CONNECT AT CAAL NIGHTS
Experience the best of New York City culture through CAAL Nights! These evenings provide members the opportunity to meet fellow alumni over drinks, converse with artists about their work, and navigate the city’s arts scene. Previous special guests include Academy Award winners Michael Douglas and Milos Forman, Grammy Award winners Paquito D’Rivera and Wynton Marsalis, Tony Award-winning actor Brian Dennehy (CC ’60), Pulitzer Prize-winning author Lawrence Wright, and the cast of Cirque du Soleil’s Wintuk! You can view photos from previous CAAL Nights at our online gallery or see what other members have to say here.
CAAL Night tickets are available for purchase only to CAAL Members and on a first reply, first serve basis. Ticket limits per CAAL Night vary based on ticket availability and the purchasing Member's membership category. To request more than two tickets please email AlumniArts@columbia.edu or call 212.851.1879 during office hours, Monday thru Friday 10AM-5PM.
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PRIVATE TOUR OF THE NEUE GALERIE |
| MONDAY, MAY 19 |
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| WHAT: |
Enjoy a private tour, outside of museum hours, of the Neue Galerie's current "Gustav Klimt" and “Wiener Werkstätte Jewelry" exhibits. "Gustav Klimt: Five Paintings from the Collection of Ferdinand and Adele Bloch-Bauer” consists of masterworks by Klimt that had been restituted to Maria Altmann and the heirs of the Bloch-Bauer family by the Austrian government. The best-known of the five works in the exhibition is Adele Bloch-Bauer I, a "once-in-a-lifetime acquisition" recently made by the Galerie. The second exhibition highlights pieces created by the Wiener Werkstätte between the firm’s inception in 1903 and 1920; work whose beauty lies in the way it blurs the line between precious ornament and miniature sculpture. |
| WHO: |
Neue Galerie New York is one of the city's most elegant museums devoted to early twentieth-century German and Austrian art and design, displayed on two exhibition floors. |
| TIME: |
6:00PM |
| WHERE: |
Neue Galerie New York
1048 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10028 |
| PRICE: |
$23 for CAAL members |
| RSVP: |
By calling 212.851.1879 Monday thru Friday 10AM – 5PM, or
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R.E.M. WITH MODEST MOUSE AND THE NATIONAL |
| THURSDAY, JUNE 19 |
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| WHAT: |
R.E.M. is back and playing from their latest album, Accelerate, at Madison Square Garden this summer! On June 19th, join fellow CAAL members to see R.E.M., Modest Mouse, and The National. |
| WHO: |
R.E.M., Michael Stipe, Peter Buck, and Mike Mills, play their new album, Accelerate, showcasing everything that the band, recent inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, has built over the course of its 25-year plus career, from the first spitfire note of "Living Well Is The Best Revenge," to the soaring glory of the lead-off single "Supernatural Superserious, to the final apocalyptic crunch of "I'm Gonna DJ."
The Issaquah, WA, indie rock trio Modest Mouse was formed in 1993 by vocalist/guitarist Isaac Brock, bassist Eric Judy, and drummer Jeremiah Green. The album, The Lonesome Crowded West, was the band's breakthrough. Good News for People Who Love Bad News in 2004 was their best-received record and a Top 40 hit. They continue to release popular and critically acclaimed albums, including their last album in 2007, We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank.
The Brooklyn-based quintet, The National, led by baritone Matt Berninger, features two sets of brothers, Columbia alumnus Aaron Dessner (CC ’98) (guitar/bass/piano) and Bryce Dessner (guitar) and Scott (drums) and Bryan Devendorf (guitar). Their 2005 full-length Alligator was a mild underground success, but it was not until the Spring 2007 ambitious rock album Boxer that The National jumped into the musical spotlight. Boxer is full of moody, surprisingly heartfelt ballads, and many critics deemed the album one of the best of 2007. |
| TIME: |
7:00PM |
| WHERE: |
Madison Square Garden
4 Pennsylvania Plaza
(7th Avenue at 32nd Street)
New York, NY 10001 |
| PRICE: |
$69.75 for Section 302
$39.75 for Section 404 |
| RSVP: |
By calling 212.851.1879 Monday thru Friday 10AM – 5PM, or
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| CAAL NIGHT ARCHIVE |
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BERNSTEIN COLLABORATIONS |
| THURSDAY, MAY 1 |
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| WHAT: |
American entertainment was never the same after Leonard Bernstein and Jerome Robbins took it to brilliant new heights. The New York of popular imagination would not exist without the comic genius of Fancy Free. Boisterous and beloved, it captures the essence and optimism of shore leave in the Big City. Carrying ancient Russian-Jewish culture in their bones, Bernstein and Robbins’ Dybbuk explores a mystical world of dreadful consequences and enduring passion. A Robbins retrospective would not be complete without the heart-rending poignancy of West Side Story Suite. No other theater piece is as well known and loved as this American classic. |
| WHO: |
Leonard Bernstein was perhaps the most influential figure in classical music in the last half of the twentieth century. Composer, conductor, author, lecturer and often controversial media personality, the American-born Bernstein had a dramatic impact on the popular audience's acceptance and appreciation of classical music. His own work as a composer, particularly his scores for such Broadway musicals as West Side Story and On the Town, helped forge a new relationship between classical and popular music.
Jerome Robbins was one of the foremost dance choreographers of the 20th century, whose work has included everything from ballet, to film, to musical theater, including On the Town, The King and I, West Side Story, and Fiddler on the Roof. Enjoy a pre-performance reception and discussion with fellow CAAL Members and New York City Ballet company dancers. |
| TIME: |
6:30PM Pre-performance reception
7:15PM Discussion with NYCB speaker
8:00PM Performance of Bernstein Collaborations |
| WHERE: |
New York State Theater
20 Lincoln Center
New York, NY 10023 |
| PRICE: |
Orchestra seats for $68 dollars (normally $86, you save $18!)
