We opened our 2015 season in January with Columbia scholar
JAMES SHAPIRO, who explored Shakespeare in America. In February
we chatted with linguist JESSE SHEIDLOWER,
who discussed his book on The F-Word. In March we enjoyed an engaging
dialogue with acclaimed actor JOHN DOUGLAS
THOMPSON, who had received enthusiastic reviews for his performance
in Christopher Marlowe's Tamburlaine. On Monday, April 13, we hosted
a Manhattan gathering at THE LAMBS, a venerable Midtown theatrical society,
with legendary actress and director ESTELLE
PARSONS, who joined Montclair State's NAOMI
LIEBLER, author of Shakespeare's Festive Tragedy, for a dramatic
exploration of Shakespearean heroines. The following night, at the NATIONAL
ARTS CLUB on Gramercy Park, we enjoyed the first of two timely Booth-focused
events, this one with biographer TERRY
L. ALFORD, who shed new light on the most dramatic moment in American
history.
On Friday, May 8, at the UNVERSITY CLUB in Washington, we conversed
with DIANA OWEN, Chief Executive of
the SHAKESPEARE BIRTHPLACE TRUST, and PETER
KYLE, who chaired the organization, about some exciting new 400th-anniversary
initiatives in Stratford-upon-Avon. The following day, we joined these two
leaders in a festive Open House at the
BRITISH EMBASSY, and on Monday, May 11, we co-hosted another gathering
with them at the residence of the UK's Consul General for New York. On Tuesday,
May 12, we returned to The Lambs for a program with
DANIEL J. WATERMEIER, who introduced American Tragedian, his
long-awaited "Life of Edwin Booth." And on Tuesday, June 12, were in Washington
for two events that focused on actor EDWARD
GERO. He was riveting audiences in The Originalist, a brilliant
John Strand play that portrays Justice Antonin Scalia of the Supreme Court.
In September we enjoyed programs in Washington with JOHN
LAHR of the New Yorker and in Manhattan with MARC
BARON of THE LAMBS, and in November we savored another opportunity
to talk with Columbia University's JAMES
SHAPIRO. A few weeks prior to this gathering Professor Shapiro had attended
King Charles III, a fascinating Broadway hit in blank verse by
British playwright Mike Bartlett, and he'd talked about its Shakespearean
resonances as a "future history play" with both writer Rebecca Mead and
the production's starring actor, Tim Pigott-Smith. For a charming account
of that occasion, see the December 12 issue of the New
Yorker.
For details about offerings that have been presented in other seasons, click
on the years that follow: 1998, 1999,
2000, 2001,
2002, 2003,
2004, 2005,
2006, 2007,
2008, 2009,
2010, 2011,
2012, 2013,
2014, 2016,
2017, 2018,
2019, and 2020.
And for information about upcoming programs, visit our Current
Events page.
