CONVERSATIONS with Ed Tracy

Edward Gero joins the CONVERSATION during a break in rehearsals for The Lehman Trilogy at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Gero's performance is another highlight in a distinguished, award-winning career spanning forty-seven years with upwards to one hundred fifty roles and counting including The Originalist at Court Theatre in Chicago, Angels in America at Arena Stage and earlier this year, in the critically-acclaimed production of The Lehman Trilogy at the Shakespeare Theatre Company that has now transferred to the Guthrie and opens September 19, 2024. Stefano Massini's epic multi-generational story, adapted by Ben Power and directed by Arin Arbus, chronicles the true-to-life rise of three Jewish immigrant brothers who built their own version of the American Dream from a small fabric business in 1844 to the international financial firm whose spectacular collapse in 2008 sent global markets spiraling out of control. The Guthrie Theater production includes Gero, Mark Nelson and William Sturdivant in the cast of three who play the Lehman brothers and recreate all of the over fifty other roles. 7 Episode 3 Originally posted September 4, 2024

Steve Hamilton, the two-time Edgar Award-winning and NY Times bestselling author of the Alex McKnight series, joined the CONVERSATION to talk about the release of An Honorable Assassin (Blackstone Publishing August 27, 2024), the third book in the popular Nick Mason series. Season 7 Episode 2 Originally posted August 15, 2024      

Michael Garfield Levine joins the Conversation to discuss his solo show “Spinning My Wheels” that chronicles the touching, disturbing and often humorous arc of Levine's Vermont theatre experiences to the streets of New York and, ultimately, a path of acceptance and survival. Levine will perform his show on Thursday, April 11th at the Royall Tyler Theatre on the campus of the University of Vermont in Burlington, Vermont as a prelude to that theatre's 50th Anniversary Celebration on April 12-13.  The 7:00 pm performance is free, but reservations are required by emailing: theatreanddance@uvm.edu. Season 7 Episode 1 Originally posted March 22, 2024

Teatro ZinZanni Chicago returns with an exciting, new show created by Joe DePaul and offering one of the most unique entertainment experiences anywhere. General manager and producer, Kerry Sheehan, joins the CONVERVATION to tell us about the show that is set in the exquisite 100-year-old Belgian Spiegeltent ZaZou on the 14th floor of the Cambria Hotel in Chicago's Loop. Season 6 Episode 3 Originally posted October 19 2023 

Matthew C. Yee, the creator, writer and composer of the new musical "Lucy and Charlie's Honeymoon" at Lookingglass Theatre joins the CONVERSATION to discuss the show and the collaborative process to bring it to the stage. Aurora Adachi-Winter and Yee star as Lucy and Charlie, two first generation Asian Americans who meet, fall in love and then decide to start a life of crime together. This episode includes a featured solo performance of "Bao's Song" from the show running at Lookingglass through July 11, 2023. Season 6 Episode 2 Originally posted May 31, 2023 

On the eve of Cabaret ZaZou's 200th performance in the Speigeltent on the 14th floor of Chicago's Cambria Hotel, we caught up with two of the shows stars, comic emcee Frank Ferrante and singer James Harkness, for a Conversation about the extraordinary cast and how the show continues to evolve over the course of a long run.   Season 6 Episode 3 Originally posted June 1, 2023 

Co-writer/producer Sara Stotts joins the CONVERSATION to discuss the new musical MotherFreakingHood! during the Chicago Premiere at the Mercury Theater Chicago. Season 6 Episode 1 Originally posted May 23, 2023 

Entertaining audiences for decades with his terrific one-man show about Groucho Marx, Frank Ferrante joins the conversation to talk about his return to Chicago in September for LUMINAIRE at Cabaret ZaZou in the shimmering Spiegeltent on the 14th floor of the Cambria Hotel and a tour stop for Groucho coming up in South Haven. One of our great improvisational actors, comedians and entertainers, Ferrante talks about developing characters, the new show in Chicago and the PBS special that has brought Groucho to a new generation of fans. "An Evening with Groucho" at the South Haven Theatre Series 7:30 pm August 20, 2022.