Fourth Ring seats for $15 (normally $32) |
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TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL: BAGHDAD HIGH |
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 30 |
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| WHAT: |
Four Iraqi teen boys, all friends, come of age in the most dangerous city on earth - Baghdad. Filmed by the students themselves, Baghdad High offers insight into ordinary Iraqi lives rarely seen. One boy is Kurdish, one Christian, one Shia and one mixed Sunni and Shia. As they enter their last year in school, can their friendship survive the sectarian violence tearing their city apart? School is a safe haven in some ways for the boys but the strain of daily life does little to promote an atmosphere of academic study. Rather they want to do the usual that adolescent boys are interested in--text a girlfriend, play computer games or learn the words to a rap song. At the same time, with their families, they face an important decision--whether to stay in Baghdad with all the attendant risks or flee to safer areas as so many other Iraqis have done. The boys must also look to the future and to the world beyond their school. The British Press Association called Baghdad High "the most memorable film of recent times." |
| WHO: |
Director Ivan O’Mahoney (JN ’00) worked as an attorney and a United Nations MP in Bosnia for UNPROFOR. Since that time, he has produced and directed many documentaries for BBC1, BBC2, PBS, Channel4 and Discovery Times. He holds a LLM in International Law from Leyden University in the Netherlands and a MSC in Journalism from Columbia University. Director Laura Winter (JN ’96) has worked as a freelance producer for CNN, for CBS 60 Minutes and CBS Evening News in the U.S., Iraq and Afghanistan. In Kabul she was the radio correspondent for CBS News. Winter has filed stories and shot photos in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan for the Christian Science Monitor, the New York Daily News and other newspapers and magazines. In Iraq, she covered the fall of Baghdad, the rise of the insurgency in the capital and Faluja, the abuse of Iraqi prisoners in Tikrit, and mass graves in al Hilla and abu Ghraib. Winter has also worked as a newspaper reporter in Los Angeles, Washington, D.C. and Hong Kong. |
| TIME: |
10:30PM Screening of Baghdad High |
| WHERE: |
Village East Cinema 2
189 2nd Avenue
New York, NY 10003 |
| PRICE: |
$13 for CAAL Members (regularly $15) |
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TAP MEETS FLAMENCO |
FRIDAY, APRIL 25 |
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| WHAT: |
Escape half a world away with music of the Andalusian, the Moor, the Sephardic, and the Gypsy. The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis, Chano Dominguez, a “rapid-finger ninja [who transfers] the energy of flamenco guitar to the keyboard” (NY Times), and percussive demons Herlin Riley and Israel Suarez bring these traditions together with the best hoofers south of Harlem and west of Sevilla: Jared Grimes and Dewitt Fleming, Jr. and Tomasito and Auxiliadora Fernandez. Join fellow CAAL Members for a pre-performance lecture, and after the show meet the performers in the Green Room! |
| WHO: |
Wynton Marsalis is the most acclaimed jazz musician and composer of his generation and a distinguished classical performer. Mr. Marsalis made his recording debut in 1982, and since he has recorded more than 30 jazz and classical recordings, which have won him nine Grammy Awards. In 1983, he became the first and only artist to win both classical and jazz Grammys in the same year and repeated this feat in 1984. Mr. Marsalis also has produced a rich body of compositions including his oratorio Blood on the Fields, which was awarded the prestigious Pulitzer Prize in music. He is currently the Artistic Director of Jazz at Lincoln Center which he co-founded in 1987.
Sebastián Domínguez Lozano, better known as Chano Domínguez, was born in Cadiz on March 29, 1960. His father was a keen flamenco enthusiast and Chano grew up listening to his LPs. Chano was able to teach himself to play guitar and practiced everything that he had heard on his father’s flamenco records. Chano started playing keyboards with Cai, a group from Cadiz that fused traditional Andalusian roots with progressive rock. In 1992, he decided to form his own trio, which he led with his own personal musical style, fusing flamenco rhythm with the musical forms of jazz. That same year, he was awarded First Prize in the National Jazz Competition for Young Interpreters and he released his first two records: Chano and Diez de Paco. In 1995, he produced Coplas de Madrugá (Morning Song) which covers some of the most important themes in traditional Spanish song and treats them with a genuine jazz esthetic. |
| TIME: |
7:00PM Pre-performance lecture in the Recording Studio
8:00PM Performance in the Rose Theater
CAAL Members get to meet the performers after the show in the Green Room! |
| WHERE: |
Rose Theater
Broadway at 60th Street
New York, NY 10023 |
| PRICE: |
$31.50 includes FREE pre-show lecture (regularly $5) |
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TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL: MAN ON WIRE |
SUNDAY, APRIL 27 |
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| WHAT: |
Man On Wire, directed by James Marsh, is in its New York Premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival. On August 7, 1974, New York gasped as French daredevil Philippe Petit walked a tightrope between the Twin Towers—without a safety net. Peppered with humor and awe, this stunning portrait of an artist of reckless daring and impish charm is sure to leave viewers spellbound. In candid interviews, Petit and all the key participants relish this chance to tell their story. Buoyed with eye-catching archival footage, clever dramatizations, and delightful visual effects, filmmaker James Marsh, like his daring subject, pulls off an astonishing coup. At Sundance Film Festival, Man On Wire, won the Grand Jury Prize in World Documentary Competition as well as the World Cinema Audience Award. |
| WHO: |
Maureen Ryan, Producer (SoA '92 & SoA Faculty) is a freelance producer based in New York concentrating on feature films and documentaries. Ryan is the producer of the feature documentary titled The Gates which chronicles the artists Christo and Jean-Claude as they create their latest installation piece - over 7500 gates of saffron cloth that were placed in New York City's Central Park in February 2005. Other production credits include Grey Gardens: From East Hampton to Broadway, The Team, The King, the award-winning feature documentary Wisconsin Death Trip, and the award-winning shorts Torte Bluma and Last Hand Standing. Currently, Ryan teaches Film Production and the Craft of Documentary Filmmaking at Columbia University's Graduate Film Division and supervises student production at the school. |
| TIME: |
3:15PM Screening of Man on Wire |
| WHERE: |
Village East Cinema 1
189 2nd Avenue
New York, NY 10003 |
| PRICE: |
$13 for CAAL Members (regularly $15) |
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RODGERS & HAMMERSTEIN'S SOUTH PACIFIC |
| SATURDAY, MARCH 15 AND FRIDAY, APRIL 4 |
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| WHAT: |
Be among the first to see Columbia alumni Richard Rodgers (CC ’23) & Oscar Hammerstein’s (CC ’16) 1949 Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winning musical South Pacific come back to New York for its first Broadway revival since it closed in 1954! 30 orchestra musicians and a cast of 40 directed by two-time Tony Award nominated director Bart Sher bring to life this story which through the conventions of musical theater addresses the themes of racism and the lost innocence of a nation gone to war. On a small South Pacific island, US Navy nurse Nellie Forbush falls for a mysterious French planter whose life-style could not be more different from the conservatism of her own Arkansas background. Meanwhile, Lt. Joe Cable arrives to carry out a top-secret spying mission against the Japanese fleet from behind enemy lines. He is befriended by a Tonkinese trader, Bloody Mary, and soon becomes involved with her beautiful young daughter. South Pacific is considered to be one of the greatest musicals of all time, and includes many songs praised worldwide including “Bali Ha'i,” “Some Enchanted Evening,” “Younger than Springtime,” “I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair” and “A Wonderful Guy.”
