Theater Talk: The History and Heritage of Broadway

We look at the history of Broadway and the world of the theater from two different perspectives. First, we welcome Michael Kantor, producer of the new PBS documentary "Broadway Musicals: A Jewish Legacy," which examines how the rich traditions and the musical influence of the Jewish religion helped in the creation of the modern Broadway musical.

Also on the program, we discuss "Performance of the Century: 100 Years of Actors' Equity Association and the Rise of Professional American Theater" with author Robert Simonson and Nick Wyman, President of Actors' Equity Association. Simonson's book looks back at 100 years of the powerful performers' union and how it strives to help, not only the situation of individual actors, but also the quality of live theater throughout the country.

Taped: 2013

Theater Talk is a series devoted to the world of the stage. It began on New York television in 1993 and is co-hosted by Michael Riedel (Broadway columnist for the New York Post) and series producer Susan Haskins.

The program is one of the few independent productions on PBS and now airs weekly on Thirteen/WNET in New York and WGBH in Boston. Now, CUNY TV offers New York City viewers additional opportunities to catch each week's show. (Of course, Theater Talk is no stranger to CUNY TV, since the show is taped here each week before its first airing on Thirteen/WNET.)

The series is produced by Theater Talk Productions, a not-for-profit corporation and is funded by contributions from private foundations and individuals, as well as The New York State Council on the Arts.

[rayfridley]

Any connection between or interaction of Actor's Equity and the Screen Actor's Guild? If an actor who played in a Broadway play and then is involved with the same role in a film version of the play, what then happens?

[BottleConcreteBlond]

As a Republican how does Reidel feel about unions?