Arts & Letters Live 2013 Brochure

22nd season | january–june 2013

A celebration of the literary and performing arts

featuring acclaimed authors, actors, illustrators,

musicians, and more

for your informationPurchase Tickets, Subscriptions, and Books

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pre-orderyourbooksonlineorbyphoneforpickupatWillCall.

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• Advancebookingprivilegesfortheupcomingseason

Annual Series Supporter Benefits (see page 23 for details)

• DiscountintheMuseumStore• Reservedseating• Invitationstoprivatereceptionsanddinnerswithauthors

All programs and participants are subject to change.

make a night of it!• ShowyourArts&LettersLiveticketandreceivea10%discountat

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Plaza.Valid only on the date of the event and does not cover alcohol, tax, or gratuity.

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For information on venues, parking, where to eat, services for the hearing impaired, and the Museum Store, visit DMA.org.

Staff:Director of Programming and Arts & Letters Live:Carolyn Bess; Program Manager, Arts & Let-

ters Live, and Producer, Texas Bound:Katie Hutton; Audience Relations Coordinator:Hayley Dyer;

Administrative Coordinator:Carolyn Hartley; McDermott Intern:Emily Brown

1

redan inside look at the art and life of mark rothko

thursday, january 17, 7:30 p.m. horchow auditorium

“There is only one thing I fear in life, my friend. . . .

One day the black will swallow the red.” Iconic artist

Mark Rothko utters those words of foreshadowing

to his assistant Ken in John Logan’s play Red, which

won six Tony Awards in 2010. In the play, set in New

York in 1958, Rothko undertakes a new commission

for the Four Seasons restaurant, and his newly hired

assistant challenges the master’s theories.

Dallas Theater Center is mounting a production of

Red from February 7 to March 24, turning the ninth

floor of the Wyly Theatre into Rothko’s Bowery studio

for a thrilling bio-drama as vivid as any primary color.

DTC is collaborating with the Dallas Museum of Art by

fostering dialogue about Rothko’s process, paintings,

and persona among staff of both organizations and

audiences as well.

At this event, audiences will get a glimpse into

Rothko’s art and life as well as a sneak peek into the

production of Red, featuring actor Kieran Connolly

as Rothko and Jordan Brodess as Ken. Maxwell L.

Anderson, The Eugene McDermott Director of the

Dallas Museum of Art, will moderate an onstage

conversation with:

Carol Mancusi-Ungaro, Director of Conservation

at the Whitney Museum and the founding director

of the Center for the Technical Study of Modern Art

at Harvard University Museums. She directed the

restoration of the Rothko Chapel in Houston and has

written on the techniques of Rothko, Cy Twombly,

Jackson Pollock, and Barnett Newman.

Joel Ferrell, Associate Artistic Director at the Dallas

Theater Center and director of Red.

Ticket Price

$5

Reserve your seats online at

DMA.org/tickets.

Mark Rothko, Orange, Red and Red, 1962, oil

on canvas, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of Mr.

and Mrs. Algur H. Meadows and the Meadows

Foundation, Incorporated, 1968.9, © 2012 Kate

Rothko Prizel & Christopher Rothko/Artists

Rights Society (ARS), New York

artful musings

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michael ennisfriday, january 18, 7:00 p.m. horchow auditorium

Michael Ennis is the author of the New York Times best-

selling historical thriller The Malice of Fortune. The book

is inspired by the real-life assassination of Juan Borgia,

an illegitimate son of Pope Alexander VI, and a series

of serial-killer murders. The story follows Niccolò

Machiavelli, future author of The Prince, and Leonardo

da Vinci as they come together to solve a string of

murders, while complex and deadly Borgia politics

play out in the background.

In this meticulously researched book written over a

period of twelve years, Ennis superimposes his story

seamlessly onto the actual historical timeline. Author

Glenn Cooper praised the book, saying, “Michael Ennis

brings a scholar’s mind and a writer’s heart to this

beautifully crafted work of Renaissance intrigue that

has a rare quality of feeling ancient and modern at

the same time. A powerful, thinking man’s thriller.”

The Malice of Fortune was named to Publishers Weekly’s

list of “Best Books of Fall 2012.”

After initially being rejected by multiple publishers,

Ennis and his agent printed their own galleys and sent

them to independent booksellers across the country.

The praise they received from these booksellers was

astonishing and, armed with their passionate support,

Ennis’s agent again submitted the book. This time,

the book was snapped up by Doubleday and eleven

foreign publishers.

Michael Ennis taught art history at the University of

Texas, developed museum programs as a Rockefeller

Foundation Fellow at the Dallas Museum of Art, and

worked as an independent curator and consultant. His

nonfiction writing on subjects ranging from politics to

art and architecture has won several national awards

and has been featured in Esquire, Texas Monthly, Art

News, and Architectural Digest. He lives in Dallas.

