The Bryan Series®

Krugman Among Guests on ABC’s “This Week” May 31

Paul Krugman will be among George Stephanopoulos’ guests on ABC’s “This Week” Sunday, May 31.

Krugman, a regular ABC contributor and New York Times columnist, will participate in a roundtable discussion of the Sotomayor hearings, the impact of any potential GM bankruptcy, the North Korean nuclear threat and all the week's politics.

Also on the program, Stephanopoulos will interview Sens. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., and John Cornyn, R-Tex., of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

“This Week” airs from 11 a.m.-Noon on WXLV-TV in the Greensboro area.

Krugman speaks in the Bryan Series Nov. 3.

Single-event Tickets for Yo-Yo Ma on Sale June 1

Single-event tickets for the Yo-Yo Ma program in the Bryan Series will be on sale Monday, June 1.  Online and phone sales (1-800-745-3000) through Ticketmaster begin at 10 a.m. Greensboro Coliseum Advance Box Office sales begin at 11 a.m.

Ma will present a lecture and short solo musical performance Monday, Oct. 26, at 7:30 p.m. at War Memorial Auditorium.  This is a speaking event and not a concert.

Approximately 1,000 tickets will be available, including a limited number of gold-circle seats ($125).  Orchestra ($75 and $45), mezzanine ($95 and $75) and balcony ($35) seats are available.

Anna Deavere Smith Discusses Health Care-related Play on NPR

Anna Deavere Smith discussed her new play, centering on health care, in an interview on NPR's "All Things Considered" May 26.

She talked about "Let Me Down Easy," which has been staged in several theaters around the nation in the past year and will be performed in New York City off-Broadway beginning in September.

Recently, Smith became artist in residence at the Center for American Progress.  In that capacity, she will be researching another play she is writing called "The Americans" and chronicling change in Washington, D.C.

Smith speaks in the Bryan Series Feb. 28 (3:30 p.m.).

Join us for WUNC Broadcast at Triad Stage May 28

North Carolina Public Radio-WUNC plans live broadcasts of The State of Things from its new downtown Greensboro bureau at Triad Stage Thursday and Friday, May 28-29. 

The Bryan Series is the primary underwriting sponsor for the broadcasts, and our staff will be on hand for Thursday's event.  The station has been a media partner for the series since 2004.

According to the station's Web site, you can reserve a spot to view and listen to the live broadcasts of the mid-day public affairs program by calling 1-800-962-9862 or e-mailing rsvp@wunc.org.

Show host Frank Stasio has moderated a number of Q&A sessions following Bryan Series talks.

Hope to see you on the 28th!

Five-week Report: Sub Sales at 1,400 and Rising

Subscriptions for the 2009-10 season exceed 1,400 after five weeks of sales.

As of May 21, a total of 1,443 subscriptions have been purchased.  This includes 1,220 renewals and 223 new subscriptions (after two weeks of the new sub campaign).  Order new subscriptions here.

Meanwhile, 1,171 tickets have been sold for the bonus event featuring Yo-Yo Ma.  Single-event sales for the Yo-Yo Ma event only begin June 1 online and at the Greensboro Coliseum Advance Box Office.

Thanks for your support of the series!

Poitier Talks about his Life and Latest Book on NPR Program

Former Bryan Series speaker Sidney Poitier talked about his life and latest book in an interview during NPR's "Morning Edition" May 19.  The interview continued May 20.

Poitier's interviews were in conjunction with the recent paperback release of his third memoir, Life Beyond Measure: Letters to My Great-Granddaughter.

In the book, the Academy Award-winning actor reflects on his amazing life and offers inspirational advice and personal stories in the form of extended letters to his great-granddaughter.

Poitier's Dec. 2, 2003, appearance at Guilford remains one of the most popular and distinctive programs in the series.  More than 1,300 people packed into Dana Auditorium and adjoining rooms to hear him speak.

Auditorium Could Receive Fed Funds for Renovation

War Memorial Auditorium in Greensboro, where Bryan Series programs are presented, could receive funds from next year's federal budget for a major renovation, the Business Journal reported in its May 15 issue.

The City of Greensboro placed $35 million in War Memorial renovations at the top of a list of projects should U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan secure earmarked funds in the next budget.

Matt Brown, exective director of the Greensboro Coliseum Complex, said if federal funds are not available, the project could be put in front of voters again in a bond referendum in 2010.  "It's the obligation of the community to get that thing replaced," he said.

Voters opposed a $50 million bond for the auditorium in 2008 and a $35 million bond a couple years earlier.

15 Bryan Series programs have been presented in the 50-year-old, 2,400-seat auditorium since October 2004.

Subscription Sales Exceed 1,300 after Four Weeks

Subscriptions for the 2009-10 season exceed 1,300 after four weeks of sales.

As of May 14, a total of 1,335 subscriptions have been purchased.  This includes 1,139 renewals and 196 new subscriptions (after one week of the new sub campaign).  Order new subscriptions here.

The priority deadline for renewals is Friday, May 15.  After that date, we cannot guarantee that subscribers will retain their 2008-09 seats. 

Meanwhile, 1,075 tickets have been sold for the bonus event featuring Yo-Yo Ma.  New and renewal subscribers can order discounted orchestra-level seats through May 15. 

Single-event sales for the Yo-Yo Ma event only begin June 1 online and at the Greensboro Coliseum Advance Box Office.

Amanpour-Rubin Event Selected Most Popular in 2008-09

Participants in the second poll on our new Web page indicated they enjoyed the Christiane Amanpour-James Rubin presentation most among five programs presented in 2008-09.

Results of the poll, which ran from April 22-May 13, were:

Amanpour-Rubin, 36.4%

Khaled Hosseini, 18.2%

Salman Rushdie, 18.2%

Anthony Bourdain, 18.2%

Anna Quindlen, 9.1%

The new poll asks "Who is your favorite Doonesbury character?"

Anna Deavere Smith Returns to N.Y. Stage This Fall

Anna Deavere Smith, who transformed the art of solo performance in the 1990s by embodying dozens of characters in her plays “Fires in the Mirror” and “Twilight: Los Angeles 1992,” is returning to the New York stage this fall for the first time in nine years with a new production about medicine and health care, “Let Me Down Easy,” according to the New York Times.

The play was originally commissioned by the Public Theater and was supposed to have its debut there in the 2005-6 season, but Smith has opted for a new Off Broadway home in New York: Second Stage Theater, where “Let Me Down Easy” is to begin previews on Sept. 15 and open in early October.

Smith speaks in the Bryan Series Sunday, Feb. 28 (3:30 p.m.).