iTunes Behind the Scenes with Claybourne Park

HOWSTUFFWORKS GOES BEHIND THE SCENES OF BROADWAY

FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER WITH A VISIT TO CLYBOURNE PARK

TWITTER CONTEST WILL OFFER FANS THE OPPORTUNITY TO WIN TICKETS TO A SPECIAL HOWSTUFFWORKS NIGHT AT THE

PULITZER PRIZE-WINNING AND TONY AWARD-NOMINATED BEST PLAY

New York, NY (May 24, 2012) – Discovery Communications’ HowStuffWorks, the expert in answering questions for curious minds about our world, goes behind the scenes of Broadway for the first time ever with an all-new Stuff You Missed in History Class podcast entitled “A Visit to Clybourne Park,” now available on HowStuffWorks.com and for download oniTunes.  Hosted by Sarah Dowdey and Deblina Chakraborty, HowStuffWorks’ Stuff You Missed in History Class brings historical topics - from Amelia Earhart to Napoleon - to life with careful research and lively discussion. 

The Stuff You Missed in History Class podcast will complemented by an exclusive video drawing back the curtain on the extraordinary process that the Clybourne Park set undergoes as it ages 50 years in 15 minutes.  In addition,HowStuffWorks.com will feature a series of themed blog posts inspired by the play:

A Visit to Clybourne Park: This Old House

Clybourne Park’s Tony Award nominated director, Pam MacKinnon, will talk about America’s housing history and racial issues and provide insight into how Tony Award-nominated scenic designer Dan Ostling’s set transitions from 1959 in Act I to 2009 in Act II during the show’s brief 15 minute intermission.

A Visit to Clybourne Park: The Hansberry Connection

Readers will learn about A Raisin in the Sun author Lorraine Hansberry and how the events of her personal life parallel those facing the characters in Clybourne Park.

A Visit to Clybourne Park: Pure Drama

The final Stuff You Missed in History Class blog post will further delve into A Raisin in the Sun and its connection toClybourne Park, offering a brief history of Broadway with contributions from Pam MacKinnon.

Clybourne Park will also host a Twitter contest inviting fans to a special HowStuffWorks performance at the Walter Kerr Theatre (219 West 48th Street) on Thursday, May, 31 at 7 pm.  Fans will be asked to answer Clybourne Park trivia questions based on HowStuffWorks’ online content for the chance to attend the special performance, during which interesting facts and tidbits about all facets of the theatre will be revealed through fun and informative pop-up signage. 

Nominated for 4 Tony Awards including “Best Play” (Bruce Norris), “Best Direction of a Play” (Pam MacKinnon), “Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play” (Jeremy Shamos), “Best Scenic Design of a Play” (Daniel Ostling), and winner of the 2011 Pulitzer Prize and Olivier Award, Clybourne Park is the wickedly funny and fiercely provocative new play about race, real estate and the volatile values of each.  Clybourne Park explodes in two outrageous acts set 50 years apart.  Act One takes place in 1959, as nervous community leaders anxiously try to stop the sale of a home to a black family. Act Two is set in the same house in the present day, as the now predominantly African-American neighborhood battles to hold its ground in the face of gentrification.