SPRING AWAKENING's Marlee Matlin and More Set for THEATER TALK Today

An all-new THEATER TALK presents a multi-faceted interview-portrait of the current revival of Spring Awakening.

The Steven Sater/Duncan Sheik rock musical (which 8 TONY AWARDS in 2007) is back in a stirring new production by Deaf West Theater that incorporates sign language into the musical, adding a compelling and unexpected dimension to its staging and performance. As the headline of The New York Times review states, it "brings a new sensation to Broadway." Guests are the show's director Michael Arden along with members of its multi-generational acting company, Marlee Matlin and Camryn Manheim, who play multiple adult women characters, along with Daniel Durant and Alex Boniello who share the role of the misunderstood and deaf teenager, "Moritz." Also joining us is ASL interpreter Jack Jason who translates for Matlin and Durant.

Arden explains how the production originated at a small theater in Los Angeles. Matlin and Manheim subsequently attended performances as audience and were both so bowled over by the show that they agreed to star in the more ambitious production bound for Broadway. At times the two actresses play the same character, one speaking the lines and the other using American Sign Language (ASL) - a model used throughout the staging. They agree that the addition of sign language, brings "double information" to this story, adapted from the 1890 play by Franz Wedekind, making it not only about adolescent sexual angst, but also the tragic story of the deaf teenagers' inability to communicate or gain support from the adults around them. Deaf actor Durant and Boniello, his character's speaking/singing double, believe that the double casting of actors in the show allows for the visualization of an alter ego, a shadow, or a voice inside the head that enhances their interpretation of their troubled character.

Co-hosted by Susan Haskins and Jesse Green of New York Magazine (Michael Riedel was away), this latest edition of THEATER TALK premieres in the New York metropolitan area today, October 30 at 1:30 AM (early Saturday morning) and repeats on Sunday 11/1 at 11:30 AM on Thirteen/PBS (new time); on CUNY TV* Saturday 10/31 at 8:30 PM, Sunday 11/1 at 12:30 PM, and Monday 11/2 at 7:30 AM, 1:30 PM, and 7:30 PM; and on WLIW/21 on Monday 11/2 at 5:30 PM (new time) - a total of 8 showings weekly.

THEATER TALK is jointly produced by the not-for-profits Theater Talk Productions and CUNY TV. The program is taped in the Himan Brown TV and Radio Studios at The City University of New York (CUNY) TV in Manhattan, and is distributed to 100+ participating public television stations nationwide. THEATER TALK is made possible in part by The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, The CUNY TV Foundation, and The Friends of THEATER TALK.

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