Prudence Wright Holmes to Present WILLA CATHER: HER LIFE AND LOVES

Willa Cather: Her Life and Loves, a biographical and literary play written and performed by Prudence Wright Holmes, is set for Sunday, February 21, 3:00 PM at The New York Society Library, 53 East 79th Street (just east of Madison Avenue; 6 train to 77th Street).

Open to the public; $20 with advance registration, $25 at the door. Registration information here.

In 1888, Willa Cather astounded her Nebraska neighbors with her brilliant mind and unconventional, cross-dressing ways. She said that "being a girl never damaged her ambition to become Pope or Emperor." She had a successful career in publishing, wrote best-selling novels like My Ántonia and Death Comes for the Archbishop and winning a Pulitzer Prize in 1923.

In spite of her success, her romantic life was fraught with conflict. Her work became her refuge and helped her to transcend the problems that beset her. As she often said, "That is happiness, to be dissolved in something complete and great."

Willa Cather: Her Life and Loves brings Cather to life as an author and as a woman. This solo show is written by Prudence Wright Holmes, based on Cather's biography and writings, and directed by Nora Deveau Rosen.

Willa Cather was a member of the New York Society Library for approximately the last decade of her life.

Prudence Wright Holmes has appeared in featured roles in the films Sister Act I and II, Kingpin, and In Dreams, and the HBO series Boardwalk Empire. On Broadway she appeared in Happy End with Meryl Streep, Lettice and Lovage with Maggie Smith, and Inherit the Wind with George C. Scott, plus The Light in the Piazza at Lincoln Center and on the National Tour. She has appeared in numerous off-Broadway shows including the original casts of Godspell and Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All For You. She is the author of the books Dr. Sam is Under Your Bed (a memoir), Monologue Mastery, The Voice and Speech Warm Up and Workout and Voices of Thinking Jewish Women. In addition to Willa Cather, her plays include Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker, Sister Girl, and, with Joanne Joseph, Beat Chick.

The New York Society Library was founded in 1754 and is the city's oldest library. In the eighteenth century, an organization labeled "Society" meant that it was open to all-available to everyone throughout society. The Library today is open to all for reading, reference, and selected events, with circulation and other services by subscription. The beautiful landmarked building dates from 1917 and includes reading rooms, spaces for study, stacks, and the Assunta, Ignazio, Ada and Romano Peluso Exhibition Gallery. The Library has approximately 300,000 volumes and hosts a variety of special events, reading groups, and workshops, as well as the New York City Book Awards.