Little Known Facts With Ilana Levine

Neil Pepe is an acclaimed director and has been the Artistic Director of Atlantic Theater Company since 1992. Neil has been a master teacher at the Atlantic Acting School at New York University Tisch School of the Arts and an associate adjunct professor of directing at Columbia University Graduate Film Division. He has been a guest at The O’Neill Playwrights Conference as well as the American Theatre Wing. Neil holds an Honorary Doctorate as well as a BA from Kenyon College in Ohio. He has served on the Board of ART/NY as well as the Selection Committee for Harold and Mimi Steinberg Playwriting Award as well as the Pew Charitable Trust in Philadelphia.  As a director, Neil’s Broadway credits include David Mamet;s American Buffalo, Doug Wright, Trey Anastasio and Amanda Green’s musical Hands on a Hardbody, the acclaimed revival of David Mamet’s Speed-the-Plow, as well as Mamet’s A Life in the Theatre. At the Atlantic, Neil has most recently directed John Guare’s 3 Kinds of Exile, Moira Buffini’s Dying For It,

Michael R. Jackson wrote the book, music and lyrics for the 2022 Tony Award winner for Best New Musical- A Strange Loop. He won the 2020 Pulitzer Prize and New York Drama Critics’ Circle–winning A Strange Loop (which had its 2019 world premiere at Playwrights Horizons in association with Page 73 Productions) was called “a full-on laparoscopy of the heart, soul, and loins” and a “gutsy, jubilantly anguished musical with infectious melodies” by Ben Brantley for The New York Times. In The New Yorker, Vinson Cunningham wrote, “To watch this show is to enter, by some urgent, bawdy magic, an ecstatic and infinitely more colorful version of the famous surreal lithograph by M. C. Escher: the hand that lifts from the page, becoming almost real, then draws another hand, which returns the favor.” In addition to A Strange Loop, he wrote book, music, and lyrics for White Girl in Danger. Awards and associations include a New Professional Theatre Festival Award, a Jonathan Larson Grant, a Lincoln Center Emerging Artist Awar

An Australian native, Deniz Akdeniz has quickly made a name for himself through his performances of beloved characters.  Deniz will next be seen reprising his breakout and widely beloved role of ‘Max’ in the upcoming second season of the critically-acclaimed and award-winning HBO Max series THE FLIGHT ATTENDANT alongside Kaley Cuoco and Zosia Mamet, which will be premiering in Spring 2022. He was most recently seen in the new hit Warner Bros for FOX series ,THE CLEANING LADY, produced by Shay Mitchell. His other recent TV credits include: Freeform’s SIRENS and ABC’s ONCE UPON A TIME where he played the role of ‘Aladdin. On the film side, Deniz is widely known for his role in I, FRANKENSTEIN, directed by Stuart Beattie. He was also seen in THE WATER DIVINE directed by Russell Crowe, Focus Feature’s THE HIGH NOTE, Netflix’s SIGHTLESS opposite Madelaine Petsch and the Australian box office feature hit, TOMORROW, WHEN THE WAR BEGAN, where he was nominated for an Inside Film Award in the category of “Best Actor.”

HARVEY FIERSTEIN wrote the books ( or adapted the books ) for the Broadway musicals Funny Girl, Kinky Boots. Newsies as well as Torch Song Trilogy (Tony®, Drama Desk, and OBIE Awards), La Cage aux Folles (Tony® and Drama Desk Awards), The Sissy Duckling (Humanitas Award), A Catered Affair (12 Drama Desk nominations), Safe Sex (Ace Award), Legs Diamond, Spookhouse, Flatbush Tosca, Common Ground, and more. His political editorials have been published in The New York Times, TV Guide, The Huffington Post, and broadcast on PBS’s “In the Life”. His children’s book, The Sissy Duckling, is now in its fifth printing. As an actor, Mr. Fierstein is known worldwide for his performances in films like Mrs. Doubtfire and Independence Day, and on stage in Hairspray (Tony Award®), Fiddler on the Roof, La Cage aux Folles, Torch Song Trilogy (Tony Award®), and TV shows such as “Smash,” “How I Met Your Mother,” “The Good Wife,” “Cheers” (Emmy nomination), “The Simpsons,” and “Nurse Jackie.” Acclaimed originally for his groundbre

