David Geffen News

The runaway British hit CALL THE MIDWIFE, a new drama that depicts midwifery in 1950s London, kicks off the PBS 2012 fall season with a six-part Sunday-night run that begins September 30. A production of BBC Worldwide and Neal Street Productions, MIDWIFE further strengthens PBS' hold on quality Sunday night programs and launches a fall full of drama - both fictional and real - anchored by Ken Burns's new documentary THE DUST BOWL, PBS ELECTION 2012 coverage of the presidential campaign including FRONTLINE's award-winning 'The Choice,' and the season two return of MASTERPIECE CLASSIC 'Upstairs Downstairs.'Sundays continue to be a source of captivating drama for PBS, while strong Wednesday 'Exploration' nights feature new episodes of the science series NATURE, NOVA and an updated NOVA scienceNOW, hosted for the first time by tech guru and New York Times reporter David Pogue. Monday nights open with a series of ANTIQUES ROADSHOW specials that lead into the first fall season of MARKET WARRIORS. The award-winning film series INDEPENDENT LENS moves to Mondays at 10 p.m. beginning October 29, creating a new space for independent film that will also be the home for POV's 2013 season. Friday night PBS ARTS programs include the four-part series VOCES, which highlights Latino and Hispanic arts, and AMERICAN MASTERS 'Joffrey: Mavericks of American Dance.'

Emmy Award winning actress Jane Lynch will host this year's Backstage at the Geffen fundraiser, which recognizes leadership in the theater community while raising support for the theater's artistic and outreach initiatives, honoring Hollywood legend Carol Burnett and Chairman and CEO of Fox Filmed Entertainment Jim Gianopulos. Ms. Burnett will receive the Distinction in Theater Award and Mr. Gianopulos will be presented with the Distinction in Service Award by entertainment icon and longtime colleague Warren Beatty. The star-studded event will be co-chaired by Chairman and CEO of The Walt Disney Company Robert A. Iger and his wife, journalist Willow Bay. This irreverent evening of laughter, music and stories, which is sponsored by City National Bank, will be held on Monday June 4, 2012 at the Geffen Playhouse.

Recently, noted DREAMGIRLS composer Henry Krieger was generous enough to take a comprehensive look back at his many accomplishments onstage and onscreen with me, turning back the pages of time and sharing memories of DREAMGIRLS, both on Broadway and in Hollywood, THE TAP DANCE KID, SIDE SHOW, KEPT, ROMANTIC POETRY and beyond, as well as discuss many aspects of his exciting new family-friendly musical opening next week at the New Victory Theater, LUCKY DUCK. Over the course of our compelling conversation, Krieger also revealed new details about the forthcoming 2014 production of SIDE SHOW, to be directed by DREAMGIRLS film director and TWILIGHT: BREAKING DAWN helmer Bill Condon - to premiere first at the La Jolla Playhouse and then at the Kennedy Center, as it makes its way towards Broadway - as well as first news on a musical collaboration with lyricist David Yazbek based on the life of television evangelist Tammy Faye Bakker set to star Tony and Emmy-winning Broadway and GLEE standout Kristin Chenoweth. DREAMGIRLS to LUCKY DUCK and much, much more awaits!

Stage and screen star Peter Gallagher is sharing his life through songs and stories in a one-night-only performance at the Geffen Playhouse on Sunday, March 11, 2012. The Tony nominated Broadway vet will share a lifetime of show business experiences - from his early days starting out as a young actor in New York to working with legends like James Cagney, Peter O'Toole and Jack Lemmon. Joined by a live band, Gallagher brings his anecdotes to life with songs ranging from Broadway tunes, to music from his hit television show The OC, to classics by the likes of Van Morrison and Burt Bacharach. Peter Gallagher: Songs and Stories from an Actor's Life will benefit the Geffen Playhouse and The Actors Fund, for which Gallagher serves as the National Board of Advisors co-chair, and will be followed by a post-show reception.