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Fresh Ink events are FREE.

Order tickets in advance to

guarantee your seat.

Register online at

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fresh ink

3

making pictures and other storiesfriday, february 8, 7:30 p.m. horchow auditorium

Photographer and filmmaker Nic Nicosia has been

making directorial photographs for over thirty years.

He uses his camera to mimic reality, creating serial

scenes that are deliberately artificial yet curiously

enigmatic. Through the use of elaborate sets, cos-

tumes, and backdrops, he creates a sort of playful

tromp l’oeil that makes the viewer do a double take

and wonder, “How did he do that?”

His new publication, Nic Nicosia, is the definitive cata-

logue on his entire body of work. It showcases images

from all of his major series, and includes essays by

Sue Graze, the Director Emeritus of Arthouse at

the Jones Center, who will moderate this event, and

Michelle White, Curator of the Menil Collection, who

will discuss Nicosia’s work in a broader context.

At this event, Nicosia will share insight into his work-

ing habits and creative process while discussing se-

lected images from Nic Nicosia. Philipp Meyer, author

of American Rust (on Newsweek’s “Best. Books. Ever.”

list), will then reveal the inspiration behind his new

short story that powerfully resonates with the sense

of wonder and menace in Nicosia’s art. The story de-

buts in the Nic Nicosia catalogue. This impressive duo

of Nicosia and Meyer reminds us of the importance of

imagination in the worlds of art and literature, and

how one can influence and stimulate the other.

Nicosia’s work has been exhibited at multiple bienni-

als, and his photographs are owned by many premier

museums, including the Dallas Museum of Art. He

received the coveted Guggenheim Fellowship in 2010.

Meyer is on Granta’s list of “Best Young American Nov-

elists” and has been named one of the best 20 writers

under 40 by the New Yorker.

Ticket Prices

Adults $35, Students $15

Ticket and book combo $75

(Buy the book and attend the

event for free!)

Purchase tickets online at

DMA.org/tickets.

artful musings

4

texas bound imonday, february 11, 7:00 p.m. Earlier time! horchow auditorium

Reis McCormick reads her essay The Shape of Things

to Come

Matt Bomer reads Ron Carlson’s Milk

Allison Pistorius reads Siobhan Fallon’s Gold Star

Stephen Tobolowsky reads his essay F.A.Q., answers

questions, and signs books

About the actors:

Reis McCormick joins Texas Bound this season as a writer

and performer. Recent television and film credits include

AMC’s Emmy-winning hit Breaking Bad, and two feature films.

McCormick teaches Creative Process to actors and filmmakers

at K.D. College Conservatory in Dallas, and she recently finished

writing her first documentary narrative, “Cowboys of Color.”

Allison Pistorius has recently been seen in Twelfth Night

(Olivia) at Shakespeare Dallas and Much Ado About Nothing

(Beatrice), as part of the Complete Works reading series,

presented by the AT&T Performing Arts Center and produced

by Shakespeare Dallas. Other highlights include Helena

(A Midsummer Night’s Dream), RosaLaBella/Blanca (The House

of the Spirits), Rosalind (As You Like It), and Belle/Norah (Ah,

Wilderness!). She holds an MFA from the National Theatre

Conservatory.

Stephen Tobolowsky is a Dallas native and one of the leading

character actors in film today. USA Today listed him as the

ninth most frequently seen actor in movies: he has appeared

in over one hundred movies and two hundred television shows.

Tobolowsky is best known for his work in Glee, Groundhog Day,

Memento, Seinfeld, and Heroes. He wrote and performed the

comic documentary film Stephen Tobolowsky’s Birthday Party and

wrote True Stories with David Byrne and Beth Henley. His first

book, The Dangerous Animals Club, was released in September.

Ticket Prices

Adults $35, Students $15

Don’t miss other Texas Bound programs

on April 1 and May 6.

Purchase tickets online at

DMA.org/tickets.

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texas bound

5

jon scieszkasaturday, february 23, 7:00 p.m. horchow auditorium

There was never a dull moment in the Scieszka house-

hold. One of six brothers growing up in Michigan, Jon

Scieszka says he had to fight in order to survive the

dinner table ruckus. “I would make everyone laugh

and then make a grab for another piece of chicken,”

he says. But the laughter didn’t stop there. His books

The True Story of the Three Little Pigs and The Stinky

Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales are his inside-

out versions of the popular fairy tales.

Scieszka is also the founder of Guys Read, a web-based

literacy program to encourage a passion for reading

among boys, with the philosophy that boys love to

read most when they are reading things they love.

His Internet savvy is also displayed in his Spaceheadz

series, which combines reading with media technol-

ogy. The series follows Michael K., whose best friends

in the fifth grade are aliens who are on a mission to

convince 3.14 million (and 1!) kids to be Spaceheads.

