CBS Sunday Morning has had a nice report on the Yale Rep’s 50th anniversary, including an interview with Meryl Streep. “The Rep” — what insiders call the Yale Repertory Theatre, now marking its 50th season. It’s a unique entity on the American theater scene, a place where graduate students at the Yale Drama School work side-by side with experts in every aspect of theater. Some of the students who have trod these boards include Liev Schreiber, Angela Bassett, Paul Giamatti, Frances McDormand, Lupita Nyong’o and Henry Winkler. But the classes of 1974 and ’75 are probably the most famous: Actress Sigourney Weaver; Tony Award-winning playwright Christopher Durang and costume designer William Ivy Long; and Meryl Streep, who put on a false nose for a play called “The Idiot’s Karamozov.” “Oh, my God, it’s unnervingly close – yeah, that was fun!” said Streep. “You didn’t try to look beautiful!” laughed Braver. “No, that wasn’t the aim! And I succeeded.” “But it’s one of things that I think has made your movies so wonderful, because although you look beautiful in a lot of them, you don’t seem to care whether you do or not.” “Well, there are so many different kinds of people to play, and not all of them have long, blonde hair. So I realized that if I wanted to have an interesting career, you’ve just got to upend people’s expectations.” The complete article can be read here, the video can be found in the video archive, and screencaptures have been added to the photo gallery.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, HBO has gotten Donald Trump and Meryl Streep together for its new Independence Day special. The pay cable network has set The Words That Built America – which features readings from The Declaration of Independence, The Constitution and The Bill of Rights – from director Alexandra Pelosi and narrator David McCullough. Naturally, the 45-minute documentary will debut July 4. Pelosi, the filmmaker daughter of Nancy Pelosi, has gathered a roster of A-list celebrities and living U.S. presidents, vice presidents, U.S. senators, Supreme Court justices, governors and titans of media to participate in a unabridged reading of the authentic words of the nation’s founding fathers. The participants include a range of Americans from across the political spectrum. In addition to the current president and vice president, politicians to lend their voice include Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton and Chris Christie, along with media personalities Megyn Kelly, Sean Hannity and Anderson Cooper. Among the stars to be featured in the doc are such big names as Morgan Freeman, Robert De Niro, Robert Redford, Bryan Cranston, Caitlyn Jenner, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Kevin Bacon, Kerry Washington, Meryl Streep, Vince Vaughn, America Ferrera, Neil Patrick Harris, Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black and Samuel L. Jackson. The special, which will later be donated to the National Constitution Center for use in its ongoing educational programming, marks Pelosi’s 11th collaboration with HBO, following such docs as Meet the Donors: Does Money Talk?, Diary of a Political Tourist, Citizen U.S.A.: A 50 State Road Trip and Journeys with George.

This update comes with a story, a personal one for Simply Streep. As you know this website runs in its 17th year, which is insane – it’s probably older than many of our visitors. Back in 1999, when I started this as a project, it was way harder to get hold of material. A fellow German, Anke, who has been a tremendous help over the years, sent me a VHS tape with some of Meryl’s talkshow appearances she did in the late 90s, among them her first visit on David Letterman’s late show, one of her first talkshow appearances. I had to learn the hard way that American NTSC tapes could not be played properly on European PAL recorders (in case any of you remembers a video cassette), so all faces turned out green like the Incredible Hulk and it was almost impossible to watch. I tried just about everything to get a video copy for Simply Streep, but nothing worked out. So I just settled and thought, with Youtube and other sources emerging, “one day it’ll be on Youtube”. That thought came and went for the past 17 years.

Well, mark you calendars. Today, with many thanks to Youtuber Daniel Poitras, the Letterman appearance has been posted in its entirity, and in good old fashioned VHS quality. The interview runs for a whopping 13 minutes, which is so much more than today’s talkshow snippets. Also, she gives the best excuse for declining to appear on Letterman’s show for 20 years. I’m so happ to finally add this to the archive, it makes Simply Streep feel a whole lot more complete. Enjoy the clip and make sure to view the screencaptures in the photo gallery.

