LCT's Platform Series Continues with Kristen Bush, Jan Maxwell & Michael Simpson, 5/29

Lincoln Center Theater's Platform Series, a forum for public discussion between Lincoln Center Theater artists and interested theatergoers, continues its 16th season on Thursday, May 29 at 6 pm with KRISTEN BUSH, JAN MAXWELL and MICHAEL SIMPSON, cast members of THE CITY OF CONVERSATION, new play by Anthony Giardina, directed by Doug Hughes, currently playing at the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater.

Platform Series events take place in the early evening in the lobby of the Vivian Beaumont Theater (150 West 65th Street). Admission is free and open to all; however, seating in the lobby is limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis only, beginning at a half hour before the talk. (Speakers and schedules are subject to change. Call 212-362-7600 to confirm on the day of the event.)

Henry James once described Washington D.C. as "the city of conversation." THE CITY OF CONVERSATION, tells the story of political hostess Hester Ferris (played by Jan Maxwell), a behind the scenes mover and shaker in the nation's capital, and of the political gains and personal losses that her choices inflict on her family over a period of 30 years, from the waning days of the Carter administration to the beginning of the Obama presidency.

KRISTEN BUSH LCT: debut. Off-Broadway: Taking Care of Baby (MTC); The Common Pursuit (Roundabout); Kin (Playwrights Horizons); King Lear (The Public); As You Like It (Delacorte); Photograph 51, Isaac's Eye (Ensemble Studio Theatre); Great Expectations (Theatreworks USA). Regional: Proof (McCarter), Saturn Returns (South Coast Rep), Passion Play (Goodman), The Violet Hour (Old Globe), As You Like It (Nebraska Shakes). Film: Synecdoche, New York; Liberal Arts; Deep in the Darkness; Calling It Quits. TV: "Law & Order: SVU," "Medium," "Numb3rs," "NCIS," "Knight Rider," "The Good Wife," "Blue Bloods," "Suits," "Unforgettable," "Person of Interest," "Elementary." Training: The Guildhall School of Music & Drama.

JAN MAXWELL LCT: Jules Feiffer's A Bad Friend. Broadway: Follies (Tony, Drama Desk, Grammy, Helen Hayes, Astaire nominations), Lend Me a Tenor (Tony nom.), The Royal Family (Drama Desk Award, Outstanding Actress),Coram Boy (Tony and Drama Desk noms.),Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (Drama Desk Award, Outstanding Featured Actress; Tony nom.), The Sound of Music, Sixteen Wounded (Drama Desk nom.), The Dinner Party, A Doll's House, Dancing at Lughnasa, City of Angels. Off-Broadway: Howard Barker's The Castle, Victory, Scenes From an Execution (PTP/NYC, Drama Desk nom.); Wings (Second Stage); The Bald Soprano (Atlantic); Israel Horovitz's My Old Lady (Drama Desk nom.); Entertaining Mr. Sloane (Drama Desk nom.). TV: "The Divide," "Gossip Girl," "Law & Order," PBS's "AIDS: Changing the Rules."

MICHAEL SIMPSON LCT and NYC debut. Theatre: The Whipping Man (Dorset Theatre Festival); The Guardsman (Kennedy Center); Electra (Pittsburgh Public); The Glass Menagerie (Old Globe); Last Days of Don Juan; Richard III; Macbeth; A Midsummer Night's Dream; The Cherry Orchard; Julius Caesar; The Cripple of Inishmaan; Pericles; A Christmas Carol; The Crucible; Twelfth Night; Romeo and Juliet. Film: Mooz-Lum, Behind Enemy Lines: Axis of Evil, Blood in the Sand. TV: "One Life to Live," "The Cleaner," "House," "The O.C." Education: Juilliard.

Lincoln Center Theater's Platform series was introduced in the summer of 1998. Transcripts of the previous talks are available on-line at www.lct.org.