The New York Public Library For The Performing Arts To Celebrate Uta Hagen Centennial

The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center will join Uta Hagen at 100, HB Studio's season-long celebration of the centennial of the legendary actress, activist, and HB Studio master teacher, with a look into her life and legacy. The Library's Billy Rose Theatre Division houses three major collections related to Uta Hagen: The Uta Hagen/Herbert Berghof Papers; The HB Studio Records; and The HB Playwrights Foundation Records.

The special events will include actors Ethan Hawke, Jessica Hecht, among others, being led in a master class in tribute to Hagen by actor-teacher Austin Pendleton; an exploration of the famous record-breaking 1943 Broadway production of Othello, in which Hagen starred opposite Paul Robeson and José Ferrer; and an in-depth look at Hagen's life including readings of her unpublished diaries by her daughter and granddaughter. On the Library's third floor reading room, Actress + Activist: Uta Hagen at 100, a curated display from the late Tony Award-winning actress's archives will be available for viewing by the general public from Monday, April 1 through Wednesday, July 31 and HB Studio will hold open class demonstrations and present audio and video of Hagen from its archives in the Library's Astor Gallery, Monday, April 8 through Thursday, April 11, between the hours of 11am and 5:30pm. All programming is free of charge and open to the public.

Monday, April 1 through Wednesday, July 31, 2019

Collections Display: Actress + Activist: Uta Hagen at 100

Curated by Alan Pally, nearly 100 items from the Library's archives will offer a glimpse into Ms. Hagen's wide-ranging career representing her many theatrical performances, her activism, the period in the 1950s when she was blacklisted for suspicion of being a communist sympathizer, and her cooking prowess.

3rd floor reading room, 40 Lincoln Center Plaza

Monday, April 8 through Thursday, April 11

An HB Studio Mini Residency

HB Studio moves uptown from its West Village location for a residency in the Library's Vincent Astor Gallery. Stay tuned for more information about the open classes and demonstrations offered, and the videos and audio recordings from the HB Studio archives that will be showcased.

11am to 5:30pm|Astor Gallery, 40 Lincoln Center Plaza

Wednesday, April 10, 2019

Respect for Acting: An Uta Hagen Master Class with Austin Pendleton

Austin Pendleton, long-time HB Studio acting instructor, will teach a master class in tribute to Uta Hagen with renowned actors Ethan Hawke and Jessica Hecht, among others.

Advance registration required

2 PM - 5 PM | Bruno Walter Auditorium, 40 Lincoln Center Plaza

Monday, May 13, 2019

Loved Well (Not Wisely): Paul Robeson and Uta Hagen's Othello

An exploration of the Broadway production that forever changed Hagen's career through a collage of archival audio, photographs, semi-staged readings, and expert commentary. In October 1943, The Theatre Guild opened a revolutionary and courageous Othello, the first major American Shakespeare production starring an African American actor, Paul Robeson, opposite a white leading lady, Uta Hagen. As the play churned to its dramatic end, the tragic lovers shared the fateful kiss - Broadway's first interracial kiss. The production set the record for the longest run of any Shakespeare play on Broadway, a record which remains unbroken. Curated by Evan Leslie, the Library's Artistic Producer.

Advance registration required.

6 PM | Bruno Walter Auditorium, 40 Lincoln Center Plaza

Monday, June 3, 2019

Uta Hagen: A Participant in Society

Uta Hagen's life and career will be explored through this lecture by Alan Pally. The event will feature images from the Library's collections and rarely seen footage of Hagen, her work, and her colleagues, including unpublished excerpts from Hagen's diary read by her daughter Leticia "Letty" Ferrer and granddaughter Teresa Teuscher. William Carden, who directed Hagen in Mrs. Klein and Collected Stories; and Laila Robins, who appeared with Hagen in Mrs. Klein, will also be on the program.

Advance registration required.

6 PM | Bruno Walter Auditorium, 40 Lincoln Center Plaza

For more details about these programs and for reservations, please visit nypl.org/lpa.

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