The first of the two-part conversation, originally aired in February 2002, will feature Laurents discussing his life on Broadway and in Hollywood, where he worked with such artists as Jerome Robbins, Richard Rodgers, Harvey Fierstein, Alfred Hitchcock, Jule Styne, Stephen Sondheim and Robert Redford. Laurents is currently represented on Broadway with the revival of Gypsy starring Bernadette Peters. Laurents, the award-winning book writer of Gypsy, West Side Story, Anyone Can Whistle and Hallelujah, Baby!, has also been an active collaborator at New Jersey's George Street Playhouse for years, since the production of his drama Jolson Sings Again. More recently, he directed Chita Rivera in his play Venecia, and his latest work, Claudio Lazlo, was presented at the Playhouse last season. A production of Do I Hear a Waltz?, Laurents' collaboration with Stephen Sondheim, was also produced at the George Street in 1998. In addition to his book-writing credits, Laurents has directed such musicals as Nick & Nora, I Can Get It For You Wholesale and La Cage aux Folles, earning a Tony Award for his direction of the latter. His screenwriting credits boast "The Turning Point," "Rope" and "The Way We Were."

"Theater Talk," the New York City PBS talk show that offers interviews with top theatre celebrities and writers, is hosted by New York Post theatre columnist Michael Riedel and producer Susan Haskins. "Theatre Talk" airs late Friday nights at midnight on WNET/Thirteen. For more information, visit www.theatertalk.org.