EPISODE 150- BEN STILLER

Ben Stiller  is one of Hollywood's most successful and acclaimed multihyphenates. As an actor, director, writer, and producer, Stiller's global box office stands at nearly $3 billion, making him one of the highest-grossing stars of all time; and also one of the most versatile, effortlessly moving between major franchises such as Meet the Parents and Night at the Museum, the animated Madagascar films, critically-acclaimed arthouse hits; The Royal Tenenbaums, Meyerowitz Stories and While We're Young, his legendary sketch television series "The Ben Stiller Show," and the Oscar-nominated Tropic Thunder, which he starred in, directed, co-wrote, and produced, to massive acclaim under his production company, Red Hour.

Continuing to push the boundaries of his incredible filmography, in 2018, Stiller directed and produced his most ambitious project yet: Escape at Dannemora which has garnered numerous accolades with five Critics' Choice Award nominations and two Golden Globe Award nominations. Stiller received the Directors' Guild Award for TV Film/Miniseries, as well as a nomination for a Producers' Guild Award for his work as Executive Producer and Director of the series.

Over the last decade, Stiller has also focused on one of his great passions: philanthropic and humanitarian work. For his considerable philanthropic work amid an illustrious career, Stiller was recognized in 2010 by Time Magazine as one of the TIME 100, a list of the world's most influential people.

EPISODE 149 - ANNA CHLUMSKY

Anna Chlumsky is an Emmy nominated actress who has continued to make a name for herself in film, on television and on stage. 

 

Most recently, Chlumsky completed production on the seventh and final season of the Emmy-winning comedy, Veep, which will premiered on HBO on March 31st, 2019.  

 

Chlumsky was seen on screen in Minhal Baig’s film “Hala” as Shannon, which premiered at the 2019 Sundance Festival. “Hala’s” worldwide rights has also been acquired by Apple. 

 

In 2017, Chlumsky was nominated for her fifth consecutive Emmy© in the category of “Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series” for her portrayal as Brookheimer. She was also nominated for a Critics Choice Award, and won the SAG Ensemble for VEEP. She won the Gracie Allen Award in 2015 for Outstanding Female Actor in a Supporting Role in a comedy or Musical for her work on Veep.

 

Chlumsky made her Broadway debut in 2015 in Scott Ellis’ revival of You Can’t Take It With You. She played “Alice Sycamore,” the daughter of an eccentric family, opposite James Earl Jones and Annaleigh Ashford. She also reprised her role as “Iris Peabody” in Joe DiPietro’s Living on Love, which made its Williamstown Theatre Festival debut in 2014 and transferred to Broadway. Based on the famed Peccadillo, Chlumsky starred opposite Renee Fleming, Douglas Sills and Jerry O’Connell.

 

Additionally, her New York stage credits include: Cardinal, 3C, Love, Loss, and What I Wore (Westside Theatre); So Help Me God (Mint Theatre Company); Unconditional(LA Byrinth Theater Company); The Fabulous Life of a Size Zero (DR2);Darwin in Malibu (Bay Street Theatre); The Butcherhouse Chronicles (Summer Play Festival); Balm in Gilead (Barefoot Theater Company - Member); Half Life (Flea Theater/Fringe Festival); Iphigeneia at Aulis (TimeSpace Productions); Measure for Measure (Astoria Performing Arts Center); No Alarms: Headfullofradio (Veritas Productions); and The Trojan Women (Veritas Productions).

 

Additional TV credits include AMC’s Halt and Catch Fire, NBC’s Hannibal,: 30 Rock, and  Law & Order” SVU. 

 

Chlumsky became a household name when she starred alongside Macaulay Culkin as Vada Sultenfuss in the 1991 film, My Girl. Other notable film credits include: The End of Tour, Bert and Arnie’s Guide to Friendship, In The Loop; The Good Guy; Blood Car; My Girl 2; Gold Diggers; the Glamour Reel Short, and Wait. 

