Armistead Maupin, 2007: Tales of the City, “Michael Tolliver Lives”

Armistead Maupin, author of the Tales of the City novels and other works, in conversation with Richard Wolinsky, recorded June 14, 2007 at KPFA following the publication of “Michael Tolliver Lives,” which features one of the key characters from the series.

In the interview, he discusses the origins of the series and how he came to write it, as well as the three miniseries based on the books, two on PBS and one on Showtime, all featuring Laura Linney and Olympia Dukakis as Mary Ann and Mrs. Madrigal, respectively. He also talks about The Night Listener, which became a film with Robin Williams along with the novel Maybe the Moon.

Two more Tales of the City novels were published after Michael Tolliver Lives. Mary Ann in Autumn in 2016 and The Days of Anna Madrigal in 2017, and a musical version of Tales was produced at San Francisco’s American Conservatory Theatre in summer 2011 for a successful two-month run.

A new Netflix miniseries, Tales of the City, featuring actors who had appeared in earlier television adaptations, premiered in early June, 2019, and uses various elements and characters from these later works.

A documentary on Armistead’s life, The Untold Tales of Armistead Maupin, can also be found on Netflix. His memoir, Logical Family, was published in 2017.

An interview with Armistead concerning Mary Ann in Autumn can be found on the bookwaves.com website.

 

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