Read related articles in the New York Times: The Stages of Bart Sher and Ben Brantley’s Come Back, Little ’50s, Even With the Clouds. |
| WHO: |
Enjoy a pre-performance discussion on March 15th with Bert Fink, Senior Vice President of Communications for The Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization, and on April 4th with Mary Rodgers Guettel, acclaimed author, screenwriter and composer, and the daughter of Richard Rodgers. Bert Fink is Senior Vice President of Communications for The Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization, where he serves in a variety of historical, archival, publicity and production capacities for the organization and its concerns in theatrical licensing, concert work and music publishing. He compiled The Rodgers & Hammerstein Birthday Book (Harry N. Abrams, 1993) and has written liner notes for over a dozen recordings and DVD's. On behalf of R&H, he has produced DVD documentary "extras" for nearly a dozen movie musical titles, working with such studios as 20th Century Fox, Universal, and Warner Bros. For five seasons he moderated educational seminars for New York City Center’s Encores! Great American Musicals in Concert series. He has also spoken at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the New-York Historical Society, the Smithsonian Institution, Columbia University, New York University, Arizona State University, George Washington University, Oklahoma City University, and Marymount College, among others.
An accomplished author, screenwriter and composer, Mary Rodgers Guettel's Broadway career began as the composer of the 1959 musical, Once Upon a Mattress starring Carol Burnett, later broadcast to great success on network television and revived repeatedly; to this day, more than 400 productions of Once Upon a Mattress are presented each year in the U.S. and Canada alone and a 1997 Broadway production starring Sarah Jessica Parker earned a Tony Award nomination for Best Musical Revival. Additional theatre credits include Hot Spot starring Judy Holliday, The Mad Show, Working and several scores for the Bil Baird Marionettes and Theatreworks/USA. She has been a popular author of fiction for young people ever since her first book was released in 1972: Freaky Friday received the first prize at the Book World Spring Book Festival Awards, The Christopher Award, and was cited on the ALA Notable Book List. In 1977 Disney Studios adapted Freaky Friday into a movie, with screenplay by Mary Rodgers, and starring Barbara Harris and Jodie Foster. Mary Rodgers Guettel is the Rodgers family representative in its privately-held partnership with the Hammerstein family, The Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization. |
| TIME: |
Saturday, March 15
12:30-1:30PM Pre-performance reception with fellow alumni
12:50PM Conversation with Bert Fink
2:00PM Performance of South Pacific
Friday, April 4
6:30-7:30PM Pre-performance reception with fellow alumni
6:50PM Conversation with Mary Rodgers
8:00PM Performance of South Pacific |
| WHERE: |
Vivian Beaumont Theater
150 West 65th Street
New York, NY 10023 |
| PRICE: |
March 15
$90 for performance ticket (regularly $100)
April 4
$99 for performance ticket (regularly $110) |
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VOLTA NY |
| SATURDAY, MARCH 29 |
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| WHAT: |
Enjoy private access to the cutting-edge art show, VOLTA NY, the top satellite fair during The Armory Show week. VOLTA NY showcases the best in emerging art from 52 galleries from around the world. Representatives from Cottelston Advisors will provide an introduction to the fair and will be available to answer questions as CAAL Members navigate the fair for an hour before it opens to the public. Participants also will receive a catalog of art exhibited in VOLTA NY. |
| WHO: |
Experience art from 53 emerging artists and 52 international galleries. Some of the highlights from VOLTA NY 2008 will include a solo exhibition of the photographs of 2008 Whitney Biennial artist Melanie Schiff; a debut installation by kinetic sculptor David Ellis; the first U.S. exhibition of the highly political work of Venice Biennale veteran and Kwangju Biennial Prize Winner Jota Castro; the inaugural U.S. exhibitions of the works of Czech sculptor Kristof Kintera, Mexican artist Jose Dávila and Japanese sculptor Takaaki Izumi; the New York debut of Romanian painter Serban Savu; a solo exhibition of new photographs by American artist Tracey Baran; an exhibition of the post-Katrina images of New Orleans by American Clay Ketter; a solo exhibition of large-scale drawings by British artist Adam Dant; as well as a lobby mural and limited edition works by German painter Florian Merkel.
Cottelston Advisors is a full service art advisory and lifestyle marketing company, which provides access and guidance. For corporate clients, Cottelston ensures proper brand positioning in the visual arts. For collectors, Cottelston assures that quality work is chosen, which will captivate and inspire. Cottelston's approach to the art world is born out of a passion for the fine arts and a deep knowledge of the business world. |
| TIME: |
12:00 – 1:00PM |
| WHERE: |
VOLTA NY
7 West 34th Street
New York, NY |
| PRICE: |
$10 for CAAL Members |
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FUERZABRUTA |
| THURSDAY, MARCH 27 |
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| WHAT: |
A non-stop collision of dynamic music, visceral emotion, and kinetic aerial imagery, Fuerzabruta is one of the most exciting events of the season. Having already taken South America and Europe by storm, this all-new work from the creators of the revolutionary theatre spectacle De La Guarda defies easy categorization. Featuring mind-blowing visual effects that must be seen to be believed - a man running full throttle through a series of moving walls, women frolicking in a watery world suspended just inches above the audience - Fuerzabruta is a theatrical experience that floods the senses. |
| WHO: |
Diqui James (De La Guarda Co-founder/Co-creator) and Gaby Kerpel (De La Guarda Composer/Musical Director) have embarked on a project forming a new company that continues to push the boundaries of theatrical creativity, motivation and innovation. Together with Alejandro Garcia and Fabio Daquila, they have created a new form in Fuerzabruta that is devoted to reinventing, transforming, and creating an experience that is unique and unrepeatable. Meet fellow CAAL Members over drinks after the performance. |
| TIME: |
8:00PM Performance of Fuerzabruta
9:15PM Post-performance drinks |
| WHERE: |
Daryl Roth Theatre
101 East 15th Street
New York, NY 10003 |
| PRICE: |
$35 (regularly $70, you save 50%!) |
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NAVIGATING THE ARMORY SHOW AND COLLECTING AT ART FAIRS |
| WEDNESDAY, MARCH 19 |
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| WHAT: |
The Armory Show, The International Fair of New Art, is the world's leading art fair devoted exclusively to contemporary art. In its tenth annual exhibition, The Armory Show will celebrate the spirit of contemporary art from March 27th – 30th. The exhibition includes many of the most important contemporary dealers showcasing new art from around the world. Exclusively for CAAL members, Boyd Level will not only offer an introduction to the Show and to the numerous events and satellite fairs taking place at the same time but will also provide guidance on how to go about collecting at the fairs—e.g. what to expect when negotiating with dealers and why it's never the case that all of the “best” art is sold in the first fifteen minutes. This forum is available to a maximum of 26 guests. The evening includes wine and light hors d’oeuvres and usually runs 2 to 2.5 hours. |
| WHO: |
Boyd Level offers private collectors and corporate clients interested in collecting today’s art a level of access and service previously available only to major collectors of established artists. Boyd Level provides a focused, fully integrated combination of art historical education, private studio visits, art market consultation, dealer liaisons and collection management services to assure the creation and maintenance of an outstanding collection of advanced contemporary and emerging art.