Booklist says of his third and latest Spaceheadz book,

“With plenty of twists, lots of well-timed comic noises,

and even a hilarious section narrated by Major Fluffy,

this is sure to delight fans, while recruiting new ones.

Another laugh factory between covers.”

In 2008 Scieszka was named the first-ever National

Ambassador for Young People’s Literature by the

Library of Congress. As ambassador, Scieszka toured

the country to raise awareness about the importance

of children’s literature in fostering a lifelong joy of

reading and learning. Some perks of the job: being

ambassador got him out of parking tickets, and he

was given a pretty fancy medallion.

BooksmART events are FREE.

Order tickets in advance to

guarantee your seat.

Reserve online at

DMA.org/tickets.

mar

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booksmART

artful musings

6

art spiegelmanwednesday, february 27, 7:30 p.m. horchow auditorium

Art Spiegelman has almost single-handedly brought

comic books out of the toy closet and onto the

literature shelves. In 1992 he won the Pulitzer Prize for

his masterful Holocaust narrative MAUS—a comic-

book chronicle of his parents’ experience during the

Holocaust. The book was hailed by Jules Feiffer as “a

remarkable work, awesome in its conception and

execution . . . at one and the same time a novel, a

documentary, a memoir and a comic book. Brilliant.

Just brilliant.”

MAUS II continued the incredible story of his parents’

survival of the Nazi regime and their lives later in

America. His comics are best known for their shifting

graphic styles, formal complexity, and controversial

content.

In 2004 he completed a two-year cycle of broadsheet-

sized color comics pages, In the Shadow of No Towers.

Published in book form by Pantheon, it appeared on

many national bestseller lists and was selected by the

New York Times Book Review as one of the 100 Notable

Books of 2004.

He also worked as a staff artist and writer for the New

Yorker from 1993 to 2003, and in 2005 he was named

one of Time magazine’s “100 Most Influential People.”

A major exhibition of his work was arranged by the

Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art as part of

the 15 Masters of 20th Century Comics exhibition.

At this event, his topic will be What the %@&*! Hap-

pened to Comics? Spiegelman will take us on a chrono-

logical tour of the history and evolution of comics, all

the while explaining the value of this medium and

why it should not be ignored.

Ticket Prices

Adults $35, Students $15

Purchase tickets online at

DMA.org/tickets.

Become an Annual Series

Supporter at the $500 level or

above and enjoy an intimate

pre-event reception with Art

Spiegelman.

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7

peter reynoldsfriday, march 15, 7:00 p.m. horchow auditorium

Beloved children’s author Peter Reynolds’ goal is to

turn cannots into can-dos. The New York Times bestsell-

ing author and illustrator is a stalwart supporter of

creativity, encouraging even the most unimaginative

readers to take a chance and believe in their unique

abilities. “Nothing irks me more than seeing a person’s

creativity get shut down,” Reynolds says. “Through

my books, I want to help give kids—and grown-up

kids—the vocabulary to protect their exploration in

art, writing, and thinking.”

Author and illustrator of over thirty-five books for

children, Reynolds continues to inspire readers with

award-winning books such as Plant a Kiss and Someday,

both of which deal with the power of love. His popular,

bestselling “Creatrilogy,” which includes The Dot, Ish,

and Sky Color, offers insight into self-expression, the

importance of trying, and thinking outside the box.

In his latest book, The Museum, Reynolds teams up

with author Susan Verde to celebrate the inspiration

that comes from visiting a museum. Their young fe-

male protagonist tours galleries, connecting different

styles of art to unique emotions and ideas. Arriving at

an empty canvas, she is motivated to create her own

individual work of art. The Museum will show children

of all ages that museums can be fun and stimulating.

“I am hoping that children and . . . grown-up children will be

moved as they read my work. . . . I want them to put their

dreams into action.” —Peter Reynolds

booksmART

Tickets to BooksmART events are FREE.

Order tickets in advance to

guarantee your seat.

Register online at

DMA.org/tickets.

8

selected shorts: april foolerymonday, april 1, 7:00 p.m. Earlier time! horchow auditorium

Linda Lavin reads David Schickler’s Wes Amerigo¹s

Giant Fear

Denis O’Hare reads Dave Eggers’ Your Mother and I

Christina Pickles reads Roald Dahl’s Lamb to the

Slaughter

Join us this April Fool’s Day for an evening of wacky

tales.

About the actors:

Linda Lavin is a Tony and Emmy Award–winning actor, singer,

producer, and director. She recently performed on Broadway

in The Lyons, for which she received her sixth Tony Award

nomination. She is perhaps best known for her title role in the

hit TV series Alice (1976–85), for which she won two Golden

Globe awards and received an Emmy nomination. Other credits

include The Sopranos, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, and The O. C.

