Check This Out! Character Studies on PBS!! ;)

Posted: 10/7/03 at 2:58pm

Character Studies will launch its new PBS series on the theatre's most significant dramatic and musical theatre characters with a one-hour special in May. Oscar-winner Olympia Dukakis will host the program, titled 'Stage Mothers - Mother Stages.'

"Character Studies is a biography show about all these great
characters, from Martha in 'Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?' and
Edmund in 'Long Day's Journey Into Night,' to Sally Bowles in
'Cabaret' and Mark in 'Rent,'" states executive producer Tony
Vellela. "We treat them like real people, and look at their stories, their relationships, where they came from and how they've had a lasting impact on all our lives. To do that, we're interviewing at least four actors who have all played the same role, and in addition, we hear from directors who have created productions of these plays, choreographers and designers, and when possible, the writers. And in some cases, we have been lucky enough to talk with actors who
originated these roles."

"Stage Mothers - Mother Stages" looks at how the role of mothers has changed in American life, using four of the American theatre's most important mother characters: Amanda from 'The Glass Menagerie,' Ruth from 'A Raisin in the Sun,' Rose from 'Gypsy' and Heidi from 'The Heidi Chronicles.' Character Studies has slated the special for May, in honor of Mother's Day, to launch a monthly half-hour series in the fall of 2004. Other episodes projected for the first season include
Anita from 'West Side Story,' Troy from 'Fences,' Song from
'M.Butterfly,' Emily and George from 'Our Town,' and Harold Hill from 'The Music Man,' as well as Martha ('Virginia Woolf') and Mark ('Rent').

"We've been in pre-production for more than a year," Vellela notes, listing those who will appear in the series. "To date, we've already interviewed Julie Harris, Eli Wallach, Ruby Dee, Anthony LaPaglia, Ethan Hawke, James Naughton, Estelle Parsons, Elaine Stritch, Edward Albee, Robert Sean Leonard, Mark Brokaw, Arthur Laurents, Joey Fatone, Maureen Stapleton, Arthur Miller and Uta Hagen. And those who have committed to participating include Joan Allen, Karen Allen, Kate Burton, Michael Cerveris, Bob Dishy, David Esbjornson, Boyd Gaines, Sheldon Harnick, David Henry Hwang, Amy Irving, Anne Jackson, James Earl Jones, Christine Lahti, Sidney Lumet, Martha Plimpton, Rita Moreno, Cynthia Nixon, Lynn Redgrave, Chita Rivera, Lloyd Richards, Anthony Rapp, Mary Louise Wilson, Betty Buckley, Campbell
Scott, Susan Stroman, William Ivey Long, Marian Seldes, Ally Sheedy, Frances Sternhagen, Sada Thompson, Sam Waterston and Wendy Wasserstein."

"Our objective is to create a program that shows how these unique characters have lasting impact, by drawing from the people who have brought them to life, not only on Broadway, but also in our valuable regional theatres across the country. In addition," Vellela adds, "we are taking what we've gathered for the PBS programs and using it to create new curriculum materials for middle and high school teachers, so their students can learn communications, literacy, history, social studies and many other subjects, through the prism of these characters." The Educational Theatre Association, whose members teach in schools throughout the United States, will serve as distributor for the new curriculum, starting with Amanda from "The Glass Menagerie."

Along with Vellela, who has also served as a theatre reporter for The Christian Science Monitor, and is an award-winning playwright, the project is being developed by actor and director Austin Pendleton, who serves as creative consultant.

"We plan to show how these universal, timeless characters continue to have relevance," Vellela concludes, "We can reach new, younger audiences for these characters and plays, and most importantly, we plan to create a lively, entertaining series, starting with the special in May."




Updated On: 10/7/03 at 02:58 PM