April 28, 7:30 pm: Free Screening: Exporting Raymond- SOLD OUT

Everybody Loves Raymond was a phenomenally successful sitcom, and now, in syndication, it is still enormously popular. The growing Russian television industry smelled potential as well, and invited Phil Rosenthal, the show’s wry creator, to come to Russia to discuss adaptation for a Russian audience. Sitcoms cross borders all the time.  Some adaptations succeed abroad, others not so well.  Phil Rosenthal narrates this really funny documentary about taking an essentially American family sitcom to another culture, to a country so hungry for pop culture that…

May 2, 7:30 pm: Francine Prose with Mark Richard

Francine Prose is simply one of the best storytellers around. Reading Like A Writer is almost a bible for would-be novelists.  And part of that bible tells would-be writers to read great novels.  They should start with Francine Prose.  Her novels are diverse and often hilarious, and always provocative.  Take a favorite of ours, Blue Angel, a scathing satire on the whole of academia, from self-serving professors to overindulged and talentless students, to the politically correct, and sometimes even admirable administrative policies (such as sexual…

May 12, 7:30 pm: Betty White with Carl Reiner SOLD OUT

Betty White is hot. Hot in Cleveland, to be sure, but really Hot in LA.  In her new book, If You Ask Me (And Of Course You Won’t), Betty tells us something remarkable: that she came to the Mary Tyler Moore Show for a one-time appearance, in the fourth season.  She ended up staying for the duration of the run, for three additional seasons.  But in most seasons in which she appeared, Betty turned up in only five or six episodes.  Her impact on the…

April 11, 7:30pm: Jacqueline Winspear, Cara Black, David Kipen

April 11, 7:30 pm: Jacqueline Winspear and Cara Black in conversation with David Kipen Two private detectives, Maisie Dobbs and Aimee Leduc, live in two different eras and in two different countries.  They are both enormously popular,  extraordinarily delightful and take us into two vastly different ways of solving crimes. Jackie Winspear sets her Maisie Dobbs mysteries in the interwar years in and around London.  Maisie does have a telephone, and does have the occasional use of an automobile, but high tech ends there. World…

Michael Connelly and John Romano- April 5, 7:30 pm

You know you’re desperate for another Michael Connelly novel when you’re walking on a city street, see a Lincoln Town Car, in a town full of Lincoln Town Cars, and wonder if perhaps itinerant attorney Mickey Haller is conducting his law practice inside the car.  You know you’re desperate for that new Michael Connelly novel when you just assume that Mickey Haller is on his way to or from trouble or dodging a bullet, or perhaps just preparing a brief.  But wait! If trouble is…

Feb. 10, 7:30 pm: Steve Martin with Dave Hickey SOLD OUT

It can be argued that Steve Martin is our most visible Renaissance Man—our most public creator of so much art.  He’s an award winning banjo player. He’s an actor and comedian whose appeal crosses who knows how many generations.  His tweets alone delight multitudes.  He has also written and appeared in many films, television shows and specials.  Steve’s writing—whether in short humor bursts (150 characters can make us laugh more than we thought possible) or in slightly longer prose form in the shape of novels…