Bits And Pieces 05.17.12
Jong on E.L. James
BookHampton will host a provocative discussion with Erica Jong on Saturday at 8 p.m. at the East Hampton store. She will discuss the book “Fifty Shades of Grey” in a talk called “Is This What We’ve Come To?”
Ms. Jong’s 1973 “Fear of Flying” was one of the first popular erotic novels penned by a woman. She has continued to write in that genre, crafting some of the more graphic sexual descriptions in contemporary fiction.
She objects to the popular “Fifty Shades” trilogy because, in her words, “it is just bad writing. That and the fact that the heroine is subservient, allowing her body to be abused in order to ‘get her man.’ Is this what we’ve come to?”
‘Graduate’ Auditions
Center Stage at the Southampton Cultural Center will hold open auditions for performances of “The Graduate,” based on the 1963 novel and 1967 film of the same title, on Sunday at 4 p.m. and Monday at 6 p.m. The center is on Pond Lane in Southampton Village.
Michael Disher will direct the play, which was adapted for the London stage in 2001 by Terry Johnson. The film told the story of Benjamin Braddock, a recent and aimless university graduate who is seduced by an older woman and falls in love with her daughter.
No prepared monologue is required. Sides will be provided at the auditions. Auditions will begin promptly; late arrivals will be seen at the discretion of the director. Performances will begin on July 12 and run through July 29. Questions can be e-mailed to Mr. Disher at [email protected].
‘Black Tie’ Onstage
The Hampton Theatre Company will present “Black Tie” at the Quogue Community Hall beginning next Thursday. A.R. Gurney’s play features a clash of cultures and generations at a traditional WASP wedding. The play will run Thursdays to Sundays through June 10.
The cast of five includes Andrew Botsford as Curtis, the father of the bridegroom, and Cyrus Newitt as the ghost of Curtis’s father, who returns to help his son be the perfect host according to family dictates. Rosemary Cline plays Curtis’s wife, who tries to help her husband embrace a multicultural world. Christopher Scheer is the panicked bridegroom, and Sydney Schwindt is his sister.
The play will be onstage Thursdays at 7 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., and Sundays at 2:30 p.m. Ticket prices are $25 for adults, $23 for senior citizens (except Saturdays), and $10 for students under 21. Reservations can be made through Hamptontheatre.org.
‘American Meat’
A new documentary, “American Meat,” will be screened at Guild Hall on Saturday at 2 p.m. It chronicles a grassroots evolution in sustainable meat production from the current industrial meat system, as told through the eyes of farmers who live and work in the industry. Smaller-scale operations and the farmers, food advocates, and chefs who support them are featured, and the film addresses whether such efforts could meet the demand of American consumers.
“American Meat” focuses in particular on Joel Salatin, a Virginia farmer who began a movement to raise animals outdoors and without antibiotics. After the screening, Graham Meriwether, the filmmaker, will take part in a discussion with Joe Realmuto of Nick and Toni’s restaurant in East Hampton, Scott Chaskey of Amagansett’s Quail Hill Farm, and Alex Balsam and Ian Calder-Piedmonte of Balsam Farms, also in Amagansett.
Nick and Toni’s will serve small plates, wine, and beer from local sources at 4:30 p.m. The film and discussion cost $12, $10 in advance at AmericanMeatFilm.com. The event at Nick and Toni’s costs $25.
The Wine of Love
Morris Goldberg, a virtuoso on clarinet, saxophone, flute, and even the pennywhistle, will perform at the last Candlelight Fridays show of the season at the Wolffer Estate Vineyard tomorrow from 5 to 8 p.m. An East Hampton resident, Mr. Goldberg plays in many musical genres, among them classical, jazz, bebop, and mbaqanga. Well known among jazz aficionados, he worked with Paul Simon on his album “Graceland.”
Next week, live music will continue at the Sagaponack winery on Thursdays in the tasting room from 5 to 8 p.m. and on Fridays at the wine stand, both with no cover charge. Wine, with cheese and charcuterie plates, will be available for purchase. Food may not be brought in from outside.