KPFA - Bookwaves/Artwaves

Interviews devoted to the arts, focusing on theatre and literature, with side-trips to film and non-fiction narratives. Also on tap: archive interviews from Probabilities and Bookwaves. Hosted by Richard Wolinsky.

Interviews devoted to the arts, focusing on theatre and literature, with side-trips to film and non-fiction narratives. Also on tap: archive interviews from Probabilities and Bookwaves. Hosted by Richard Wolinsky.

Octavio Solis, playwright of "Quixote Nuevo" at California Shakespeare Theatre through July 1, 2018, is interviewed by Richard Wolinsky.

Playwright David Henry Hwang and composer Jeanine Tesori discuss their latest project, an original musical titled "Soft Power," at the Curran Theatre June 20-July 8, 2018, with host Richard Wolinsky.

"Soft Power" starts with a play and turns into a musical, about a reverse "King and I" created in China and produced fifty years in the future, concerning the relationship between a Chinese envoy and Hillary Clinton, which brings up questions regarding cultural appropriation and what is called "soft power," the power of culture to influence society.

David Henry Hwang is a Tony winning playwright, the author of, among other works, "M. Butterfly", "Chinglish" and "Yellow Face," along with a recently reworked "Flower Drum Song." He is also on the writing staff of the Showtime TV show "The Affair."

Jeanine Tesori is a Tony winning composer. Among her works are "Caroline, or Change," "Thoroughly Modern Millie," "Violet" (to be seen in a Bay Area Musicals production next season) and "Fun Home."

Curran theatre website [1]

An extended version of this interview can be found as a Bay Area Theater podcast.

[1] https://sfcurran.com/

[caption id="attachment_289370" align="alignleft" width="307"] Sheryl Kaller, Richard Wolinsky and Pamela Gray in one of ACT's rehearsal studios.[/caption]

Sheryl Kaller, director, and Pamela Gray, playwright of "A Walk on the Moon," a world premiere musical at A.C.T. Geary Theatre, June 9-July 1, 2018, speak with host Richard Wolinsky.

"A Walk in the Moon" is based on the 1999 film with a screenplay by Pamela Gray. The show deals with life in a Jewish bungalow colony in the Catskills during the summer of 1969, and the sexual awakening of a mother and daughter.

Sheryl Kaller is a Tony-nominated director whose most recent Broadway play was "Mothers & Sons" by Terence McNally in 2014. And among Pamela Gray’s other screenplays are "Music of the Heart" and more recently, "Megan Leavey."

ACT website [1]

Also: Review of "An Entomologist's Love Story" at San Francisco Playhouse.

[1] http://www.act-sf.org/

Tom Perrotta, whose latest novel is "Mrs. Fletcher," in conversation with Richard Wolinsky.

The author of several best-sellers, Tom Perrotta is perhaps best known these days as the author of the novel "The Leftovers," and one of the writers of the highly praised HBO show of the same name. He is also the author of other novels, including "Election" and "Little Children," both of which became Oscar-nominated films.

In this broad-ranging interview, he talks in depth about his newest novel, which deals with the problems of a divorced mother faced with empty-nest syndrome, the creation and writing of "the Leftovers," his work on "Election," and issues that crop up in "Mrs. Fletcher, most notably internet pornography.

An extended version of this interview can be found as a Radio Wolinsky [1] podcast.

Also: A review of "What the Constitution Means to Me" at Berkeley Rep.

[1] https://kpfa.org/area941/episode/tom-perrotta-mrs-fletcher-leftovers/

Interviews devoted to the arts, focusing on theatre and literature, with side-trips to film and non-fiction narratives. Also on tap: archive interviews from Probabilities and Bookwaves. Hosted by Richard Wolinsky.

[caption id="attachment_287416" align="alignleft" width="307"] Liz Diamond and Richard Wolinsky.[/caption]

Liz Diamond, director of “Father Comes Home from the Wars, Parts 1, 2 and 3” by Suzan-Lori Parks, through May 20, 2018, at ACT’s Geary Theatre, and the head of Yale Drama School’s Directing Department, in conversation with Richard Wolinsky.

Liz Diamond’s love affair with theatre began when she was in the Peace Corps in Africa, and took off after she teamed with playwright Suzan Lori-Parks, working on plays in New York. Eventually she found herself at Yale, where she began to teach, eventually becoming the Chair of the Directing Department at Yale School of Theatre. She returns to directing with the latest Suzan-Lori Parks play, an epic about African-American slaves during the Civil War.

A.C.T. website [1]

Also: Review Round-up: Angels in America at Berkeley Rep; Father Comes Home from the Wars, Parts 1, 2 and 3; The Color Purple; Tinderella

[1] https://act-sf.org/

Ian Rankin, whose latest novel is “Rather Be The Devil,” in conversation with Richard Wolinsky.

Ian Rankin has carved a name for himself as the premier Scottish writer of noir fiction. His series detective, John Rebus, has appeared in most of his over 25 books. Focusing on police procedure in Edinburgh, these books capture Scotland, his people and politics, in a way that few others have.

A 51-minute extended version of this interview can be found as a Radio Wolinsky podcast. [1]

Ian Rankin website [2]

Also: Review of "Eureka Day" at Aurora Theatre Company.

[1] https://kpfa.org/area941/episode/ian-rankin/

[2] https://www.ianrankin.net/

Cherilyn Parsons is the founder and director of the fourth annual Bay Area Book Festival, the weekend of April 28-29, 2018 (with a film series beginning April 25th). The Berkeley Civic Center MLK Park holds the main stage, with fifteen venues for events within walking distance. She is interviewed by Richard Wolinsky.

In this interview she presents some of the highlights from the festival, and discusses the festival’s origins, along with the various themes that arise in this year’s event. Among the guests: Errol Morris, Robert Reich, Dave Eggars, Alice Waters, Pico Iyer and more.

Bay Area Book Festival website [1]

An extended version of this interview can be found as a Radio Wolinsky podcast.

Also: A review of "Head Over Heels" at the Curran through May 6, 2018.

[1] https://www.baybookfest.org/