this week in (live)streaming

POLYLOGUES

Xandra Nur Clark wrote and stars in one-person show about ethical nonmonogamy (photo by Ashley Garrett)

HERE Arts Center
145 Sixth Ave.
In person through October 9, $40
On-demand streaming through October 13, $20-$25
here.org/shows
www.polyloguesplay.com

A few years ago, a friend of mine told me that his girlfriend had just explained to him that she was polyamorous. I had not heard that term before, and he wasn’t quite sure what it meant either, but it wasn’t merely that his partner wanted an open relationship so she could see other people. It went well beyond that.

Writer and performer Xandra Nur Clark explores the reality of polyamory in the insightful one-person show, Polylogues. The seventy-five-minute piece of documentary theater has just finished its run at HERE Arts Center and is available on demand through October 13. Clark, a queer Indian American community builder who studied with Anna Deavere Smith, interviewed more than fifty people over three years about ethical nonmonogamy, ranging in age from five to seventy-five, from eleven different countries and numerous races, religions, socioeconomic backgrounds, and political perspectives. Clark wears earphones during the Colt Coeur production, listening to the actual words spoken by the subjects and enacting them for the audience, which sits on three sides of Clark, who doesn’t do a deep dive into each character but embodies them with small differences in tonality and gestures. The characters are either the one who initiated the idea of nonmonogamy in the relationship, the one who was asked to consider it, or had nonmonogamous parents. In some cases they are happy with their decision to participate, but in others it either goes awry or they appear to be trying too hard to defend and rationalize their choices.

Ryan points out, “I’m not behaving like a quote unquote normal person would behave in this situation.” Shamma offers, “When you spend your whole life as a cheater, right? You’re doing it to fulfill a certain insecurity that you have in the, you know, a gap that you have in the relationship?
So you go to the next person to fill that gap. . . . Why can’t this be a new form of family?!” Trudy refers to the additional person as a “love friend.”

Casius says, “Most people think polyamory is just like about having orgies! . . . It’s like being willing to do anything for another person no matter what!” Jackson declares, “You know, I’m not a fucking toy! You know, like, I’m a person. And it’s not that we couldn’t have made a very casual arrangement, but, like, I need to have some autonomy in that decision!”

K, a Muslim from Malaysia, where men can have multiple wives, asserts, “Nonmonogamy interacting with male privilege, or interacting with capitalism, can, like, produce some really, like, frightening dynamics. . . . And finding ways to self-limit that in my nonmonogamy practice is . . .
important to me. To ensure I’m not trying to . . . I don’t know, like, build a . . . mmm, I don’t know . . . build a harem or something.”

Xandra Nur Clark embodies multiple characters involved in polyamorous relationships (photo by Ashley Garrett)

The issue of jealousy comes up numerous times. Alex admits, “I’m not okay with him with another girl other than his wife, but I’m okay with him with his w-wife. I want it — this one, this one guy love me with his full heart, everything. But meanwhile, I still got freedom to choose someone else!” And CJ concedes, “I’m fine with being with one person. But I always want to make sure that the other person doesn’t feel an obligation to me. I don’t want you to feel like you’re stuck with me.” She later adds, “It’s just like,
well, I’ll just — if this is just a little piece of it, I can get through nonmonogamy, I’ll take this little piece. Or like, if we’re ‘n a . . . nonmonogamous relationship, you can’t break my heart. But, maybe I just equate breaking my heart with cheating on me.”

Directed by Molly Clifford (Karaoke, Soldier), who introduces the piece in a clever way that prepares everyone for what is to follow, Polylogues begins with a stream of questions and statements on the wall behind Clark, including the key one: “How do you experience love in your life?” Clark (Everything You’re Told, Separated) is charming as she embodies the diverse characters, displaying a relaxing demeanor that brings ease and comfort to an audience that most likely doesn’t understand the complexities of modern-day ethical nonmonogamy, a term I had not encountered until seeing this show. You’re likely to be enticed by the play, if not polyamory itself, although I’m not sure my friend is ready to hear more about it just yet.

MATRIARCH: SHE’S WIDE AWAKE SHINING LIGHT . . .

