Little Known Facts With Ilana Levine

Christopher Fitzgerald is an actor and singer known for his role as Boq in the musical Wicked, Igor in the musical Young Frankenstein, and Ogie Anhorn in the musical Waitress - he also starred on Broadway in Spamalot, Company, Act Of God and Amour. He earned Outer Critics Circle Award, Drama Desk Award, and Tony Award nominations for his performances in Waitress and Young Frankenstein and won the Drama Desk Award and Outer Critics Circle Award for his performance in Waitress. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Michael Cyril Creighton is currently seen as “Howard Morris" on Hulu’s "Only Murders in the Building” opposite Steve Martin, Martin Short & Selena Gomez. Other TV credits include the final season of "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel," "Dexter: New Blood,” “A League of Their Own,” "Dash & Lily," "High Maintenance," "Bob's Burgers,” "AJ & the Queen," "2 Broke Girls," "New Amsterdam," "Graves," "Blue Bloods," "Nurse Jackie," "Orange is the New Black," "30 Rock,” and more. Creighton played abuse survivor "Joe Crowley" in "Spotlight," the 2016 Academy Award Winner for Best Picture and won the Robert Altman Award at the Indie Spirit Awards as part of the film's ensemble. Other Film credits include Cord Jefferson's "American Fiction," Steven Spielberg's "The Post," "Game Night," "Paper Spiders," and "The Outside Story." On stage he has been seen in Sarah Ruhl’s Stage Kiss (Playwrights Horizons), Jordan Harrison’s The Amateurs (The Vineyard Theatre) and four World Premieres by The Debate Society (Cape Disappointment, You’re

Annie Parisse can be seen in the recently released feature GIVING BIRTH TO A BUTTERFLY as well as a leading role in the forthcoming feature THREE BIRTHDAYS along with ERIC LARUE, marking the directorial debut for Academy Award Nominee Michael Shannon.  Parisse was seen on FX’s MRS AMERICA for FX and was a Series Lead on Netflix’s FRIENDS FROM COLLEGE created by Nick Stoller and Francesca Delbanco. Additional credits include the Hulu series, THE LOOMING TOWER opposite Jeff Daniels, THE FIRST opposite Sean Penn, as well as HBO’s original film PATERNO opposite Al Pacino. Annie also starred on the hit HBO Series, VINYL produced by Martin Scorsese and Mick Jagger. Her work includes, series regular roles on THE FOLLOWING for FOX opposite Kevin Bacon, LAW & ORDER, RUBICON for AMC and her incredible arc in the HBO mini series, THE PACIFIC for Steven Spielberg. Other notable television work includes HOUSE OF CARDS, THE BIG C, PERSON OF INTEREST and UNFORGETTABLE.  Annie made her Broadway debut in the revival of Craig

Anthony Edwards is probably best known as Dr. Mark Greene on the series “ER.” Edwards has received four Emmy nominations for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series. Edwards has won three Screen Actor's Guild Awards (Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series in 1996 and Best Ensemble Cast in 1998 and 1999.) He won the Golden Globe Award in 1998. In the theater Edwards was seen on Broadway in Children of a Lesser God, Classic Stage Company’s Month in the Country, WPA Shem Bitterman’s Frozen, Williamstown Theater festival Harvey and Joyce Carol Oates’s Black. Edwards has starred in more than twenty features, including his memorable turn as "Goose" in the blockbuster feature Top Gun. Other feature film credits include; Consumed, Experimenter, Big Sur, Motherhood with Uma Thurman, Flipped directed by Rob Reiner, and Zodiac directed by David Fincher. Thunderbirds, Forgotten, Playing by Heart, The Client, Miracle Mile, Mr. North, Hawks, Pet Semetary II, Delta Heat, Landslide, The Sure Thing, Gotcha

GABBY BEANS is a Tony Award nominated actress. Some of her recent TV credits include Apple's "Presumed Innocent", HBO’s “Succession,” CBS’ “Blue Bloods”, CBS’s “The Good Fight,” Netflix’s “House of Cards,” and Showtime’s “Ray Donovan.” Theater credits include Jonah at Roundabout Theater, The Skin of Our Teeth at Lincoln Center (Tony Award Nomination for Best Lead Actress), I’m Revolting at the Atlantic Theater Company, Anatomy of a Suicide at the Atlantic Theater Company, and Mary Seacole at LCT3/Lincoln Center Theater. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

