Sarah Jessica Parker has a new role: radio host.

On April 15 and 16, Ms. Parker will be at the helm of WNYC’s “The Leonard Lopate Show” while its namesake host is on vacation. “It’s thrilling and terrifying to sit in Leonard’s chair for a little while,” she said in an email.

Her guests are heavyweights on the city’s art and cultural scene.

Glenn Lowry, director of the Museum of Modern Art, is scheduled for the April 16 program, which will also feature New York City Ballet principal dancers Ashley Bouder and Sara Mearns. Parker, who is well-known as a balletomane, also reached out to Gelsey Kirkland, who was first a principal at City Ballet in 1972, then switched to American Ballet Theatre in 1974. After a long career, she opened her own ballet school in TriBeCa with her husband. Novelist Anthony Marra will join to talk about his book “A Constellation of Vital Phenomena.”

Broadway insiders are among Parker’s guests on April 15. Playwright Terrence McNally will discuss his new play “Mothers and Sons,” along with actors Tyne Daly and Bobby Steggert. “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical” will be represented by its star Jessie Mueller and Doug McGrath, who wrote the book of the musical. Visual artist Alex Katz and journalist Dexter Filkins of the New Yorker also headline the guest list.

As a longtime listener of WNYC, Parker said she jumped at the chance to be a first-time host: “Everyone in my life knows about my devotion to the station.”

“The Leonard Lopate Show” airs weekdays from noon to 2 p.m. on 93.9 FM and AM 820, as well as www.wnyc.org.

Source – The Wall Street Journal