Jonathan Lethem News

GHOSTLIGHT RECORDS and THE CIVILIANS have released four new albums as the final installment of The Michael Friedman Collection.

GHOSTLIGHT RECORDS and THE CIVILIANS have announced the release of four new albums as the final installment of The Michael Friedman Collection. Adventures in Reality, Canard, Canard, Goose?, In the Footprint: The Battle for the Atlantic Yards, and Mr. Burns, a post-electric play will all be available in digital and streaming formats on Friday, March 24.

The South Carolina New Play Festival will present a posthumous staged reading of “Essential Alice” with music and lyrics by the late Michael Friedman and book by Annie Weissman. See how to purchase tickets!

GHOSTLIGHT RECORDS and THE CIVILIANS have announced the release of four new albums as the final installment of The Michael Friedman Collection.

The Brooklyn Book Festival will return in 2022 with a strong roster of authors in stirring discussions of contemporary works, and their intricate examination and vivid reflection of our moment. From September 25–October 3, the extensive, inclusive nine-day festival invites readers to hear from some of today’s most acclaimed authors.

The second installment of world premiere albums of The Michael Friedman Collection, will be available for streaming and download on Friday, August 14. Two new titles, (I Am) Nobody's Lunch and Paris Commune, follow the first three - The Great Immensity, The Abominables, and This Beautiful City - that were released last year.

On February 14 Dennis Callaci will release his new solo album The Day Of The Dead via Shrimper Records (pre-order). The record release falls on the same day as the Callaci's novel 100 Cassettes published by Pelekinesis whose narrative ties into the songs on The Dead of The Day (pre-order). The book is made of 100 meditations on music, commerce & the abstract. Find early entries of abstraction on Ida Cox, Alice Cooper, Talk Talk, Earl Sweatshirt and Lord Invader to nonfiction-based entries on Tony Conrad, Korla Pandit, Jackie Moore and Black Sabbath. Featuring a foreword by Jonathan Lethem and an afterword by Allen Callaci, the book winds around autobiographical information, the rich culture of Southern California from 1969 to the present day, and all musical points in between.

Today Dennis Callaci has announced the details of his new solo album The Day Of The Dead out February 14 on Shrimper Records (pre-order). Dennis Callaci shared 'Scoreless' the first single from the forthcoming release with Brooklyn Vegan and the track will be available on digital streaming services this Friday. The record release falls on the same day as the Callaci's novel 100 Cassettes published by Pelekinesis whose narrative ties into the songs on The Dead of The Day (pre-order). The book is made of 100 meditations on music, commerce & the abstract. Find early entries of abstraction on Ida Cox, Alice Cooper, Talk Talk, Earl Sweatshirt and Lord Invader to nonfiction-based entries on Tony Conrad, Korla Pandit, Jackie Moore and Black Sabbath. Featuring a foreword by Jonathan Lethem and an afterword by Allen Callaci, the book winds around autobiographical information, the rich culture of Southern California from 1969 to the present day, and all musical points in between.

Deadline reports that Jonathan Lethem's book 'Gun, With Occasional Music' will be adapted for television.

The Center for Fiction, a 200-year-old literary nonprofit that's created an immersive home for readers and writers in downtown Brooklyn, and Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national organization for theatre, will co-present Craft Talk: Annie Baker & Branden Jacobs-Jenkins. Annie Baker and Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, who are close friends and accomplished playwrights. will dive into a conversation about realism and the fourth wall.

GHOSTLIGHT RECORDS and THE CIVILIANS will release the first three premiere albums of The Michael Friedman Collection- available for streaming and download on Friday, October 18. The Great Immensity, The Abominables, and This Beautiful City are all written (or co-written) and directed by Steve Cosson and feature music and lyrics by Michael Friedman. This extraordinary long-term project will eventually comprise the premiere recordings of nine musicals from the beloved late Obie Award-winning songwriter Michael Friedman. The albums will be available at www.ghostlightrecords.com/michaelfriedman.html.