EPISODE 148- JOHN CAMERON MITCHELL


An actor, playwright, screenwriter, and director, the Tony Award-winning  John Cameron Mitchell is most famous as co-creator of Hedwig and the Angry Inch, which began life as an Obie-winning off-Broadway show (with music and lyrics by Stephen Trask), before becoming a 2001 movie (written, directed by and starring Mitchell), which won Mitchell the Best Director award at that year’s Sundance Film Festival, as well as a raft of other awards and a Golden Globe nomination. He also starred on Broadway in Six Degrees of Separation, The Secret Garden and Hedwig and the Angry Inch.

Mitchell also directed the 2006 movie Shortbus, which showed explicit sex; has collaborated on projects spanning music, theater, and film; has starred in TV shows including Shrill and Girls;  and directed the films, Rabbit Hole and How To Talk To Girls At Parties among others.

 He is currently on tour performing The Origin of Love: The Songs and Stories of Hedwig .

Most recently John wrote and stars in a podcast fictional series called  Anthem: Homunculus which he describes as a continuation of the Hedwig story co- starring  Glen Close , Patti LuPone and Cynthia Erivo  along with other Broadway stars.


EPISODE 145- TRACY SPIRIDAKOS

Tracy Spiridakos was born in  Canada and spent a portion of her childhood in her native Greece.  Her family returned to Winnipeg but Tracy knew she wouldn't stay there long, eventually leaving solid employment at her parents Greek restaurant to move  to Vancouver and pursue her dreams of acting. 

She found success early on television series such as Supernatural and Being Human, but her breakout role was playing the lead role of Charlie Matheson on JJ Abrams' Revolution on NBC.    Since then she has shown her comedic side in Showtime's Episodes with Matt LeBlanc, as a femme fatale on A&E’s Bates Motel and has the mysterious ex-girlfriend of Lucas Till’s “MacGyver.”

 Tracy currently stars as “Det. Hailey Upton” on the NBC hit show “Chicago PD”.   She lives in Chicago with her beloved Rottweiler, Nala.

 

EPISODE 143- TOMMY KAIL

THOMAS KAIL received the 2016 Tony award for his direction of the Broadway production of Hamilton.  He received a Tony nomination for his direction of In the Heights.  His additional Broadway credits include the new plays Lombardi and Magic/Bird. Other credits include the world premiere of Hamilton and Dry Powder at the Public Theater; the world premiere of In the Heights; Broke-ology and the world premiere of When I Come to Die at Lincoln Center Theater; the world premiere of Daphne’s Dive at the Signature Theater; Randy Newman’s Faust, as well as The Wiz at New York City Center; the world premiere of The Tutors at Second Stage Uptown; the world premiere of Broke-ology at Williamstown Theater Festival; the world premiere of A.R. Gurney's Family Furniture at The Flea; and the national tour of In the Heights. He is the co-creator and director of the hip-hop improv group Freestyle Love Supreme, which played the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, U.S. Comedy Arts Festival, Montreal Comedy Festival, and Melbourne Comedy Festival.  He won the 2016 Emmy for his direction of Grease Live for FOX. His latest project, the limited series, Fosse/Verdon, which he served as Executive Producer for the series, and director of 5 of the 8 episodes can now be seen on FX.  Additional TV credits include: Oprah Winfrey's Primetime Oscar Specialfor ABC; the pilot episode of Storymakers for AMC; as well as serving as the Executive Producer of the TV show Freestyle Love Supreme for Pivot.  He is also the recipient of a Drama Desk Award, an Obie, a Callaway Award, the Lucile Lortel Award and the Martin E. Segal Award from Lincoln Center.  He is a graduate of Wesleyan University.   

 

EPISODE 142- MADDIE CORMAN

 Maddie Corman’s career began when she appeared in the seminal 80’s movies Seven Minutes in Heaven and Some Kind of Wonderful. Maddie was a series regular on “Mr. President”, “All American Girl” and “Almost There.” Guest /recurring roles include all 3 “Law & Orders”, “Curb Your Enthusiasm”, “Damages”, “The Good Wife”, “Person of Interest”, “Nurse Jackie”, “Girls”, “Divorce”, “Odd Mom Out”, “When We Rise”, “High Maintenance”, “Younger” and “Madame Secretary”. Films include: Wonderwheel, 5 Flights Up, Peace Love & Misunderstanding, Morning Glory, Ira & Abby, What Happens in Vegas, I Think I Do, Ford Fairlane and Swingers.  Upcoming: Maddie will play Lady Aberlin to Tom Hanks’ Mr. Rogers in A Beautiful Day in The Neighborhood. Broadway: Next Fall, Picnic. Off-Broadway: The Babylon Line, Appropriate, Love Loss, etc. She wrote, co-directed and stars in How Was Your Day (Tribeca Film Fest “Watch this short” series). Maddie wrote and stars in her one woman show at the DR2 Theater - Accidentally Brave.