HANNAH CRUZ stars in The Connector at MCC. Other theater credits include Only Gold (Camille, MCC)., Suffs (Ruza, The Public). Tour: Hamilton (IRNE Best Actress, Eliza), Bullets over Broadway (Ellen). Regional: The Da Vinci Code (American Premiere, Ogunquit Playhouse, Sophie Neveu) and Young Frankenstein (OP, Inga). Insta @thisishannahcruz.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jelani Remy Broadway: Back To The Future, Ain’t Too Proud, The Lion King.  Other theater credits include: High School Musical, Smokey Joe’s Café, AppleBoys, Oscar Michaeux Suite, Love Around the Block, Cabaret, Mozart: Her Story. Paper Mill Playhouse Rising Star and Chita Rivera Award recipient. BCEFA NextGen Advocate.  @itsjelaniremy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Coral Peña stars as Aleida Rosales in the critically acclaimed AppleTV+ series "For all Mankind." Coral entered the show for the show’s sophomore season and each year the storyline for her character has gained more significance and Coral’s performance is receiving great praise. Coral starred in the play "Our Dear Dead Drug Lord" at Center Theatre Group in Los Angeles and can be seen in the indie Thelma opposite Fred Hechinger which will be premiering at Sundance in 2024. She can also be seen in the indie Story Ave opposite Asante Blackk and Luis Guzmán which premiered out of SXSW and had its theatrical release late in 2022. Previously, she appeared alongside Meryl Streep, in Steven Spielberg's The Post and in the Amazon film Chemical Hearts, opposite Lili Reinhart and Austin Abrams. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

JOE MANTELLO (Director). Broadway directing credits include: Grey House, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, Hillary and Clinton, Three Tall Women, The Boys in the Band, Blackbird, The Humans, Airline Highway, The Last Ship, Casa Valentina, I’ll Eat You Last, The Other Place, Other Desert Cities, Pal Joey, 9 to 5, Laugh Whore, November, The Ritz, Three Days of Rain, The Odd Couple, Glengarry Glen Ross, Wicked, Assassins (Tony Award), Take Me Out (Tony Award), Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune, Love! Valour! Compassion!  Off-Broadway: Here We Are, Dogfight, The Pride, A Man of No Importance, The Vagina Monologues, bash, Corpus Christi.  As an actor he has appeared in American Horror Story: NYC (FX), Hollywood, The Watcher (Netflix), The Normal Heart (HBO, Emmy Nom.) and upcoming FEUD Season 2: Capote vs. The Swans (FX) Broadway: The Glass Menagerie, The Normal Heart (Tony nom.), Angels in America (Tony nom.)  Recipient of Outer Critics Circle, Drama Desk, Lucille Lortel, Clarence Derwent, Obie, Joe A. Callaw

Sharon Brous is the founding and senior rabbi of IKAR, a trail-blazing Jewish community based in Los Angeles. A leading voice at the intersection of faith and justice in America, she has been named #1 Most Influential Rabbi in the U.S. by Newsweek/The Daily Beast. She blessed both President Obama and President Biden at their National Inaugural Prayer Services, and her TED Talk “Reclaiming Religion” has been viewed 1.5 million times. Brous’s work has been featured in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times and Washington Post. She lives with her husband, David Light, and their children in California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Barbara Barrie has had a distinguished career in film, television and theatre. On Broadway, she has appeared in Company (Tony Award nomination), The Selling of the President, The Prisoner of Second Avenue, California Suite, Torch Song Trilogy, and, most recently, in the Broadway transfer of Significant Other, for which she received the Actors' Equity Association Award for the Best Performance in a Supporting Role by a Veteran Actor. Her notable off-Broadway credits include I Remember Mama (Outer Critics Circle Award nomination), The Vagina Monologues, Current Events, After-Play, The Crucible, The Beaux' Stratagem, Love Letters, Isn't It Romantic? and The Killdeer (Obie Award and Drama Desk Award). Her best known television series appearances include "Law & Order" (Emmy Award nomination), "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (Emmy Award nomination), "Breaking Away" (Emmy Award nomination), "Suddenly Susan," "Enlightened," "Nurse Jackie," "Once and Again," "Barney Miller," "Thirtysomething" and "Family Ties." He

