Victor Slezak News

I suppose the main difference between a violent protest and an act of terrorism is whether you're on the side of the person who set off the bomb or the person who was killed by it.  In Primary Stages' premiere production of Willy Holtzman's drama, Something You Did, the person responsible for the bomb going off is played by the charismatic and understatedly graceful and eloquent Joanna Gleason, making the evening's morality conflict hardly a fair fight.

The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center has acquired the papers of renowned performers and acting teachers Uta Hagen and Herbert Berghof. The collection consists of thousands of pages of unpublished correspondence, diaries, scripts and manuscripts, photographs, clippings and other documentation relating to the dynamic theatrical careers of both Hagen and Berghof. This collection of professional and personal papers, spanning nearly 100 years of theater history, is being made public for the first time. To celebrate the bequest, the Library is planning a series of eight free public programs featuring many close friends and colleagues of Ms. Hagen and Mr. Berghof's including such figures as Harold Prince, Edward Albee, David Hyde Pierce and Eli Wallach. Programs take place in the Bruno Walter Auditorium in The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center located at 111 Amsterdam Avenue (between 64th and 65th streets). Admission to all programs is free and first come, first served. For information, please call (212) 642-0142 or visit www.nypl.org/lpaprograms. Programs are curated by Alan Pally, Manager of Public Programs at the Library for the Performing Arts.

Eating Their Words, reinventing the concept of 'dinner theater' by wedding a seasoned chef with prominent playwrights for an integrated evening of new cuisine and new plays, adds Sam Mason's Tailor to its event line-up, Monday November 3rd.

With apologies for a little self-promotion, I will be a guest on 'Mid-Day with Dan Rodricks' radio program between 1-2 p.m. (WYPR-FM, 88.1) on Tuesday, April 8, 2008 for a discussion on theater coming this spring to the Baltimore/Washington area and Broadway. You can access the program live on www.wypr.org or for about a month after the program on the WYPR web site. I hope to hear from many of my readers. You may call during the program at 410-662-8780 or long-distance at 866-661-9309.

Primary Stages officially opened 'Something You Did' on April 1st, 2008. The five-member cast features Tony Award-winner Joanna Gleason (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Into the Woods) as Alison, a sixties radical, with Jordan Charney (Hearts) as Arthur, Alison's attorney, Tony Award-winner Adriane Lenox (Doubt) as Lenora, Portia (McReele) as Uneeq and Victor Slezak (Sabina) as Gene.

Gingold Theatrical Group's PROJECT SHAW presentsTWO rarely seen ONE-ACTS by George Bernard Shaw, THE FASCINATING FOUNDLING and FARFETCHED FABLES

Primary Stages (Casey Childs, Executive Producer; Andrew Leynse, Artistic Director; Elliot Fox, Managing Director), in association with Nancy Cooperstein and Betty Ann Besch Solinger, present the New York premiere of Something You Did by Willy Holtzman (Sabina). The five-member cast features Tony Award-winner Joanna Gleason (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Into the Woods) as Alison, a sixties radical, with Jordan Charney (Hearts) as Arthur, Alison's attorney, Tony Award-winner Adriane Lenox (Doubt) as Lenora, Portia (McReele) as Uneeq and Victor Slezak (Sabina) as Gene. Carolyn Cantor (Pumpgirl) directs the final production of this current 23rd Primary Stages season of new works by American playwrights. Performances begin March 18 for a limited run through April 26, 2008, at Primary Stages at 59E59 Theaters (59 East 59th Street, between Park and Madison Avenues). Opening night is Tuesday, April 1, 2008 at 7:00 p.m. Willy Holtzman returns to Primary Stages with his latest work, the story of a notorious Sixties radical that has served nearly 30 years in prison for her part in the accidental killing of an African-American police officer during an explosive war protest. Now she is eligible for parole in a post 9/11 world where bombing is terrorism and dissent, treason. How much can she be faulted for having a conscience? Is she guilty of bringing the war home? Something You Did is a powerfully topical and provocative drama that examines the responsibility of citizens for the actions of their government. The creative team includes Eugene Lee (sets), Jenny Mannis (costumes), Jeff Croiter (lighting), and Lindsay Jones (sound). The Production Stage Manager is Samone B. Weissman. Single tickets are priced at $60 with a specially priced $20 ticket is available to patrons 35 and under for all performances. Tickets may be purchased by calling Ticket Central at (212) 279-4200 or online at www.ticketcentral.com. For group sales inquires, please email Kara Hennessey at kara@primarystages.com. Earlier this season, Primary Stages presented the New York premieres of Opus by Michael Hollinger, and Dividing The Estate by Horton Foote, and the world premiere of Hunting and Gathering by Brooke Berman. Primary Stages recently announced the schedule of new plays for its 24th season. The 2008-2009 season will have three New York premieres: Buffalo Gal by A.R. Gurney, A Body of Water by Lee Blessing, and Shipwrecked! An Entertainment - The Amazing Adventures of Louis de Rougemont (As Told By Himself) by Donald Margulies, and the world premiere of Chasing Manet by Tina Howe at Primary Stages at 59E59 Theaters (59 East 59th Street). 4-play subscription packages are now available by calling TicketCentral at (212) 279-4200 or online at www.TicketCentral.com. For additional information about Primary Stages, please visit the website at www.primarystages.com.

