JULIE SALAMON SPEAKS, ON WENDY WASSERSTEIN
The first woman to win a solo Tony award for Best Play (for “The Heidi Chronicles,” which also won a Pulitzer), Wendy Wasserstein was complicated — but not necessarily contradictory. Known as a driven woman who was as pleasant and accessible as she was secretive and enigmatic, the keen observer of well-educated, affluent baby boomers used their lives (and her own) as raw material for work on the stage (“The Sisters Rosensweig”) and the page (“Shiksa Goddess”). In 2011, fellow native New Yorker Julie Salamon drew on her own parallel life experiences for the bio “Wendy and the Lost Boys: The Uncommon Life of Wendy Wasserstein” (now available in paperback). Salamon will be the guest speaker at East End Temple’s 10th annual Helene Spring Library Event — where she’ll discuss the lasting footprint of Wasserstein’s achievements, followed by a Q&A session and a reception/book signing.
Free. Sun., April 14, at 1pm. At East End Temple (245 E. 17 St., btw. Second & Third Aves.). For info, call 212-477-6444 or visit eastendtemple.org. For more info on the author, visit juliesalamon.com.
Getting to know you: Vanessa Redgrave and Jesse Eisenberg, in “The Revisionist.”
RATTLESTICK PLAYWRIGHTS THEATER: “THE REVISIONIST”
Sold-out houses and rapturous reviews from praise-stingy critics prompted an extension of the run — but Rattlestick Playwrights Theater’s world premiere of Jesse Eisenberg’s “The Revisionist” is closing for sure, for good, on April 27. Playwright Eisenberg (of “The Social Network” film fame) pulls double duty, performing the role of David — a young American novelist of some success who, battling writer’s block, shows up in Poland to visit his 75-year-old second cousin Maria (longtime bankable stage presence Vanessa Redgrave). While David may be there to hide from his present, Maria’s needy desire to connect leads to a slow reveal of her post-war past.
Through April 27. Tuesday.-Fri. at 8pm, Sat. at 2pm & 8pm, Sun. at 3pm. At the Cherry Lane Theatre (38 Commerce St., two blocks below Bleecker St.). For tickets ($85), visit therevisionistplay.com or call 866-811-4111. For discounted group reservations, call 212-627-2556.
BY SCOTT STIFFLER
