Close, 'Hair', THE VIEW, Bates, & More to Appear at Times Arts & Leisure Weekend Jan 8-11

The 2009 Arts & Leisure Weekend will take place January 8 to 11. The Times's signature event is a four-day international celebration of the arts with a wide range of activities, from interviews between Times journalists and celebrated guests from the arts, film, music, media and politics, to special offers at cultural institutions around the world.

This year's guests include: ABC's "The View" co-hosts Barbara Walters, Joy Behar, Whoopi Goldberg, Elisabeth Hasselbeck and Sherri Shepherd; Academy Award-winning actress Kathy Bates; FX's "Damages" creators Todd A. Kessler, Glenn Kessler and Daniel Zelman with Emmy Award-winning star Glenn Close and co-stars Rose Byrne and Tate Donovan; MSNBC's Keith Olbermann; Grammy Award-winning vocalists Gal Costa and Cassandra Wilson; The Public Theater's artistic director Oskar Eustis with "Hair" composer Galt MacDermot and members of the Broadway revival cast; New York Times assistant managing editor Richard L. Berke with reporters covering the new administration; award-winning comedian, actor and author Lewis Black; dancers and artistic directors of Pilobolus Dance Theater; internationally acclaimed author Salman Rushdie; PBS's Tavis Smiley; punk rock legend Patti Smith; indie pop band Vampire Weekend; author and award-winning journalist Sharon Waxman; and many more.

The following TimesTalk events will be of particular interest to theater enthusiasts:

THURSDAY, JAN. 8 AT 6PM - Glenn Close & THE TEAM BEHIND "DAMAGES"

The Tony, Academy Award, and Emmy-winning star with co-stars and the creators-writers-producers of the FX series "Damages," the legal thriller set in New York, talk about driven characters and high-stakes battles.

THURSDAY, JAN. 8 AT 8PM - Whoopi Goldberg & THE WOMEN OF "THE VIEW"

The co-hosts of the Emmy-winning daytime talk show discuss how they tackle some of today's most controversial topics, each from her personal perspective.

FRIDAY, JAN. 9 AT 8:30PM - Kathy Bates

The Academy Award-winning and Tony-nominated actress talks about her prolific career in film, her collaborations with directors and actors, including on the set of the current releases, "Revolutionary Road," where she worked again with her "Titanic" co-stars, Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio.

SUNDAY, JAN. 11 AT 6PM - "HAIR"

The tribal-rock musical hit from 1968 has new relevance today with its timeless message of hope, peace and change. The show's composer, members of the cast and the Public Theater's artistic director discuss the parallels, with a performance from the show, which opens on Broadway in March.

The above TimesTalk events take place at TheTimesCenter, 242 West 41st Street. For more information or to purchase advance tickets, which are $30 for each interview, please call 1.888.NYT.1870 or visit www.ArtsAndLeisureWeekend.com.

Photo: Glenn Close by Walter McBride

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