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The Waldorf Conference
By: Nat Segaloff
Directed by: John de Lancie
Starring: Edward Asner, Sheldon ‘Shelley’ Berman, Charles Durning, David Ellenstein, John Kapelos, Bill Macy, Richard Masur, George Murdock, John Randolph, Ron Rifkin, William Schallert, John Schuck
Air Date: November 9, 2018
On November 24, 1947, the most powerful men in American film met in New York’s plush Waldorf-Astoria Hotel to decide how to address the Communist witch hunt being carried out by the House Un-American Activities Committee. Twenty-four hours later they emerged having created the Hollywood Blacklist. The Waldorf Conference by Nat Segaloff, Daniel M. Kimmel and Arnie Reisman dramatically speculates on what went on in that room.
Recorded before a live audience at the Guest Quarters Suite Hotel, Santa Monica in October of 1993.
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California Suite
By: Neil Simon
Directed by: Gwenn Victor
Starring: Dennis Boutsikaris, Bruce Davison, Marsha Mason, Amy Pietz
Air Date: November 16, 2018
A four-part comedy confection as only Neil Simon can write it! Four couples arrive, in turn, from London, Philadelphia, Chicago and New York and separately inhabit a Beverly Hills hotel suite, bringing along their problems, anxieties, and comical marital dilemmas. Beverly Hills will never be the same.
Includes an interview with Marc Masterson, the Artistic Director of South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa, California.
Recorded before a live audience at the Skirball Cultural Center, Los Angeles in February of 2010.
The Grapes of Wrath
By: John Steinbeck
Directed by: Richard Masur
Starring: Shirley Knight, Jeffrey Donovan, Emily Bergl, Michael Buie, Daniel Chacón, Maurice Chasse, Shannon Cochran, Trista Delamere, Francis Guinan, Charlie Matthes, Rod McLachlan, Robert Pescovitz, Joel Rafael, Stephen Ramsey, Nicholas Sadler, Andy Taylor, Todd Waring, Fredd Wayne, Michael Weston, Kate Williamson
Air Date: November 24, 2018
Set during the Great Depression, The Grapes of Wrath tells the powerful story of the Joad family’s trek from the dust bowl of Oklahoma to the promise of a new life in California. But what they find threatens to rip apart their lives, and sever the ties that bind them together. A heart-wrenching full cast adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by John Steinbeck and the 1990 Tony Award Winner for Best Play, Frank Galati’s adaptation finds its timeless heart in the generous spirit of the common man.
Original music composed and performed by the Joel Rafael Band: Joel Rafael, Jamaica Rafael, and Carl Johnson.
Recorded before a live audience at the Skirball Cultural Center, Los Angeles in October of 2002.
8
By: Dustin Lance Black
Directed by: Rob Reiner
Starring: Kevin Bacon, Jamie Lee Curtis, Christine Lahti, John C. Reilly, Jane Lynch, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Matthew Morrison, Chris Colfer, Yeardley Smith, Matt Bomer, George Takei, Rory O’Malley, Cleve Jones, James Pickens, Jr., Jansen Panettiere, Bridger Zadina, Vanessa Garcia, Campbell Brown
Air Date: November 30, 2018
George Clooney, Brad Pitt, and Martin Sheen lead an all-star cast in this powerful portrait of an American civil rights struggle. In 2008, California's Proposition 8 stripped the freedom to marry away from gay and lesbian couples. Now, two of the nation's most renowned attorneys have joined forces to challenge Proposition 8 under the United States Constitution. "8" faithfully recreates the progression of the historic trial through court transcripts and interviews with the plaintiffs, as their stories are brought to life before a live audience.
Includes exclusive interviews with playwright Dustin Lance Black, director Rob Reiner and lead attorneys for the plaintiffs—David Boies and Theodore B. Olson. Also includes a backstage cast interview montage.
Recorded before a live audience at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre, Los Angeles in March of 2012.
Sponsored by the American Foundation for Equal Rights and the Broadway Impact.