KPFA - Radio Wolinsky

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KPFA - Radio Wolinsky episodes

May 11, 2018 The Ascent of “Angels in America”: Isaac Butler & Dan Kois
This interview contains spoilers for the play and film.
Isaac Butler and Dan Kois, authors of "The World Only Spins Forward: The Ascent of Angels in America," in conversation with Richard Wolinsky. The book is an oral history of the play by Tony Kushner, looking at not only its history, but how Angels in America fits into the fabric of the American saga and theatrical history.
The play Angels in America has become a stage classic since it was first produced in the early 1990s. Dealing with the confluence of the AIDS epidemic, the Reagan era, the disintegration of the Soviet Union, and the rise of gay liberation, the seven-hour epic theater piece also became a 2003 film directed by Mike Nichols and starring Meryl Streep, Mary Louise Parker, Justin Kirk, Jeffrey Wright, Emma Thompson and Al Pacino as Roy Cohn, available now on CD and via HBO.
At present, major productions of Angels in America are mounted in both New York and Berkeley. The New York production, [1] which runs through June 15, 2018, stars Nathan Lane and Andrew Garfield, and is up for eleven Tony Awards. The Berkeley Rep [2] production, starring Stephen Spinella and Randy Harrison, runs through July 22, 2018.
The evening after this interview, Dan Kois and Isaac Butler were on stage at Berkeley Rep with Stephen Spinella, who plays Roy Cohn in that production. It turns out that it was Spinella himself who wanted to restore the scene, and Tony Kushner gave the go-ahead, saying that it was fine to stick it in during or after the bows at the end of the play, like the teasers at the end of superhero films. At some point, though, director Tony Taccone chose to move the scene before the epilogue because the stage would be too crazy at the bows to suddenly do another scene with effects. Thus it became part of the play. Two other changes new to this Berkeley Rep production, mentioned by direcctor Tony Taccone: a revelation is made by the character Harper to her husband Joe in their final scene together, and a speech by Prior Walter during the heaven sequence.

