Literary Branch
CURRENT EVENTS
Panel Discussion
July 16th
3:00 - 4:00 p.m.
Did you know that "The Music Man" has a major Ojai connection? The Literary Branch will share the story on Saturday, July 16. The focus will be on Franklin Lacey, who co-wrote the show's book with composer Meredith Willson. When the original production opened on Broadway in 1957, Lacey was on the faculty at the Besant Hill School (then called the Happy Valley School), and he later became the school's director. His widow left his "Music Man" share to the Happy Valley Foundation, which thus has reason to celebrate every time this beloved musical scores yet another revival. (The current New York production with Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster is the hottest ticket on Broadway.)
Join Lit Branch Chair Mark Lewis from 3 to 4 p.m. on July 16 when he moderates a panel that will include Ojai Art Center Theater Artistic Director Tracey Williams Sutton, who directed our current "Music Man" production; Jill Dolan, who directed our recent production of "Steel Magnolias;" and (tentatively) Besant Hill Head of School Portia Johnson, who also is secretary of the Art Center's board of directors.
Admission: a suggested $5 donation. Bring along your trombone or cornet, and perhaps we'll conclude with an impromptu parade!
For more info., contact Mark Lewis.
Join Lit Branch Chair Mark Lewis from 3 to 4 p.m. on July 16 when he moderates a panel that will include Ojai Art Center Theater Artistic Director Tracey Williams Sutton, who directed our current "Music Man" production; Jill Dolan, who directed our recent production of "Steel Magnolias;" and (tentatively) Besant Hill Head of School Portia Johnson, who also is secretary of the Art Center's board of directors.
Admission: a suggested $5 donation. Bring along your trombone or cornet, and perhaps we'll conclude with an impromptu parade!
For more info., contact Mark Lewis.
PAST EVENTS
ATTICA 50 Years Later
Video credit: Stephen Adams
Fifty years ago the deadliest prison riot in U.S. history erupted at the Attica Correctional Facility near Buffalo, N.Y. Longtime Ojai attorney Len Klaif began his career by representing one of the inmates charged in connection with the inmate uprising, which claimed the lives of 43 people. (Most of the victims were shot by state police and Attica guards when they retook the prison.) Klaif will join Literary Branch chair Mark Lewis to discuss the uprising, the court proceedings that followed, and prison conditions and racial justice.
When the Attica uprising took place in September 1971, Klaif was just starting his senior year of law school at the University of Iowa. After getting his degree, he returned to Buffalo, where he had lived while an undergraduate, and was sworn in as a member of the New York Bar. The next day he was appointed to represent one of the inmates charged in the uprising. Over the next three years, Klaif spent countless hours working with the Attica Defense team, until Governor Hugh Carey granted pardons to those charged, ending the prosecutions. Klaif and Lewis also will discuss some of the books that have been written about Attica, including “A Time to Die” by Tom Wicker. See video above for full interview.
When the Attica uprising took place in September 1971, Klaif was just starting his senior year of law school at the University of Iowa. After getting his degree, he returned to Buffalo, where he had lived while an undergraduate, and was sworn in as a member of the New York Bar. The next day he was appointed to represent one of the inmates charged in the uprising. Over the next three years, Klaif spent countless hours working with the Attica Defense team, until Governor Hugh Carey granted pardons to those charged, ending the prosecutions. Klaif and Lewis also will discuss some of the books that have been written about Attica, including “A Time to Die” by Tom Wicker. See video above for full interview.