Morgan Danielle Day delivers one of six monologues about motherhood in Matriarch

Who: The Roots and Wings Project
What: Livestream of six monologues
Where: Houston Coalition Against Hate online
When: Friday, October 8, free (donations accepted), 7:00 (available on demand through October 30)
Why: The Roots and Wings Project and the Houston Coalition Against Hate have teamed up to present Matriarch, a collection of six monologues and a song exploring the complex relationship between mothers and children in a patriarchal society. Filmed in front of a live, masked audience in the small backyard of the MKM Cultural Arts Center in Los Angeles, the show begins with Lioness, in which writer and Roots and Wings co-executive producer Jesse Bliss rails at an unseen man chastising her for breastfeeding in her parked car. “Fuck that,” she argues. “I’ll feed my baby wherever we need to handle it and it should elicit no kind of reaction and cause no kind of problem. . . . I birthed her, care for her, feed her. I could scream loud as fuck right now and it won’t bother her because we are a team. She wants me to chew your ass out. . . . . You’re trying to make shame out of something beautiful,” immediately establishing motherhood as a nurturing necessity and connection.

In The Truth about Perfecta, written by Obie winner Diane Rodriguez, who died of lung cancer in April 2020, Cristina Frias plays a mother defending herself against racist stereotypes. “I bet when you people look at me, you make assumptions about who I am, where I come from, who I belong to, who I love, how I love, where I live, how I live, who my friends are, how I manage my life, how much money I make, how I treat my kids. Well, don’t do that; you don’t know who I am, and you don’t know how I was raised.”

Some Things You Should Know about My Mom is a eulogy written by Gabriel Diamond and Tamar Halpern and performed by Diamond in front of a music stand. “You’ve been talking about Sandy the friend, the playwright, the sister, the calligrapher, the painter, the poet, all these things,” he says. ”I’m gonna talk about her as the mommy,” proceeding to tell stories about her decision to be a single mother and detailing her death.

Morgan Danielle Day is explosive as a young woman fighting the system in Taylor Lytle’s The Formula. Wearing a durag and face tattoos, Day fiercely proclaims, “I was criminalized long before I was ever incarcerated. I remember it like it was yesterday.” She recounts how her drug-addicted, sexually abused mother sent her off to foster care. “Now, it may be to you all a surprise that I was actually happy to get a foster home. Now, don’t get the wrong idea. I had a beautiful mother. I admire this woman for her strength. She was loving and caring and did what she could with what she had, period. . . . But there wasn’t a lot of room in this world for a single mother of twelve on welfare.”

Bahni Turpin sits down for Sigrid Gilmer’s Remember This . . . in which she portrays Margaret, a mother who is preparing her daughter for her impending death. “Oh, Angela. Please, dear,” she pleads. “Please, don’t. No tears, my darling. Stop it. I’m not going to discuss it. It is just dying. . . . I will not suffer any more than I have to. I will not waste away. You know, you don’t have to be here when I go.” She also admits, “I should have never had children.”

The evening concludes with Roger Q. Mason’s Age Sex Location, in which a fab Ramy El-Etreby dances onstage in glittery drag and proclaims, “Fat bitch / Black queen / Mixed breed mishap / Round nosed fag hoe / That’s what you think of me / As I walk down the street / My wide hips waddling / My fleshy neck obscuring a too-soft jawline.” He goes on to tell how he was rejected by his mother, father, and doctor, none of whom even tried to understand who he was, who he needed to be. The show also features a song by Sheila Govindarajan in which she sings, “Let me go / set me free,” along with snippets from Lizzo, Talking Heads, Nina Simone, Bob Dylan, Ella Fitzgerald, and Roberta Flack.

Created and directed by Bliss and photographed by Ivan Cordeiro, Matriarch debuts online October 8 at 7:00, followed by a panel discussion with several of the performers and Houston-area domestic violence prevention advocates, including Dr. Nusrat Ameen of Daya and Barbie Brashear of the Harris County Domestic Violence Coordinating Council, moderated by HCAH executive director Marjorie Joseph, and will be available on demand on YouTube and Facebook through October 30.

