The Shakespeare Conference: SHK 26.146  Friday, 20 March 2015

 

From:        John F Andrews <This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.>

Date:         March 19, 2015 at 7:46:56 PM EDT

Subject:    Speaking of Shakespeare with John Douglas Thompson, Naomi Liebler & Estelle Parsons, and Terry Alford

 

A Conversation with John Douglas Thompson  

 

Monday, March 23, at 6 p.m.

The National Arts Club

15 Gramercy Park South, New York

No Charge, but Reservations Requested

 

In 2009, when John Douglas Thompson garnered acclaim for the title roles in both Shakespeare’s Othello and O’Neill’s The Emperor Jones, the Times asserted that “there may well be no better classical actor working in the New York theater right now.” That assessment was reinforced in an enthusiastic New Yorker profile by Alec Wilkinson in 2012. Two years later Mr. Thompson earned the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Solo Performance in Satchmo at the Waldorf. And a few weeks back, Times critic Ben Brantley bestowed fervent praise on Mr. Thompson’s portrayal of the protagonist in Marlowe’s Tamburlaine. That show was produced by Theatre for a New Audience and directed by Michael Boyd of the Royal Shakespeare Company. So what’s next for Mr. Thompson? Please join us for an evening that will shed light on that and other topics.

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Estelle Parsons & Naomi Liebler Explore “Shakespeare’s Old Ladies”

 

Monday, April 13, at 7 p.m.

The Lambs

3 West 51st Street, New York

Members $5, Non-Members $10

 

For this special gathering, the Guild is delighted to join forces with The Lambs. A venerable theatrical society, founded in 1874, its members have started such prestigious organizations as Actors’ Equity, ASCAP, and the Screen Actors Guild. Hal Holbrook offered Mark Twain Tonight to his fellow Lambs before taking his show public. So it’s hard to imagine a better setting for Estelle Parsons and Naomi Liebler to reprise a dramatic exploration of Shakespeare’s Old Ladies, a dialogue that received sustained applause when it was first presented in 2011 at the New York Public Library. A member of the American Theatre Hall of Fame, Ms. Parsons has been nominated for five Tony Awards, and she earned an Oscar as Blanche Barrow in Bonnie and Clyde (1967). Dr. Liebler, a professor at Montclair State, has given us such critically acclaimed volumes as Shakespeare’s Festive Tragedy (1967). After their program, they’ll engage in a wide-ranging conversation with the audience.     

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Terry Alford Introduces Fortune’s Fool: The Life of John Wilkes Booth

 

Tuesday, April 14, at 6 p.m.

The National Arts Club

15 Gramercy Park South, New York

No Charge, But Reservations Requested

 

To mark the 150th anniversary of what has been described as the most dramatic moment in American history, we’re pleased to announce a special event with Terry Alford. A prominent Civil War historian who has an article in this month’s Smithsonian, Dr. Alford will be introducing his long-awaited biography of an actor who co-starred with his  two brothers in a November 1864 production of Julius Caesar, and who restaged a “lofty scene” from that tragedy five months later when he interrupted a rollicksome comedy at Ford’s Theatre. Fortune’s Fool: The Life of John Wilkes Booth will be launched during a dialogue that will occur on the same date as that notorious act, and in a setting adjacent to the final home of the assassin’s older brother. After his dialogue with John Andrews, who has published articles on the same topic in The Atlantic and the New York Times, Mr. Alford will be happy to sign copies of his book, which will be available for purchase.      

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Visit www.shakesguild.org/events.html for details about these and other gatherings, among them a May 11 dialogue with Diana Owen of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, who’ll talk about recent developments at New Place in Stratford, and a May 12 program with Daniel Watermeier, who’ll introduce American Tragedian: The Life of Edwin Booth

 

Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call (505) 988-9560 to register for these events. 

 

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