The six performances, which begin in September, will "showcase the stirring words of the radicals and reformers who spurred change and propelled advancements in civil rights, the labor movement, education and the arts for the past century-and-a-half," according to press notes.
Details about the Great Evenings in The Great Hall, which are all free and open to the public, follow:
Workers' Rights
Sept. 17 at 6:30 PM
"Tony nominee Maria Tucci leads a cast of notables including The Triangle Fire Remembrance Coalition in celebrating America’s labor movement as seen through the eyes of its most ardent advocates and opponents: Clara Lemlich, Samuel Gompers, Mother Jones, Walter Reuther, and Andrew Carnegie. . . .Historic photographs and documents complement the powerful words that advanced a movement and the stirring voices of the New York City Labor Chorus will recreate the songs that signaled the changing times."
Science and Technology
Oct. 15 at 6:30 PM
"New Yorker writer and social commentator Adam Gopnik and others explore the impact of these disciplines on society through the words of some of their greatest innovators: 'Darwin's bulldog' Thomas Henry Huxley, Robert J. Oppenheimer, Bertrand Russell, John Dewey, and John Stewart Mill. Period music helps set the mood, along with historic photographs and documents."
Women's Suffrage and Women's Rights
Nov. 19 at 6:30 PM
"Performance artist Karen Finley, Karen DeCrow (former president of NOW who sued McSorley's Old Ale House in 1969 over the bar's 'No Ladies' admissions policy) and others personify the feminist spirit as they recreate the discourse, defiance and dramatics of Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Victoria Woodhull, and Anna Dickinson. . . . Music celebrating women’s liberation will enliven the proceedings, with historic photographs and documents to help tell the tales." Art and Literature
Dec. 1 at 6:30 PM
"Salman Rushdie, Olympia Dukakis, Siri Hustvedt, Isaiah Sheffer and Tony Kushner pay homage to the luminaries who've tread the boards of this historic stage. . . . Expect to hear excerpts of works by Salman Rushdie, Paul Auster, Anna Leonowens, Pearl S. Buck, and W.H. Auden. Music, as well as historic photographs and documents, complete the performance."
Radical Politics
Jan. 21, 2010, at 6:30 PM
"Hear about the Karl Marx memorial service and excerpts from the speeches of Eugene V. Debs, Daniel DeLeon, Max Eastman, Emma Goldman and Norman Thomas as 'Democracy Now!' radio host Amy Goodman enlivens Radical Politics. . . . Protest songs and historic documents and images will punctuate the rhetoric."
Abraham Lincoln: Right Makes Right
Feb. 25, 2010, at 6:30 PM
"The Cooper Union celebrates the 150th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's pivotal Right Makes Might speech. . . . Widely considered the turning point for the still-obscure Illinois senator, Lincoln’s forceful appearance is credited with helping him secure the nomination for president. Lincoln scholar and co-chairman of the United States Lincoln Bicentennial Commission Harold Holzer will introduce the evening, which will also feature a display of historic artifacts and period music."
The Cooper Union's Great Hall is located in Manhattan at 7 East Seventh Street, between Third and Fourth Avenues. For more information call (212) 353-4195 or visit www.cooper.edu.
