'Theater Talk' Presents Two Tony Specials 6/11 and 6/13

As theater-lovers look forward to the annual TONY Awards ceremony and the conclusion of the 2007-2008 theater season, television's long-running THEATER TALK series presents two original programs to fuel their anticipation.

First up is THEATER TALK's Critics' Cavalcade, featuring 16 of New York's theater critics and writers discussing their favorite productions and performances of the past year. The show premieres Wednesday, June 11 at 12:30 AM on PBS/Thirteen (Thursday morning).

Featured on this year's Critics' Cavalcade are:

Melissa Rose Bernardo of Entertainment Weekly
Michael Feingold of The Village Voice
Adam Feldman of Time Out/New York
John Heilpern of The New York Observer
Barbara Hoffman of the New York Post
Charles Isherwood of The New York Times
Mike Kuchwara of The Associated Press
Jacques le Sourd of Gannett News Service
Jeremy McCarter of New York Magazine
Michael Musto of The Village Voice
Patrick Pacheco of The LA Times
Aaron Riccio of The New Theater Corps
John Simon of Bloomberg News
Michael Sommers of The Star Ledger
Matt Windman of AM New York, and
Linda Winer of Newsday and CUNY TV's Women in Theatre.

in addition to THEATER TALK co-hosts:

Michael Riedel of the New York Post and Susan Haskins, pundits each choose the highlights of the Broadway season, among them:  August: Osage County, Gypsy, South Pacific, Sunday in the Park with George, Grease, Cry-Baby, In The Heights, Passing Strange, Xanadu, A Catered Affair and Top Girls.

Also, included on the Cavalcade is a studio performance by Tony nominees Stew, and his co-composer Heidi Rodewald of their song "Work The Wound," from their show, Passing Strange, which is nominated for seven Tony Awards, including Best Score and Best Musical.

On Friday, June 13th at 12:30 AM on Thirteen (Saturday morning) THEATER TALK is also premiering its 12th Annual TONY Predictions Special. Top Broadway reporters: Jesse Green of New York Magazine, Michael Musto of The Village Voice and Headline News, plus Patrick Pacheco of The LA Times join THEATER TALK's co-hosts to handicap the major Tony Awards contests, explaining who will win, who will lose, and why.

The shows will be repeated together from 7-8 PM, Sunday, June 15 on CUNY TV (channel 75) in  NYC.

 The TONY Predictions Special will also be on Playbill Radio this Saturday, June 14 at 9pm and Sunday, June 15 at6pm.

Beginning June 11, both of these THEATER TALK TONY-related shows are available for viewing online (www.cuny.tv/series/theatertalk) as well as on a variety of PBS stations.  The Critics' Cavalcade premieres Wednesday, June 11 at 12:30 a.m. on Thirteen/WNET in New York, followed by airings on CUNY TV the following Sunday and Monday.  The 12th Annual TONY Predictions Special premieres Friday, June 13 at 12:30 a.m. on Thirteen/WNET, followed by airings on Saturday and Sunday on CUNY TV.  (See www.cuny.tv for exact times.)