STEVIE VAN ZANDT: UNREQUITED INFATUATIONS

Who: Stevie Van Zandt, Bruce Springsteen, Jay Cocks, Joel Selvin, Chris Columbus, Budd Mishkin
What: Interviews with Stevie Van Zandt in conjunction with the launch of his new memoir, Unrequited Infatuations (Hachette, $31)
Where: Multiple sites online and in person
When: September 28 – October 3, $5-$100
Why: “Silence. He was under a blanket in the back of the car on the floor in the crazy spooky silence. Nobody spoke. No radio. Just the lazy hum of the motor, and him alone with his thoughts. And ooh daddio, that was not his favorite thing. His two coconspirators were sneaking him past the military blockade into the black township of Soweto. The ‘native unrest,’ as the government liked to call it, erupted every few years, but lately it had become more frequent, and now, constant.” So begins Stevie Van Zandt’s new memoir, Unrequited Infatuations: Odyssey of a Rock and Roll Consigliere (A Cautionary Tale), as he writes in the third person about his secret trip into South Africa in 1984. “How the fuck did a half-a-hippie guitar player get here? For seven glorious years, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band were Rock and Roll’s Rat Pack, and he happily and naturally played the Dean Martin role. If you were even thinking of throwing a party, you called him. That was the extent of his politics. He was the fun guy. The court jester. Always good for a laugh. Sex, booze, drugs, Rock and Roll, and . . . more sex. Yo bartender, another round for the house! A whole lot had to go sideways to find him under that blanket. . . . He chose to take the adventure instead of the money. What a putz.” Among the chapters in the book are “Epiphany,” “The Boss of All Bosses,” “The Punk Meets the Godfather,” “Freedom — No Compromise,” “Seven Years in the Desert,” and “Summer of Sorcery.”

Alternately known as Miami Steve, Little Steven, and Stevie for the last fifty years, Van Zandt is now detailing his unique life and career in the book, which launches this week with a series of in-person and online events. The memoir takes readers from the Jersey Shore to Sun City, from South Africa and Hollywood to Norway and the Super Bowl. A longtime member of the E Street Band and a ferocious political activist, Van Zandt also starred as Silvio Dante in The Sopranos — a role he helped create after HBO said no to him as Tony — wrote and produced songs for Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, has been hosting the nationally syndicated radio show Little Steven’s Underground Garage since 2002, started Wicked Cool Records, played the lead in the Norwegian crime drama Lilyhammer, founded the nonprofit TeachRock to promote music education in schools, records and tours with his own band, Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul, and is the founder of Renegade Nation, the umbrella company for many of his wide-ranging pursuits. I’ve had the privilege of meeting him several times over the years, interviewing him, and seeing him play live with the E Street Band and with the Disciples going back to the 1970s and ’80s, and he has never failed to impress as a performer and a straight-shooting human being.

There are five programs being held in conjunction with the publication of Unrequited Infatuations, pairing him with film critic and screenwriter Jay Cocks, music critic and author Joel Selvin, director and screenwriter Chris Columbus, broadcast journalist Budd Mishkin — oh, and Stevie’s boss and best friend, Bruce Springsteen. Below is the full schedule; take note of which events come with a copy of the book, in some cases pre-signed as well.

Tuesday, September 28
Stevie in conversation with Bruce Springsteen, $35 with unsigned book, $45 with signed book, 8:00

Wednesday, September 29
Stevie in conversation with Jay Cocks, online and at the 92nd St. Y, $20 online, $35 in person with book, 7:30

Thursday, September 30
Stevie in conversation with Joel Selvin, Commonwealth Club online, $5 general admission, $35 with book, 8:00

Friday, October 1
Stevie in conversation with Chris Columbus, Book Soup at the Colburn Music School, $40 with book, 7:00

Sunday, October 3
Stevie in conversation with Budd Mishkin, Montclair Literary Festival, $40 with signed book, $100 with signed book and VIP seating, 5:00

A SURVIVOR’S ODYSSEY: THE JOURNEY OF PENELOPE AND CIRCE

A SURVIVOR’S ODYSSEY: THE JOURNEY OF PENELOPE AND CIRCE
White Snake Projects
September 24, 26, 28, free with advance RSVP (suggested donation $25-$150), 7:30
www.whitesnakeprojects.org

Boston-based activist opera company White Snake Projects concludes its inspiring, barrier-breaking livestreamed opera trilogy with A Survivor’s Odyssey: The Journey of Penelope and Circe, which opened on September 24 and has two more presentations, on September 26 and 28 at 7:30. In October 2020, WSP debuted Alice in the Pandemic, which took place in a video-game-like world as Alice searches for her mother while a hospital fills up with Covid-19 patients. In May 2021, WSP premiered Death by Life: A Digital Opera in One Act, following the stories of several incarcerated individuals facing racism and injustice, with music by five Black composers and accompanied by an online art exhibition.

