Maggie Gyllenhaal Plays Marie Curie at World Science Festival Today
Award-winning screen and stage actress Maggie Gyllenhaal steps into the role of history's most famous woman scientist for a special reading of Radiance: The Passion of Marie Curie, a new play by actor/writer Alan Alda. Gyllenhaal replaces the previously announced Meryl Streep, who had to bow out due to a sudden and unforeseen scheduling conflict. Through a spokesperson, Streep says she regrets the conflict and that she is "very disappointed to miss this important and inspiring event."
Gyllenhaal joins the all-star cast of Radiance, which also includes Amy Adams, Bill Camp, Allison Janney, David Morse, Liev Schreiber and Brent Sexton. Directed by acclaimed actor/director Bob Balaban, the special reading anchors the 2011 World Science Festival Opening Night Gala Celebration on June 1 at Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall.
Radiance tells the emotional story of one of the most accomplished and revered scientists in history. It explores the intellectual passions of the physicist/chemist most famous for her pioneering research on radioactivity, as well as her tumultuous private life marked by a strong determination to pursue both love and knowledge.Gyllenhaal most recently was seen on stage in Three Sisters at the Classic Stage Company in New York. Her other stage credits include Uncle Vanya at CSC, Tony Kushner's Homebody/Kabul at BAM and the Mark Taper Forum, and Patrick Marber's award-winning Closer at the Mark Taper Forum and Berkeley Repertory. Her film credits include Crazy Heart (Academy Award nomination), Secretary (Golden Globe and Spirit Award nominations), The Dark Knight, Adaptation, Stranger Than Fiction, World Trade Center, Happy Endings, Sherrybaby (Golden Globe nomination), and more. She will be seen in the upcoming film Hysteria. Gyllenhaal is a graduate of Columbia University, where she studied literature.Tickets to the 2011 World Science Festival Opening Night Gala Celebration are on sale now. Visit www.worldsciencefestival.com/gala, call 646-200-8817 or email gala@worldsciencefest.org.ABOUT WSF
The World Science Festival is an annual celebration of science that brings together great minds in its mission to cultivate and sustain a general public informed by the content of science, inspired by its wonder, convinced of its value, and prepared to engage with its implications for the future. The World Science Festival is a production of the Science Festival Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization headquartered in New York City.
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