Arts & Culture

Theatrical pioneer Anne Bogart will bring the first American stage production of this early German Renaissance classic to WUSTL Nov. 11-12.

The illustrated lecture stems from her recent book, 100 Best Books for Children, an in-depth survey of children’s literature.

Remembering Einstein’s “miracle year.”The United Nations has declared 2005 the International Year of Physics — and there’s a very good reason why this particular year was chosen to raise worldwide public awareness of physics. It is also the 100th anniversary of physicist Albert Einstein’s miraculous year in which he wrote five — or three depending on whom you ask — of his most famous scientific papers. Also known as the World Year of Physics, 2005 will feature worldwide events of interest not only to physicists, but also to the general public. Two physicists from Washington University in St. Louis who are both known for their ability to speak and write clearly about physics to the layperson will be giving talks throughout 2005 about Einstein’s ideas and their impact on science and society 100 years later.

David Kilper/WUSTL Photo Services*Escape from Happiness*Drugs and alcohol, anger and insanity, police corruption and (semi-) organized crime. Welcome to Escape from Happiness, a darkly comic portrait of a highly idiosyncratic family by Canadian playwright George F. Walker. In November, the Performing Arts Department (PAD) in Arts & Sciences will present six performances in the A.E. Hotchner Studio Theatre.

The event will feature Dixieland music by St. Louis’ Bourbon Street Band and a talk by Gerald Early on “The Death of Jazz and the Birth of New Orleans.”

Courtesy photo*Death and the Ploughman*The year is 1401. A bereaved ploughman, maddened by the loss of his young wife in childbirth, demands answers from Death itself. So begins Death and the Ploughman, a powerful meditation on grief, mortality and the meaning of life. In November, New York’s acclaimed SITI Company, led by theatrical pioneer Anne Bogart, will bring the first American stage production of this early German Renaissance classic to Washington University’s Edison Theatre.

Neil GiordanoAnita SilveyAnita Silvey, one of the nation’s leading experts on children’s literature, will speak on “100 Best Books for Children: Our Greatest Children’s Books and the Stories Behind Them,” for The Center for the Humanities in Arts & Sciences at 4 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 9. The illustrated lecture stems from Silvey’s recent book, 100 Best Books for Children (2004), an in-depth survey of children’s literature from 1902 to 2002. In addition, Gerald Early, Ph.D., the Merle Kling Professor of Modern Letters and director of the Center for the Humanities, will discuss the center’s new Children’s Studies minor, which begins offering classes in spring 2006.

Diavolo will present two evening shows and also an all-ages matinee as part of the ovations! for young people series.

Matthew Coolidge, founder and director of the Center for Land Use Interpretation in Los Angeles, will be participating.

Courtesy photoBrenda Marie OsbeyBrenda Marie Osbey, Poet Laureate of the State of Louisiana, will host a fundraiser for victims of Hurricane Katrina currently staying in the St. Louis area from 4 to 6 p.m. Friday, Oct. 28, in The Gargoyle. Osbey, a native of New Orleans, will read from her work and discuss Katrina’s effects on the city. In addition, the event will feature Dixieland music by St. Louis’ Bourbon Street Band, while Gerald Early, Ph.D., the Merle Kling Professor of Modern Letters in Arts & Sciences, will speak on “The Death of Jazz and the Birth of New Orleans.”