Review: SELECTED SHORTS at The Adams Theater
Having them do so live, in-person to a room full of enthusiastic audience member reactions made it even more so.
Over thirty-five years ago, SELECTED SHORTS was born on the stage at New York City’s Symphony Space and quickly became one of the best-known shows of its kind spawning a popular public radio show, podcast, audio collections, and national tours. The series was conceived with a simple premise: take great stories by well-known and emerging writers and have them brought to life by terrific actors of stage and screen. Whether featuring stories around a lively theme, the favorite works of a guest author, or a special collaboration, each Selected Shorts event is a unique night of literature in performance.
The public radio show and popular podcast is recorded live from performances at the Peter Jay Sharp Theatre at Symphony Space in New York, as well as around the US on tours. Selected Shorts began in 1985 and still enjoys sell-out audiences today during its season on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. As one of the premiere reading series in New York City, the show attracts some of the biggest names in entertainment. My own personal introduction to the program was the November 30, 1987, broadcast featuring Christine Baranski’s performance of ”YMA Dream” written by Thomas Meehan and originally published in The New Yorker in 1962. It is widely considered one of the most popular and frequently performed comic pieces in the history of SELECTED SHORTS.
There is a theme for each Selected Shorts episode and performance. Several stories are presented around each theme. The stories are almost always fiction. Sometimes classic, sometimes new, always performed by great actors from stage, screen and television. Evenings are often co-hosted by writers, literary producers, and other interesting characters.
Saturday May 23 The Adams Theater played host to the SELECTED SHORTS Team. The theme for the evening's selections was "Outsiders - An evening of funny, moving, and surprising stories about people on the margins". The evening's host was highly acclaimed American Actor celebrated for his award-winning versatility across stage, television, and film. With a career spanning over four decades, he is best known for his iconic, Emmy-winning role in MONK as well as scene-stealing performances in both WINGS, and THE MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL - Tony Shalhoub.
The three shorts selected for presentation at the Adams were THE POSSIBILITY OF EVIL written by Shirley Jackson, and performed by Shalhoub's wife of 34 years, actress, Brooke Adams; THE HAUNTING OF HAJJI HOTAK written by Jamil Jan Kochai and performed by David Strathairn; and THE FIX, written by Percival Everett, and performed by Tony Shalhoub.
Listening to SELECTED STORIES is a delight. The actors bring energy, nuance, intonation, inflection, and character to every aspect of the story they are telling. Having them do so live, in-person to a room full of enthusiastic audience member reactions made it even more so.
The Adams Theater has a booked calendar for the summer season that includes a full slate of “MA250” events including the following coming up soon.
To kick things off, MA Poet Laureate Regie Gibson joins Guy Mendilow on June 12 for a community potluck called “Never Despair” - A Ten Toast Dinner, followed by the music and spoken word show “Different Ships, Same Boat” on June 13.
On June 20, Pulitzer Prize winner and Adams native Stacy Schiff comes to the theater for a conversation with interlocutor Sara Houghteling. Together, they will explore the fiery origins of the American Revolution as detailed in her masterpiece, The Revolutionary: Samuel Adams, and discuss where her historical research is taking her next. Fresh off her recent New York Times op-ed, this is an evening you won’t want to miss!
Events wi8ll end June 21, with a screening of the Golden Globe-nominated 1976 film “1776.” Come join in the revolutionary fun!
The MA250 High Tea event with the Friends of the Adams Library and Adams Historical Society on June 14 is now completely sold out, but don't miss out on all the other incredible MA250 programs! Visit: https://www.adamstheater.org/ma250 for tickets and further information.
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