As previously mentioned, CNN has followed First Lady Michelle Obama’s visit to Morrocco this June, alongside actresses Freida Pinto and Meryl Streep, for a documentary that will be aired this Wednesday. At the core, is the fact that 62 million girls worldwide aren’t in school. Talking to Michelle Obama and actresses Meryl Streep and Freida Pinto, African girls discussed their schooling. “I was really struck by their tenacity, their insistence on an education,” Sesay sad. Some walked eight miles to middle school. Some left home to work near school. “I support myself,” a girl named Rafina says in the film. She stays with an aunt and uncle and does household work for them when she gets home from school. “From 9 p.m. to 11, I can do my schoolwork.” Others showed similar drive. One said she went on a hunger strike, until her parents let her go to school; now she speaks five languages. If this were simply a governmental issue, it could be solved at the top. It’s not … as people were reminded when they met Liberia’s president, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. “It’s a great achievement on her part, to be a woman at the top of government,” Sesay said. More information on the documentary can be found on USA Today. “We Will Rise,” 9 p.m. ET Wednesday (Oct. 12), CNN, barring breaking news; rerunning at midnight. Also, noon ET Saturday on HLN (formerly Headline News).

Florence Foster Jenkins didn’t make many recordings, but they had to be heard to be believed: “We heard them at drama school, when I was a student,” said Meryl Streep. “Yeah, it was pretty specifically great!” Streep plays Lady Florence, as she liked to be called, in the new film, “Florence Foster Jenkins,” about the amateur soprano often called the world’s worst opera singer. “Most of her notes,” as one critic put it, “were promissory.” Mason said, “So many of the great singers of her time are not remembered, but she is.” “Well, that’s a tragedy, actually!” Streep laughed. By the late 1930s, Florence’s performances were notorious. Mystifyingly, the society pages indulged her with glowing notices. “Madame Jenkins’ annual recitals,” the New York Daily Mirror wrote, “bring unbounded joy to the faded souls of Park Avenue and the musical elite.” Composer Cole Porter was a fan. And astonishingly, at the peak of her notoriety in 1944, Florence took the stage at Carnegie Hall and performed to a sold-out house. The full segment can be watched in the video archive with screencaptures being added to the photo gallery.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Elaine May will direct an American Masters documentary in tribute of her former comedy partner Mike Nichols to launch the 30th anniversary of the series on PBS. The documentary will feature A-list commentary from celebrities including Meryl Streep, Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, Dustin Hoffman, Alec Baldwin, Paul Simon, Matthew Broderick, Nathan Lane and more. Julian Schlossberg conducted the celebrity interviews for the documentary which includes an exclusive interview with Nichols before he died on Nov. 19, 2014. “American Masters: Mike Nichols” will premiere Jan. 29, 2016 on PBS.

On October 9 at 10.35 pm., Meryl Streep and Carey Mulligan will join Nicole Kidman on Graham Norton’s couch to promote the theatrical release of “Suffragette”. For more information and tickets, visit the BBC’s official website. This will be Meryl’s second visit to the Graham Norton Show after appearing earlier this year to promote “Into the Woods”. “Suffragette” will also be opening the Savannah Film Festival, which kicks off Saturday, October 24. Many thanks to Glenn and Frank for the heads-up.

To conclude yesterday’s promotion for “Ricki and the Flash”, Meryl Streep has attended the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. You can watch it in the video archive and find screencaptures in the photo gallery. Additionally, more pictures from Sunday’s photocall as well as from the tapings of both Fallon and the Today Show have been added.

A batch of new production stills from “Ricki and the Flash” have been added to the photo gallery. Next week will be filled with “Ricki” promotion. Adding to her Monday appearances on The Today Show and Live! with Kelly & Michael, Meryl will also be attendingthe Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. The New York premiere for the film will be held on Monday, as well.

On August 03, 2015, Meryl Streep will be attending both the Today Show as well as Live! with Kelly & Michael to promote the theatrical release of “Ricki and the Flash”. Mamie Gummer and Rick Springfield will be attending both shows as well, on August 5 and 6, respectively. Be sure to find video clips of Meryl’s appearances afterwards. Many thanks to Joan for the heads-up.