Banderas Attends Producers’ Club Kick-off

On Sunday, September 21st Antonio Banderas was the honored guest at an intimate dinner at the home of Roundabout Board member Laura Pels. The dinner was the kick-off of Todd Haimes’ new Producers’ Club. Each season members will become immersed in multiple aspects of a production of Todd’s choosing. This season’s “director’s choice” production will be Twentieth Century and the Producers’ Club will attend a pre-production meeting, the first rehearsal meet-and-greet, a run-through before the start of previews, and the opening night celebration.

For more information on the Producers’ Club
call Jeffory Lawson, Director of Development at 212-719-9393.

For Old Times’ Sake

Twenty years ago, Anthony Hopkins graced the Roundabout stage in Harold Pinter's Old Times. Today, Patrick Stewart makes his Roundabout debut in Pinter's The Caretaker. Over the last 20 years of Roundabout's roller coaster history, some things have remained constant: Roundabout's commitment to producing world-class productions by celebrated authors, and the overwhelming support of our audiences.

Join the Friends of Roundabout during the run of The Caretaker and receive a copy of "Celebrating Roundabout," an exclusive journal commemorating the past 20 years of the theatre under the leadership of Artistic Director Todd Haimes. This limited edition almanac features a year-by-year history of Roundabout, loaded with photos, interviews and more. Visit our membership kiosk in the lobby of the American Airlines Theatre to join and get your copy today!

Mary Beth Peil and Richard Easton in rehearsal for the Roundabout playreading of What Every Woman Knows.

Enter the Scene
Behind the Scenes

Get closer to the creation of live theatre with Roundabout’s 2003-2004 Playreading Series, kicking off Monday evening, November 3rd at the American Airlines Theatre. As a member of the Friends of Roundabout or Chairman’s Circle, you can hear exciting new scripts and rediscovered classics read by some of stage and screen’s hottest actors. Past readings have featured memorable performances by Peter Scolari, Tobey Maguire, Hilary Swank, Estelle Parsons, Reese Witherspoon, Charles Grodin and Richard Easton.

These one night-only readings are held six times annually and produced exclusively for Roundabout supporters. Past playreadings that have gone on to receive full-scale Roundabout productions include: The Man Who Came to Dinner, The Man Who Had All the Luck, and The Rehearsal. Two plays that were first performed as Friends of Roundabout readings, The Foreigner and Twelve Angry Men, are currently under consideration for the 2003-2004 Roundabout season.

Chairman’s Circle members ($1,750+) are invited to all playreadings, but an annual gift of $100 entitles you and a guest to an invitation to one playreading during the year.

Join the Friends of Roundabout or the Chairman’s Circle today and receive an invitation to our next playreading!

For more information on becoming a member of the Friends of Roundabout or Chairman’s Circle, please contact Glenn Stiskal, Individual Giving Associate, at 212-719-9393, or click here.

Roundabout Welcomes
New Education Director

Roundabout Theatre Company is pleased to announce the assignment of Arlene Jordan as the new Education Director.

Arlene has devoted 30 years to creating innovative arts programs in New York City public schools. While she served as Supervisor of Expressive Arts in Community School District 25, the district received the School Board Award from the NYS Alliance for the Arts and was recognized by the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities for its exemplary work. As a pioneer in the world of digital arts, Arlene mobilized teachers, teaching artists and students to produce widely acclaimed Digital Operas. These works were showcased at DCTV, WYNE, SONY Wonder, Symphony Space, the Zukor Theatre and arts and technology conferences nationwide.

The United Federation of Teachers presented Arlene with the Arts Advocate of the Year Award, and most recently, The NYS Alliance for Teaching Artists awarded her with the first Golden Administrator Award.

In her new role as Education Director at Roundabout, Arlene will build on the Department's strong foundation that has enriched the lives of children and adults. Her focus will be to build a curriculum framework that promotes critical and creative thinking while transforming classrooms into dramatic learning communities in, through and around theatre experiences.

On a personal note, Arlene has raised two children who have gone through the New York City public school system. One became a Presidential Scholar in the Arts; the other now attends the Laboratory School for Collaborative Studies. She sees the opportunity of serving as the Education Director at Roundabout as "an extension of my life long commitment to young people and to the cultural life of New York City."

Tuesday Talks:
Roundabout's Pre-Show Primer to Theatre Going

True or False? Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart decided to musicalize Shakespeare's Comedy of Errors on their way to some R & R in Atlantic City.

True or False? Moliere's play Tartuffe was banned for five years because of pressure from the Catholic Church and was re-titled "The Imposter" so it could be performed at the court of Louis XIV.

True or False? Peter Nichols based his play A Day in The Death of Joe Egg on his real life daughter, Abigail, who was born a spastic epileptic with a severely damaged cerebral cortex.

If you answered “true” to each of the above, you are extremely knowledgeable or you must have been attending the Tuesday Talks at the American Airlines Theatre.

Hosted by a Roundabout teaching artist, usually director/actor Ted Sod, these events are an opportunity to learn about the history of the play, both past and present, as well as background information on the generative and interpretive artists who have worked on its creation. “The Roundabout audience is extremely smart,” says Sod. “And they love learning bits of autobiographical information; information on the play’s background and history; how the current production came together; what awards it has won; who was responsible for the original production and any subsequent major revivals, etc. I give the RTC audience as much info as I can without giving away the plot.”

In addition to Sod, a roster of other theatre professionals serve as moderators, including Jim Jack, Tony Freeman, Stephen DiMenna, or Gail Winar. Every moderator has their own style; but it is always a fun learning experience which allows the audience to peek inside the creative process and to learn what goes into the making of a play.

These informal talks are held on Tuesdays at 7:30 in the Penthouse Lobby. The discussions last approximately 20 minutes and are free to anyone attending that evening’s performance. Tuesday Talks are not held for the Early Curtain Series. Concessions are available.

If you would like to participate in the Tuesday Talks, please call Ticket Services at 212-719-3100 about purchasing a Tuesday subscription package.

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