EPISODE 138- ISABELLE HUPPERT & TRIP CULLMAN

ISABELLE HUPPERT  is a multi-award winning screen and stage actress. Throughout her career Isabelle Huppert has worked with many French and international directors including Jean-Luc Godard, Michael Haneke, Maurice Pialat, Patrice Chéreau, Olivier Assayas, Claire Denis, the Taviani brothers, David O’Russell, Marco Ferreri, Michael Cimino, Harl Hartley, Neil Jordan, Hong Sang Soo and more. Awards won include: a BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer to Feature Films for her work in The Lacemaker, two Venice Film Festival Best Actress Awards for Claude Chabrol’s Story of Women and The Ceremony, Venice Film Festival’s Special Jury Lion d’Or for her performance in Patrice Chéreau’s Gabrielle and for her entire body of work; two Cannes Film Festival Best Actress Awards for Claude Chabrol’s Violette and for Michael Haneke’s The Piano Teacher; in France she received the César (Best Actress Award) for Claude Chabrol’s The Ceremony and Paul Verhoeven’s Elle – a film for which she also received a Gotham Award, a Golden Globe and a Spirit Award in addition to being nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role. She received a Molière Award for her career (honoring achievements in French theater; equivalent to the Tony Awards); and the prestigious “XVI Prix Europe pour le Théâtre” in Rome. Isabelle Huppert has also pursued her theatrical career in France and internationally, including BAM (4:48 Psychosis, Quartet, and Phaedra). She has acted under the direction of Bob Wilson (Virginia Woolf’s Orlando, Heiner Müller’s Quartet), Peter Zadek (Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure), Claude Régy (Sarah Kane’s 4.48 Psychosis), and Howard Davies (Friedrich von Schiller’s Mary Stuart). Noteworthy productions include: Euripide’s Medea (directed by Jacques Lassalle), Hedda Gabler; A Streetcar (director Krzysztof Warlikowski’s spin on Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire, at the Odéon Theater and on tour throughout Europe and internationally); The Maids (directed by Benedict Andrews with Cate Blanchett at the Sydney Theatre Company and at New York’s City Center in conjunction with the Lincoln Center Festival); Phaedra directed by Krzysztof Warlikowski; Les Fausses Confidences (by Marivaux, directed by Luc Bondy at the Odéon Theater and on tour throughout Europe); Mary Stuart (Howard Davies) at the National Theater in London. Most recent files are: Eva, directed by Benoit Jacquot; Claire’s Camera by Hong Sang Soo; and Mrs. Hyde, directed by Serge Bozon (Best Actress Award at Locarno Film Festival). Upcoming: Snow Whitedirected by Anne Fontaine, Greta directed by Neil Jordan, and Frankie directed by Ira Sachs. Isabelle Huppert is an Officer of the National Order of Merit of the Legion of Honor, and an Officer of the National Order of Merit and Commander in the Order of Arts and Letters. She was the President of the Jury for the 62nd Cannes Film Festival.

 

TRIP CULLMAN - Broadway: Choir Boy, Lobby Hero, Six Degrees of Separation, Significant Other. Select off Broadway: I'm Gonna Pray For You So Hard (Atlantic); Days of Rage, The Layover, Lonely I’m Not, The Substance of Fire, Some Men, Bachelorette, Swimming in the Shallows (Second Stage); Punk Rock (Obie Award), Yen, A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Gynecologic Oncology Unit At Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Of New York City (MCC); Significant Other (Roundabout); Choir Boy, Murder Ballad (MTC); A Small Fire (Drama Desk nom.), Assistance, The Drunken City (Playwrights Horizons); The Hallway Trilogy: Nursing, The Last Sunday in June (Rattlestick); Dog Sees God (Century Center); Roulette (EST); US Drag(stageFARM); and several productions with The Play Company. London: The Colby Sisters of Pittsburgh, PA (Tricycle). Select regional: Geffen, Alliance, Old Globe, South Coast Rep, La Jolla Playhouse, Bay Street, Williamstown Theater Festival.

