In early 2007, The New Yorker writer George Packer published an enthralling article about the desperate plight of Iraqis who had assisted the American effort in their country and were being hunted down as a result, with little or no U.S. protection. Betrayed, Packer's first play, is based on interviews conducted while in Iraq for the sixth time to research his article; the fictionalized account concerns three young Iraqis – two men and a woman – whose willingness to risk their lives to help the Americans is rewarded with an indifference bordering on contempt. Following tonight’s performance, Pulitzer Prize winner (and My Trip to Al-Qaeda playwright) Lawrence Wright will join Packer for conversation about the war in Iraq. Betrayed continues through March 16th at Culture Project; ticket prices vary.
Results tagged “pulitzerprize”
HEADS UP!: We love Daniel Kitson, it's been documented, so we wanted to give you a heads up that our favorite British comedian is coming back to the States! He has three shows in December at Union Hall (the 2nd, 3rd and 4th), and tickets are ON SALE NOW for two of those dates. It'll be the best $8+fees that you ever spent. ART: The Brothers Grimm fairytale Hansel and Gretel has taken over the...
FAIR: Attention vinyl junkies! WFMU is hosting their Record Fair starting this eve and running throughout the weekend. "Hundreds of dealers specializing in the out sounds that WFMU is adored for delivering year round will gather for three days of merciless hawking o' the wax, and thousands of area music geeks are already trembling with nervous anticipation!" There will also be live performances this year, check out more details here.
One of the most heartbreaking stories after the September 11 attacks was that of James Zadroga, a NYC police detective. Zadroga had worked rescue and recovery in the debris of the World Trade Center and developed a respiratory disease. Now, over a year after his death, the city's medical examiner has ruled that his death was not caused by toxic WTC dust.
Grace Paley, New York's official state author from 1986-88, died at the age of 84 yesterday. She had been battling breast cancer for quite some time. The author, born in the Bronx on December 11th, 1922, still kept an apartment in Manhattan -- but was at her home in Vermont at the time of death. The NY Times recaps her life in literature:
Ms. Paley’s output was modest, about four-dozen stories in three volumes: “The Little Disturbances of Man” (Doubleday, 1959); “Enormous Changes at the Last Minute” (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1974); and “Later the Same Day” (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1985). But she attracted a devoted following and was widely praised by critics for her pitch-perfect dialogue, which managed at once to be surgically spare and almost unimaginably rich.Continue reading "Author-Activist Grace Paley Dies at 84"
REV. SHARPTON TO APPRAISE RUDI GIULIANI AT TENTH ANNIVERSARY RALLY & DISCUSS THE STATE OF POLICE BRUTALITY TODAY IN LIGHT OF GIULIANI'S FRONTRUNNER STATUS ON THE REPUBLICAN TICKET BY ANALYZING WHAT THE NATION MIGHT FACE IF GIULIANI IS ELECTED PRESIDENT AND OVER THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENTOther attendees include Joseph Guzman and Trent Benefield, who survived being shot by police officers last fall (their friend Sean Bell did not survive) .
Senator Hillary Clinton has never been on the cutting edge of fashion. Nor was she ever meant to be (okay, she was on the cover of Vogue in 1998) and she's poked fun at her fashion choices (have pantsuit, can rule the world) before. But this past week, everyone's got an opinion about her style.
TV star Matthew Fox went to his alma mater today to give the Class Day speech at Columbia College. Fox, class of 1989, was a controversial speaker choice amongst the Columbia community, given that other Columbia University schools had, er, Nobel Laureate and former Treasury Secretary types speaking. Just Jared has a partial transcript of his remarks:
“You may have an idea where you want to be in 20 years and some of you will get there. But if you do, I guarantee you won’t have let yourself take chances. Eighteen years ago sitting in these seats, as hung over as I was, I remember a sense of accomplishment & a sense of fear. In defining the future for yourselves, the safest choice may not be the best choice...Continue reading "Matthew Fox's Class Day Speech at Columbia"
The Sanitation Chronicles, a new play by and about New York’s Strongest, premiered on Wednesday. Actor/playwright Paul Brno, who’s been moonlighting for the Department of Sanitation for the past 17 years, says “every day is still a great day to be on a garbage truck.” The “slice of life” play explores the daily prejudices, anger and violence faced by “Sanmen”, all of which is exacerbated when one of the guys shows up for work dressed as a lady. [Tickets.]