Lionel Essrog (Edward Norton), a lonely private detective living with Tourette Syndrome, ventures to solve the murder of his mentor and only friend, Frank Minna (Bruce Willis). Armed only with a few clues and the engine of his obsessive mind, Lionel unravels closely guarded secrets that hold the fate of New York in the balance. In a mystery that carries him from gin-soaked jazz clubs in Harlem to the hard-edged slums of Brooklyn and, finally, into the gilded halls of New York's power brokers, Lionel contends with thugs, corruption and the most dangerous man in the city to honor his friend and save the woman who might be his own salvation.

Film at Lincoln Center announces Edward Norton's Motherless Brooklyn as Closing Night of the 57th New York Film Festival (September 27 – October 13), making its New York premiere at Alice Tully Hall on Friday, October 11, 2019. The film will be released by Warner Bros. Pictures later this year. 

SongWriter is a new podcast that explores the connections between written word and lyrical, shining light on how all art is a reaction to other art. Hosted by songwriter and novelist, Ben Arthur, the podcast features an author telling a story (both fiction and non-fiction involved) and then a musician creates a song inspired by the story and performs it. SongWriter features a dozen episodes with many of Arthur's literary crushes, including Roxane Gay, Joyce Carol Oates, Susan Orlean, Patricia Lockwood, Missy Eaves, Gary Schteyngart, Ted Leo and Jonathan Lethem.

THE GREEN ROOM 42 in association with THE CIVILIANS, is proud to present Michael Friedman's The State of The Union Songbook to benefit The Civilians "Michael Friedman Legacy Fund" on Election Night, Tuesday, November 6, for two shows at 7:00 PM and 9:30 PM. The cast will include Jill Sobule, Jaime Cepero, Julian Fleisher, Kristolyn Lloyd, Nick Blaemire, Lauren Molina, Michael Winther, Conor Ryan, Wayne Pretlow, Johnny Shea, and Robbie Sublett, who will serve as the host for the evening, in addition to other names to be announced.

THE GREEN ROOM 42 in association with THE CIVILIANS, presents Michael Friedman's The State of The Union Songbook to benefit The Civilians 'Michael Friedman Legacy Fund' on Election Night.

The Houston Cinema Arts Society is pleased to announce the full lineup of films, guest artists, live performances, and interactive elements that will populate the 2018 Houston Cinema Arts Festival – as it celebrates its milestone 10th anniversary – from November 8 – 12 at Museum of Fine Arts Houston, Rice Cinema, White Oak Music Hall, Cafe? Brasil, and additional partner venues across the City of Houston.

The York Theatre Company (James Morgan, Producing Artistic Director; Evans Haile, Executive Director), dedicated to the development of new musicals and rediscovery of musical gems from the past, presents the Off-Broadway premiere of the acclaimed new musical Midnight at The Never Get, with book, music, and lyrics by Mark Sonnenblick, co-conceived by Sam Bolen, by arrangement with Visceral Entertainment and Mark Cortale Productions.  Directed by Max Friedman, with choreography by Andrew Palermo, and music direction/arrangements by Adam Podd, the cast will feature Sam Bolen, Jeremy Cohen, and Jon J. Peterson.  Performances begin Tuesday, October 2, 2018 for a limited engagement through Sunday afternoon, November 4, 2018 at The York Theatre Company at Saint Peter's (entrance on East 54th Street, just east of Lexington Avenue). Opening Night is Thursday evening, October 11, 2018 at 6:45 p.m. 

Telluride Film Festival, presented by the National Film Preserve, today announced its official program selections for the 45th edition of the Telluride Film Festival. TFF's celebration of artistic excellence brings together cinema enthusiasts, filmmakers and artists to discover the best in world cinema in the beautiful mountain town of Telluride, Colorado. TFF will screen over sixty feature films, short films and revival programs representing twenty-two countries, along with special artist Tributes, Conversations, Panels, Student Programs and Festivities. Telluride Film Festival takes place Friday, August 31 - Monday, September 3, 2018.

Lincoln Center Theater (under the direction of Andre Bishop) has extended the run of its critically acclaimed production of ADMISSIONS, a new play by Joshua Harmon, directed by Daniel Aukin, through Sunday, May 6 at the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater (150 West 65 Street).