Algonquin Hotel Revives Legendary Round Table

 

Experience the Brilliance of the Roaring Twenties with
Reliving The Round Table: Algonquin Hotel’s Monday Night Lecture Series

 

 

WHO:               Eight top authors, artists and scholars share their insights, humor and scholarship in this tribute to Dorothy Parker and the so-called “Vicious Circle.”

 

WHAT:              An evening of cocktails, literature and performances at the Algonquin Hotel, home of the legendary Round Table members.

 

WHEN:             Monday evening, once a month.  Pre-lecture cocktail hour from 6–7 p.m.  Lectures from 7–7:45 p.m.

 

WHERE:           The second floor of the Algonquin Hotel, 59 West 44th Street (between Fifth and
Sixth Avenues).

 

WHY:               The first-ever Algonquin Monday Night Lecture Series is part of the Algonquin Hotel’s 25th Anniversary celebration.

 

TICKETS:          Tickets are $25 each, which also covers hors d'oeuvres and a cash bar.  Following the program, an optional $65 per person prix fixe dinner (includes wine, tax, and gratuity) is offered at the Round Table Room, on the ground floor.  Availability is limited. To reserve, call 212-840-6800, and ask for the reservations desk.

 

SCHEDULE:     May 22:  “Benchley on Benchley: Selections from Benchley Despite Himself”

By Nat Benchley, Humorist and Grandson of Robert Benchley

 

June 26:  “A Journey into Dorothy Parker’s New York

By Kevin Fitzpatrick, Author of A Journey into Dorothy Parker’s New York (Roaring Forties Press, 2005)

 

July 31:  “Talking about Talk of the Town”

By Ginny Redington and Tom Dawes, famous jingle writers and co-authors of Talk of the Town (followed by a performance of the play)

 

September 25:  “Excuse Her Dust: The Ironic Voyage of Dorothy's Ashes”

By Laurel Ollstein, Theatre Professor, Loyola Marymount University

 

October 30: “Going Left: Donald Ogden Stewart and Dorothy Parker in Hollywood

By Art Simon, Associate Professor of Film Studies, Montclair State University

 

November 13:  “Dorothy Parker Wannabes of the Last Decade”

By Sara Nelson, Editor-in-Chief, Publishers Weekly

 

 


ABOUT THE PARTICIPANTS IN RELIVING THE ROUND TABLE

 

 

May 22: Benchley on Benchley: Selections from Benchley Despite Himself

By Nat Benchley, Humorist and Grandson of Robert Benchley

·         Topic: Nat Benchley will perform selections from Benchley Despite Himself, a one-man stroll through the glory period of literate American humor, from post-World War I New York to post-World War II Hollywood.  Written and performed by Robert Benchley’s grandson, Nat, it presents much of Robert Benchley’s best material in a live, ludicrous look at a unique life.

·         Bio:  Benchley has been a freelance actor/writer for 28 years.  Prior to disdaining regular work, he wrote and produced public relations for WETA, the Washington, D.C. public television station, worked on a White House national drug abuse prevention campaign and served in the U.S. Navy.  These days, he narrates educational films and documentaries for the National Geographic's "Explorer" series and The Discovery Channel.