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M. Franklin Boyd, Esq., the founder of Boyd Level, brings financial and legal experience to the world of emerging art collecting and advising. Formerly an attorney with the law firm Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP, Franklin is a long-time advocate for contemporary art and, in her separate legal practice, specializes in intellectual and cultural property issues. Franklin received her JD with honors from NYU Law School, and a BSFS in Culture and Politics from Georgetown University. Prior to attending law school, Franklin participated in the Christie’s Art Market and Connoisseurship Program and worked in the General Counsel's office at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Franklin is a member of the Art Law Committee of the NY State Bar Association and is a member of the City Bar of NY. |
| Jonathan T. D. Neil, is a contributing editor at Art Review, a London-based magazine of international arts and culture, and serves on the editorial board or artworldsalon.com. He studied for his Ph.D. in modern and contemporary art history at Columbia University, where he also received his M. Phil and Masters degrees. Prior to Columbia, Jonathan received a Bachelors of Architecture from Cornell University’s School of Architecture, Art, and Planning. He has taught courses in modern and contemporary art and architectural history, critical writing, and the history of photography at Columbia University and at Parsons The New School of Design in New York. |
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| TIME: |
7:00 – 9:00PM |
| WHERE: |
18 Harrison Street, 3rd Floor
New York, NY 10013 |
| PRICE: |
$85 per CAAL Member (regularly $115, you save $30!) |
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WHITNEY BIENNIAL EXHIBITION TOUR AND BRUNCH |
| SATURDAY, MARCH 8 |
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| WHAT: |
Join fellow CAAL Members for a guided tour of the 2008 Whitney Biennial Exhibition followed by brunch at Sarabeth’s at the Whitney. Since its founding in 1932, the Biennial has evolved into the Whitney Museum of American Art’s signature exhibition as well as the most important survey of the state of contemporary art in the United States today. The 2008 Biennial seeks to reveal the links among the seemingly disparate artists working in more genres, using more varieties of material, and moving among more geographic locations than ever before. Almost completely comprised of new works, many of which are site-specific, the exhibition will fill nearly every floor of the Museum, including the sculpture court. |
| WHO: |
81 artists have been selected for this year's Whitney Biennial including seven
Columbia University alumni and faculty:
Matthew Brannon, School of the Arts '99 graduate
Coco Fusco, Columbia University Faculty
Olivier Mosset, General Studies '83 graduate
Mika Rottenberg, School of the Arts '04 graduate
Heather Rowe, School of the Arts '01 graduate
Gretchen Skogerson, Columbia College '92 graduate
Mika Tajima, School of the Arts '03 graduate
The gallery tour will be given by Whitney Teaching Fellows, upper level graduate students in art history or docents. After the tour, enjoy a prix-fixe brunch at Sarabeth’s at the Whitney with fellow CAAL Members. |
| TIME: |
12:30-1:45PM Gallery tour given by Whitney Teaching Fellows
2:00PM Brunch at Sarabeth's at the Whitney |
| WHERE: |
Whitney Museum
945 Madison Avenue at 75th Street
New York, NY 10021 |
| PRICE: |
$17.50 for Museum admission and exhibition tour
$47.50 for Museum admission, exhibition tour, and prix-fixe brunch |
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DOG DAY AFTERNOON |
| SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 24 |
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| WHAT: |
Join the Columbia Alumni Arts League for a screening and discussion of Sidney Lumet’s film, Dog Day Afternoon. Al Pacino is at his prime in this gritty crime drama based on a real event. When first-time crooks Sonny (Al Pacino) and Sal (John Cazale) rob a bank on a sweltering summer’s day in Brooklyn, the robbery escalates into a hostage crisis and media circus. Influential and critically acclaimed, Dog Day Afternoon was nominated for five Oscars in 1976 (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor- Pacino, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Supporting Actor- Sarandon), and remains a landmark in realistic filmmaking. Before the screening, take part in a discussion with School of the Arts Professor, Bette Gordon, and Director of the Arts Initiative, Gregory Mosher. |
| WHO: |
Bette Gordon is an Associate Professor and Vice Chair of the film division at Columbia’s School of the Arts. Her early short films have been shown at the MoMA and the Whitney Biennial and have won prizes at The Chicago International Film Festival and the Atlanta Festival of Film and Video. She directed Variety, which was shown at the Cannes Film Festival, Director's Fortnight, and at other major international film festivals. Her directing for television includes Laurel Entertainment's episodic series Monsters, and short films for HBO and Showtime. She also directed Luminous Motion, based on the book History of Luminous Motion, released theatrically in the U.S. in June 2000, and called one of the best films of the year by New York Times writer A.O. Scott.