Lavin lives in New York and teaches master classes in the

performing arts at NYU.

Denis O’Hare, perhaps best known as Russell in the HBO hit

series True Blood, has also appeared in Law & Order, Brothers and

Sisters, The Good Wife, Charlie Wilson’s War, Changeling, Milk, and

Omer Fast’s video 5000 Feet Is the Best, a work recently acquired

by the Dallas Museum of Art. O’Hare won a Tony for Best Actor

in the play Take Me Out in 2003 and has also been nominated

for an Emmy. He lives in New York.

Christina Pickles is an Emmy-nominated British actor who is

perhaps best known for her roles as Nurse Helen Rosenthal on

St. Elsewhere and Judy Geller on Friends. Her films include Legends

of the Fall and Romeo and Juliet.

Selected Shorts on KERA 90.1

On Saturdays at 7:00 p.m., tune in to the award-

winning public radio series featuring classic and

bold new stories read by acclaimed actors.

Ticket Prices

Adults $35, Students $15

Don’t miss other Texas Bound programs

on February 11 and May 6.

Purchase tickets online at

DMA.org/tickets.

texas bound

9

visual versein celebration of national poetry month

wednesday, april 3, 7:30 p.m. horchow auditorium

Paul Muldoon was born in Northern Ireland and

studied at Queen’s University in Belfast under poet

Seamus Heaney, who has since deemed him “one of

the best.” Recurring themes of political and social

relevance inform his poems, as do family anecdotes.

His book Moy Sand and Gravel won the 2003 Pulitzer

Prize and the International Griffin Poetry Prize. He is

best known for his dry wit as well as his “visual clarity

and verbal panache.” The New York Observer said, “Paul

Muldoon is one of the great readers alive today. His

voice alters with every change in tone and he’ll often

pace around a room, his whole body responding to his

intricate rhythms.”

Muldoon has written libretti, rock lyrics for his own

band, and many books for children. His forthcoming

poetry collection, The Word on the Street (February 2013),

is a book of rock lyrics, some performed by Wayside

Shrines, the music collective of which he is a member.

Their themes range from lost love and lost wars to

icons as varied as Oedipus and Charlton Heston.

Muldoon serves as poetry editor of the New Yorker

and as a professor at Princeton University.

Nikky Finney was born in South Carolina and came

of age during the civil rights and Black Arts move-

ments. At Talladega College, Finney began to under-

stand the powerful synergy between art and history.

She has authored four books of poetry: Head Off & Split

(2011, winner of the National Book Award), The World Is

Round (2003), Rice (1995), and On Wings Made of Gauze

(1985). After her National Book Award acceptance

speech, host John Lithgow remarked, “That was the

best acceptance speech for anything I’ve ever heard in

my life.” Finney is the Guy Davenport Endowed Profes-

sor of English at the University of Kentucky.

Ticket Prices

Adults $35, Students $15

Purchase tickets online at

DMA.org/tickets.

At this event, both poets will

premiere new poems inspired by

works of art in the DMA’s collection.

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artful musings

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cheryl strayedtuesday, april 9, 7:30 p.m. horchow auditorium

Cheryl Strayed catapulted into the literary spotlight

with the publication of her critically acclaimed mem-

oir Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail. Wild

became a #1 New York Times bestseller, inspired Oprah

Winfrey to revive her Book Club, and was optioned

by Reese Witherspoon’s production company. The

book was also named as a Barnes and Noble “Discover

Great New Writers” selection, and Amazon named it a

“Best of March” pick.

After the sudden death of her mother, a divorce, and

a string of reckless decisions, Cheryl Strayed set out

alone for a harrowing journey to hike 1,100 miles

across the Pacific Crest Trail. She had no experience as

a long-distance hiker—indeed, she’d never even gone

backpacking before her first night on the trail—but

this was her attempt to piece back together a life that

had come undone. Told with great suspense, sparkling

with warmth and humor, Wild vividly captures the

terrors and pleasures of one young woman forging

ahead against all odds on a journey that maddened,

strengthened, and ultimately healed her.

Strayed is also the voice behind The Rumpus.net’s

beloved advice column, “Dear Sugar,” and has been

hailed by the New Republic as the “ultimate advice col-

umnist for the Internet age.” She has gained a tremen-

dously loyal following for the wit, candor, and wisdom

that she dispenses in each column. A collection of her

columns has been compiled in the book Tiny Beautiful

Things: Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar.

Raised in Minnesota, Strayed now lives in Portland,

Oregon, with her husband, filmmaker Brian Lindstrom,

and their two children.

Ticket Prices

Adults $35, Students $15

Register online at

DMA.org/tickets.