Tony Award winner and multi-Tony nominee André De Shields discusses the opening moments of the return of HADESTOWN to Broadway on September 2, 2021 with CONVERSATIONS host Ed Tracy. This is an excerpt of the interview during the 2021 Sarah Siddons Society Actor of the Year Award benefit held in Chicago in October 2021. To view the entire interview, visit: https://bit.ly/3z61qkG

Chicago jazz vocalist and flutist Elaine Dame plays the theme song of  CONVERSATIONS ("The High Road Theme") during a segment of the podcast "Conversations with Ed Tracy." To purchase Elaine's album "You're My Thrill" visit: https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/elainedame3.  Listen to our 2017 podcast at the CONVERSATIONS website: https://www.conversationswithedtracy.com/de-usuris/2017/4/5/elaine-dame- 

Chicago jazz vocalist Elaine Dame sings "They Say It's Wonderful." To purchase the album "You're My Thrill" visit: https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/elainedame3.  Listen to our 2017 podcast at the CONVERSATIONS website: https://www.conversationswithedtracy.com/de-usuris/2017/4/5/elaine-dame-

Medal of Honor recipient Staff Sgt. David Bellavia joins program host Ed Tracy for a special CONVERSATIONS podcast with the Norwich University Corps of Cadets, recorded live on September 25, 2019 in historic Plumley Armory on the Norwich campus located in Northfield, Vermont.  Season 5 Episode 2 - Originally posted March 25, 2020

Sandy Duncan joins the CONVERSATION to discuss Dan Clancy's "MIDDLETOWN The Ride of Your Life!" during the run of the show at the Apollo Theater Chicago. Season 5 Episode 1 Originally posted March 11, 2020  

Cage Sebastian Pierre, one of Chicago’s top young actors and fight choreographers, joins the CONVERSATION to talk about fight choreography in Barbara Gaines new production of Romeo and Juliet at Chicago Shakespeare Theater. Season 4 - Episode 14 Originally posted October 31, 2019

Heidi Kettenring, the accomplished Jeff Award-winning actor/vocalist joins the CONVERSATION to talk about balancing busy careers with her actor/husband David Girolmo and her upcoming concert appearances at the Auditorium Theatre in ‘Chicago Celebrates Sondheim!’ with the Chicago Philharmonic and the Artists Lounge Live Karen Carpenter holiday show at Mercury’s Venus Cabaret. Season 4 - Episode 13 Originally posted October 29, 2019

Charles Newell, the long-serving Marilyn F. Vitale Artistic Director of Court Theatre, joins the conversation to discuss his career and Court's next major project: The Oedipus Trilogy, which begins November 7, 2019 with Oedipus Rex, followed in May 2020 with The Gospel at Colonus and Antigone next season.  Season 4 - Episode 12 Originally posted October 28, 2019

Actor Bri Sudia joins the CONVERSATION to discuss sign language interpretation for the theater and her upcoming role as Mona Juul in the highly-anticipated TimeLine Theatre Company|Broadway in Chicago production of “OSLO” directed by Nick Bowling.  Season 4 - Episode 11 Originally posted September 16, 2019

Singer/Actor/Voiceover Artist Julie Garnyé, currently appearing in cast of the North American tour of "Come From Away," joins the CONVERSATION to discuss her performance career that includes Grizabella in National Tour of the musical CATS and a long run in the original cast of Disney’s FROZEN: Live at the Hyperion Theatre. Season 4 - Episode 10 Originally posted August 14, 2019 

Dann Gire, the award-winning journalist and film critic for the Daily Herald for over four decades, joins the CONVERSATION to discuss the responsibilities of critics in the understanding of the arts and the development and impact of the Chicago Film Critics Association. Season 4 - Episode 9 Originally posted July 25, 2019   

Roche Schulfer, the long-serving Executive Director of Chicago's Goodman Theatre, joins the CONVERSATION following the opening of Mary Zimmerman’s revival of “The Music Man”—the Tony Award winning director’s 16th Goodman show in a 25-year association.  Season 4 Episode 8 Originally posted July 15, 2019

