NY Society Library Presents Yasmina Reza's ART 2/16

The New York Society Library present Bill Connington and other noted actors in a staged reading of the hilarious and insightful comedy Art by Yasmina Reza. The event takes place Thursday, February 16 at 6:30 pm at the New York Society Library, 53 East 79th Street (just east of Madison Avenue; 6 train to 77th Street).

The cost is $20 per person with advance registration, or $25 at the door. Reservations can be made at http://nyslrezaart.eventbrite.com/ or by contacting the Events Office at events@nysoclib.org or 212-288-6900 x230.

Yasmina Reza’s Art premiered in Paris in 1995 and won the Molière Award for Best Author. Since then it has had productions worldwide in over thirty languages. The London production (translated by Christopher Hampton) received the 1996-97 Laurence Olivier Award and Evening Standard Award, and its Broadway run garnered it the 1998 Tony Award for Best Play.

Raising questions about art and friendship, the comedy concerns Serge, a collector of modern art, and his friends Marc and Yvan. When Serge buys an expensive painting that Marc hates, their relationship suffers while they struggle to define what makes something art. Yvan, caught in the middle, tries to please them both. Anyone who has visited a contemporary art exhibit will be challenged and exhilarated by the debate.

Bill Connington is the creator and star of the extended-run, critically lauded show Zombie, adapted from the novella by Joyce Carol Oates. His short films of Zombie and The Thornhills of Park Avenue are currently appearing on the film festival circuit. The full-length feature of Zombie is slated for production in May 2012. As an actor, he has appeared in theater, television, and independent film. His recent plays include The Eternal Anniversary, which appeared at 59 East 59, and Princes of Darkness at the Dream Up Festival. He is a graduate of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.

The New York Society Library was founded in 1754 and is the city’s oldest library. In the eighteenth century, an organization labeled "Society" meant that it was open to all—available to everyone throughout society. The Library today is open to all for reading, reference, and selected events, with circulation and other services by subscription.

The beautiful landmarked building dates from 1917 and includes reading rooms, spaces for study, stacks, and the Assunta, Ignazio, Ada and Romano Peluso Exhibition Gallery. The Library has approximately 275,000 volumes and hosts a variety of special events, reading groups, and workshops, as well as the New York City Book Awards.

Information on the Library and its history can be found at www.nysoclib.org.