Photo Credit for Isabelle Huppert headshot- Peter Lindbergh


EPISODE 137- Sophie von Haselberg & Ariana Venturi


Having A Night is a podcast dedicated to reviving the lost art of the dinner party. Sophie von Haselberg and Ariana Venturi are obsessed with both the micro and the macro of the all-important question: how to throw the absolute, supreme, no holds barred, remember-it-forever-unless-you-were-too-drunk dinner party.

Ilana sat down with Sophie and Ari for this crossover podcast event.

Having A Night will also air this conversation on their podcast platform.


Sophie is a bonafide produce fiend. When she’s not dreaming about fennel or a great head of lettuce, she acts in stuff. Some stuff includes the ultra-creepy American Crime Story: Versace, Equity, House of Cards, and Woody Allen’s Irrational Man. She is extremely psyched about the upcoming American Princess, in which she runs the pork-pocket booth at a Renaissance Faire. (what typecasting!) She also produces her own work, including the short YOYO (Tribeca Film Fest). She spent seven years in the great pizza city of New Haven, as an undergraduate of Yale College and then a world-weary grad student at Yale Drama School.

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Ari has originated roles across the country, including Higgy in Rolin Jones and Billie Joe Armstrong’s These Paper Bullets! at the Atlantic Theater Company in NYC and the Geffen Playhouse in LA.  She returned to her hometown of Chicago for the world premiere of Tracy Letts’ Mary Page Marlowe at Steppenwolf Theatre Company. While offstage there, she ate hotdogs. Along with Sophie, she is a member of a certain band of hooligans parading as the multi-media production company New Neighborhood.  She recurs as Alya Feinberg in season two of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.

Little Known Fact- after this conversation Ilana has hosted many dinner parties and enjoyed them!

Hello, World!

EPISODE 134- DARYL ROTH

Daryl Roth is honored to hold the singular distinction of producing seven Pulitzer Prize-winning plays: Anna in the Tropics; August: Osage County (2008 Tony Award); Clybourne Park (2012 Tony Award); How I Learned to Drive; Proof (2001 Tony Award); Edward Albee’s Three Tall Women; and Wit.


The proud recipient of 12 Tony Awards and London’s Olivier Award, her over 120 productions both on and Off-Broadway include Kinky Boots, now in its 6th year on Broadway and around the globe (London, Toronto, Australia, Korea, Japan, Germany; 2013 Tony Award, 2016 Olivier Award).  Other highlights in her producing career include: Angels in America; Bea Arthur on Broadway; Buyer and Cellar; Caroline, or Change; A Catered Affair; Closer Than Ever; The Crucible; Curtains; The Divine Sister; Driving Miss Daisy; Fela!; Gloria: A Life; The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia? (2002 Tony Award); Harlem Song; The Humans (2016 Tony Award); Paula Vogel’s Indecent; Nora Ephron and Delia Ephron’s Love, Loss, and What I Wore; The Normal Heart (2011 Tony Award); Old Wicked Songs; One Man, Two Guvnors; Our Lady of 121st Street; The Play About the Baby; A Raisin in the Sun (2014 Tony Award); Shuffle Along; Sunset Boulevard; The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife; The Temperamentals; Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992; A View from the Bridge (2016 Tony); War Horse (2011 Tony Award); Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?; Wiesenthal; The Year of Magical Thinking; and De La Guarda and Fuerza Bruta, which ran for 14 years at the Daryl Roth Theatre on Union Square.   