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wit and wisdom

distinguished writers

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elizabeth stroutmonday, april 15, 7:30 p.m. horchow auditorium

A Pulitzer Prize winner for fiction and a New York Times

bestselling mainstay, Elizabeth Strout is the author of

Olive Kitteridge, a story collection that showcases her

distinctively New England voice and powerful narra-

tive ability to transform the ordinary into the extraor-

dinary. Composed of thirteen stories linked through

the title character, Olive Kitteridge is a perceptive and

wise portrait that speaks to the power of human

connection. It was named to more than a dozen “Best

Books of the Year” lists, and USA Today raved, “Fiction

lovers, remember this name: Olive Kitteridge. You’ll

never forget her.”

Strout’s other books include Abide with Me, a national

bestseller and Book Sense pick, and Amy and Isabelle,

which won the Los Angeles Times Art Seidenbaum

Award for First Fiction and the Chicago Tribune Heart-

land Prize. She has also been a finalist for the PEN/

Faulkner Award and the Orange Prize.

At this event, she will discuss her new novel, The

Burgess Boys (March 26, 2013), her first book since Olive

Kitteridge. Jim Burgess is a sleek, successful corporate

lawyer, and Bob Burgess is a divorced Legal Aid attor-

ney. These brothers’ lives are irrevocably altered when

their sister calls with news of a thoughtless prank

committed by her teenage son, which is fast-evolving

into a scandal. Responding to her plea for help, the

brothers arrive in their hometown of Shirley Falls,

Maine, where long-buried tensions begin to surface

and layers of family history are peeled away to reveal

heartbreaking secrets that will forever change them.

Tender, tough-minded, and deeply illuminating, The

Burgess Boys explores the ties that bind us to family

and home.

Ticket Prices

Adults $35, Students $15

Register online at

DMA.org/tickets.

Ticket holders receive a 10%

discount on their purchase

of The Burgess Boys in the

Museum Store.

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george saundersfriday, april 19, 7:00 p.m. horchow auditorium

One of the most blazingly original writers of his gen-

eration, George Saunders is an undisputed master of

the short story. He was awarded a MacArthur Foun-

dation “Genius” Grant in 2006 for “bring[ing] to con-

temporary American fiction a sense of humor, pathos,

and literary style all his own.” Nylon magazine praised

Saunders, saying, “[T]o discover George Saunders is

to stumble into a world you never knew existed, like

Alice’s Wonderland. [Saunders’] arresting originality,

deadpan delivery, and satiric vision of contemporary

America secure his place as the bold successor to

Thomas Pynchon and Kurt Vonnegut.”

Saunders’ eclectic past—his jobs range from roofer in

Chicago, to guitarist in a country-western band, to

knuckle-puller in a West Texas slaughterhouse—has

fostered a wild and wry creative streak that can be

seen throughout his work. He is the author of several

short story collections, including CivilWarLand in Bad

Decline, Pastoralia, and In Persuasion Nation, as well as a

collection of essays, The Braindead Megaphone.

In 2001 Saunders was selected by Entertainment

Weekly as one of the 100 top most creative people in

entertainment, and by the New Yorker in 2002 as one

of the best writers under 40. In 2009 he received an

Academy Award from the American Academy of Arts

and Letters.

His forthcoming collection of short stories, Tenth of

December (January 2013), is filled with Saunders’ manic

energy and generosity of spirit. The stories are vividly

and lovingly infused with his signature blend of exu-

berant prose, deep humanity, and stylistic innovation.

“Humor is what happens when we’re told the truth quicker

and more directly than we’re used to.”

—George Saunders

fresh ink

Fresh Ink events are FREE.

Order tickets in advance to

guarantee your seat.

Register online at

DMA.org/tickets.

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ray bradbury and fahrenheit 451friday, april 19, 9:00 p.m. center for creative connections theater

In partnership with The Big Read Dallas through the

Friends of the Dallas Public Library and D Magazine

The Big Read Dallas is the ultimate book club, uniting

the city of Dallas by reading Ray Bradbury’s sixty-year-

old Fahrenheit 451 during the month of April.

Ray Bradbury, the poetic and visionary author of

such timeless classics as Fahrenheit 451, The Martian

Chronicles, and Something Wicked This Way Comes, is one

of the most influential writers of the 20th century.

From Mikhail Gorbachev to Alfred Hitchcock to David

Bowie, Bradbury’s sway on contemporary culture is

towering.

Accomplished journalist Sam Weller met Bradbury

while writing a cover story for the Chicago Tribune

magazine and spent hundreds of hours interviewing

him, his editors, family members, and friends. During

the past twelve years, Bradbury gave Weller unprec-

edented access to private archives and never-before-

published letters, documents, and photographs. His

2005 biography, The Bradbury Chronicles, tells the story

of this literary genius and his remarkable creative jour-

ney. Library Journal praised Weller’s 2010 book Listen to

the Echoes: The Ray Bradbury Interviews, saying, “Weller

is the quintessential interviewer who asks probing

questions, then gets out of the way so that readers

will have the feeling that Bradbury is talking to them.”

