Dog Stuffed, and Other Things I've Learned, became a New York Times bestseller. He was nominated for an Emmy for his recurring role on "The West Wing" and received a Tony nomination for the Broadway revival of David Mamet's Glengarry Glen Ross. That same year, he earned an Oscar nomination for his role in Martin Scorsese's "The Aviator." All in all, he has won five Emmys and six Golden Globe Awards.

Anthony LaPaglia is the Tony, Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actor currently starring as FBI Missing Persons investigator Jack Malone in CBS's popular television crime drama, "Without a Trace."  LaPaglia has appeared in a number of films, including "Summer of Sam," "Sweet and Lowdown," "The House of Mirth," and "Lantana."  He also starred alongside Sigourney Weaver in "The Guys," a film inspired by the heroism of New York City firefighters during the 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center.  On television, his role on the popular sitcom "Frasier" earned him an Emmy Award. LaPaglia has returned often to the NY stage.  He received raves for his performance opposite Mercedes Ruehl in the Broadway revival of Tennessee Williams' The Rose Tattoo and was back on Broadway in a revival of Arthur Miller's A View From the Bridge, for which he won a Tony Award.

Daniel Sullivan is one of New York's most prolific directors. He most recently directed the Broadway revival of The Homecoming. He has been nominated for six Tony Awards for Direction of a Play, and won for David Auburn's Proof in 2001. His other Broadway credits include Prelude to a Kiss, Rabbit Hole, Julius Caesar (with Denzel Washington), Brooklyn Boy, Sight Unseen, Morning's at Seven, Major Barbara, A Moon for the Misbegotten, Ah, Wilderness!, An American Daughter, The Sisters Rosensweig, Conversations With My Father, The Heidi Chronicles and I'm Not Rappaport. Sullivan served for sixteen years as Artistic Director of Seattle Repertory Theatre, where he directed over 60 plays and launched their New Play Program, developing new works by Jon Robin Baitz, A.R. Gurney, Arthur Miller, Wendy Wasserstein and Charlayne Woodard.