Late-night comedy superstar Conan O'Brien is joining forces with the Geffen Playhouse Story Pirates for a special evening presented by JP Morgan that benefits the Geffen Playhouse Story Pirates Play/Write program. Story Pirates and Friends, a star-studded version of the Pirates' trademark show traditionally performed Saturdays in the Geffen Playhouse Kinross Annex, will feature family-friendly musical comedy sketches based on stories written by elementary school kids.

For the fourth consecutive year, Clive Davis and The Recording Academy® will present the annual Pre-GRAMMY®Gala on Saturday, Feb. 11, 2012, at The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, Calif., the evening before the 54th Annual GRAMMY Awards®(www.grammy.com).

Stage and screen star Peter Gallagher is sharing his life through songs and stories in a one-night-only performance at the Geffen Playhouse on Sunday, March 11, 2012. The Tony nominated Broadway vet will share a lifetime of show business experiences - from his early days starting out as a young actor in New York to working with legends like James Cagney, Peter O'Toole and Jack Lemmon. Joined by a live band, Gallagher brings his anecdotes to life with songs ranging from Broadway tunes, to music from his hit television show The OC, to classics by the likes of Van Morrison and Burt Bacharach. Peter Gallagher: Songs and Stories from an Actor's Life will benefit the Geffen Playhouse and The Actors Fund, for which Gallagher serves as the National Board of Advisors co-chair, and will be followed by a post-show reception.

Late-night comedy superstar Conan O'Brien is joining forces with the Geffen Playhouse Story Pirates for a special evening presented by JP Morgan that benefits the Geffen Playhouse Story Pirates Play/Write program. Story Pirates and Friends, a star-studded version of the Pirates' trademark show traditionally performed Saturdays in the Geffen Playhouse Kinross Annex, will feature family-friendly musical comedy sketches based on stories written by elementary school kids.

Red Hot Patriot: The Kick-Ass Wit of Molly Ivins starring two-time Tony and Oscar nominee Kathleen Turner plays the Geffen Playhouse though February 19. Turner sizzles as Molly Ivins, the brassy Texan reporter whose liberal journalism skyrocketed her to the national stage. This acclaimed one-woman show captures the red-headed reporter's indomitable character by weaving personal anecdotes with her colorful take on national politics. Check out a sneak peek of the production by clicking below!

For the fourth consecutive year, Clive Davis and The Recording Academy® will present the annual Pre-GRAMMY®Gala on Saturday, Feb. 11, 2012, at The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, Calif., the evening before the 54th Annual GRAMMY Awards®(www.grammy.com).

The world premiere of acclaimed actor/writer Alan Alda's Radiance: The Passion of Marie Curie, a bioplay about the passions and conflicts of the first woman to be awarded a Nobel Prize, will extend for an extra week in the Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater at the Geffen Playhouse and will run through Sunday, December 18, 2011. Original cast members, helmed by Tony Award winner Daniel Sullivan, including Anna Gunn, most recognized by television audiences for her role on AMC's Breaking Bad, as the title character John de Lancie, best known to Star Trek fans as 'Q' and acclaimed stage actors Hugo Armstrong, Dan Donohue, Leonard Kelly-Young, Natacha Roi and Sarah Zimmerman will stay on for the extension week.

