Episode 415 - Historical Fiction Author Panel - LIVE From Bryant Park

David Wain is the director and co-writer of six feature films, including Wet Hot American Summer, Role Models, Wanderlust, They Came Together and A Futile and Stupid Gesture.  On television, Wain co-created, directed and co-starred in The State, Childrens Hospital, Stella, Medical Police, and two Wet Hot American Summer mini-series for Netflix. Currently he is the director and executive producer of Mr. Throwback, starring Steph Curry and Adam Pally.  He's acted in dozens of movies & TV shows including Broad City, Another Period, Drunk History, Portlandia, Bob's Burgers, Murderville and his own web series Wainy Days.  And over the past few years, he’s been jamming, touring, and making videos as the drummer in the Middle Aged Dad Jam Band. He grew up in Shaker Heights, Ohio, then did 26 years in Manhattan before moving to Los Angeles where he now lives with his two teenage sons. Lots more at davidwain.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

1976 - 2024 Gavin Creel received a Tony Award® for his performance as Cornelius Hackl in HELLO, DOLLY! starring Bette Midler. After making his Broadway debut originating the role of Jimmy Smith in THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE, for which he received his first Tony Award® nomination, Creel went on to star in the Broadway productions of HAIR (Tony Award® nomination), LA CAGE AUX FOLLES, SHE LOVES ME, THE BOOK OF MORMON, and WAITRESS. Creel was among the star-studded cast of New York City Center Encores! critically acclaimed production of INTO THE WOODS starring as Wolf/Cinderella’s Prince. The celebrated production transferred to Broadway where Creel reprised his role as Wolf/Cinderella’s Prince opposite Sara Bareilles, Brian d’Arcy James, Joshua Henry, Julia Lester and Patina Miller.  Gavin received an Olivier Award for his portrayal of Elder Price in the London Production of THE BOOK OF MORMON and also appeared on the West End in MARY POPPINS, HAIR, and WAITRESS. This fall, Gavin brings WALK ON THROUGH: Confessions of a Museum Novice to Off-Broadway’s MCC Theater for a limited run. In his theatrical songwriting debut, Gavin takes us on an intimate, relatable journey of discovery and transformation through the lens of the art at The Met Museum that captured his imagination. On television, Creel recently performed a solo PBS concert special with “Stars on Stage",” starred as Troy in Ryan Murphy’s anthology series “American Horror Stories” and played Bill alongside Julie Andrews in “Eloise at the Plaza” and “Eloise at Christmasttime.” As a songwriter, Creel is currently writing an original musical piece entitled WALK ON THROUGH, based on the collections at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The musical has been selected for the Eugene O’Neill Theatre Center’s 2022 National Musical Theatre Conference and the concert meets musical was highlighted in The Day. He has released three original albums: GoodTimeNation, Quiet (which landed on Billboard’s “Top Heat Seekers”), Get Out, and his single “Noise” raised money and awareness for marriage equality. Creel was a co-founder of Broadway Impact, the first and only grassroots organization to mobilize the nationwide theater community in support of marriage equality. A native of Findlay, Ohio, Gavin is a proud graduate of University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre and Dance and a 2022 Fellow at the Hermitage Artist Retreat.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Evan Handler is beloved by millions for portraying Harry Goldenblatt, divorce-lawyer-turned-husband to Kristin Davis’s Charlotte York, on HBO’s groundbreaking series, and films, “Sex and the City,” it’s current MAX follow-up, “And Just Like That,” as well as Charlie Runkle on Showtime’s seven season “Californication.” In addition to authoring two highly acclaimed books, Time on Fire: My Comedy of Terrors, and It’s Only Temporary: The Good News and the Bad News of Being Alive, Evan has played leading roles in ABC’s “It’s Like, You Know…,” and NBC’s “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip,” STARZ’ “Power,” and made numerous memorable guest