'VIRGINIA WOOLF' and 'ASHER LEV' Casts Set for THEATER TALK, Beg. 12/21

The upcoming episode of THEATER TALK features cast members Tracy Letts and Amy Morton from Edward Albee's "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?," the Steppenwolf Theater production currently on Broadway, followed by Ari Brand, Jenny Bacon and Mark Nelson from "My Name is Asher Lev," the Aaron Posner adaptation of the Chaim Potok novel, playing off-Broadway at the Westside Theater.

Letts and Morton - who, prior to this show, have played husband-and-wife "seven or eight times now," says Morton - talk about the shift in the play's focus from Martha to George in this production, and Letts - an acclaimed playwright himself ("August: Osage County") - addresses his two careers and whether or not being a playwright has an effect on his acting. Among other topics, "Asher Lev" cast members Nelson and Brand share their ties to their own families' traditions and/or religions that have inspired their performances in this play about a young Hasidic man who aspires to be an expressionist painter, an unthinkable ambition in his community.

Co-hosted by Michael Riedel of the New York Post and executive producer Susan Haskins, the "Virginia Woolf-Asher Lev" episode premieres at 1 a.m. on Friday, December 21 (2012; early Saturday morning) on Thirteen/PBS, followed in New York City on CUNY TV* Saturday at 8:30 PM, Sunday at 12:30 PM, and Monday at 7:30 AM, 1:30 PM, and 7:30 PM. After its initial broadcast, the interview may be viewed online HERE.

THEATER TALK is the weekly series dedicated to the world of the stage. The program is jointly produced by the not-for-profits Theater Talk Productions and CUNY TV. It 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 60+ participating public television markets nationwide. THEATER TALK is made possible in part by The New York State Council on the Arts, The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, The TDF/TAP Plus Program, The CUNY TV Foundation and The Friends of THEATER TALK.

*CUNY TV, the City University of New York television station, is carried in New York City's five boroughs - on Channel 75 on Time Warner and Cablevision, Channel 77 on RCN, and Channel 30 on Verizon FiOS.

Pictured: Tracy Letts and Amy Morton in "Virginia Woolf" (photo: Michael Brosilow); Ari Brand and Mark Nelson in "Asher Lev".