WSP reinterprets Greek mythology and Homer’s Odyssey in A Survivor’s Odyssey: The Journey of Penelope and Circe, reimagining Odysseus’s (James Demler) long-suffering wife, Penelope (Amanda Crider), and the witch-goddess Circe (Teresa Castillo) as survivors of sexual and physical abuse. The show begins with the two women, along with two men, Mark and Jan (Patrick Dailey and James Demler), in an online therapy group helping one another. “Is he still hurting you?” Circe asks Penelope, who replies, “It’s hard being locked down with him.”

Penelope has been weaving and unraveling a shroud to turn away suitors as she waits for her husband to return to her after twenty years away fighting the Trojan War; she is also hoping for her son, Telemachus (Dailey), to come home, having been banished by his father, who believes a prophecy that says he will be killed by his male child. Meanwhile, Circe is terrified of telling her sixteen-year-old boy, Telegonus (Dailey), her “dirty little secret” about his birth. When Odysseus ultimately returns, battle lines are drawn and blood flows.

White Snake Projects incorporates magic and cutting-edge technology in livestreamed opera

Made with the support of the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center, Casa Myrna, Asian Task Force Against Domestic Violence, the Network/La Red, a Call to Men, a Window Between Worlds, and Jane Doe Inc., A Survivor’s Odyssey is a riveting tale reinvented for the twenty-first century and particularly during the coronavirus crisis, responding to the rise in intimate partner violence (IPV) that has been occurring around the globe during the pandemic lockdown. “I’ve been thinking about why IPV is endemic in the world. I keep coming back to the male gaze, the power of the patriarchy to shape every country’s and every culture’s perceptions of who and what women are,” librettist and WSP founder Cerise Lim Jacobs writes in a program note. “Women, myself included, have been imprisoned by the male gaze. Our aspirations, hopes, and dreams have been limited by this gaze; our fears, insecurities, and nightmares magnified by this gaze. The male gaze has defined our world’s ideas, imaginations, cultures, and subconscious dreams of womanhood. . . . This has to stop.” The women characters ultimately take back the power in A Survivor’s Odyssey, refusing to allow the patriarchy to run roughshod over them anymore. Composer Mary Prescott’s lovely score was inspired by the idea of weaving, long considered women’s work, to create a tapestry of sounds, linking the past and the present and denouncing misogyny.

Despite their far-flung locations, soprano Castillo (in New York City), countertenor Dailey (in Nashville), mezzo-soprano Crider (in Miami), and bass-baritone Demler (outside Boston) pull off the near-impossible, appearing to be performing together in front of such backdrops as Helios’s lush garden, Circe’s mountain home on Aeaea, and the courtyard of Odysseus and Penelope’s grand estate in Ancient Greece when actually in front of green screens in their bedrooms and basements. Elena Araoz, who has never met her cast in person, directs the piece virtually, with music direction by Tian Hui Ng featuring the Victory Players, with Nathan Ben-Yehuda on piano, Clare Monfredo on cello, Giovanni Perez on flute, and Elly Toyoda on violin and viola. The costumes are by Christopher Vergara, with playful 3D animation of the pigs by Lesley University senior Paola Almonte. An online exhibition also accompanies this production, “To Live: Transcending Trauma Through Art,” with works by Carole Alden, Taecia Prows, Cedar Annenkovna, Zhi Kai Vanderford, Ruby Rumié, Annie Chang, Catriona Baker, and Tashi Farmilo-Marouf.

The performers have earpieces in which they can hear a recording of the others singing; the live vocals are sent to electronic music designer and audio engineer Jon Robertson (in Kansas City) and the video to projections designer and broadcast engineer Paul Deziel (in New York), who mix the sound and images using the Unreal Engine video game platform by Curvin Huber and their proprietary audio plugin Tutti Remote to instantaneously sync it all. It’s a massive undertaking, and there were a few glitches and delays, but don’t go anywhere if that happens; the live chat fills the gaps and offers more information about the cast, crew, and technology. After the show’s over, stick around for a live discussion and Q&A that answers just about every question you can think of.

One of the main themes of A Survivor’s Odyssey is the lost connection that the pandemic has wrought, between friends, family members, and performers and audience. At one point during a Zoom therapy meeting, the participants reach out their hands, proclaiming, “I touch you, I hold you, I feel you.” In its remarkable trilogy of live online opera, WPS reaches out to us, immersing us in their spectacularly creative storytelling, and we feel them.

