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WITHIN THE FAMILY

Columbia Celebrates the Arts

BY ALEX SACHARE '71

Alex Sachare '71

This month, the University is sponsoring an exciting venture — the Royal Shakespeare Company production of Salman Rushdie’s novel, Midnight’s Children, at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, and a month-long Humanities Festival on campus and around the city that is designed to expand upon the play and enrich the theater-going experience. In addition, Columbia’s Double Discovery Center and instructors in Core classes are playing an important role in bringing the experience to high school students in the neighboring community, who will attend a special matinee performance of the play on Tuesday, March 25, that already is sold out.

President Lee C. Bollinger has mentioned on numerous occasions, including his inaugural remarks, that he would like to enhance the School of the Arts and take advantage of the University’s proximity to the Broadway community to make it one of the premier arts schools in the country. Columbia’s involvement with the Royal Shakespeare Company in staging Midnight’s Children is his first step in that direction, and a big one.

But this is far more than a University contracting with a famous theater company to stage a play on or near campus. The Humanities Festival and DDC involvement make this a special undertaking, a true celebration of the arts.

The Humanities Festival, which runs March 2–30, will use many of the University’s leading faculty in a series of dialogues and debates on topics such as the creative process, literary traditions, contemporary culture, colonialism, censorship, civil rights and more. In addition to Bollinger and Rushdie, among those scheduled to participate (listed alphabetically) are Peter Awn, Janaki Bahkle, Russell Banks, Homi Bhabha, Vikram Chandra, Michael Cunningham, Nicholas Dirks, Todd Gitlin, Margo Jefferson, Eduardo Machado, Manning Marable, John Rockwell, Edward Said, Patricia Williams and members of the Royal Shakespeare Company cast of Midnight’s Children, among others.

The DDC, meanwhile, is using its community contacts to bring the excitement of the production to juniors and seniors in neighborhood high schools. Cast members, along with instructors in Core Curriculum classes, visited schools during February to speak with students about the play and the process of bringing a novel to the stage.

There will be 12 performances of the play between March 21–30. Saturday night, March 22, has been designated as Alumni Night, and any alumnus interested in attending this (or any other) performance should call the alumni hotline: (212) 870-2537. Tickets cost from $20 to $80, plus a $2 restoration fee levied by the Apollo Theater, with student tickets costing $10 for those with a CUID and $20 for other students. Alumni purchasing tickets through the alumni hotline will receive a 20 percent discount for the March 21 or March 22 performances (so prices would range from $18 to $66), or a 10 percent discount for other performances. Tickets also are on sale at the Apollo Theater box office or the Miller Theatre box office on campus.

Tickets for Humanities Festival events are $5 each and also may be purchased through the alumni hotline: (212) 870-2537.
For more information, visit www.MidnightsChildrenNYC.com.

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