Gregory Mosher was appointed Director of the Arts Initiative at Columbia University in 2004 by President Lee C. Bollinger and brings 30 years of production and directorial experience to Columbia. He is credited with the resurgence of the Lincoln Center Theater, which he took over as director in 1985 at the request of former Mayor John V. Lindsay and led for seven years. He has directed and produced nearly 200 stage productions at Lincoln Center, on and off Broadway, and at the Royal National Theater and in London's West End. Many of his productions were premieres of work by emerging and established writers, among them Samuel Beckett, Leonard Bernstein, Spalding Gray, David Mamet, Arthur Miller, Richard Nelson, Wole Soyinka, Julie Taymor and Tennessee Williams. Mr. Mosher has received every major American theater award, including two Tony Awards. |
| TIME: |
1:00-1:45 Pre-screening discussion with Bette Gordon and Gregory Mosher
2:00PM Screening of Dog Day Afternoon |
| WHERE: |
Film Forum
209 West Houston Street
(Between 6th Avenue and Varick)
New York, NY 10014 |
| PRICE: |
$5.50 for CAAL Members (regularly $10.50) |
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CONVERSATIONS IN TUSCULUM |
| FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 22 |
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| WHAT: |
Join the Columbia Alumni Arts League for the world premiere of Conversations in Tusculum, written and directed by Richard Nelson. Set outside of Rome in the villas and hillsides of Tusculum, Nelson continues his revelatory exploration of history with a new play that chronicles those entangled in Julius Caesar’s world of manipulation and power. Citizens can continue to live in relative comfort by not involving themselves, or take action to save democracy. Conversations in Tusculum features Tony nominated actors Brian Dennehy (CC ’60) and Maria Tucci, Oscar nominated David Strathairn, Emmy nominated actors Aidan Quinn and Gloria Reuben, and Joe Grifasi. After the performance, enjoy an exclusive discussion with Tony Award winner Richard Nelson. |
| WHO: |
Richard Nelson is an award-winning American playwright and librettist. In addition to adapting the work of writers like Bertolt Brecht, Anton Chekhov and James Joyce, Richard Nelson has penned many original plays, frequently exploring his fascination with the difference between American and English notions of society and class. Nelson originally began his career as a journalist in the early 1970s. Not long after, though, he applied reportorial techniques to drama and began writing plays like The Killing of Yablonski: Scenes of Involvement (1975) and Conjuring the Event (1976). In 1978, The Vienna Notes earned him an OBIE award and firmed his reputation as an emerging voice in the theatrical scene. Since then he has written dozens of plays, as well as scripts for television and the screenplay Ethan Frome, and garnered many awards and nominations including a Tony award for adapting the book and co-writing the lyrics of James Joyce's The Dead (1999). Nelson is the current chair of the playwriting department at the Yale School of Drama. |
| TIME: |
8:00PM Performance
10:00PM Post-performance discussion with Richard Nelson |
| WHERE: |
The Public Theater
425 Lafayette Street
New York, NY 10003 |
| PRICE: |
$45 for CAAL Members (regularly $50) |
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ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST |
| FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 15 |
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| WHAT: |
Join the Columbia Alumni Arts League for a screening of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, with an introduction by its director Milos Forman and producer Michael Douglas. One of Forman's most acclaimed films, this adaptation of Kesey's widely read antiestablishment novel stars Nicholson as a convict in a psychiatric hospital who leads his fellow inmates in defying the icy Nurse Ratched, one of the greatest villains in film history. This rallying cry against authority and conformity struck a nerve with viewers and became the second movie ever to win all five major Academy Awards. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest stars Jack Nicholson and Louise Fletcher, with the screenplay by Bo Goldman and Lawrence Hauben. |
| WHO: |
Milos Forman is an actor, screenwriter, professor and two-time Academy Award-winning film director. Born in Čáslav, Czechoslovakia, Forman moved in 1968 to New York, where he became a professor of film at Columbia University and co-chair of Columbia's film division. Forman's work is characterized by a sharp antiauthoritarian spirit and a lucid, heartfelt humanism. His films maintain an intoxicating relevance to contemporary living by identifying iconic trends and events—evident both in his early features (Loves of a Blonde, The Firemen's Ball), which helped jump-start the fabled Czech New Wave in the mid-1960s, and in his renegade Hollywood films from the 1970s to today (One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, The People vs. Larry Flynt). The international commercial and critical success of Milos Forman's films is a testament to the uniqueness of his blend of passionate, personal interpretation, a remarkable ability to capture the zeitgeist, and a healthy dose of black humor. Michael Kirk Douglas, the son of movie icon Kirk Douglas and British actress Diana Dill, is an American actor and producer, primarily in movies and television. He is a two-time Academy Award winner, first as producer of 1975's Best Picture, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and Best Actor in 1987 for his role in Wall Street. |
| TIME: |
8:00PM Introduction and film screening |
| WHERE: |
Museum of Modern Art
11 West 53 Street
(between Fifth and Sixth Avenues)
New York, NY 10019 |
| PRICE: |
$10 |
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NEXT TO NORMAL– SEE IT BEFORE IT GOES TO BROADWAY! |
| WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 6 |
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| WHAT: |
In this over-stimulated and pharmaceutically-obsessed world, one seemingly normal suburban family comes to grips with a long buried secret in this haunting and darkly funny new musical. With provocative lyrics and an electrifying score, Next to Normal explores the lengths to which we'll go to keep ourselves sane and our families in place. Authors Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey, who won the Jonathan Larson Performing Arts Foundation Award for Next to Normal, are joined by director Michael Grief (Rent, Grey Gardens) for this new cutting-edge musical. Following the performance, members will have an opportunity to take part in an exclusive Q&A with Columbia alumni Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey. Don’t miss your chance to see the performance before it goes to Broadway! |
| WHO: |
Next to Normal features music by Tom Kitt (CC '96), book and lyrics by Brian Yorkey (CC '93), and is directed by Michael Greif. Composer Tom Kitt wrote the score for High Fidelity and his work has also been heard in the film The Two Ninas, on the television show Dawson's Creek, and on the original recordings, Julia Murney, The Tom Kitt Band, among others. He has worked as a musical director, orchestrator, and conductor on many shows including Laugh Whore, Urban Cowboy, and Debbie Does Dallas. Brian Yorkey’s theatre credits include Making Tracks, which has played off-Broadway and regionally; the musical adaptation of Ang Lee's The Wedding Banquet; and the country musical Play It By Heart. He wrote the screenplay Time After Time, the feature script, Sluts, for Lion's Gate Films, and is co-creator of Bears, a new series for the Logo Network. |
| TIME: |
8:00PM Performance of Next to Normal
10:15PM Post-performance Q&A with Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey |
| WHERE: |
Second Stage Theatre
307 West 43rd Street
(between 8th and 9th Avenues)
New York, NY 10036 |
| PRICE: |
$52 for CAAL Members (regularly $84, you save $32!) |
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TRADITIONS |
| TUESDAY, JANUARY 29 |
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| WHAT: |
Balanchine and Robbins' Traditions at the New York City Ballet includes three works: Square Dance, where the spirited invention, order, and patterns of square dances are danced to the music of Vivaldi and Corelli; Prodigal Son, which includes a powerful Prokofiev score, bold Rouault sets and costumes, and explosive Balanchine choreography that has riveted audiences since 1929; and The Four Seasons by Jerome Robbins, which displays his glistening, verdant, sultry, and diabolically difficult choreography. |
| WHO: |
Born and trained in Russia, George Balanchine moved to New York in the 1930s where he founded the School of American Ballet and later the New York City Ballet. A prolific choreographer, his diverse and electrifying works established a new technique of American ballet and are continually performed by dance companies all over the world. Jerome Robbins was one of the foremost dance choreographers of the 20th century, whose work has included everything from ballet, to film, to musical theater, including On the Town, The King and I, West Side Story, and Fiddler on the Roof. Enjoy a pre-performance reception and discussion with fellow CAAL Members and with cast from the New York City Ballet. |
| TIME: |
6:15PM Pre-performance reception
6:45PM Discussion with NYCB speaker
7:30PM Performance of Traditions |
| WHERE: |
New York State Theater
20 Lincoln Center
New York, NY 10023 |
| PRICE: |
Orchestra seats for $68 dollars (normally $86, you save $18!)
