Meg Wolitzer presents four works that consider various forms of risk, and risk taking. In “Clicking on Heaven’s Door,” by Anand Giridharadas, performed by Negin Farsad, the pearly gates require an online account, a password, a security question…you get the idea. “The Stand-In,” by Gerald Jones and Jean Marple, imagines a unique job. It’s read by Tony Hale. David Sedaris creates the ultimate in well-meant interference in other people’s lives—oh, and there’s a parrot. “Farnsworth” is read by Jessica Keenan Wynn. And—dining at the end of the world. Where’s the waiter? Robin Hemley’s “The Last Customer,” is read by Jane Curtin and Mike Doyle.
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Margaret Atwood: Future Imperfect
Meg Wolitzer presents stories by the incomparable Margaret Atwood, drawn from SELECTED SHORTS’ archives and a live performance evening hosted by the author. “There Was Once” is a brief satire about the art of writing and the importance of free speech. It’s performed by René Auberjonois, Zach Grenier, and Jane Kaczmarek. “Widows,” performed by Ellen Burstyn, is a delicate and ironic tale in which a recently widowed woman becomes accustomed to her new role. And Atwood is in full dystopian throttle in “Freeforall” where reproductive rights have become a matter of life and death. The reader is Becky Ann Baker. Portions of Atwood’s onstage talk with fellow writer A.M. Homes are also featured, and the full interview is available as a bonus on our podcast.
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Bonus: A.M. Homes interviews Margaret Atwood
As part of our live event with Margaret Atwood, host A.M. Homes interviewed her from the stage at Symphony Space. Here is that interview.
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The New You
Host Meg Wolitzer presents two stories about personal transformation.In Kenneth Calhoun’s “Mindless in America,” a SELECTED SHORTS commission, a couple trapped by their own technology resolves to lead a simpler life. The reader is Justin Kirk. In “D Day,” by Rachel Khong, God has a Plan B for the human race. Spoiler alert—how do you think you’d look with a tail? Or scales? The reader is Katrina Lenk.
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Romance of the Summer
Host Meg Wolitzer presents three works that reflect on the allure—or not—of summer. In Massimo Bontempelli’s “The Miraculous Beach or, Prize for Modesty,” translated by Jenny McPhee, a hot summer in Rome produces a magical moment. The reader is Hugh Dancy. Essayist and humorist Samantha Irby could do without summer, thank you, and makes “A Case for Remaining in Doors”, performed by Retta. And Denis O’Hare reads a baseball classic, W.P. Kinsella’s “The Thrill of the Grass.”
Our greatest actors transport us through the magic of fiction, one short story at a time. Sometimes funny. Always moving. Selected Shorts connects you to the world with a rich diversity of voices from literature, film, theater, and comedy. New episodes every Thursday, from Symphony Space.
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