DAVID MORSE received Emmy® nominations for his roles on “House” and HBO’s “John Adams,” and has appeared in numerous television series, including Emmy-nominated “Escape at Dannemora," “The Chair,” “The Morning Show," “The Deuce," "The Good Lord Bird,” “Hack,” “Treme,” “True Detective,” “Outsiders,” and “St. Elsewhere." Morse’s film credits include The Green Mile (1999), 16 Blocks (2006), The Hurt Locker (2009), World War Z (2013) and Concussion (2015). A stage veteran, Morse is currently on Broadway in Paula Vogel’s Pulitzer Prize winning show How I Learned to Drive, reprising the role he originated opposite Mary-Louise Parker Off-Broadway in 1997. He previously starred on Broadway in the 2018 revival of The Iceman Cometh, for which he received a Tony Award nomination. His other notable stage performances include the 1984 Los Angeles production of Of Mice and Men; Lanford Wilson’s Redwood Curtain, in which he originated the role of Lyman; Heather MacDonald’s An Almost Holy Picture; the Broadway production of

New Jersey native Emily Rothstein began her career after graduating from the University of Southern California with a degree in Cinematic Arts. She spent nine years at ABC Studios where she worked in both drama and comedy development, assisting the drama team in the development of such series as AMERICAN CRIME and HOW TO GET AWAY WITH MURDER, and the comedy team on THE MUPPETS and AMERICAN HOUSEWIFE. She has been working at NBC Universal on the comedy development team across all platforms since September of 2019 where she is responsible for developing new projects in addition to identifying new voices and emerging talent. She has worked on series such as “Wolf Like Me” and on the upcoming series based on the “Pitch Perfect” movie franchise for Peacock in addition to “Mr. Mayor” on NBC. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Melissa Gilbert starred as Laura Ingalls Wilder on the hit NBC television show Little House on the Prairie. She has starred in numerous movies and plays and served two terms as president of the Screen Actors Guild. She is the author of Prairie Tale, Daisy and Josephine, My Prairie Cookbook, and Back to the Prairie. She resides in the Catskills and New York City with her husband, Timothy Busfield. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mona Monsour ( Playwright) THE VAGRANT TRILOGY will make its New York City debut in April 2022 at the Public Theater, directed by Mark Wing-Davey; the production was in technical rehearsals in March 2020 and was postponed due to Covid-19. UNSEEN will have its West Coast debut at Oregon Shakespeare Festival in spring 2022, directed by Evren Odcikin. WE SWIM, WE TALK, WE GO TO WAR premiered at SF’s Golden Thread in 2018 (dir. Odcikin). THE VAGRANT TRILOGY was presented at Mosaic Theater in June 2018, (dir. Wing-Davey.) Of the trilogy: THE HOUR OF FEELING (dir. Wing-Davey) premiered at the Humana Festival at Actors Theatre of Louisville, and an Arabic translation was presented at NYU Abu Dhabi, as part of its Arab Voices Festival in 2016. URGE FOR GOING: productions at the Public Theater (dir. Hal Brooks) and Golden Thread (dir. Odcikin). THE VAGRANT was commissioned by the Public and workshopped at the 2013 Sundance Theater Institute. THE WAY WEST: Labyrinth (dir. Mimi O’Donnell); Village Theater (dir. Christin

Jodi Picoult is the author of 27 novels, with over 40 million copies sold worldwide. Her last eleven books have debuted at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list, and five have been made into movies, with two more – A SPARK OF LIGHT and BOOK OF TWO WAYS – being adapted as limited series. She is the recipient of multiple awards, including the New England Bookseller Award for Fiction, the Alex Award from YALSA, the NH Literary Award for Outstanding Literary Merit, and the esteemed Sarah Josepha Hale Award. She holds honorary doctor of letters degrees from Dartmouth College and the University of New Haven. Two of her books, BETWEEN THE LINES and OFF THE PAGE (co-written with daughter Samantha van Leer) have been adapted as a Broadway-bound musical; she is also the co-librettist of the new musical BREATHE, which premiered in 2021, and of the musical adaptation of THE BOOK THIEF musical, which will premiere in the UK in 2022. She lives in New Hampshire with her husband. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit po