Fourth Ring seats for $15 (normally $32) |
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C'EST DUCKIE! |
| FRIDAY, JANUARY 11 |
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| WHAT: |
C'est Duckie! is the award-winning, interactive nightclub performance experience, for a wild and absolutely outrageous alternative to traditional holiday fare. Following sold-out seasons in London, Sydney, Berlin, and Tokyo, C'est Duckie! comes to New York, serving up a menu of daring, delectable and devious entertainments that result in tailor-made, table-top shows. Armed with Duckie dollars upon entering, guests at each table can order from a show menu of craftily titled "acts" that include a variety of theatrical fare - vaudeville, ventriloquism, balloon modelling, broken down burlesque - with over 30 kunst-cabaret turns from the suggestive to the transgressive to the downright offensive. A dress code of suitably swanky evening wear is encouraged.
"The most fun you'll have in a theatre all year - guaranteed." – Metro, London
"Delicious bite sized burlesque" -Time Out London |
| WHO: |
London-based performance troupe Duckie pitches popular commercial entertainment against contemporary performance provocation in this all-singing, all-dancing, shameless crowd-pleaser. C’est Duckie! features a top class talent troupe of soubrettes, hoofers, and starlets from the London performance scene as well as special guest artists from New York City including: Taylor Mac, Jessica Delfino, the Wau Wau Sisters, and Dynasty Handbag. |
| TIME: |
10:30PM Performance at CSV Cultural Center |
| WHERE: |
CSV Cultural Center
107 Suffolk Street
(between Rivington and Delancey)
New York, NY 10002 |
| PRICE: |
$25.00 (normally $49.50, you save $24.50!) |
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TWO DOGS' VIEW ON LIFE AND AN EVENING WITH MENG JINGHUI |
| FRIDAY, DECEMBER 21 |
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| WHAT: |
After a sold-out run this summer, Two Dogs’ View on Life returns to Beijing’s Pioneer Theater for a second run. Audience members get to explore some of the big questions facing Chinese society from a canine's perspective in this new cutting-edge drama directed by Meng Jinghui, an avant-garde Chinese director and playwright dedicated to redefining Chinese theater and satirizing contemporary society. Don’t miss this opportunity to enjoy a humorous play with fellow alumni and explore all kinds of every day issues: from traffic jams to online relationships, weight loss campaigns to SARS, and even sky high education fees. In Chinese only. |
| WHO: |
Immediately after the performance, enjoy a unique opportunity to take part in a Q&A with Director Meng Jinghui to be led by the Director of the Arts Initiative at Columbia University Gregory Mosher.
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Meng Jinghui is arguably the most influential director of avant-garde Chinese theater today. He has helped to bring many modern Western classics to China, as well as iconoclastic productions which humorously deconstruct classic Chinese works. Meng's productions thereby become commentaries on community life, social order and artistic conventions. While still a graduate student at the Central Academy of Drama in 1988, he directed plays by Pinter, Ionesco, Beckett, and Genet. In 1992, he joined the National Theater Company of China, then known as the Central Experimental Theater Troupe, a breeding ground for new theater. In the ensuing years, Meng has created and directed more than fifteen plays. Working within a country and an artistic scene that is in the midst of rapid change, Meng's goal is to bring recent developments in Chinese art, "such as installations, multimedia, visual art, and action art," to the Chinese stage. |
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Gregory Mosher was appointed Director of the Arts Initiative at Columbia University in 2004 by President Lee C. Bollinger and brings 30 years of production and directorial experience to Columbia. He is credited with the resurgence of the Lincoln Center Theater, which he took over as director in 1985 at the request of former Mayor John V. Lindsay and led for seven years. He has directed and produced nearly 200 stage productions at Lincoln Center, on and off Broadway, and at the Royal National Theater and in London's West End. Many of his productions were premieres of work by emerging and established writers, among them Samuel Beckett, Leonard Bernstein, Spalding Gray, David Mamet, Arthur Miller, Richard Nelson, Wole Soyinka, Julie Taymor and Tennessee Williams. Mr. Mosher has received every major American theater award, including two Tony Awards. |
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| TIME: |
10:30PM Performance at CSV Cultural Center |
| WHERE: |
Oriental Pioneer Theatre
8-2 Dongdan Santiao
East of Oriental Plaza |
| PRICE: |
RMB160 for Columbia Alumni for the performance on 12/21/2007 only
(normally RMB 180, you save more than 10% off regular tickets price!) |
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BECKETT SHORTS - OPENING NIGHT! |
| TUESDAY, DECEMBER 18 |
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| WHAT: |
Fearlessly imaginative, five-time OBIE award winning director JoAnne Akalaitis joins with dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov and composer Philip Glass to bring four of Samuel Beckett's one-act plays - Act Without Words I, Act Without Words II, Eh Joe, and Rough For Theatre I - to NYTW as “Beckett Shorts”. After a successful workshop this past spring, Akalaitis invited Bill Camp (currently Alceste in The Misanthrope at NYTW), Karen Kandel, and David Neumann to work with her and Baryshnikov on these funny and fiercely physical plays. |
| WHO: |
Following the performance, enjoy AfterWords, New York Theatre Workshop’s popular post-performance discussions, where audience members participate in an open conversation with members of the creative team, designed to provoke further thought and dialogue about the production and artistic process. The discussion on December 18th will be with the design team of Beckett Shorts. |
| TIME: |
7:00PM Performance at New York Theatre Workshop
8:30PM AfterWords at the theater |
| WHERE: |
New York Theatre Workshop
79 East 4th Street (Between 2nd Avenue and Bowery)
New York, NY 10003 |
| PRICE: |
$65.00 |
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WAR AND PEACE |
| THURSDAY, DECEMBER 13 |
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| WHAT: |
Join the Columbia Alumni Arts League for the Metropolitan Opera's production of Sergei Prokofiev's War and Peace, conducted by Valery Gergiev. Prokofiev's adaptation of Tolstoy's novel captures its sweeping worldview as well as its insights into individuals. The resources required for this opera (68 solo roles, a depiction of the largest land battle in European history, and the magnificence of Imperial balls in Czarist Russia) makes this one of the biggest productions in Met history. The dynamic Russian maestro Valery Gergiev marshals the musical forces of a predominantly Russian cast. |
| WHO: |
Valery Gergiev is currently Director of the Maryinsky Theater in St. Petersburg, home to the Kirov Opera and the Kirov Theater Orchestra. He has made the Kirov Opera one of the pre-eminent opera companies in the world and he regularly tours the world's great opera and orchestra halls. He is today's most prolific specialist in Prokofiev's operatic works. The cast of War and Peace also includes Irina Mataeva (Natasha), Ekaterina Semenchuk (Sonya), Larisa Shevchenko (Mme. Akhrosimova), Vasili Ladyuk (Prince Andrei), Vassily Gerello (Napoleon), and Samuel Ramey (Kutuzov). Before the performance, join fellow members for drinks at the Balcony Level Intermission Bar. |
| TIME: |
6:45PM Drinks at the Balcony Level Intermission Bar
Join fellow members and Columbia Professor Cathy Nepomnyashchy for informal conversation about the opera!