Ms. Roth was recently named to Crain’s 2017 “50 Most Powerful Women in New York.”  She is a Trustee of the Kennedy Center, the New York City Police Foundation, and the Mayor’s Theater Sub-district Council, and an Honorary Trustee for Lincoln Center Theatre, having served on the Board for 21 years. Honors include: the Lucille Lortel Lifetime Achievement Award; the Town Hall Friend of the Arts Award;  The New Dramatists Outstanding Career Achievement Award; The Elly Award from the NY Women’s Forum; The Order of the Golden Sphinx award from The Harvard Hasty Pudding Institute;  New York Living Landmarks award; Humanitarian Award from the Women's Division and Albert Einstein College of Medicine; Broadway Association Visionary Leader Award; Family Equality Council Family Award; and the Live Out Loud Humanitarian Award.  She is proud to have been inducted into the 2017 Theatre Hall of Fame.


The Daryl Roth Creative Spirit Award annually honors a gifted theatre artist or organization, providing them with financial support as they develop new works in an artistic residency.  The inaugural Creative Spirit Award was given to Michael Mayer in 1996.  Over the years the award has been given to Mark Brokaw, Sinan Unel, Steven Williford, Cybille Pearson, G. W. Mercier, Edwin Sanchez, Debra Monk, Kia Corthron, Michael Wilson, Karen Hartman, Anika Noni Rose, David Pittu, Musical Theatre Works, New Dramatists, LAByrinth Theatre, and Playing on Air. The last two years the Creative Spirit has been granted through the Lilly Awards for an Apprenticeship for Women in Design. 

EPISODE 132- AMY RYAN

Amy was last seen onstage in  Mike Bartlett’s play LOVE LOVE LOVE at the Roundabout theatre directed by Michael Mayer, for which she earned an Obie award. She made her Broadway debut in Wendy Wasserstein’s THE SISTERS ROSENSWEIG.  Amy was nominated for two TONY awards as  best featured actress for her performances in UNCLE VANYA and A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE. Other theatre credits include DETROIT by Lisa D’Amour’s Detroit,  at Playwrights Horizons, Amy is perhaps best known for her acclaimed performance in Ben Affleck’s GONE BABY GONE, for which she was earned an Academy Award nomination.

She can be seen in the upcoming films, STRANGE BUT TRUE and LOST GIRLS.

 Other film credits include: BEAUTIFUL BOY, BIRDMAN, CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE, BRIDGE OF SPIES, GOOSEBUMPS, ABUNDANT ACREAGE AVAILABLE, LOUDER THAN BOMBS, DON VERDEAN, BREATHE IN,  CLEAR HISTORY, DEVIL’S KNOT ,WIN WIN, GREEN ZONE, JACK GOES BOATING, CHANGELING; BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOU’RE DEAD, CAPOTE, DAN IN REAL LIFE, WAR OF THE WORLDS, and KEANE.

 Amy’s television work includes “The Office” “In Treatment” and “The Wire.” 


EPISODE 131- JASON MOORE

Jason Moore most recently directed the Broadway musical The Cher Show, which showcases Cher's life story brought to the stage featuring her beloved chart-topping hits. Starring Stephanie J. Block, Teal Wicks, Micaela Diamond and Jarrod Spector, with costumes by designer Bob Mackie, The Cher Show will began previews in November 2018 at the Neil Simon Theatre prior to the opening night on December 3, 2018.

In addition, he directed Superhero at the Second Stage theatre starring Kate Baldwin, Kyle Mcarthur and Bryce Pinkham.

Moore’s feature directorial debut, Pitch Perfect, starring Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson and Brittany Snow, was both a critical and commercial success. Written by Kay Cannon, the film premiered in 2012 and follows Beca, a freshman at Barden University, who is cajoled into joining The Bellas, her school's all-girls singing group. Injecting some much needed energy into their repertoire, The Bellas take on their male rivals in a campus competition.

Recently, Moore directed Sisters, starring Amy Poehler, Tina Fey and Maya Rudolph, written by Paula Pell. The film was released on December 18, 2015 by Universal Pictures. He will next direct and produce Hair Wars for Fox 2000, a musical project based on a real competition where hair salons face off, and Lionsgate’s Goodbye for Now, an adaptation of the Laurie Frankel novel.  