appearances on “Lost,” “The West Wing,” “Six Feet Under,” “Necessary Roughness,” and “Friends.” In 2000, Evan played Larry Fine in ABC’s TV movie “The Three Stooges,” followed by additional “real life” portrayals of Lloyd Blankfein in HBO’s “Too Big to Fail,” Alan Dershowitz in FX’s “People vs. OJ Simpson,” and Hal Prince in FX’s “Fosse/Verdon,” each of which garnered numerous wide-ranging awards. On the big screen, Evan played a leading role in Ron Howard’s “Ransom,” starring Mel Gibson, and featured and leading roles Oliver Stone’s “Natural Born Killers,” “Taps,” “The Chosen,” and “Sweet Lorraine.” He’s currently visible in David Duchovny’s directorial effort, “Reverse the Curse.” Prior to his work in film and television, Evan earned acclaim in seven Broadway productions, all performed between his twenty-first and thirtieth birthdays, and all in spite of losing nearly five years of that span to his fight against a supposedly “incurable” leukemia. During this time Evan starred in Broadway productions of “Six Degrees of Separation,” “I Hate Hamlet,” “Brighton Beach Memoirs,” “Broadway Bound” and “Master Harold...and the boys.” Evan also worked extensively in off-Broadway and regional theater at NY’s Public Theater, Manhattan Theater Club, Playwrights Horizons, Seattle Rep, and Steppenwolf, performing early plays by Donald Margulies, Robert Schenkkan, Jez Butterworth, and numerous others. Evan’s first book, Time On Fire, details his unlikely recovery from the leukemia diagnosed in the mid-1980s. His second book, It’s Only Temporary: The Good News and the Bad News of Being Alive, describes the twenty-year period post-illness, and Handler’s surprisingly circuitous journey toward gratitude, using tales of serial dating, absurd relationships, unexpected depressions, and, ultimately, lasting love and a miracle conception. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lucie Tiberghien - A Brooklynite since 2001, Molière in the Park’s Founding Artistic Director Lucie Tiberghien was raised in France and Switzerland. Specializing in new work, Lucie spent 15 years developing and directing new plays in New York City and all over the country. She directed World Premieres at La Jolla Playhouse, CATF, Second Stage, Rattlestick Theater, Arena Stage, Hartford Stage, Kansas City Rep, Manhattan Class Company and more. As a translator and adapter, Lucie’s work has been produced in Paris and in New York. In 2021, she was awarded the prestigious designation of chevalier de l’ordre des Arts et des Lettres, by the French Government. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lindsey Ferrentino is an American playwright with three world premieres in the 2024 season. In May, she opened The Artist in the UK (co-adapted with Drew McConie, Theatre Royal Plymouth,) and this August, she will premiere the new musical The Queen of Versailles (book by Lindsey Ferrentino, music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, starring Kristin Chenoweth and F. Murray Abraham, The Colonial Theater). Her other produced plays include Ugly Lies the Bone (The Lyttleton - National Theatre, UK, Roundabout Theatre Company, NY, over 100 productions worldwide), Amy and the Orphans (Roundabout Theatre Company), This Flat Earth (Playwrights Horizons), The Year to Come (La Jolla Playhouse) — among others. Her plays have been translated into Spanish, German, and Portuguese and have been produced across the US, in London, Germany, Spain, and Venezuela. This winter, Lindsey will direct her first feature film - an adaptation of her play Amy and the Orphans for Jason Bateman’s Aggregate Films. She has various film projects in development at Netflix and Sony Pictures — with producers including Higher Ground, 3 Dot Entertainment, Dylan Clark Productions, Defiant by Nature. Lindsey is the recipient of The Arc’s prize for Entertainment Industry Excellence for her writing centered on disability inclusion. Other prizes include: the Kesserling, ASCAP Cole Porter Playwriting Prize, Paul Newman Drama Award, Laurents/Hatcher Award, NYU Distinguished Alumna Award, and Hunter College’s 40 Under 40 Distinguished Alumna. Lindsey is repped by CAA, Anonymous Content and Felker & Associates. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Stan Herman The three-time Coty award-winning designer Stan Herman is truly a pioneering man. Not only was he the President of the Council of Fashion Designers of America for sixteen years, but also the founding president of 7th on Sixth Corporation; the fashion shows in Bryant Park. With KOMAR, Stan has incorporated his ready-to-wear design savvy to become America’s foremost designer of robes and loungewear. His comfortable, lifestyle driven products can be found on QVC, QVCUK, QVCItaly. After over 24 years on air he has built a return customer base of over 300,000 people and has sold over $150 million worth of robes alone. Furthermore as the leading uniform designer in the world his uniforms arguably cover more bodies than any other single designer. As a pioneer in the industry, Stan popularized "fashion at a price" with his Mr. Mort label; a label sought by vintage collectors today. When most designers were relegated to backrooms, he served as a spokesman for the creative side of the industry, championing designer names on labels, and watching out for the good of his colleagues. He was on the vanguard of designer boutiques with Bloomingdale’s, Saks Fifth Avenue, and in-store designer partnerships with Henri Bendel. Mr. Herman popularized the Designer Uniform. His list of corporate clients has included many of the world's leading corporations. FedEx, Jet Blue, United Airlines, TWA, U.S. Airways McDonald's, and Amtrak, Avis, Humana, RCCL, and Securitas along with Las Vegas Hotels including Paris, MGM Grand, Monte Carlo and Mandalay Bay. He just launched the redesign for the newly re-opened Regency Hotel as well as the rest of the Loews Hotel system. He has redesigned the next look for FedEx and the new JetBlue uniform. Ann Leary is the New York Times bestselling author of the novels, THE FOUNDLING, THE CHILDREN, THE GOOD HOUSE, OUTTAKES FROM A MARRIAGE, and the memoir, AN INNOCENT, A BROAD. She has written for numerous publications including Ploughshares, NPR, Real Simple and the New York Times. Her novel, THE GOOD HOUSE was adapted as a motion picture starring Sigourney Weaver and Kevin Kline and will be released in theaters in September, 2022. Her new essay collection, I’VE TRIED BEING NICE (Simon Element/MarysueRucci) will be published on June 4, 2024 Ann and her husband Denis Leary live in New York. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Chilina Kennedy is known for playing Carole King in the musical Beautiful on Broadway for over 1,200 performances. She also recently originated the Tony-award winning role of Dina on the First Broadway National Tour of The Band’s Visit. Chilina’s first appearance on Broadway was in 2012 when she played Mary Magdalene in Des McAnuff’s Jesus Christ Superstar, which also had successful runs at the Stratford Festival of Canada and the La Jolla Playhouse. Other US credits include the world premiere of A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, in which she originated the role of Phoebe at Hartford Stage and The Old Globe in San Diego (San Diego and Connecticut Outer Critics nominations), the world premiere of A Sign Of The Times as Cindy (Delaware Theatre Company), Binky in the Off-Broadway world premiere of This Ain’t No Disco (Dir. Darko Tresnjak/Chor. Camille A. Brown) and Sophie in the 1st US National Tour of Mamma Mia!. Selected Canadian credits include the title role in Ted Dykstra’s Evangeline (Charlottetown Festival and original recording), the title role in Ross Petty’s Pantomime The Little Mermaid (Toronto Critic’s Award), three seasons at the Stratford Festival (three Broadways World Awards) including Maria in Gary Griffin’s West Side Story, Eva Peròn in Evita, Lois Lane in Kiss Me Kate, three seasons at the Shaw Festival, the World Premiere of The Lord of the Rings (Mirvish), Philia in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (Stratford/Toronto), Cecily in The Importance of Being Earnest (Neptune), and the title role in Mary Poppins (Theatre Aquarius). Chilina is also a singer/songwriter with a debut album What You Find in a Bottle, released in 2015. Chilina has written a new musical Call It Love with Eric Holmes, who is known