IN CONVERSATION WITH MERCE: LANDROVER

Jacquelin Harris and Chalvar Monteiro perform excerpts from Merce Cunningham’s Landrover in online celebration (photo by Maria Baranova)

Who: Jacquelin Harris and Chalvar Monteiro, Mariah Anton and Cemiyon Barber, Claude “CJ” Johnson and Donovan Reed, Patricia Lent, Kyle Abraham, Liz Gerring
What: Celebration of Merce Cunningham’s Landrover
Where: Baryshnikov Arts Center online
When: September 20-30, free
Why: In honor of the upcoming fiftieth anniversary of Merce Cunningham’s Landrover, which premiered at BAM on February 1, 1972, the Baryshnikov Arts Center is presenting the free online program “In Conversation with Merce,” available on demand through September 30 at 5:00. The work, described by Cunningham as “people moving in different landscapes. American perhaps in the sense that we move in our country — across varied spaces — with varied backgrounds,” featured an original score by John Cage, David Tudor, and Gordon Mumma, boasted costumes by Jasper Johns, and was performed by Carolyn Brown, Ulysses Dove, Douglas Dunn, Meg Harper, Nanette Hassall, Susana Hayman-Chaffey, Chris Komar, Sandra Neels, Chase Robinson, Valda Setterfield, and Cunningham.

Mariah Anton and Cemiyon Barber perform in Liz Gerring’s Dialogue as part of BAC’s Merce tribute (photo by Maria Baranova)

“This program is the latest realization of a concept we began experimenting with during Merce Cunningham’s centennial,” Merce Cunningham Trust trustee Patricia Lent says in an introduction. “At its core is the idea of exploring Merce’s work as a resource for generating new work by contemporary artists.” Beautifully filmed by Tatyana Tenenbaum at BAC’s John Cage & Merce Cunningham Studio, “In Conversation with Merce” starts with a thirteen-minute excerpt of Landrover, a series of solos performed by Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater members Chalvar Monteiro in green and Jacquelin Harris in brown, moving about the spare space dominated by large windows and a mirrored wall, as the music fades to silence. (The lovely costumes for all three pieces are by Reid Bartelme and Harriet Jung.)

That is followed by two specially commissioned works made in response to Landrover, each introduced by the choreographer, beginning with Liz Gerring’s nine-minute Dialogue, in which Mariah Anton in yellow and Cemiyon Barber in white display numerous geometric possibilities of the human body, set to minimalist music by Michael Schumacher. “In Conversation” concludes with Kyle Abraham’s fourteen-minute MotorRover, a slow, intimate duet performed by Claude “CJ” Johnson and Donovan Reed in loose-fitting two-color costumes, the only sound that of the air-conditioning. BAC has presented a bevy of terrific filmed programs during the pandemic, and this is yet another winner; coming up next are digital works by Mats Ek and Ana Laguna, River L. Ramirez, Sooraj Subramaniam, Jordan Demetrius Lloyd, Ella Rothschild, and Molly Lieber and Eleanor Smith.

TICKET ALERT: THE NEW YORKER FESTIVAL 2021

Jessica Chastain and Oscar Isaac will talk about their new HBO series at New Yorker Festival

Who: Jessica Chastain, Oscar Isaac, Dave Grohl, Aimee Mann, Stanley Tucci, Jelani Cobb, Siddhartha Mukherjee, Jonathan Franzen, Tara Westover, Liza Donnelly, Roz Chast, Viet Thanh Nguyen, Jane Goodall, Andy Borowitz, Beanie Feldstein, Jayne Houdyshell, Richard Jenkins, more
What: Hybrid New Yorker Festival
Where: Skyline Drive-In, 1 Oak St. in Brooklyn, and online
When: October 4-10, free – $180, virtual all-access pass $59
Why: Tickets for the in-person outdoor events at this year’s New Yorker Festival go on sale September 14 at noon, along with the specially curated culinary meals, which will be delivered to your door (as long as you live in New York City). Among those appearing live at the Skyline Drive-In on the Brooklyn waterfront are Aimee Mann and Dave Grohl (separately), who will talk and sing, as well as Jessica Chastain and Oscar Isaac, who will discuss their new HBO series, Scenes from a Marriage, and Beanie Feldstein, Jayne Houdyshell, and Richard Jenkins, who will screen and discuss their new film, Stephen Karam’s The Humans, an adaptation of his hit play. The virtual programs, featuring Jane Goodall, Stanley Tucci, Emily Ratajkowski, Amy Schumer, Jonathan Franzen, Tara Westover, Roz Chast, and others, will be available September 20, including an all-access pass for $59. As always, you can expect tickets to go fast, especially for the free events and the food deliveries. Below is the full schedule.

