David Esbjornson's guest appearances

David Esbjornson

ATW - Downstage Center

I AM THE SPACE WHERE I AM with John Arnone

Marlo Thomas

Michael Boyd

Eve Ensler

Patrick Stewart

Neil Patrick Harris

Sarah Ruhl

Kelli O'Hara

Joel Grey

Casey Nicholaw

Michael Berresse

Ken Davenport

Graciela Daniele

David Hyde

Simon Callow

Celia Keenan-Bolger

OwlTail

Edward Albee

Today David Esbjornson and I will be discussing the life and work of three timePulitzer prize winning playwright Edward Albee. Acclaimed stage director David Esbjornson is the former artistic director of New YorkCity's Classic Stage Company and Seattle Repertory Theatre. Broadway premieresinclude Driving Miss Daisy, starring Tony Award-winning actors Angela Lansburyand James Earl Jones, Edward Albee's The Goat, or Who is Sylvia with Mercedes Ruehland Bill Pullman, and Arthur Miller's The Ride Down Mount Morgan, starring Mr. PatrickStewart. 

Today David Esbjornson and I will be discussing the life and work of three time Pulitzer prize winning playwright Edward Albee. Acclaimed stage director David Esbjornson is the former artistic director of New York City's Classic Stage Company and Seattle Repertory Theatre. Broadway premieres include Driving Miss Daisy, starring Tony Award-winning actors Angela Lansbury and James Earl Jones, Edward Albee's The Goat, or Who is Sylvia with Mercedes Ruehl and Bill Pullman, and Arthur Miller's The Ride Down Mount Morgan, starring Mr. Patrick Stewart.

Guest: DAVID ESBJORNSON                           Topic: EDWARD ALBEE

Having recently steered "Driving Miss Daisy" to Broadway, director David Esbjornson discusses what it's like to direct a "brand," why he thinks older actors can play younger much more easily than the other way around, and what it was like to work with powerhouse actors like Vanessa Redgrave and James Earl Jones. He also talks about growing up as the child of a high school drama teacher in Minnesota and how The Guthrie Theatre developed theatrical influence and inspiration among audiences in a five-state area during his formative years; reflects on working with his grad schoolmate Tony Kushner on the very first production of "Angels in America" at Eureka Theatre; explains how he came to collaborate with Arthur Miller on "The Ride Down Mt. Morgan" and "Resurrection Blues", and with Edward Albee on "The Goat, or Who is Sylvia?"; considers the different experiences of being artistic director at Classic Stage Company in New York and Seattle Repertory Theatre, and how they compare to being a freelance director; and ponders what challenges he'd most like to tackle in the coming years. Original air date - December 22, 2010.

David Esbjornson (#299) - December, 2010