Park City Institute presents RUGGEDLY JEWISH: An Evening with Bob Garfield

Park City Institute presents "Ruggedly Jewish: An Evening with Bob Garfield," on Saturday February 17, at 7:30 PM. The NPR "On the Media," star and media expert will bring his sharp observations on the search for identity in America, to the Main Stage, part of PCI's 20th Anniversary Season at the George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Center.

"We are excited to have Bob Garfield on our stage," said Teri Orr, PCI's Executive Director. "In Ruggedly Jewish he turns the lens he uses to analyze American media, on himself-and by exploring his own quirks, he shines a light on all of ours-and why that matters as we explore identity."

In a raw, wistful, hilarious and weird encounter session, the inveterate journalist weaves together disparate narrative threads on the subject of identity -- including his own nominal Jewishness -- to explore the exploration of self itself. A crazy-quilt 90-minute multimedia experience, Ruggedly Jewish bounces from observational comedy to harrowing life-and-death moments to American oddballs galore.

"This is certainly a spectacle of me trying to make sense of who I am," Garfield said, "but it's really much more concerned with who you are -- who we all are -- as individuals and as a society. Especially at this particular political moment. Plus one talking cat, two freeze-dried cats and a surprising amount of gunplay."

Garfield, describing himself as "a heroic multimediocrity," has been a columnist or contributing editor for the Washington Post Magazine, MediaPost, The Guardian, Advertising Age, Civilization and the op-ed page of USA Today. He has also written for The New York Times, Playboy, Atlantic, Sports Illustrated, Wired and the Mainichi Shimbun and been employed variously by ABC, CBS, CNBC and the defunct FNN as an on-air analyst. As a lecturer and panelist, he has appeared in 37 countries on six continents. Garfield co-wrote a song recorded by Willie Nelson, and classifies himself as the "NYT worst-selling author of five books, including his comic mob thriller Bedfellows, which he says, "is somewhat comic and somewhat thrilling". He has a play and a couple of movie scripts in his drawer he'd love for you to read.

Tickets to RUGGEDLY JEWISH: An Evening with Bob Garfield, are available at parkcityinstitute.org, or by calling the box office at 435-655-3114. Individual tickets range from $29 to $79. Discounts are available for children (16 and under), seniors, and Summit County students (K-12). Call the Box Office at 435-655-3114 for more information. The Box Office is located within the Eccles Center (1750 Kearns Boulevard, Park City). Box office hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, and from noon through show time, on the day of a performance.

**PCI MEMBERSHIP EXCLUSIVE: Season punch cards of 10 (redeemable for all regular season shows, excluding New Year's Eve and our 20th Anniversary Party) are available for $240 (sapphire) $420 (ruby) and $690 (amethyst). For membership information, please visit parkcityinstitute.org.

Park City Institute is a non-profit organization, dedicated to bringing world-class performances and new ideas to the community. Since 1998, PCI has presented internationally renowned and cutting edge musicians, actors, authors, comedians, dancers, speakers, and film, at the George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Center for the Performing Arts (a joint-use facility with the Park City School District). The organization will embark on its 15th season of headliner concerts at Deer Valley Resort, next summer. PCI is dedicated to introducing young people to the arts through free student outreach workshops, shows and demonstrations. Since 2010, PCI has offered a free, after-school literacy program to students in grades one through 12 at the thinky and fun tutoring hub, The Mega-Genius Supply Store and IQ HQ (located at 435 Swede Alley).

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