The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Baranski interview, fundraiser is June 4
KENT — Actress Christine Baranski will join Diane Meier in an afternoon conversation about Baranski’s life, times and remarkable career on Sunday, June 3 at 4 p.m. at Meier’s home in Kent.
Meier, wife of Frank Delaney, explained, “Frank began this series for the Northwest Connecticut Arts Council few years ago, and everyone agreed, his conversation with Sam Waterston that year was warm and wonderful, and helped to raise both awareness and funds for the Arts Council. Christine is a great sport, a great neighbor — dedicated to the health and beauty of this county, and a truly great actress. She has had the most remarkable career on the stage, and now it continues on every possible size of screen.”
Baranski is known for her roles on TV series like “Cybill” and “The Big Bang Theory” along with films including “Mamma Mia!” and “Into the Woods.” A graduate of Juilliard, she earned success on Broadway early on.
She won her first Tony Award in the Broadway play “The Real Thing,” in which she played a woman having an affair with a character played by Jeremy Irons (who also won a Tony Award). Five years later, she appeared in the film “Reversal of Fortune” (1990), in which she again played a woman having an affair with a character played by Jeremy Irons, who this time won an Oscar for his performance.
In her acceptance speech for her second Tony Award for the Broadway play “Rumors,” she announced that her win made her the 100th person to ever receive an award for working on or appearing in a Neil Simon production in film, television or theater.
Baranski is a 15-time Emmy Award nominee, winning in 1995 for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her role as Maryanne Thorpe in the sitcom ”Cybill” (1995—98). Baranski has received further critical acclaim for her performance as Diane Lockhart in the legal drama series ”The Good Wife” (2009—2016) and its subsequent spinoff series ”The Good Fight” (2017—present). She is also known for her recurring role as Dr. Beverly Hofstadter in the sitcom ”The Big Bang Theory” (2009—present).
Baranski’s other Broadway credits include her debut in “Hide and Seek” (1980), ”Hurlyburly” (1984), ”The House of Blue Leaves” (1986) and ”Boeing Boeing” (2008). Her film roles include ”9½ Weeks” (1986), ”Legal Eagles” (1986), ”Reversal of Fortune” (1990), ”Addams Family Values” (1993), ”Jeffrey” (1995), ”The Birdcage” (1996), ”Bulworth” (1998), ”Cruel Intentions” (1999), ”Bowfinger” (1999), ”Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas” (2000), ”Chicago” (2002), ”Mamma Mia! ” (2008), ”Into the Woods” (2014), ”Trolls” (2016), and ”A Bad Moms Christmas” (2017).
“Frank Delaney, beloved best-selling author and broadcaster, left a lasting positive mark on our industry and on our region through his wit, insight and support,” said Amy Wynn, executive Director of the Northwest Connecticut Arts Council. “I appreciated his intellectual prodding during conversations, which I always found helpful. After such a great experience with Frank and Sam Waterston in 2016, we are so grateful that Diane is willing to continue this tradition in the spirit of Frank with this annual Legacy Series of intimate conversations with artists of note.”
The funds raised from this event will help keep programs and services of the Northwest Connecticut Arts Council in place and accessible to the cultural community and the culture-loving public. Such programs and services include the monthly printed events calendar, the CultureMAX Awards, the Open Your Eyes Studio Tours, the one-to-one consultations the Council provides to artists and cultural businesses, the weekly CultureBEAT eblasts, the interactive website, networking and round table sessions and more.
Tickets for this intimate gathering, with a reception, are $125 and benefit the Northwest Connecticut Arts Council. There is limited seating. For information and tickets call 860-618-0075 or email info@artsnwct.org or go directly to https://delaney6-3.eventbrite.com