Director Michael Mayer and lyricist-librettist Steven Sater will be on hand to discuss their new musical Spring Awakening, which recently opened on Broadway to rave reviews after a much-extended Off-Broadway engagement at the Atlantic Theater Company. The musical is based on Frank Wedekind's 1891 expressionist play, which was scandalous in its day for addressing sex, violence and suicide. Two actors play all the adult roles as an ensemble of young people strut, rant, wonder and wish as their characters search to understand the coming of age that they cannot avoid. The half-hour program will also feature interviews with Aaron Lemon-Strauss and Alex Timbers, whose Les Freres Corbusier theatre company is currently presenting A Very Merry Unauthorized Children's Scientology Pageant. The musical, which opened Dec. 10 at New York Theatre Workshop, will run through Jan. 7, 2007. The Obie-winning A Very Merry Unauthorized Children's Scientology Pageant — featuring a book, music and lyrics by Kyle Jarrow — is a self-proclaimed "bizarre new holiday classic — part avant-garde performance art, part children's theatre — based on the actual principles of Scientology and the seriously unbelievable life story of founder L. Ron Hubbard."

Hosted by New York Post theatre columnist Michael Riedel and producer Susan Haskins, "Theater Talk" airs on WNET/Thirteen at 12:30 AM ET. "Theater Talk" can also be seen on CUNY-TV (Channel 75).

For more information, visit www.theatertalk.org.