Weller has written for the Paris Review and NPR’s All

Things Considered, and is a professor at Columbia Col-

lege in Chicago.

Chime in to this focused discussion of Fahrenheit 451

and its themes of courage, preserving knowledge, and

the importance of the written word.

fresh ink

Fresh Ink events are FREE.

Order tickets in advance to

guarantee your seat.

Register online at

DMA.org/tickets.

14

Ticket prices are based on seat loca-

tion and range from $25 to $65.

Purchase tickets by calling

214-880-0202 or ordering online

at attpac.org.

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david sedaristuesday, april 23, 7:30 p.m.

winspear opera house 2403 flora street

In partnership with KERA and the

AT&T Performing Arts Center

Bestselling author and satirist David Sedaris will

return to Dallas to read new and unpublished

material for a fifth consecutive year. Hailed as the

“rock star of writers” and for his sardonic wit and

incisive social critiques, Sedaris has become one of

America’s preeminent humor writers.

David Sedaris’s new book of essays, Let’s Explore

Diabetes with Owls (released the same day as this

event), takes his readers on a bizarre and stimulating

world tour. From the perils of French dentistry to the

eating habits of the Australian kookaburra, from the

squat-style toilets of Beijing to the particular wilder-

ness of a North Carolina Costco, we learn about the

absurdity and delight of a curious traveler’s experi-

ences. Whether railing against the habits of litterers in

the English countryside or marveling over a disem-

bodied human arm in a taxidermist’s shop, Sedaris

takes us on side-splitting adventures that are not to

be forgotten.

Sedaris has been making America laugh for the past

twenty years with books such as Barrel Fever and Holi-

days on Ice, as well as collections of personal essays,

including Naked, Me Talk Pretty One Day, Dress Your

Family in Corduroy and Denim, and When You Are Engulfed

in Flames. Sedaris’s pieces appear regularly in the New

Yorker. His collection of fables entitled Squirrel Seeks

Chipmunk: A Wicked Bestiary (with illustrations by Ian

Falconer) was published in 2010.

“Sedaris’s droll assessment of the mundane and the eccen-

trics who inhabit the world’s crevices make him one of the

greatest humorists writing today.”—Chicago Tribune

wit and wisdom

15

madeleine k. albrightwednesday, may 1, 7:30 p.m.

city performance hall 2520 flora street

Madeleine K. Albright served as the 64th Secretary of

State of the United States and was the first female

to hold that position. Prior to her appointment, Dr.

Albright served as the United States Permanent Rep-

resentative to the United Nations. She played a lead

role in forging America’s successful response to ethnic

cleansing in Kosovo, and was a forceful advocate of

bringing war criminals to justice.

Since leaving office, Dr. Albright has authored five New

York Times bestsellers, including Madam Secretary: A

Memoir. At this event, she will discuss her latest book,

Prague Winter: A Personal Story of Remembrance and War:

1937–1948. Before Albright turned twelve, her life was

shaken by the Nazi invasion of Czechoslovakia, where

she was born. Drawing on her memory, her parents’

written reflections, interviews with contemporaries,

and newly available documents, Albright recounts

a tale that is by turns harrowing and inspiring. It

combines the intimacy of an autobiography with the

drama of an exciting and well-told story—all under-

pinned by the gravity and intelligence of a serious

work of history. Prague Winter serves as a guide to

the future through the lessons of the past, as seen

through the eyes of one of the international commu-

nity’s most respected and fascinating figures.

She currently serves as Chair of Albright Stonebridge

Group, a global strategy firm, and Chair of Albright

Capital Management LLC, an investment advisory firm

focused on emerging markets. In 2012 she was chosen

by President Obama to receive the nation’s highest

civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, in

recognition of her contributions to international peace

and democracy.

wit and wisdom

Ticket Prices

Adults $37, Students $17*

*$2 of the ticket price supports the

preservation of City Performance Hall

Register online at

DMA.org/tickets.

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texas bound iimonday, may 6, 7:30 p.m. horchow auditorium

Judith Ivey reads Betty Wiesepape’s A Soft Spot

Cindy Beall reads Alix Ohlin’s Three Little Maids

John Benjamin Hickey reads Patricia Highsmith’s

A Curious Suicide

Raphael Parry reads Jack Handey’s Alexander the Great

About the actors:

Judith Ivey is a two-time Tony Award winner for her perfor-

mances in the Broadway productions of Steaming and Hurlyburly.