Ron Kellum, Cirque du Soleil's Artistic Director for VOLTA, joins the CONVERSATION during the hit show's Chicago run to discuss Cirque's development process and the extraordinarily gifted performers in the company.     Season 4 Episode 7 Originally posted June 22, 2019

Former State Senator William Marovitz joins the CONVERSATION to talk about the 2016 Chicago Cubs World Series victory and the upcoming world premiere of “MIRACLE-The Musical” at the Royal George Theatre in Chicago.  Season 4 Episode 6 Originally posted May 6, 2019  

The talented Chicago actor and vocalist Sharriese Hamilton joins the CONVERSATION to discuss the Chicago Children's Theatre production of "The Watsons Go To Birmingham-1963" and what's up next: the role of Hannah in the Australian company of the international hit "Come From Away." Season 4 Episode 5 Originally posted April 28, 2019  

Cory Lippiello, Artistic Administrator for Lyric Opera of Chicago, joins the CONVERSATION to talk about casting the highly-anticipated production of West Side Story. Season 4 Episode 4 Orginally posted April 15, 2019  

Director Louis Contey joins the CONVERSATION to discuss the Shattered Globe Theatre production of Kate Foder’s “Hannah and Martin” tracing the relationship—and passionate love affair—between the German-Jewish political theorist Hannah Arendt and her mentor, the celebrated German philosopher Martin Heidegger and the impact that the rise to power of the Nazi party had on the course of their lives. Season 4 Episode 3 Originally posted April 8, 2019

Dana Tretta and Christopher Kale Jones, the two powerhouse stars of the Mercury Theater Chicago production of “Little Shop of Horrors” directed by L Walter Stearns with musical director Eugene Dizon, join the CONVERSATION to talk about just how fiendishly desperate—and painfully real—things are for the star-crossed lovers in the macabre 1982 hit with music by Alan Menken and book and lyrics by Howard Ashman. Season 4 Episode 2 Originally posted March 19, 2019

Renowned soloists Alfreda Burke and Rodrick Dixon join the CONVERSATION to talk about Too Hot To Handel: The Jazz-Gospel Messiah, the universality of Handel’s work and the power of music to inspire and uplift our lives in advance of the 2019 concert at the Auditorium Theatre in Chicago.  Season 4 Episode 1 Originally posted January 8, 2019

Tony Award-winning director and playwright Mary Zimmerman joins the CONVERSATION to discuss her new work The Steadfast Tin Soldier based on the Hans Christian Andersen children's story presented in pantomime at Chicago's Lookingglass Theatre Company. In an extraordinary career that has spanned the worlds of theater and opera, Zimmerman received the 2002 Tony Award for directing Metamorphoses. Season 3 Episode 21 Originally posted December 17, 2018 

Janet Ulrich Brooks, one of Chicago’s most gifted actors working in theater, film and television, joins the CONVERSATION to discuss her role as the legendary opera diva Maria Callas during the run of the TimeLine Theatre Company production of Master Class at Stage 773.  Season 3 Episode 20 Originally posted November 23, 2018 

Historian Neil Hanson joins the CONVERSATION in London for a fascinating look back 100 years to the end of World War I and the events that followed. His book, UNKNOWN SOLDIERS: The Story of the Missing of the First World War (Knopf 2005) recounts the life and combat history of three soldiers – an American from Chicago, George Seibold, an Englishman, Alec Reader and a German, Paul Hub – representing the over 3 million who fought and died on all sides whose remains have never been accounted for. Season 3 Episode 19 Originally posted November 10, 2018 Recorded in London.

The award-winning UK-based musical writing team of Scott Gilmour and Claire McKenzie joined the CONVERSATION in London to discuss their new project, HI, MY NAME IS BEN, an international collaboration with Dundee Repertory Theatre and Goodspeed Musicals, and the 2018 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, where MY LEFT/RIGHT FOOT-THE MUSICAL, produced by Birds of Paradise Theatre Company and the National Theatre of Scotland, received the Fringe First Award and the Herald Angel Award.    Season 3 Episode 18 Originally posted November 7, 2018 Recorded in London.

