Quote of the Day

"She was very cagey, but Angela Lansbury said we could see her back on stage by January 2012. Beyond that, all I got was a Mona Lisa smile." 

Tweeted by Howard Sherman, the Executive Director of the American Theatre Wing about his interview with Angela Lansbury for Downstage Center, June 9, 2011.   

Howard has been the host of Downstage Center since 2004, which translates to approximately 325 shows.   Unfortunately for us fans of his work at the Wing, Howard is moving on to a new venture.  We wish him well in his next steps and hopefully he will continue keeping us informed and entertained via Vwitter.  Fortunately, Downstage Center will continue with a new host yet to be named.   

The new executive director of the Wing is Heather Hitchens.    Incidentally, Angela Lansbury was named the Wing's first Honorary Chair of the Board of Trustees at last year's Tony Awards, which the Wing founded in 1946.   She was a recipient of a drama school scholarship from the American Theatre Wing when she was still a teenager and had just immigrated to America.   Besides continuing to co-present the Tony Awards, the Wing promotes education of actors, those working behind the scenes in the theatre and audiences through its many online programs, internships, awards, and grants. 

Always entertaining and always educational, the Downstage Center podcasts can be downloaded from the Theatre Wing site or subscribed to via iTunes.