Zach Schonfeld is a freelance writer, journalist, and critic based in New York. He writes about culture for Pitchfork, Vulture, Spin Magazine, and many other publications. He was formerly a senior writer for Newsweek, where he was on staff for five years. His first book, Ghetto: Misfortune’s Wealth, was published in 2020 as part of the 33 1/3 series. How Coppola Became Cage is his second book. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

David Schwab, is a screenwriter based in New York City. Since 2014, Mr. Schwab has been an adjunct professor of screen writing at the Graduate Film school at Columbia University. He has also taught at the French National Film School, La Femis, and also at Sundance Colabs. Mr. Schwab received his MFA in Film from the Columbia University School of the Art where his thesis script, MR. VERNER'S PYGMY, was purchased by Scott Rudin. Since then Mr. Schwab has written for, among others, Warner Brothers, Animal Logic, Hollywood Pictures, Propaganda, HD Net Films, and Paramount Pictures. Mr. Schwab was the 2014 Sundance/Sloan Commissioning Grantee for his script, FRANCIS TURNBULL – which was also selected for the 2013 Hampton Film Festival writer’s lab. FRANCIS TURNBULL is being produced by Oren Moverman (THE MESSENGER, LOVE AND MERCY, TIME OUT OF MIND) and Wren Arthur (PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION). Jennifer Fox (THE TALE, BEIRUT: THE LAST HOME MOVIE) will direct. Mr. Schwab recently completed KACZYNSKI, a TV pilot about th

JULIE BENKO is an actor, singer, and writer based in New York City. She recently marched her band out on Broadway as Fanny Brice in Funny Girl, joining the annals of theatrical lore for her sensational understudy-to-star trajectory in the show. Between her tenure as the standby, alternate, and full-time Fanny, she played the role over 180 times and received numerous accolades for her interpretation, including Theatre World’s Dorothy Loudon Award for Excellence in the Theatre She was also called the 2022 “Breakout Star for Theater” in The New York Times, named among “10 Broadway Stars to Watch for 2023” by Variety, honored as one of “40 Under 40” for Crain’s New York Business, hailed by CBS Mornings as “Broadway’s breakout star,” and profiled in numerous national media outlets such as The New York Times and Time. This fall, she is originating her first role on Broadway, playing Ruth in the long-gestating Barry Manilow/Bruce Sussman musical Harmony. Her recent album Hand in Hand (Club44 Records), a duo effort w

Mike's second feature film, PASSING THROUGH, which he wrote and directed premiered in Torino Italy, later screening in festivals in Europe and more recently, here in NY at Soho International Film Festival, where it picked up nominations for Best Film, Best Actor, and the Audience Award. Mike's feature film debut, SELL BY, which he also wrote and directed, premiered in Toronto in 2019 at Inside Out, then traveled the festival circuit garnering awards including best feature, best screenplay and best director. It was acquired by Netflix under the title ALMOST LOVE, and stars Kate Walsh, Scott Evans, Augustus Prew, Michelle Buteau, and Patricia Clarkson. Mike's first film, SHINER, a short starring Amy Ryan, premiered at Tribeca and launched his directing career. Mike most recently directed THE CHASE, a short film written by Nick Jandl. With Nick, Mike is executive producing and writing the series TODO POR AMOR with Stampede Entertainment and CBS Viacom. Mike became WGA when he was hired by Judd Apatow and Univers

DENIS O'HARE has been nominated 3 times for Emmy Awards for his work in THIS IS US and AMERICAN HORROR STORY. Other television appearances include THE NEVERS, TRYING, TRUE BLOOD, AMERICAN GODS, THE GOOD WIFE, and BIG LITTLE LIES. He won the Tony Award for Richard Greenberg's TAKE ME OUT (Obie Award, Drama Desk Award) and an OBIE for his performance in AN ILIAD of which he is also the co-writer. Other stage credits include ASSASSINS (Tony nomination), SWEET CHARITY (Drama Desk Award), CABARET, INHERIT THE WIND, MAJOR BARBARA, ELLING, RACING DEMON, HAUPTMANN, INTO THE WOODS, TEN UNKNOWNS, and TARTUFFE at London's National Theatre. Film credits include INFINITE STORM, SWALLOW, LATE NIGHT, THE GOLDFINCH, NOVITIATE, THE NORMAL HEART, DALLAS BUYERS CLUB, THE PROPOSAL, DUPLICITY, MILK , CHANGELING, CHARLIE WILSON'S WAR, MICHAEL CLAYTON, A MIGHTY HEART, HALF NELSON, GARDEN STATE, 21 GRAMS, THE ANNIVERSARY PARTY, PRIVATE LIFE, and THE PARTING GLASS of which he is the screenwriter. Learn more about your ad choices. Vis