Her other Broadway credits include The Heiress, Piaf, Bedroom

Farce, Blithe Spirit, Precious Sons, and Park Your Car in Harvard Yard,

which earned her a third Tony nomination. She is perhaps best

remembered for her role as B. J. Poteet on Designing Women and

as the fundamentalist mother in The Devil’s Advocate. Other film

and television work includes White Collar, Will and Grace, Buddies,

Flags of Our Fathers, Brighton Beach Memoirs, and The Critic.

Cindy Beall was recently seen locally as Susan Slater in Kitchen

Dog Theater’s Becky Shaw and as Volumnia in Coriolanus for

Shakespeare Dallas. Favorite roles include Flora in Humble

Boy (WaterTower Theatre), Mrs. Wire in Vieux Carré (Theatre

Three), and Martha in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Kitchen Dog

Theater).

John Benjamin Hickey won a 2011 Tony Award for his perfor-

mance as Felix Turner in The Normal Heart. Other Broadway

credits include Mary Stuart, Cabaret, and Love! Valour! Compas-

sion!, a role he would reprise for the 1997 film version. He

currently plays Sean Tolkey in Showtime¹s The Big C, starring

opposite Laura Linney. Other film and television credits include

Pitch Perfect, The Good Wife, Flags of Our Fathers, Finding North,

and Infamous. He grew up in Plano.

Raphael Parry is the Director and host of Texas Bound. He also

serves as Executive and Artistic Director of Shakespeare Dallas

and Founder of Project X, a host company for the development

of new work by artists throughout North Texas.

Ticket Prices

Adults $35, Students $15

Don’t miss other Texas Bound programs

on February 11 and April 1.

Purchase tickets online at

DMA.org/tickets.

texas bound

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temple grandinfriday, may 10, 7:30 p.m. horchow auditorium

Dr. Temple Grandin is perhaps the world’s best-known

adult with autism and has inspired millions of people

around the world as a champion for individuals with

autism and their families. Her accomplishments as a

speaker, scientist, author, and advocate earned her a

place among Time magazine’s “100 Most Influential

People in the World” in 2010.

Her life story was the subject of the acclaimed HBO

biopic Temple Grandin, starring Claire Danes, which won

seven Emmy awards and a Golden Globe. Grandin’s in-

sights into animal behavior and innovations in livestock

handling have revolutionized food-animal welfare and

led to dramatic improvements in the livestock industry.

Grandin didn’t talk until she was three and a half years

old, communicating her frustration instead by scream-

ing, peeping, and humming. In 1950 she was diagnosed

with autism and her parents were told she should be

institutionalized. Even though she was considered

“weird” in her young school years, she eventually found

a mentor who recognized her interests and abilities

and helped her thrive.

She is the author of six books, including the bestsellers

Thinking in Pictures, Animals in Translation, and Animals

Make Us Human. Her forthcoming book, The Autistic

Brain: Thinking Across the Spectrum, offers a transforma-

tive new understanding of autism itself. The Autistic

Brain is a cutting-edge account of the latest science of

autism and Grandin’s groundbreaking new theory of

how the autistic brain works. Weaving her own history

and experience into the narrative, she will take us to

the frontiers of neurological research.

The DMA is a leader among museums nationally in

offering programs for families who have children

with autism.

wit and wisdom

Ticket Prices

Adults $35, Students $15

Purchase tickets online at

DMA.org/tickets.

joel

ben

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characters in colora serenade to chagall

wednesday, may 15, 7:30 p.m. horchow auditorium

Inspired by the exhibition Chagall: Beyond Color

Nationally and internationally acclaimed musicians

and members of Elledanceworks will bring Marc

Chagall’s vivid and whimsical paintings, sculptures,

and costumes to life in a one-of-a-kind, one-night-

only performance, weaving together music, dance,

poetry, and Chagall’s own words. In this multidisci-

plinary program inspired by Chagall’s travels, dreams,

and imagination, experience the master of mood and

mise-en-scène reflected in eclectic music ranging from

Fauré to Fiona Apple and Rachmaninoff to R.E.M.

A tour of the exhibition Chagall: Beyond Color prior to

the performance will generate thought-provoking

connections between the visual and performing

arts. The centerpiece of the exhibition is a showcase

of Chagall’s sets and costumes for the ballet Aleko,

commissioned for the New York Ballet Theatre in 1942.

When the ballet premiered, there was tumultuous

applause and nineteen calls. Art critics exclaimed that

it “surpassed anything Chagall has done on the easel

scale, and it is a breathtaking experience, of a kind

one hardly expects in theater.”

Elledanceworks Dance Company has enjoyed a

creative partnership with the DMA in recent years, de-

signing performances and creating new work inspired

by the exhibitions All the World’s a Stage (2009), Silence

and Time (2011), and Youth and Beauty (2012). Elledance-

works is the professional dance company-in-residence

at Collin College.