Award-winning actor Larry Yando joins the conversation to discuss the American premiere of “Nell Gwynn” at Chicago Shakespeare Theater and his 25 year association with the company. Yando, who played Scar in the national tour of “The Lion King” for three years and recently toured Europe in Peter Brooks' "Battlefield," returns as Ebenezer Scrooge in the Goodman Theatre Holiday Classic “A Christmas Carol” in November 2018.  Season 3 Episode 17 Originally posted October 25, 2018

Greg Cameron, President and CEO of The Joffrey Ballet, joined the conversation on October 5th to discuss Christopher Wheeldon's Swan Lake and The Nutcracker, developing colaborative partnerships, and what's ahead for the 2018-2019 season and beyond. Posted October 10, 2018 Season 3 Episode 16

Michael Weber, Porchlight Music Theatre's Artistic Director, joins the CONVERSATION to discuss the new production of GYPSY starring E. Faye Butler and what’s ahead in the 2018-2019 season for one of Chicago’s most innovative and successful musical theatre companies. Season 3 Episode 15 Originally published October 4, 2018

Lili-Anne Brown, the accomplished actor, director, educator and Northwestern alum joins the conversation to talk about the Firebrand Theatre/TimeLine Theatre partnership for the upcoming Tony Kushner/Jeanine Tesori musical "Caroline, or Change","BUDDY: The Buddy Holly Story" at Stage 773, and in 2019, "The Total Bent" at Haven and "Lottery Day" at Goodman. (NOTE: Multiple Jeff nominations to American Blues Theater's "Buddy" including Best Director of a Musical for Lili-Anne Brown were announced on 8/28/2018.) Season 3 Episode 14 Originally posted August 28, 2018

Award-winning actor, vocalist and director Rob Lindley talks about performing in Fun Home at Victory Gardens, Dark Café Days: Foiled Again Sings Joni Mitchell with his long-time musical partners Anne Sheridan Smith and Allison Bazarko Kirk at Steppenwolf’s 1700 Theatre and joining the 2018-19 US tour of Phantom of the Opera.   Season 3 Episode 13 Originally posted July 9, 2018

Director Kimberly Senior, whose credits include the 2012 Broadway production of Ayad Akhtar’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play Disgraced, joins the conversation to discuss developing new works for the theatre and the world premiere of Ellen Fairey's Support Group For Men at Goodman Theatre.  Season 3 Episode 12 Originally posted June 28, 2018

Actors Leah Morrow and Jackson Evans join the conversation to talk about their return to the roles of Kate Monster and Princeton in the 2018 revival of the 2014 Mercury Theater Chicago smash hit production of the Tony Award-winning musical AVENUE Q that played for 169 performances.  Season 3 Episode 11 Originally posted June 18, 2018

Award-winning actor Edward Gero joins the conversation to discuss his portrayal of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia in John Strand's The Originalist during the Chicago run at Court Theatre. The compelling and provocative Asolo Repertory Theatre, Arena Stage, Pasadena Playhouse production is directed by Molly Smith with Associate Director Seema Sueko. Season 3 Episode 10 Originally Posted May 31, 2018

Producer|writer|lyricist June Finfer and composer|lyricist Elizabeth Doyle joined the conversation to talk about the development process and debut of their new musical, Burnham's Dream: The White City.  Season 3 Episode 9  Originally posted May 29, 2018

When 20-year-old Rishi Sharma joined the conversation in March 2018, he had already conducted over 850 interviews with combat veterans of World War II, all part of an ambitious plan to preserve their stories for generations to come. Season 3 Episode 8 Originally Posted May 23, 2018

Director, Actor and Northwestern University professor Henry Godinez joined the conversation to talk about the Chicago Children's Theater premiere of the new musical Last Stop on Market Street, his professional career and the expanding Latino theater community in Chicago. Season 3 Episode 7 Originally posted May 9, 2018  

