NPR’s acclaimed radio show “Selected Shorts” will be performed live at the Avram Theater at Stony Brook Southampton on Friday, July 11 at 7:30 p.m., featuring an evening of short fiction brought vividly to life by an all-star cast of celebrated actors.
The performance, titled “Selected Shorts: Live at the Avram,” will be hosted by New York Times bestselling author and Stony Brook professor Meg Wolitzer. She will be joined on stage by Richard Kind, Becky Ann Baker, Dylan Baker, and Sonia Manzano — each with distinguished careers in theater, film and television.
Richard Kind, known for his comedic timing and emotional depth, recently appeared in the rotating cast of Broadway’s “All In: Comedy About Love.” His stage credits include “Kiss Me, Kate,” “The Producers,” “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels,” “The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife,” and “The Big Knife,” for which he earned a Drama Desk Award. On television, he’s a familiar face from “Spin City,” “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” “Mad About You,” “Only Murders in the Building,” “Gotham” and others.
Becky Ann Baker received an Emmy nomination for her role on HBO’s “Girls” and has delivered memorable performances in “Freaks and Geeks,” “The Good Wife,” “Big Little Lies,” “Ted Lasso,” “Elsbeth,” and “Brockmire.” On Broadway, her credits include “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas,” “A Streetcar Named Desire,” “Titanic,” “Assassins,” “All My Sons” and “Good People.”
Dylan Baker is a versatile actor whose screen work includes “Dream Scenario,” “The Resort,” “Homeland,” “The Americans,” “Selma,” “Happiness,” “Kings,” and “Inside Man.” He’s also known for appearances in “The Good Fight,” “The Hot Zone: Anthrax,” and “Spider-Man 2” and “Spider-Man 3.”
Sonia Manzano, a pioneering performer and writer, is best known as “Maria” from “Sesame Street,” a role she played for 44 seasons. She earned 15 Emmy Awards as a writer on the show and received the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences’ Lifetime Achievement Emmy in 2016. Most recently, she created the PBS Kids series “Alma’s Way,” which highlights Latino family life and culture.
Meg Wolitzer, the evening’s host, is the author of “The Female Persuasion,” “The Interestings,” and “The Wife,” among other novels. She teaches in the Creative Writing and Literature Program at The Lichtenstein Center at Stony Brook University, where she co-directs the BookEnds novel-writing fellowship.
The actors will read short stories by renowned authors including Patricia Marx and Kurt Vonnegut, offering a blend of humor, pathos and insight into the human condition.
Produced by Symphony Space, “Selected Shorts” is a long-running public radio program and podcast featuring classic and contemporary short fiction performed by professional actors.
Avram Theater is on the Stony Brook Southampton campus, 39 Tuckahoe Road, Southampton. Tickets are available at stonybrook.edu/mfa.
Staff Writer on Jul 1, 2025