Eric Bogosian’s Talk Radio—his breakthrough 1987 Public Theater hit that was made into a film by Oliver Stone—was revived in 2007 in a “mesmerizing” (Newsday) production on Broadway, with Liev Schreiber playing the role of the late-night shock jock that Bogosian himself originated.
The drama is set in the studio of Cleveland’s WTLK Radio over the course of Barry Champlain’s two-hour broadcast, being scrutinized that night by producers with an interest in taking the show national, and fueled as always by coffee, cocaine, and Jack Daniel’s. Barry’s jousts with his unseen callers—ranging from a white supremacist to a woman obsessed with her garbage disposal—are peppered with insights into his character from his ex-deejay pal and his sometime girlfriend/producer, and punctuated with a transformative visit from an embodied voice.
Set in 1987 it is a darkly satiric play about a radio announcer, host of a call in program which explores the modern obsession with disembodied advice and conversation.
Pulitzer Prize Finalist in Drama 1988
PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE:
MON 8 PM
TUES 8 PM
THURS 8 PM
FRI 8 PM
SAT 2 & 8 PM