Mary Clay Boland is a two time Emmy award winning casting Director.  Boland started her career at Circle Repertory Theater where she had the honor to work with many brilliant playwrights and actors. Circle Rep was the perfect atmosphere to hone Mary Clay’s casting instincts and enable her to witness the best acting has to offer. Transitioning to television Boland became the Casting Associate at Walken/Jaffe Casting where she was the Casting Associate on the first two seasons of the Emmy award winning show The Sopranos as well as the feature films But I’m a Cheerleader, The Legend of Wiry Spindell, First Look and many other films over a three year period.  Boland then moved on to the casting department of Warner Brothers Studios television where she worked on casting over 40 pilots including Everwood, Smallville, Gilmore Girls, George Lopez, and Without a Trace. While at Warner Brothers, Boland also cast the first two seasons of Third Watch, NBC and Witch Blade. In addition to that Boland was also responsible

Kathleen Monteleone is an actress, singer/songwriter, producer and writer who captivates audiences with her memorable performances and storytelling.  Born in Germany, Kathleen is a graduate of Marymount Manhattan College where she majored in theatre/musical theatre. Her career kick-started when she competed for the role of Sandy on NBC’s GREASE: You’re the One That I Want. Soon after she landed roles as Elle Woods in the national tour of Legally Blonde The Musical and Dede Halcyon-Day in Tales of The City The Musical. She made her Broadway debut originating the role of Heather Stovall in Hands On A Hardbody.  On the television side, Kathleen’s credits include the feature Are You Joking? directed by Jake Wilson, TNT’s Good Behavior alongside Michelle Dockery, and Comedy Central’s Goatface with Hasan Minhaj. Monteleone will next be seen starring in the feature film American Reject, which she also wrote and produced. The film, directed by Marlo Hunter, is a big-hearted comedy about a finalist who gets the boot f

Sharon Wheatley originated the role of Diane in COME FROM AWAY where she appears nightly at The Schoenfeld Theater. Sharon can also be seen in the film version for Apple TV +, and on the cast recording. Previous Broadway includes Avenue Q, Les Misérables, Cats and The Phantom of the Opera. Also a writer, Sharon’s most recent book DRIVE Stories From Somewhere in the Middle of Nowhere, about finding happiness in hard moments, came out March 1, 2022 and is available on her website sharonwheatley.com and wherever books are sold. Sharon is mom to Charlotte and Tobi, and wife to stage manager, Martha Donaldson. They are animal people, often unable to sit on their own couch due to the four legged creatures seeking comfort there. Sharon grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio and went to college there, getting her BFA in musical theater from CCM. Sharon has done a little TV stuff and a little film stuff, but really loves writing most of all. In addition to her most recent book, DRIVE, Sharon has a previous memoir, ‘Til the Fat G

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Brad Oscar has been seen on Broadway in Mrs. Doubtfire, Something Rotten! (Tony nomination), Big Fish, Nice Work..., The Addams Family, Spamalot, The Producers (Tony nomination), Jekyll & Hyde and Aspects of Love. National Tours: The Phantom of the Opera, Young Frankenstein, Jekyll & Hyde. West End: The Producers. Off Broadway: Broadway Bounty Hunter, Nassim, Sweeney Todd (Barrow Street Theatre), Forbidden Broadway (Theater East). Regional credits: The Gods of Comedy (McCarter/Old Globe), Hairspray (KC Starlight), The Squirrels (La Jolla Playhouse), Fiddler on the Roof (Barrington Stage), Barnum (Asolo Rep, Maltz Jupiter Theatre; Carbonell Award for Best Actor, Musical), The Mystery of Irma Vep, Cabaret, Damn Yankees (Arena Stage). Film: Ghost Town, The Producers. TV: Madam Secretary, Smash, The Good Wife, three Law & Order. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Elaine Del Valle is a Brownsville, Brooklyn bred Puerto Rican multi-hyphenate filmmaker. She is the winner of the HBO Latinx short film award, and was featured in the National Association of Latino Independent Producers (NALIP) Director showcase. Her films have been supported by WarnerMedia 150, Knight Foundation, Fractured Atlas and the Sundance Institute. As a WRITER/DIRECTOR her short films, Me 3.769 and Princess Cut, went on to air on HBOmax. Her most recent project, Brownsville Bred recently won the Audience Award at the 2022 SXSW Festival in the “Episodic Pilot Competition” category Showrunner/Director/Screenwriter: Elaine Del Valle, Producers: Adrienne Lovette, Elaine Del Valle, Leslie Cohen, Debbie Esko-Gold, Eddie Frente Elaine is a Lynn Shelton award finalist and two-time Imagen Impact award nominee. Redefine Magazine and Miami New Times named her a Filmmaker to Watch. Ad Age called her short documentary, Tagged (filmed entirely on a mobile phone) “compelling.” While Elaine loves expressing emotion