This is the eighth collaboration between Arts & Letters

Live and artistic programmer Ryan Taylor.

Image: Marc Chagall, Between Darkness and Night (Entre chien et loup), 1938–43, oil on paper mounted

on canvas, Private collection, Paris, © Archives Marc et Ida Chagall. © 2012 Artists Rights Society. (ARS),

New York/ADAGP, Paris

Ticket Prices

Adults $35, Students $15

Purchase tickets online at

DMA.org/tickets.

artful musings

Clockwise: Ashleigh Semkiw, soprano (Chicago Opera Theater, Castleton Festival); Jamie Van Eyck, mezzo-soprano (Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Boston Lyric Opera); Seth Carico, bass-baritone (Fort Worth Opera, Deutsche Oper Berlin); Amy Dillard and Emily Boyd of Elledanceworks; Joseph Li, pianist (Houston Grand Opera, Wolf Trap Opera); David Portillo, tenor (Lyric Opera of Chicago, Minnesota Opera)

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margaret atwoodfriday, may 31, 7:30 p.m. horchow auditorium

In conjunction with the exhibition The Body

Beautiful in Ancient Greece

Margaret Atwood is a giant of modern literature who

refuses to rest on her laurels. She has anticipated,

satirized, and even changed the popular pre-concep-

tions of our time, and is the rare writer whose work

is adored by the public, acclaimed by the critics, and

read on university campuses.

She is an internationally celebrated novelist, poet,

literary critic, essayist, and environmental activist. Her

tenth novel, The Blind Assassin, won the 2000 Booker

Prize, a prize for which she has received five nomina-

tions. Newsday called The Blind Assassin “the first great

novel of the new millennium.” Her work, crossing

many subject lines and portraying strong female char-

acters, has been published in forty languages and also

includes The Handmaid’s Tale, The Robber Bride, Alias

Grace, Oryx and Crake, Cat’s Eye, and The Year of the Flood.

Her 2008 nonfiction book, Payback: Debt and the

Shadow Side of Wealth, was made into a documentary

in 2012.

At this event, Margaret Atwood will discuss her ac-

complished body of work and her creative process.

In conjunction with the DMA’s exhibition The Body

Beautiful in Ancient Greece, she will also speak on the in-

fluence of Greek myth on her own work. This includes

her 2006 book The Penelopiad: The Myth of Penelope

and Odysseus, a wry retelling of the familiar story

of Homer’s Odyssey from the perspective of his wife,

Penelope. In approaching Penelope, Atwood draws on

multiple ancient sources to weave a new interpreta-

tion of the long-suffering, dutiful wife as a shrewd and

practical woman, every bit the equal of her husband

in guile and cleverness.

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Ticket Prices

Adults $35, Students $15

Purchase tickets online at

DMA.org/tickets.

Become an Annual Series

Supporter at the $1,000 level

or above and enjoy an intimate

pre-event reception with

Margaret Atwood.

revolution!joseph j. ellis and tom reiss

tuesday, june 4, 7:30 p.m. horchow auditorium

Author and historian Joseph J. Ellis is one of the na-

tion’s foremost scholars of American history. Library

Journal praised him, saying, “He writes history as it

should be: as a page turner.” In 2001 he won the Pulit-

zer Prize for his book Founding Brothers: The Revolution-

ary Generation. His book American Sphinx: The Character

of Thomas Jefferson won the 1997 National Book Award.

At this-event he will discuss his newest book, Revo-

lutionary Summer: The Birth of American Independence,

which focuses on the summer of 1776, the most

dramatic few months in our country’s founding. The

thirteen colonies came together and agreed to secede

from the British Empire. At the same time, the Brit-

ish dispatched the largest armada ever to cross the

Atlantic. Revolutionary Summer enlivens these historical

events with a compelling freshness.

Tom Reiss is an acclaimed journalist and author of

the celebrated international bestseller The Orientalist,

a biography of Lev Nussimbaum, a Jew who pretend-

ed to be a Muslim while living in Germany during the

years leading up to the Holocaust. The Dallas Morning

News hailed it as a “spellbinding history . . . part detec-

tive yarn, part author biography, part travel saga . . .

The Orientalist is completely fascinating.”

He will discuss his latest book, The Black Count: Glory,

Revolution, Betrayal, and the Real Count of Monte Cristo, a

stunning feat of historical sleuthing that brings to life

the forgotten hero who inspired such classics as The

Count of Monte Cristo and The Three Musketeers. General

Alex Dumas, father of novelist Alexandre Dumas, was

born to a Haitian slave and sold into bondage. He

made his way to Paris, where he was educated by

French aristocracy. After enlisting as a private, he rose

through the ranks to command armies at the height

of the French Revolution.

Ticket Prices

Adults $35, Students $15

Purchase tickets online at

DMA.org/tickets.

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