Drama at Drew

The John Drew Theater Lab will present a free staged reading of “In a Roundabout Way,” a play by Kim Sykes, an actress, writer, and artist from New York City, on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.

The play is set at a time of political partisanship, financial chaos, and the struggles of women and African-Americans for a place in the American dream. Two women, Mary Todd Lincoln and Elizabeth Keckley, a former slave who became a civil activist and confidante of the president’s widow, try to rekindle their friendship amid the upheavals of late-19th-century America.

Directed by Paul Hecht, the production stars Cynthia Darlow (Mrs. Lincoln), Ms. Sykes (Ms. Keckley), Anthony Michael Hobbs, and Peter Connolly.

Next Thursday evening at 7, the East Hampton Film Society will present “Chinatown,” Roman Polanski’s 1974 noir mystery set in Los Angeles in 1937. The film received 11 Academy Award nominations, including best picture, and won the award for best original screenplay.

The stellar cast includes Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway, and John Huston, and Mr. Polanski in a brief but chilling cameo. Tickets are $8, $6 for members of Guild Hall.