Cumpsty, Fierstein, Hoff, Etc. to Appear at 92nd St. Y

Outer Critics Circle Nominee Michael Cumpsty (Broadway's Copenhagen, The Constant Wife, Democracy, Enchanted April) has been added to the line-up of actors appearing at the 92nd Street Y this spring. He will visit the Y Monday, June 25, at 8:00 PM, with 78-year-old Nobel Prize-winning author Gunther Grass, on the US publication date of his memoir, Peeling the Onion. Cumpsty will read passages from the memoir in English after Grass reads them in the original German, in an evening hosted by Israeli author Amos Elon.

Previously announced actors scheduled to appear at the 92nd Street Y, and the dates of their appearances, are as follows, according to press releases:

Thursday, May 10, at 8:15 PM –Tony Award and Oscar Winner Ellen Burstyn (Broadway's Same Time, Next Year, film Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore) speaks with Marianne Williamson (author, A Return to Love, Everyday Grace) about the actress's film, stage and television career.

Thursday, May 31, at 8:15 PM – Bruce Dern (Coming Home, They Shoot Horses, Don't They?, HBO's "Big Love"), whom Jack Nicholson dubbed "the best actor of his generation," chats with WNYC's Leonard Lopate about his long career, his family (ex-wife Diane Ladd and daughter Laura Dern), and his new book, Things I've Said, But Probably Shouldn't Have: An Unrepentant Memoir.

Monday, June 4, at 8:15 PM – WNYC's Leonard Lopate hosts four distinctive actors talking about the challenges they encounter on the way up. The performers on hand are four-time Tony-winner Harvey Fierstein (playwright, Torch Song Trilogy, La Cage Aux Folles, actor, Hairspray, Fiddler on the Roof), actor, playwright, screenwriter, director and, not least, drag legend Charles Busch (Vampire Lesbians of Sodom, The Lady in Question, Psycho Beach Party, The Allergist's Wife), Jersey Boys Tony-winner Christian Hoff (The Who's Tommy, Jesus Christ Superstar), and Michael Beresse (A Chorus Line, The Light in the Piazza, Chicago)

Wednesday, June 6, at 8:00 PM – Oscar winner Richard Dreyfuss (Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Down and Out in Beverly Hills, Mr. Holland's Opus, The Goodbye Girl) discusses the responsibilities of citizens in a democratic society, whether civic roles need to be formally taught, and what happens when civic activism declines, with journalist Michael Kramer, a former political correspondent for Time magazine.
 
The 92nd Street Y is at 1395 Lexington Avenue at 92nd Street. Tickets for each event are $25 and can be purchased at www.92Y.org or by calling 212.415.5500.

Photo of Michael Cumpsty by Mark Rupp