In conjunction with the New York premiere of the new drama, Something You Did, Primary Stages has organized a special series of post-performance forums on the topic of 'The Prison Nation.' Titled 'The SOMETHING Forums,' these intimate conversations will take place on four Tuesdays during the play's run, and has been curated (and will be moderated) by David Rothenberg, founder of The Fortune Society (and WBAI radio host).

Willy Holtzman returns to Primary Stages with his latest work, the story of a notorious Sixties radical that has served nearly 30 years in prison for her part in the accidental killing of an African-American police officer during an explosive war protest. Now she is eligible for parole in a post 9/11 world where bombing is terrorism and dissent, treason. How much can she be faulted for having a conscience? Is she guilty of bringing the war home? Something You Did examines the responsibility of citizens for the actions of their government.

On Tuesday, February 19 the cast and creatives of Something You Did held a press meet and greet at the Primary Stages rehearsal studio. The New York premiere of Something You Did by Willy Holtzman features the previously announced Tony Award-winning Joanna Gleason and Jordan Charney with Tony Award-winner Adriane Lenox, Portia and Victor Slezak. Carolyn Cantor directs.

Primary Stages has announced the full cast to the New York premiere of Something You Did by Willy Holtzman (Sabina). The five-member cast features the previously announced Tony Award-winning Joanna Gleason (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Into the Woods) as Alison, a sixties radical, and Jordan Charney (Hearts) as Arthur, Alison's attorney. They will be joined by Tony Award-winner Adriane Lenox (Doubt) as Lenora, Portia as Uneeq and Victor Slezak as Gene.

Bay Street Theatre, a not-for-profit professional regional theatre located in the Hamptons on the Long Wharf in Sag Harbor, recently announced its 2008 Target Mainstage Season. Charles Busch and Julie Halston will star in the revival of Shanghai Moon, by Charles Busch, June 3 - June 29.

Variety.com reports that Academy Award nominee David Strathairn will be replacing Victor Slezak in the Epic Theater Center Production of Zak Berkman's Beauty on the Vine.

Zak Berkman's new play about beauty and what lies beneath is running at Theatre Row.

Epic Theatre Center has announced additional programming and participants for their 'Beyond Beauty Initiative.'

In conjunction with their Off Broadway production of Zak Berkman's Beauty On The Vine, Epic Theatre Center has announced the programming for their 'Beyond Beauty Initiative.' The program seeks to bring together a diverse array of women with different backgrounds to share experiences and creatively explore how definitions of beauty, power and success impact society as a whole.

Olivia Wilde has been set to play the lead role(s) of 'Lauren/L2/L3' in the world premiere production of Beauty On The Vine, described as 'a new play for the Britney-Lohan Generation,' by Zak Berkman

Austin Lysy (The Water's Edge) and Peter Macdissi ('Six Feet Under') will star in the world premiere of All That I Will Ever Be, which will be presented at the New York Theatre Workshop from January 17th through March 11th

A starry cast has been assembled for the Project Shaw reading of Captain Brassbound's Conversion, which will take place at the Players Club on November 20th

The latest star-studded Shaw Project staged reading will feature Sally Ann Howe, Andrea Marcovicci, Sarah Uriarte Berry, Brian Murray and Paxton Whitehead, among others