Golden Globe Award winner Peter Gallagher (The O.C., American Beauty) takes on the role of George Bailey, joining the star-studded cast of the Geffen Playhouse's special oneday-only reading of It's A Wonderful Life. The cast also features four-time Academy Award nominee Annette Bening (The Kids Are All Right, Being Julia, American Beauty), three-time Emmy Award winner Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad), Broadway star and favorite TV mom Shirley Jones (The Partridge Family) along with her real life husband Marty Ingels, character actor Leslie Jordan (Will and Grace, The Help), television actress Lorraine Toussaint (Friday Night Lights, Saving Grace), and acclaimed stage and screen actors Gregory Itzin (Adaptation, 24), Glenne Headly (who will be seen later this season on the Geffen stage in The Jacksonian) and Drop Dead Diva's Josh Stamberg (who was also seen alongside Annette Bening in The Female of the Species at the Geffen). Helmed by L.A. director Bart DeLorenzo, this special evening sponsored by One West Bank is a joint fundraiser for the Geffen Playhouse and The Actors Fund, a national human services organization that helps all professionals in performing arts and entertainment. It's a Wonderful Life will be performed in the Gil Cates Theater at the Geffen Playhouse on Saturday, December 10, 2011 at 3:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. This adaption of It's a Wonderful Life captures the heartwarming holiday spirit of the classic film with the nostalgia of a live radio play. Gallagher and Bening, who play George and Mary, respectively, are joined on stage by a cast of familiar characters as well as a sound effects artist who will be using a time-honored bag of tricks to create the world of the play.

Golden Globe Award winner Peter Gallagher (The O.C., American Beauty) takes on the role of George Bailey, joining the star-studded cast of the Geffen Playhouse's special oneday-only reading of It's A Wonderful Life. The cast also features four-time Academy Award nominee Annette Bening (The Kids Are All Right, Being Julia, American Beauty), three-time Emmy Award winner Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad), Broadway star and favorite TV mom Shirley Jones (The Partridge Family) along with her real life husband Marty Ingels, character actor Leslie Jordan (Will and Grace, The Help), television actress Lorraine Toussaint (Friday Night Lights, Saving Grace), and acclaimed stage and screen actors Gregory Itzin (Adaptation, 24), Glenne Headly (who will be seen later this season on the Geffen stage in The Jacksonian) and Drop Dead Diva's Josh Stamberg (who was also seen alongside Annette Bening in The Female of the Species at the Geffen). Helmed by L.A. director Bart DeLorenzo, this special evening sponsored by One West Bank is a joint fundraiser for the Geffen Playhouse and The Actors Fund, a national human services organization that helps all professionals in performing arts and entertainment. It's a Wonderful Life will be performed in the Gil Cates Theater at the Geffen Playhouse on Saturday, December 10, 2011 at 3:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. This adaption of It's a Wonderful Life captures the heartwarming holiday spirit of the classic film with the nostalgia of a live radio play. Gallagher and Bening, who play George and Mary, respectively, are joined on stage by a cast of familiar characters as well as a sound effects artist who will be using a time-honored bag of tricks to create the world of the play.

The world premiere of acclaimed actor/writer Alan Alda's Radiance: The Passion of Marie Curie, a bioplay about the passions and conflicts of the first woman to be awarded a Nobel Prize, will extend for an extra week in the Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater at the Geffen Playhouse and will run through Sunday, December 18, 2011. Original cast members, helmed by Tony Award winner Daniel Sullivan, including Anna Gunn, most recognized by television audiences for her role on AMC's Breaking Bad, as the title character John de Lancie, best known to Star Trek fans as 'Q' and acclaimed stage actors Hugo Armstrong, Dan Donohue, Leonard Kelly-Young, Natacha Roi and Sarah Zimmerman will stay on for the extension week.

The Geffen Playhouse has been a hub of the Los Angeles theater scene since opening its doors in 1995. Noted for its intimacy and celebrated for its world-renowned mix of classic and contemporary plays, provocative new works and musicals, the Geffen Playhouse continues to present a body of work that has garnered national recognition.

An estimated 30,000 participants filled the streets of West Hollywood and Los Angeles at today's 27th annual AIDS Walk Los Angeles (AWLA). Celebrity supporters, elected officials, and notable AIDS activists spoke before the massive crowd assembled in and around West Hollywood Park before the walkers set out on the 10-kilometer route.

The Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center (LA BioMed) will be holding its 2011 Gala on Thursday, Oct. 20, at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif.

The world premiere of acclaimed actor/writer Alan Alda's Radiance: The Passion of Marie Curie, a bioplay about the passions and conflicts of the first woman to be awarded a Nobel Prize, will feature Anna Gunn as the title character.