Apparently, sexy Hollywood beefcake is what Columbia College is trying to promote at its Class Day this year! Last year, father-of-fellow-Columbia College-student Senator John McCain spoke, to wide protest. This year, Columbia College has selected Matthew Fox, star of Lost, to be the main speaker.
A look at some noteworthy programs this week:
THEATER: The Transport Group’s season begins with Tad Mosel's 1961 play All the Way Home. The Pulitzer Prize-winning play is based on James Agee's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, A Death in the Family, so that kind of prize power should put this production on track for a couple OBIEs, at least. Set in Knoxville in the summer of 1915, All The Way Home explores generations of family relationships in a time of crisis, with an original score by Ellen Weiss for voice and harmonica. - John Del Signore
Earlier in the week the Sun pointed out that while Brooklyn may be "so hot right now" in terms of people and real estate that heat hasn't exactly turned into any money for the print-set. Just as quickly as new Kings County publications come out they seem to close. The latest to fold is the actually enjoyable The Brooklynite ("the a Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee champion!"). But before it goes gently into the night, the Brooklynite still managed to put out an online only final issue. And there are some goodies in it worth reading over including a story on beauty pagents in Brooklyn, one on the 350 botanicas ("Hispanic religious healing shops") that dot our city, and one on the 10,117 Native Americans that live in Brooklyn (who knew?).
Before we present you with this weeks paltry wedding numbers, we were wondering if you've ever wanted to bet on how long marriages announced on wedding pages will last? In which case, might we introduce you to Wedding Betting? Think HotorNot... but with weddings.

Anya Kamenetz, Author, Generation Debt: Why Now Is A Terrible Time To Be Young
On Sundays Gothamist runs opinion pieces relevant to life in New York and reviews of recent books and performances. The judgments expressed below are entirely those of the author.
Garrison Keillor noted during his opening speech for last night's National Book Awards that this week is the opening of another Harry Potter film. He said, "Most of us have stood in Barnes & Noble and opened a Harry Potter book, read a few pages and said: 'I could have done that. I could have done that while doing all the other things that I do. Why didn't I?'"
Kerryites, still wracking your brain for a reason why George W. won. Well, Air America host, Laura Flanders has a theory which she uncovers in her latest book Bushwomen: How They Won the White House for Their Man.
http://www.nytimes.com/ref/national/deathonthetracks_index.html?">railroad fatalities and the coverups behind them. We spent some of the evening reading a lot of the winning work, including Newsday's Dele Olojede's excellent and harrowing series on the tenth anniversary of the Rwandan genocide, which shared the international reporting prize with the LA Times, and the Willamette Week's winning investigative reporting revealing a former Oregon governor's sexual abuse of his 14 year-old baby-sitter. While it's natural that a lot of amazing reporting would come out of urban centers like NY, LA, and Chicago, it's great to see other papers get recognized. You can read the work on the Pulitzer website.
, was scheduled to begin previews Nov. 4, but was delayed when the producers had a big investor pull out and had to suddenly scamper around looking for replacement funds. The Times reports that the $2.1 million project is now back up and open for business, with previews going on now. A very rich angel has come to the rescue in the form of Carole Shorenstein Hays, a San Francisco real estate heiress and Broadway producer, whose previous producing credits include Take Me Out and Caroline, or Change.
, about the reconstruction of lower Manhattan and the World Trade Center.
Finally, the contemporary literature I'm reading can officially be called good: Jeffrey Euqenides' Middlesex wins the Pulitzer for fiction. About a the coming of age of a Greek-American hermaphrodite, Middlesex is the second novel by Eugenides, the first being the lyrical The Virgin Suicides.