7:30PM Performance in the Metropolitan Opera House |
| WHERE: |
The Metropolitan Opera House
Lincoln Center
New York, New York 10023 |
| PRICE: |
$15.00 - $175.00 |
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BEYOND THE SPANISH TINGE |
| FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 30 |
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| WHAT: |
Seven-time Grammy-winner and 2005 National Medal of Arts recipient Paquito D'Rivera and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis bring all the mambo, tango, salsa, cubop and bossa nova that the House of Swing can hold in tribute to the most beloved Latin composers of all time, including Tito Puente, Chico O’Farrill, Chucho Valdès, and more. After the performance meet the musicians backstage! |
| WHO: |
Wynton Marsalis (Music Director, Trumpet) is the Artistic Director of Jazz at Lincoln Center. Born in New Orleans, Louisiana in 1961, Mr. Marsalis began his classical training on trumpet at age 12 and soon began playing in local bands of diverse genres. He entered The Juilliard School at age 17 and joined Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers. Mr. Marsalis made his recording debut as a leader in 1982, and since he has recorded more than 30 jazz and classical recordings, which have won him nine Grammy Awards. Wynton Marsalis has been described as the most outstanding jazz musician and trumpeter of his generation, as one of the world’s top classical trumpeters, as a big band leader in the tradition of Duke Ellington, a brilliant composer, a devoted advocate for the Arts and a tireless and inspiring educator. He carries these distinctions well. His life is a portrait of discipline, dedication, sacrifice, and creative accomplishment. Born on the island of Cuba, Paquito D’Rivera began his career as a child prodigy. A restless musical genius during his teen years, Mr. D'Rivera created various original and ground-breaking musical ensembles. As a founding member of the Orquesta Cubana de Musica Moderna, he directed that group for two years, while at the same time playing both the clarinet and saxophone with the Cuban National Symphony Orchestra. He eventually went on to premier several works by notable Cuban composers with the same orchestra. Additionally, he was a founding member and co-director of the innovative musical ensemble Irakere. With its explosive mixture of jazz, rock, classical and traditional Cuban music never before heard, Irakere toured extensively throughout America and Europe, won several Grammy nominations (1979, 1980) and a Grammy (1979). |
| TIME: |
7:00PM Pre-performance drinks at Landmarc
Grab a bite and try a new wine with fellow members at Landmarc's communal table before the show
8:00PM Performance in the Rose Theater
CAAL Members get to meet Paquito D'Rivera, Wynton Marsalis and his fellow band members after the show in the Green Room! |
| WHERE: |
JALC's Rose Theater
Broadway at 60th Street
New York, NY 10023
Landmarc [at the Time Warner Center]
10 Columbus Circle [3rd floor]
New York, NY 10019 |
| PRICE: |
$24 (you save 36% off the regular ticket price!)
Seats are located in the mezzanine around the stage |
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CIRQUE DU SOLEIL'S WINTUK |
| THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 29 |
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| WHAT: |
See the world premiere of Cirque du Soleil's new production created exclusively for the Theater at Madison Square Garden. Wintuk uses a cast of 50 performers to tell a winter tale about a boy named Wintuk and his quest to find snow and adventure. The show weaves thrilling acrobatics, circus arts, breathtaking theatrical effects and memorable songs together in a touching story line that brings Wintuk and his companions on an extraordinary journey to the Arctic North. |
| WHO: |
Richard Blackburn, the artistic director of Le Théâtre de la Dame de Coeur in Upton, Quebec has directed the show. Fernand Rainville, co-director of the bilingual Montreal production of Les Misérables is the director of creation. After the show join fellow members for drinks in Stitch Bar & Lounge. |
| TIME: |
7:30PM Show at the Madison Square Garden’s WaMu Theater
9:00 Drinks at Stitch Bar & Lounge |
| WHERE: |
WaMu Theater at Madison Square Garden
4 Pennsylvania Plaza
New York, New York 10001
Stitch Bar & Lounge (balcony bar is reserved for CAAL Members)
247 West 37th Street (between 7th & 8th Avenue)
New York, New York 10018 |
| PRICE: |
$65.00 (compared to $115.75 via Ticketmaster, CAAL Members save $50.75!)
Seats are located in the front of the WaMu Theater in sections 200 and 203 |
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PYGMALION |
| SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 3 |
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| WHAT: |
Join CAA and CAAL for George Bernard Shaw's classic play, Pygmalion. Shaw's classic comedy of love and linguistics is directed by Tony Award nominee David Grindley (Journey's End). When a pompous phonetics expert bets that he can teach a Cockney flower girl to act and speak like a lady, he gets more than he bargained for: Eliza Doolittle provokes his interest, his anger, and ultimately, his passion. As her lessons progress, it becomes obvious that it is Henry who has the most to learn about bad behavior. The New York Daily News review proclaims that Claire Danes “beams confidence as the Cockney flower girl made into a society lady… Pygmalion is her best work since My So-Called Life and Shopgirl.” |
| WHO: |
Golden Globe winner Claire Danes (The Hours, Romeo and Juliet) makes her Broadway debut as Eliza Doolittle, alongside Tony Award winner Jefferson Mays (I Am My Own Wife, Journey's End) as the inimitable Henry Higgins. Tony Award winner Boyd Gaines (Twelve Angry Men) returns to Roundabout as Colonel Pickering and Jay O. Sanders (A Midsummer Night's Dream) plays Alfred Doolittle. The cast also includes Helen Carey (Mrs. Higgins), Brenda Wehle (Mrs. Pearce), Kerry Bishé (Clara Eynsford Hill), Kieran Campion (Freddy Eynsford Hill) and Sandra Shipley (Mrs. Eynsford Hill). |
| TIME: |
2:00PM |
| WHERE: |
Roundabout Theatre
227 West 42nd Street (between 7th and 8th Ave.)
New York, NY 10036 |
| PRICE: |
$63.00 (normally $96.25, you save $33.25!) |
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ROCK 'N' ROLL |
| TUESDAY, OCTOBER 23 |
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| WHAT: |
Rock 'n' Roll, written by four-time Tony-Award winner Tom Stoppard and directed by Trevor Nunn, comes to Broadway following a record-breaking run in London's West End. Rock 'n' Roll spans the years from 1968 to 1990 from the double perspective of Prague, where a rock 'n' roll band comes to symbolize resistance to the Communist regime, and of Cambridge where the verities of love and death are shaping the lives of three generations in the family of a Marxist philosopher. A deeply felt look at the connection between rock music and revolution, Stoppard's sweeping and witty play spans two countries, three generations and twenty-two turbulent years, at the end of which love remains - and so does rock 'n' roll.