Theresa Rebeck is a prolific and widely produced playwright, whose work has been staged across the globe. Her work on Broadway includes Bernhardt/Hamlet, Dead Accounts, Seminar, Mauritius and the upcoming play I Need That (starring Danny DeVito, premiering Fall 2023). Other notable plays include the New York Times Critics Pick Dig (which she also directs), currently playing at Primary Stages/59E59 Theaters; Mad House, which played a critically acclaimed world premiere on London’s West End starring David Harbour and Bill Pullman; Seared (MCC), Downstairs (Primary Stages), The Scene, The Water’s Edge, Loose Knit, The Family of Mann and Spike Heels (Second Stage), Bad Dates, The Butterfly Collection and Our House (Playwrights Horizons), The Understudy (Roundabout), View of the Dome (NYTW), What We’re Up Against (Women’s Project), Omnium Gatherum (Pulitzer Prize finalist). As a director, her work has been seen at The Alley Theatre (Houston), the REP Company (Delaware), Dorset Theatre Festival, the Orchard Project

QUI NGUYEN is a playwright, screenwriter, and co-founder of the pioneering geek theatre company, Vampire Cowboys. His plays include Vietgone, Poor Yella Rednecks, Bike Wreck, and the critically acclaimed Vampire Cowboys shows Revenge Song, She Kills Monsters, Soul Samurai, The Inexplicable Redemption of Agent G, Alice in Slasherland, Fight Girl Battle World, Men of Steel, and Living Dead in Denmark. For TV/film, he’s written for Marvel Studios, Netflix, AMC, SYFY, and PBS. He most recently wrote Disney’s Raya and The Last Dragon (nominated for a 2022 Academy Award for Best Animated Feature) and is currently co-directing and writing Disney’s. Strange World. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mark Armstrong (he/him) is a Brooklyn-based theater director and the Artistic Director of The 24 Hour Plays. His production of Eric Bogosian’s Drinking in Americafeaturing Andre Royo (NYT Critic’s Pick) enjoyed an extended run at Audible’s Minetta Lane Theatre and a live audio capture was released as an Audible audio play. Highlights with The 24 Hour Plays include annual productions of The 24 Hour Plays on Broadway, The 24 Hour Musicals, The 24 Hour Plays: Nationals, The 24 Hour Plays: Viral Monologues (which engaged millions of viewers worldwide beginning March 2020) + partner productions across the US. As a director, his collaborators include Emily Mann (Execution of Justice, Playhouse Creatures + NYU Tisch mainstage), Christopher Shinn (Falling Away, Ensemble Studio Theatre; The Coming World; Williamstown), Dan O’Brien (From Kandahar to Canada, EST; The Angel in the Trees, Production Company) and many others. As Director of New Work for Keen Company, he created the Keen Playwrights Lab for mid-career playw

Katie was born and raised in Houston, TX. Best known for her role as Glinda the Good in the Broadway production of Wicked, she was also Glinda in the first national touring company of Wicked. Her Broadway debut was as Clara Johnson in The Lincoln Center Theatre’s production of The Light in the Piazza directed by Bartlett Sher. Also, as Clara, she appeared in the first national touring production of The Light in the Piazza. Her Broadway credits also include Hannah Campbell in Allegiance and Ellen in Miss Saigon. She will be seen this fall as Beth in Merrily We Roll Along on Broadway following a run earlier this year at NYTW. On camera, she can be seen in roles on CBS’ The Good Wife and NCIS: New Orleans, as well as the independent film Maybe There’s A Tree. She also performed as Clara in the PBS national broadcast of Live from Lincoln Center: The Light in The Piazza.  In regional theatre she is recognized for her role as Cathy Hiatt in The Last Five Years at the Long Wharf Theatre. For this role she was awarde