Moore is also the creative force behind some of Broadway’s biggest hits. Most recently, he directed Fully Committed, the restaurant-world comedy by Becky Mode starring Jesse Tyler Ferguson, who takes on over 40 characters in this one-man comedy set at Manhattan's number-one restaurant. 

Additionally, his previous theater projects include Shrek the Musical, for which he earned Outer Critics Circle and Drama Desk award nominations; Steel Magnolias; and Avenue Q, for which he received a Tony Award nomination. Furthermore, he directed Jerry Springer: The Opera at Carnegie Hall and the off-Broadway hits Speech and Debate, Avenue Q, Guardians and The Crumple Zone, as well as, Tales of the City, with music by the Scissor Sisters, which premiered at the American Conservatory Theater.

Moore’s previous television directorial credits include episodes of “Dawson's Creek,” “Everwood,” “One Tree Hill,” “Brothers and Sisters,” and “Trophy Wife.”

Moore divides his time between New York and Los Angeles and received a B.A. in Performance Studies from Northwestern University.


EPISODE 125- JEREMY JORDAN


Jeremy Jordan is a Tony and Grammy-nominated actor and singer. He starred for the past three years on the CBS and CW hit, Supergirl. He can be heard as the voice of ‘Varian' in Disney Channel’s animated series, Tangled, based on the 2010 hit movie. Earlier, he was a series regular on NBC’s musical drama, Smash, and he starred opposite Anna Kendrick in the film adaptation of Jason Robert Brown’s beloved musical, The Last 5 Years. He was honored with the Rising Star award at the Napa Film Festival for his work on that film. Jeremy also starred opposite Queen Latifah and Dolly Parton in Todd Graff's Warner Bros. picture, Joyful Noise. On Broadway, he originated the role of 'Jack Kelly' in Disney's hit musical, Newsies, earning Tony, Grammy and Drama Desk nominations. He reprised the role in 2016 in Disney’s nationwide release of Newsies, taped live onstage at LA’s Pantages Theatre. Jeremy originated the role of 'Clyde Barrow' in Broadway's Bonnie & Clyde, for which he won the Theatre World Award. He got his Broadway start in Rock of Ages, and he then starred as 'Tony' in the most recent Broadway revival of West Side Story. 

EPISODE 122- TED DANSON & MARY STEENBURGEN

MARY STEENBURGEN  Academy Award winner Mary Steenburgen has appeared in over 60 films. She is known for her work in the films Melvin And Howard, What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, Step Brothers, and television shows “Justified,” “Orange is the New Black” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm”. Mary most recently starred alongside Diane Keaton, Jane Fonda and Candice Bergen in Paramount Pictures’ Book Club. For 4 years, Mary starred alongside Will Forte in FOX’s critically-acclaimed comedy series, “The Last Man on Earth”. Additional television credits include “30 Rock”, “Bored to Death”, and “Blunt Talk”. Additional film credits include Goin’ South, Time After Time, Ragtime, Philadelphia, Back To The Future 3, Cross Creek, Midsummer Night’s Sex Comedy, Miss Firecracker, The Proposal, Elf, Dirty Girl, Four Christmases, The Help, and Last Vegas. Partial theater credits include Holiday, Candida, Marvin’s Room, The Beginning of August, The Exonerated. Mary is also a songwriter and wrote the end credit song for the upcoming feature film Wild Rose.

TED DANSON is a Golden Globe and Emmy Award-winning actor known for an array of exceptional performances, most memorably for his portrayal of Boston bartender Sam Malone on NBC’s multi-award-winning and iconic comedy “Cheers,” which ran for 11 seasons and won three Emmys as Best Comedy Series. Danson currently plays Michael on the hit comedy “The Good Place” opposite Kristen Bell. The show premiered as a critic favorite and ratings hit for NBC. In addition to acting and producing, Danson is an environmental activist, co-founding the American Oceans Campaign (AOC) in 1987 to alert Americans to the life-threatening hazards created by oil spills, off-shore development, toxic wastes, sewage pollution and other ocean abuses. The AOC merged with Oceana in 2001. Oceana works to show citizens how they can participate in protecting and restoring marine resources, and to show Congress that Americans are concerned with these issues.