Monday, October 4
Dining In with the New Yorker Festival: Yellow Rose, three-course vegan menu delivered, with on-demand access to Helen Rosner’s interview with the chefs, Dave and Krystiana Rizo, $50

Tuesday, October 5
Dining In with the New Yorker Festival: Dacha 46, three-course vegetarian meal delivered, with on-demand access to Helen Rosner’s interview with the chefs, Jessica and Trina Quinn, $50

Wednesday, October 6
Dining In with the New Yorker Festival: Reverence, three-course vegetarian meal delivered, with on-demand access to Helen Rosner’s interview with the chef, Russell Jackson, $50

Thursday, October 7
Dining In with the New Yorker Festival: Kimika, three-course meal delivered, with on-demand access to Helen Rosner’s interview with the chef, Christine Lau, $50

Friday, October 8
Jessica Chastain, Oscar Isaac, and Hagai Levi talk with Esther Perel about Scenes from a Marriage, free, 6:30

Dave Grohl talks with Kelefa Sanneh about his upcoming memoir and performs, $90-$180, 9:00

Saturday, October 9
Aimee Mann talks with Atul Gawande and performs, $60-$120, 6:30

Drive-In: The Humans, preview screening of Stephen Karam’s debut film, followed by a conversation with Karam, Beanie Feldstein, Jayne Houdyshell, and Richard Jenkins, moderated by Michael Schulman, $25-$50, 9:00

Liza Donnelly, Roz Chast, Liana Finck, and Amy Hwang will celebrate the history of women cartoonists at the New Yorker at virtual event (illustration by Liana Finck)

Virtual Events, available September 20

Jane Goodall talks with Andy Borowitz

The Matter of Black Lives, with Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Charlayne Hunter-Gault, and Jamaica Kincaid, moderated by Jelani Cobb

Stanley Tucci talks with Helen Rosner about his TV series and his new book, Taste: My Life Through Food

Politics and the Novel, with Yiyun Li, Valeria Luiselli, and Viet Thanh Nguyen, moderated by Parul Sehgal

Emily Ratajkowski and Amy Schumer talk with Michael Schulman

Globalism’s Legacy, with Esther Duflo, Siddhartha Mukherjee, and Anne-Marie Slaughter, moderated by Evan Osnos

Jonathan Franzen and Tara Westover talk with Henry Finder

Some Very Funny Ladies, with Liza Donnelly, Roz Chast, Liana Finck, and Amy Hwang, celebrating the history of women cartoonists at the New Yorker, moderated by Emma Allen, free

Rachel Cusk and Patricia Lockwood talk with Deborah Treisman

How to Accelerate Climate Action, with Katharine Hayhoe, Bill Ulfelder, and Allegra Kirkland, free

NATIONAL ARTS CLUB HAPPENINGS: RICH LITTLE

Rich Little will shares his impressions of his life and career in free National Arts Club talk

Who: Rich Little
What: Livestreamed conversation
Where: National Arts Club online
When: Wednesday, September 15, free with RSVP, 6:00
Why: “How did I become an impersonator? Perhaps my mother was conceived by a Xerox machine!” Rich Little writes in his 2016 book, People I’ve Known and Been: Little by Little. In conjunction with the rerelease of the book and the November premiere of his new autobiographical one-man show, Rich Little Live, at the Laugh Factory at the Tropicana in Las Vegas, the Canadian-born comedian, who became a US citizen in 2010, will discuss his life and career in a livestreamed National Arts Club discussion on September 15 at 6:00. Little will talk about his many impressions, which famously include presidents (John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, both George Bushes, and Barack Obama), movie stars (Jimmy Stewart, Jack Lemmon, John Wayne, Humphrey Bogart, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, Jack Nicholson, and Clint Eastwood), and pop-culture figures (George Burns, Paul Lynde, Kermit the Frog, Andy Rooney, and Dr. Phil); go behind the scenes of his recent off-Broadway debut playing Nixon in Trial on the Potomac: The Impeachment of Richard Nixon at Theatre at St. Clements; and share show business anecdotes. Admission is free with advance RSVP.