Joanna Gleason and Chris Sarandon Join New York City Children's Theater's MEET THE PARENT Series

New York City Children's Theater will expand its programming during its 25th Anniversary season in 2021-22 with a livestream MEET THE PARENTS series hosted by Broadway actress (and mom) ANIKA LARSEN! The series will be hosted on Zoom and will be a lively, informative discussion with other parents who also work in the theatre community - starting Wednesday, Nov. 3 at 7:30 p.m. The program was announced by NYCCT's Executive Director, Andrew Frank, " This series is designed to invite our adult audience into a conversation about parenting. And hearing from our wonderful guests about how parenting has changed their careers as artists and how being an artist has informed their choices as a parent,"

MEET THE PARENTS welcomes as its first guests, Joanna Gleason (INTO THE WOODS - TONY AWARD), Chris Sarandon (DOG DAY AFTERNOON - OSCAR NOMINATION), along with Andrea Burns (IN THE HEIGHTS, THE FULL MONTY) on November 3.

Future episodes of MEET THE PARENTS will feature Ms. Larsen in discussion with Audra McDonald, Cameron Crowe, Tom Kitt, and Ann Harada, among others, all of whom contend with the complexities of raising children on a schedule as time-taxing as the theater - during rehearsals and especially performing eight shows a week.

Ms. Larsen, the mother of two, was nominated for a Tony Award for her performance in the Carole King musical BEAUTIFUL and previously appeared on Broadway as Kate Monster in AVENUE Q. She'll soon be back on Broadway in ALMOST FAMOUS. She is a member of the NYCCT Board of Directors.

Ms. Larsen says, "We theater artists are used to doing interviews about our work, but once we become parents, there's this whole other side of our lives that is just as consuming and meaningful to us, and people rarely ask about it in depth. I'm so excited to have conversations with these amazing guests about the joyful and exasperating truths of being artist parents!"

To register for the event or to sign up to learn more about upcoming events, please visit www.nycchildrenstheater.org

New York City Children's Theater's Meet the Parent series is designed to provide opportunities for our adult audience members to connect with us and each other around issues important to them as parents, grandparents, caretakers, and fans of theater. Previous events have included Children's Music Superstar Laurie Berkner; The NY Times Chief Theater Critic Jesse Green; Tony Award Nominees Kathleen Chalfant and Sybille Pearson; Broadway Musical Theatre Writers Russ Kaplan & Sara Wordsworth; nationally recognized Child Therapist and Parenting Expert, Lisa Spiegel; as well as Ms. Larsen.

New York City Children's Theater's mission is to promote children's literacy and social development through professional theater productions and arts-in-education programs. Our programs cultivate children's growth in the areas of emotional intelligence, community building, and responsible decision-making. The result is empathetic, creative, and independent thinkers who make a positive impact on their world.

For 25 years, New York City Children's Theater's local and nationally recognized arts-in-education programs and professional theater productions have served over 400,000 children and adults across all five boroughs and surrounding communities in the tri-state area.

To learn more, visit www.nycchildrenstheater.org