Broadway: Waitress, Disaster, Les Miserables, Hair (Tony Award Nomination), 110 in the Shade, Priscilla: Queen of the Desert, Brooklyn: The Musical, Lestat. Off-Broadway, tours and concerts: Assassins, Rock of Ages, Camelot (NY Philharmonic), The Slugbearers of Kayrol Island, Adrift In Macao, Two Gentlemen of Verona, Miss Saigon, We Will Rock You, Fame. Will's first feature film as a writer and director was Sons of Provo, which won several film festivals, and was released in 2005. He is married to actress Audra McDonald. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

ELERI WARD is an New York City-based actor, singer, and musician whose original pop music has been called “soaring” (Nexus Music Blog), “astonishing” (Rising Artists), and “dreamy” (Neon Music). Her most recent EP, Friction, was released in 2021. She has been singing and acting since she was eight years old, and has always strived to carve out her own space with the uniqueness she brings to the theater. Eleri studied songwriting at Berklee College of Music before transferring and graduating from The Boston Conservatory with a BFA in Musical Theater and an emphasis in Songwriting, which shows itself clearly in the way she has taken on the Sondheim canon. www.eleriward.com @eleriward Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Steven Sater is the author and lyricist of Spring Awakening, winner of eight Tony Awards on Broadway and produced in 25 countries around the world. He has also collaborated with Duncan Sheik on Umbrage (HERE); Nero (Magic Theatre, New York Stage and Film); The Nightingale (La Jolla Playhouse and American Conservatory Theater); and the critically acclaimed album Phantom Moon (Nonesuch). Other plays include the long-running Carbondale Dreams; Perfect For You, Doll (Rosenthal Prize); Umbrage (Steppenwolf New Play Prize); A Footnote to the Iliad (New York Stage and Film); Asylum (Naked Angels); and a reconceived musical version of Shakespeare’s Tempest (Lyric Hammersmith). He is currently at work with Burt Bacharach on a new musical as well. Additionally, Sater works as a pop/rock lyricist and screenwriter (the forthcoming Chitty Chitty Bang Bang remake for Sony Pictures). Tony Awards for Best Book and Best Score, the Drama Desk and Outer Critics’ Circle awards for Best Lyrics, the 2008 Grammy Award for Best Musi

Jamie Bernstein is a writer, narrator, broadcaster and filmmaker who has transformed a lifetime of loving music into a career of sharing her knowledge and excitement with others.  Inspired by her father Leonard Bernstein’s lifelong impulse to share and teach, Jamie has devised multiple ways of communicating her own excitement about orchestral music. Beginning 15 years ago with “The Bernstein Beat,” a family concert about her father’s music modeled after his own groundbreaking Young People’s Concerts with the New York Philharmonic, Jamie has gone on to design, write and narrate concerts for worldwide audiences of all ages about the music of Mozart, Copland, Stravinsky, and many others. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For more than two decades, the GRAMMY and Academy Award-nominated rock band Counting Crows have enchanted listeners worldwide with their intensely soulful and intricate take on timeless rock & roll. Exploding onto the music scene in 1993 with their multi-platinum breakout album, August and Everything After, the band has gone on to release seven studio albums, selling more than 20 million records worldwide, and is revered as one of the world’s most pre-eminent live touring rock bands.  In October 1996, the band's double-platinum sophomore studio album, Recovering the Satellites, debuted at number one and further solidified their growing reputation as one of the leading American alternative rock bands in the world. A follow up to their early success; Counting Crows went on to release This Desert Life (1999), Hard Candy (2002), Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings (2008), Underwater Sunshine (Or What We Did on Our Summer Vacation) (2012), Echoes of the Outlaw Roadshow (2013),and Somewhere Under Wonderland (2014.)