Tony Macaluso, Director of the WFMT Radio Network and Director of the Studs Terkel Radio Archive, joined the conversation to talk about the May 2018 launch and the work that has been done to make over 5,600 programs available online for future generations of scholars, journalists, and the general public. This program includes clips from a 1960 interview with Studs Terkel and Buster Keaton. Season 3 Episode 6  Originally Posted May 7, 2018

William Massolia, Griffin Theatre Company's Artistic Director & Founder joined the conversation on March 23rd to discuss LETTERS HOME & GHOSTS OF WAR examining the Iraq & Afghanistan wartime experiences of servicemen and servicewomen, and their families. Written and directed by Massolia, Letters Home has been seen by more than 100,000 people in more than 100 cities since its first performance in 2007. Ghosts of War was adapted from the book by Ryan Smithson. The productions will be presented in rotating repertory at The Den Theatre in Chicago.  Season 3 Episode 5  Originally Posted March 28, 2018

Spertus Institute President & CEO Dr. Hal M. Lewis discusses the principles of leadership and the new series Critical Conversations featuring former Governors Jennifer Granholm and Mike Huckabee with moderator Frank Sesno. Season 3 Episode 4  Originally Posted March 13, 2018

Photographer Michael Brosilow talks about his extensive career in theater photography and the extraordinary artists, directors and designers in Chicago whose work he has captured since his first assignment with Steppenwolf in 1986. Season 3 Episode 3  Originally Posted March 6, 2018

Speaker/Writer/Activist/Actor Clifton Truman Daniel, the oldest grandson of President Harry S. Truman and Bess Truman and son of author Margaret Truman, recently embarked on a new project, portraying his grandfather in a one-man show Give 'Em Hell, Harry by playwright Samuel Gallu. Daniel, who has contributed to expanding our understanding of Truman’s pivotal era with a national lecture series, two books and a continuing association with the Harry S. Truman Library and Institute in Independence, Missouri, joined the conversation on February 23, 2018 to talk about the show, his 2012 trip to Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the Truman presidency. Season 3 Episode 2 Originally posted February 28, 2018

Actress Linda Reiter received the Joseph Jefferson Award for Best Solo Performance in the role of Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy in the 2016 Chicago Premiere of ROSE: An Intimate Evening with Mrs. Kennedy. Ms. Reiter, who returns to the Greenhouse Theater Center on January 12th to reprise the role, joined the conversation on January 2nd to talk about her preparation, working with director Steve Scott and playwright Laurence Leamer and how the Kennedy family legacy was influenced by this remarkable woman. Season 3 Episode 1 Originally posted January 4, 2018

Chicago Scenic Studios Founder/CEO Bob Doepel joins the conversation to talk about 40 years of collaborating on major projects like the Grant Park celebrations for Barack Obama and the Chicago Cubs World Series, the new American Writers Museum and set pieces for the Joffrey Ballet's Nutcracker. Season 2 Episode 31 Originally posted December 13, 2017

Deb Clapp, Executive Director of The League of Chicago Theatres joined the conversation to talk about a wide range of topics including the mission and important work of the League, the HotTix program, the 2017 Holiday Theatre Guide and a preview of the 2018 Chicago Theatre Week to be held February 9th -18th. Season 2 Episode 30. Originally published December 7, 2017.

For over 4 decades, Rich Daniels and his orchestra have been featured together with a long and distinguished list of music greats including Ray Charles, Mel Torme, Burt Bacharach, Dionne Warwick, The Four Topps, Smokey Robinson, Frankie Laine and many more. Daniels has been touring recently with the Jerry Garcia Symphonic Celebration and has been engaged with the hit TV series “Empire” for the past four years. Daniels joined the conversation on November 2nd to talk about his career and upcoming Auditorium show on November 17th for ELLA & LENA: The Ladies and Their Music, a centennial concert celebration of Ella Fitzgerald and Lena Horne. Chicago vocalist and producer Joan Curto will be joined by many of Chicago’s top artists including E. Faye Butler, Beckie Menzie, Tammy McCann, Paul Marinaro, Tom Michael and Sophie Grimm with Daniels’ 17-piece orchestra featuring songs from the Great American Songbook. Season 2 Episode 29. Originally published November 9, 2017.