[1] https://angelsbroadway.com/
[2] http://berkeleyrep.org/
1 hr
May 03, 2018 Michael David Lukas: “The Last Watchman of Old Cairo”
Michael David Lukas, author of “The Oracle of Stamboul,” whose most recent novel is “The Last Watchman of Old Cairo,” in conversation with Richard Wolinsky.
“The Last Watchman of Old Cairo” tells the story of a family hired a thousand years ago to guard a synagogue in Cairo, and of a secret scroll that may or may not exist. Michael David Lukas grew up in Berkeley and is a former Fulbright Scholar.
Michael David Lukas website
The post Michael David Lukas: “The Last Watchman of Old Cairo” appeared first on KPFA.
36 min
May 03, 2018 Michael David Lukas: “The Last Watchman of Old Cairo”
Michael David Lukas, author of "The Oracle of Stamboul," whose most recent novel is "The Last Watchman of Old Cairo," in conversation with Richard Wolinsky.
"The Last Watchman of Old Cairo" tells the story of a family hired a thousand years ago to guard a synagogue in Cairo, and of a secret scroll that may or may not exist. Michael David Lukas grew up in Berkeley and is a former Fulbright Scholar.
Michael David Lukas website [1]
[1] http://michaeldavidlukas.com/
36 min
April 30, 2018 Tony Kushner, 2006
Tony Kushner, playwright, “Angels in America” and other works, in conversation with Richard Wolinsky, recorded in San Francisco, March 17, 2006. “Angels in America” is currently running at Berkeley Rep through July 22, 2018.
Tony Kushner’s masterpiece, Angels in America, is currently running in New York, with a cast that includes Andrew Garfield and Nathan Lane, and at Berkeley Rep directed by Tony Taccone, with a cast that includes Randy Harrison and Stephen Spinella and runs through July 22nd.
On March 17, 2006, Tony Kushner came to San Francisco to promote the Library of America Collected Plays of Arthur Miller, which he’d edited. The interview took place three months after the opening of Munich, the Steven Spielberg film for which he’d written the screenplay, and a few weeks after the controversial Oscar ceremony, where the favorite, Brokeback Mountain, lost best picture to the lightly regarded film Crash.
The wide-ranging interview deals with Arthur Miller, Munich, Angels in America both on stage and film, Homebody/Kabul, Caroline or Change, and issues which remain contemporary, twelve years later.
Since 2006, Tony Kushner wrote the screenplay for the film, “Lincoln,” worked on the screenplay for August Wilson’s “Fences” and is currently working on an adaptation of West Side Story. His only completed play since 2006 has been The Intelligent Homosexual’s Guide to Capitalism and Socialism with a Key to the Scriptures . which was first produced in 2009.
The post Tony Kushner, 2006 appeared first on KPFA.
38 min
April 30, 2018 Tony Kushner, 2006
Tony Kushner, playwright, "Angels in America" and other works, in conversation with Richard Wolinsky, recorded in San Francisco, March 17, 2006. "Angels in America" is currently running at Berkeley Rep [1] through July 22, 2018.
Tony Kushner’s masterpiece, Angels in America, is currently running in New York, with a cast that includes Andrew Garfield and Nathan Lane, and at Berkeley Rep directed by Tony Taccone, with a cast that includes Randy Harrison and Stephen Spinella and runs through July 22nd.
On March 17, 2006, Tony Kushner came to San Francisco to promote the Library of America Collected Plays of Arthur Miller, which he’d edited. The interview took place three months after the opening of Munich, the Steven Spielberg film for which he’d written the screenplay, and a few weeks after the controversial Oscar ceremony, where the favorite, Brokeback Mountain, lost best picture to the lightly regarded film Crash.
The wide-ranging interview deals with Arthur Miller, Munich, Angels in America both on stage and film, Homebody/Kabul, Caroline or Change, and issues which remain contemporary, twelve years later.
Since 2006, Tony Kushner wrote the screenplay for the film, “Lincoln,” worked on the screenplay for August Wilson’s “Fences” and is currently working on an adaptation of West Side Story. His only completed play since 2006 has been The Intelligent Homosexual's Guide to Capitalism and Socialism with a Key to the Scriptures [2] . which was first produced in 2009.
[1] http://berkeleyrep.org/
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Intelligent_Homosexual%27s_Guide_to_Capitalism_and_Socialism_with_a_Key_to_the_Scriptures
38 min
April 23, 2018 The Bay Area Book Festival 2018: Cherilyn Parsons
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 festival.
Bay Area Book Festival website
The post The Bay Area Book Festival 2018: Cherilyn Parsons appeared first on KPFA.
27 min
April 23, 2018 The Bay Area Book Festival 2018: Cherilyn Parsons
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 festival.
Bay Area Book Festival website [1]
[1] https://www.baybookfest.org/
27 min
April 17, 2018 Encore Podcast: Andrew Sean Greer, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for “Less”
Andrew Sean Greer, discusses his latest novel, “Less,” with host Richard Wolinsky.
“Less,” just won this year’s Pulitzer Prize in Fiction. Still in hardcover, the book will be republished in paperback on May 22nd, 2018. This interview was recorded August 10th, 2017.
Andrew Sean Greer is the author of several acclaimed novels, including “The Confessions of Max Tivoli” and “The Story of a Marriage.” His latest novel, “Less,” tells the story of a middle-aged writer turning fifty, his relationships with an older famed poet and a younger man, and a trip around the world intended to not only escape his current situation but gain an understanding of his work and his inner life. A comic novel about being gay, about relationships, and about the nature of travel and life of a writer.
Andrew Sean Greer webpage
The post Encore Podcast: Andrew Sean Greer, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for “Less” appeared first on KPFA.
33 min
April 17, 2018 Encore Podcast: Andrew Sean Greer, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for “Less”
[caption id="attachment_270324" align="alignleft" width="307"] Richard Wolinsky and Andrew Sean Greer at KPFA[/caption]
Andrew Sean Greer, discusses his latest novel, "Less," with host Richard Wolinsky.
“Less,” just won this year's Pulitzer Prize in Fiction. Still in hardcover, the book will be republished in paperback on May 22nd, 2018. This interview was recorded August 10th, 2017.
Andrew Sean Greer is the author of several acclaimed novels, including "The Confessions of Max Tivoli" and "The Story of a Marriage." His latest novel, "Less," tells the story of a middle-aged writer turning fifty, his relationships with an older famed poet and a younger man, and a trip around the world intended to not only escape his current situation but gain an understanding of his work and his inner life. A comic novel about being gay, about relationships, and about the nature of travel and life of a writer.
Andrew Sean Greer webpage [1]
[1] https://andrewgreer.com/
33 min
April 11, 2018 Encore Podcast: Ariel Levy
Ariel Levy, author of the memoir “The Rules Do Not Apply” in conversation with Richard Wolinsky. A paperback edition of the book was published on April 3, 2018.
A staff writer for the New Yorker magazine since 2008, Ariel Levy first began her tenure focusing on issues involving sexuality and gender. She’s since expanded her reach, with stories about Silvio Berlusconi, Mike Huckabee, the hip drug ayuhuaska and the photographer Catherine Opie.
While on assignment in Mongolia, she developed a miscarriage and, within two weeks, saw her relationship go south. Her memoir talks about both events, her career in journalism, and coping with loss.
Ariel Levy website
Ariel Levy New Yorker articles
A slightly shorter version of this interview aired on KPFA’s Bookwaves program.
The post Encore Podcast: Ariel Levy appeared first on KPFA.
33 min

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A podcast posted weekly (usually Sunday) featuring extended interviews and discussions from the Bookwaves Artwaves Hour programs on KPFA-FM and the Bookwaves half-hour syndicated program,. Literature,…