Huntington/Coolidge Collaboration Continues with NETWORK and THE POWER OF DUFF Today

Stage & Screen, a collaboration between Coolidge Corner Theatre and Huntington Theatre Company that explores the depictions of shared themes in Huntington productions and acclaimed films begins its second season of collaboration tonight, October 14 at 7pm with Sidney Lumet's Academy Award-winning film Network. The screening will be followed by a conversation with playwright, screenwriter, and film director Stephen Belber and others from the Huntington's production of The Power of Duff.

Tickets to Network are $10 / $7 for Coolidge members (with member ID) and Huntington Theatre Company subscribers (with promo code) and may be purchased online at coolidge.org or at the Coolidge box office, located at 290 Harvard Street, Brookline.

Network is director Sidney Lumet's brilliant, pitch-black satire of the tabloid-tainted television industry, where entertainment value and short-term ratings trump quality. Over-the-hill newsman Howard Beale's (Peter Finch) televised rant after being summarily dismissed from the anchor desk immediately transforms him into a prophet-like media figure and the focus of a new sensationalized broadcast. His unhinged rants on live TV resonate with viewers, boost the ratings and intrigue a pair of cutthroat network executives. Finch won the Best Actor Oscar posthumously for his iconic performance; Oscars also went to screenwriter Paddy Chayefsky, Faye Dunaway as a ruthless VP programming boss, and Beatrice Straight.

The Power of Duff by Stephen Belber explores similar events and themes: When burnt-out local TV newscaster Charlie Duff suddenly begins offering a prayer at the end of his nightly broadcasts, he instantly becomes a popular and controversial figure to an expanding audience. But even as his prayers inspire millions, Charlie struggles with his own beliefs and his inability to connect with his estranged son.

Stephen Belber (Playwright) has been produced on Broadway and in over 25 countries. The Huntington previously produced his play Carol Mulroney. Other works include Match (Tony Award nomination for Frank Langella), Don't Go Gentle (MCC Theater), Dusk Rings a Bell (Atlantic Theater Company), Tape(Naked Angels; New York, Los Angeles, and London productions), McReele (Roundabout Theatre Company), A Small, Melodramatic Story (LAByrinth Theater Company), Geometry of Fire (New York Stage and Film and Rattlestick Playwrights Theater), Fault Lines (New York Stage and Film and Naked Angels), and One Million Butterflies (Primary Stages). He was an associate writer of The Laramie Project (Drama Desk and Lucille Lortel Award nominations) and a co-writer on The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later. He recently directed his second movie, an adaptation of his Broadway play Match, starring Patrick Stewart. His other film credits include Tape (dir. Richard Linklater), The Laramie Project (associate writer, Emmy Award nomination for screenwriting), Drifting Elegant, and Management, which he also directed, starring Jennifer Aniston, Woody Harrelson, and Steve Zahn. Television credits include "Rescue Me" and "Law & Order: SVU."

Last season's Stage & Screen series included Gore Vidal's The Best Man and a conversation with Now or Later playwright Christopher Shinn, Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing and a conversation with Invisible Man adaptor Oren Jacoby and WGBH Senior Investigative Reporter Phillip Martin, and Fritz Lang's M and a conversation with artists from Ryan Landry's "M." Additional Stage & Screen events will be announced at a later date. More information at coolidge.org/programs/stage-screen.

The Coolidge Corner Theatre is one of the nation's most prominent independently operated movie theatres, run by the not-for-profit Coolidge Corner Theatre Foundation. A beloved movie house, the Coolidge has been pleasing audiences with the best in cinematic entertainment since 1933. In addition to contemporary art house and independent film, the Coolidge presents the prestigious annual Coolidge Award, Science on Screen, high-definition broadcasts of live opera, ballet, and theater performances, Big Screen Classics, midnight screenings of cult films, kids' programs, and sneak previews and discussion of upcoming films as part of Talk Cinema. The Coolidge has won numerous awards and honors for its creative programming. For more information, visit coolidge.org.

Since its founding in 1982, the Huntington Theatre Company has developed into Boston's leading theatre company. Bringing together superb local and national talent, the Huntington produces a mix of groundbreaking new works and classics made current. Led by Artistic Director Peter DuBois and Managing Director Michael Maso, the Huntington creates award-winning productions, runs nationally renowned programs in education and new play development, and serves the local theatre community through its operation of the Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA. The Huntington is in residence at Boston University. For more information, visit huntingtontheatre.org.