"Hottest ticket in town is so flush with feeling that it never seems to stop trembling… directed with lightning crackle and flash by Trevor Nunn. Stoppard's dazzling whirligig of a mind may be in full spin here, but he is definitely leading with his heart." – The New York Times |
| WHO: |
A pre-show discussion will take place with Professor Christopher Harwood and Arts Initiative Director Gregory Mosher. Professor Christopher Harwood is a Slavic Languages lecturer at Columbia University, specializing in 19th and 20th century Czech and Russian literature and Czech language pedagogy. Gregory Mosher is the director of the Arts Initiative at Columbia University and has over 30 years of production and directorial experience. He has received every major American theater award, including two Tony Awards. |
| TIME: |
6:30PM Pre-show talk and reception with Professor Christopher Harwood and Arts Initiative Director Gregory Mosher
8:00PM Show at Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre |
| WHERE: |
Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre
242 West 45th Street
New York, NY 10036 |
| PRICE: |
$88.50 (compared to $107.50 via Telecharge, CAAL Members save $19!)
Seats are located in the Orchestra |
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A REQUIEM FOR ANNA POLITKOVSKAYA |
| SUNDAY, OCTOBER 7 |
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| WHAT: |
A Requiem for Anna Politkovskaya commemorates the life and death of a Russian journalist, who persisted in her clear-eyed reporting on the war in Chechnya despite having been poisoned and issued multiple death threats. She was shot on October 7, 2006 while entering her Moscow apartment. A Requiem for Anna Politkovskaya features new music by renowned Moscow-based composer, Alexander Bakshi, and the visual poetry of Amy Trompetter's giant puppetry. At the top of his field in the Russian theater world, Alexander Bakshi liberates and stretches sound to express narrative and dialogue. Amy Trompetter’s iconoclastic puppets, ranging from the tiny to the gigantic, honor Anna’s life and death, her tenacious observation of indefensible war, her bold expose of political folly, and her lament for the suffering of women and children. |
| WHO: |
A pre-performance discussion will be led by Professor Catharine Nepomnyashchy and will include four speakers: Ann Cooper, coordinator of the Broadcast Program at the Columbia Journalism School, and the former Director of the Committee to Protect Journalists, who will speak about press freedom in Russia; Rachel Denber, Acting Director of Human Rights Watch's Europe and Central Asia Division, who will discuss the impact Anna Politkovskaya had on the human rights movement in Chechnya; Mary Holland, professor at the NYU School of Law, who will speak on impunity in Russia, and about developments in Politkovslaya's case; and Miki Pohl, professor at Vassar College, journalist, and Director at "Chechnya Advocacy," who will speak about Chechnya, and what it meant to Politkovskaya. The pre-performance reception will immediately follow the talk and commence at 6PM. |
| TIME: |
5:00PM Discussion at the Union Theological Seminary's Refectory
6:00PM Reception in the Refectory
7:00PM Performance in the Union Theological Seminary's James Chapel |
| WHERE: |
Union Theological Seminary James Chapel
3041 Broadway (at 121st Street)
New York, NY 10027 |
| PRICE: |
Free for members, RSVP required |
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MY TRIP TO AL-QAEDA |
| SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 22 |
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| WHAT: |
Written and performed by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Lawrence Wright, the gripping, highly personal narrative My Trip to Al-Qaeda details the rise of radical Islam. Based on his recent bestseller The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11 and originally presented as part of the 2006 New Yorker Festival, Wright's compelling production directed by Gregory Mosher brings to life the personalities behind the terror--and the toll the attacks of 9/11 have taken on America's civil liberties. This unique production uses facts, figures, sounds, and slides to weave the details of Al-Qaeda's rise to power into a compelling, eye-opening story. |
| WHO: |
Lawrence Wright is an author, screenwriter, and a staff writer for The New Yorker magazine. His screenplay credentials include The Siege, starring Bruce Willis, and Noriega: God’s Favorite, among many others. Mr. Wright is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Gregory Mosher is the director of the Arts Initiative at Columbia University and has over 30 years of production and directorial experience. He has received every major American theater award, including two Tony Awards. |
| TIME: |
6:30PM Reception at the Intermission Bar of the Terrace Theater of The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
7:30PM Show at the Terrace Theater |
| WHERE: |
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
2700 F Street, NW
Washington, DC 20566 |
| PRICE: |
$35.00 |
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THE SEAGULL |
| FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 14 |
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| WHAT: |
Join the Columbia Alumni Arts League (CAAL) for the Royal Shakespeare Company’s production of The Seagull presented at BAM’s Harvey Theater. Anton Chekhov’s masterpiece entwines comic and tragic situations in the lives of a famous actress, her son and their lovers. As the young strive for fulfillment, their older counterparts look back to youthful dreams that remain unfulfilled. |
| WHO: |
A pre-show discussion will take place with Assistant Director Gemma Fairlie and Gregory Mosher. Trained as an actor and director at Mountview Academy, Gemma Fairlie works as an Assistant Director for the Royal Shakespeare Company and has directed and assisted at various Fringe venues in London and Edinburgh. Gregory Mosher is the director of the Arts Initiative at Columbia University and has over 30 years of production and directorial experience. He has received every major American theater award, including two Tony Awards. |
| TIME: |
6:00PM pre-show talk in The Peter Jay Sharp Building
6:45PM meet with fellow alumni at the nearby Thomas Beisl and enjoy your first drink on the Arts Initiative!
7:30PM performance in BAM Harvey Theater |
| WHERE: |
The Peter Jay Sharp Building
30 Lafayette Ave
Thomas Beisl
25 Lafayette Avenue
BAM Harvey Theater
651 Fulton Street
Brooklyn, NY 11217 |
| PRICE: |
$75.00 |
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NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC: CONCERT IN CENTRAL PARK |
| TUESDAY, JULY 17 |
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| WHAT: |
Enjoy the New York Philharmonic, a light wine and cheese picnic, and the company of other CAAL Members in the pastoral setting of Central Park! Sir Andrew Davis conducts a beautiful evening of late romantic orchestral music which will conclude with a fireworks display. |
| WHO: |
Program includes Richard Strauss's Til Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks, various arias by Puccini, Massenet, Catalani, Weber featuring soprano Measha Brueggergosman, and Mussorgsky/Ravel's Pictures at an Exhibition. |
| TIME: |
6:00 - 9:00PM Picnic
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