for being a writer for “The Good Fight” on CBS. Featuring music and lyrics by Chilina, book co-written by Eric and Chilina, and musical arrangements by Rick Fox, Call It Love has been developed in the New York City area by Eclipse Theatre Company (http://eclipsetheatre.ca/). Chilina has worked with Burt Bacharach, guest starred in concert with the TSO, Colm Wilkinson and Jason Robert Brown. You can hear Chilina’s voice on CBC’s “Celebrate the Seasons” and “Carols for a Cure.” Chilina is a graduate of Sheridan College and the Birmingham Conservatory for classical theatre Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Stephen Belber’s plays have been produced on Broadway and in over 25 countries. They include Match (Frank Langella), McReele (Anthony Mackie), Dusk Rings A Bell (Kate Walsh/Paul Sparks), Fault Lines (Noah Emmerich, Josh Lucas, Dominic Fumusa), The Power of Duff (Greg Kinnear/Jennifer Westfeldt/Ben Platt/Dominic Fumusa), Tape, Geometry of Fire, Don’t Go Gentle, The Muscles In Our Toes, Joan, and others. He was an Associate Writer/actor for The Laramie Project, and co-writer/actor on The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later, both of which have been consistently performed around the world. He’s written & directed 3 feature films: Management (Jennifer Aniston/Woody Harrelson), Match (Patrick Stewart/Carla Gugino), and What We Do Next (Karen Pittman/Corey Stoll). Film scripts include Tape (Ethan Hawke/Uma Thurman, directed by Richard Linklater), The Laramie Project (associate writer, Emmy nomination), Drifting Elegant, (Josh Stamberg/Jennifer Mudge) and O.G., (Jeffrey Wright, HBO Films). Two film remakes of Tape, in India and Hong Kong, will be released in the coming year, and a play version is currently running in rep in Israel. Has worked on numerous studio films (including Dallas Buyers Club), and developed and sold projects to all the major studios, with actors and directors such Bennett Miller, Todd Phillips, Jay Roach, Tom Cruise, Will Smith, Philip Seymour Hoffman, George Tillman, Greg Mottola, Sam Rockwell, David Gordon Green, and Anthony Mackie. Television includes Law & Order SVU, Rescue Me, Tommy, The First, and pilots for HBO, Netflix, F/X, ABC, TNT, USA, Fox, Paramount, Sony, and History Channel. He created and is showrunner for an 8-part original TV series called The Madness (starring Colman Domingo), which will be released by Netflix on Thanksgiving Day, 2024. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

ERIC WILLIAM MORRIS Broadway: King Kong, Coram Boy, Mamma Mia! Eric frequently collaborates with composer Joe Iconis, starring in Be More Chill (Original Cast Recording, Two River Theatre), Things to Ruin (OCR, 2nd Stage) and Bloodsong of Love (Ars Nova). TV/Film includes Fleishman is in Trouble, Only Murders in the Building, I Know What You Did Last Summer, Mind Hunter, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, and the recent feature film Pinball (Hulu). Other regional/Off Broadway: Michael R. Jackson's White Girl In Danger (2nd Stage/Vineyard) Richard Greenberg's The Perplexed (MTC); Songbird (59E59, Two River); The Ballad of Little Jo (OCR, Two River); The Last Goodbye, Dog & Pony (The Old Globe). His album of original rock music, Do You Understand? is available on all streaming platforms. @theericwmorris   NOAH WEISBERG Willy Wonka in the Broadway tour of Charlie and The Chocolate Factory. Broadway: South Pacific, Enron, Elf, Legally Blonde. Shakespeare in the Park: Two Gentlemen of Verona. TV: Quentin on Showtime’s Super Pumped, Danny Michael Davis on Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist, Brett on Modern Family, The Neighborhood, Major Crimes, Law & Order, K.C. Undercover, Wisdom of the Crowd, The Good Wife, iCarly, Franklin & Bash, Bad Teacher, Bones, The New Normal, Cashmere Mafia, Love Monkey, Indoor Boys. Film: writer, director, actor in award winning Thank You Kindly and What’s Life Got to Do with It. Education: NYU, UCB, Second City. Instagram: @NoahWeisberg. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Historical Fiction Novelists Marjan Kamali, Ann Hood and Iris Mwanza live from Bryant Park Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices