Miss Manners' Tips for a Perfect Wedding

TUESDAY, JANUARY 19

Luncheon 12:30, Program 1:00 p.m. (Optional Cash Bar 11:30 a.m.)

WOMAN'S NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC CLUB

1526 New Hampshire Avenue NW

Luncheon and Program $30

ESU Washington is pleased to join the Shakespeare Guild and the Princeton Club of Washington and return to the Woman's National Democratic Club for a delightful luncheon gathering with the inimitable Judith Martin, an award-winning journalist whose early work at The Washington Post included film and theater reviews before she created the celebrated persona with which she is most indelibly associated today. She’ll be joined by her daughter and co-author Jacobina Martin, and they'll talk about Miss Manners’ Guide to a Surprisingly Dignified Wedding. Among other things, their remarks will touch on what goes right and wrong in the marriage ceremonies that occur in plays like Much Ado About Nothing, Romeo and Juliet, and The Tempest. Best known for her syndicated column and for Miss Manners’ advice on everything from “Civility” to “Communication,” “Domestic Tranquility,” “Eating,” “Excruciatingly Correct Behavior,” “Rearing Perfect Children,” and “The Right Thing to Say,” Judith Martin is also a novelist, with echoes of Jane Austen in titles like Style and Substance, a memoirist who has enchanted us with an evocative homage to the globe’s most fascinating city in No Vulgar Hotel: The Desire and Pursuit of Venice, and a distinguished recipient of the National Humanities Medal. Copies of Miss Manners' witty and informative introduction to matrimonial bliss will be available for purchase and inscription. For details about, and reservations for, this memorable event, contact Mark Olshaker, either by e-mail (esuwdc@verizon.net) or by phone (202-234-4602).

William Shakespeare: Not a 'Gentleman Born'

FRIDAY, JANUARY 22, at 12:00 noon

COSMOS CLUB, 2121 Massachusetts Avenue NW

Luncheon and Program $35

Shakespeare famously wrote of gentlemen, yet he himself was not born one. After distinguishing himself as a playwright and actor, he longed to be "Wm. Shakespeare, Gent." At this month's Cosmos Club Shakespeare Luncheon we'll learn how he achieved this ambition from Dympna Callaghan, who will trace the poet's upward mobility through the College of Arms. His quest reflected some of the tumultuous changes in his society, developments he addressed in such plays as The Winter's Tale. What did a shift in status mean in early modern England? What procedures were involved in attaining official ratification that a person had crossed the vast social chasm that separated commoners from gentry? These are some of the questions that Dr. Callaghan will address. She is a professor of humanities at Syracuse University and a Mellon Senior Fellow at the Folger Shakespeare Library. Her publications include The Feminist Companion to Shakespeare, Shakespeare's Sonnets, and Romeo and Juliet: Texts and Contexts. Business attire (e.g., jackets and ties for gentlemen) will be required for attendees at this stimulating luncheon. For details and reservations, contact Mark Olshaker by e-mail (esuwdc@verizon.net) or by phone (202-234-4602).

A Festive Salute to Actress Frances Sternhagen

TUESDAY, JANUARY 26, at 6:30 p.m.

COSMOS CLUB, 2121 Massachusetts Avenue NW

No Admission Charge, but Reservations are Required

Thanks to a former ESU Washington President, Gerald Kauvar, who now chairs the Cosmos Club Foundation, members of the English-Speaking Union and their guests are invited to a special ceremony at which the Foundation presents its annual John P. McGovern Award in the Arts and Humanities to Frances Sternhagen, an actress equally accomplished in stage, screen, and television work. A native Washingtonian, and a graduate of Madeira School and Vassar College, Ms. Sternhagen has earned two Tony Awards and a number of other honors, among them a distinguished Helen Hayes Awards Tribute. She has starred in theater productions of such classics as A Long Day's Journey into Night, Driving Miss Daisy, On Golden Pond, and Seascape. On television, she portrayed Cliff Clavin's mother in Cheers and John Carter's powerful grandmother (with George Plimpton as her husband) in ER. Her many film credits include Up the Down Staircase, The Hospital, and Starting Over. Business attire (e.g., jackets and ties for gentlemen) will be required for attendees at this memorable gathering. For details and reservations, contact Mark Olshaker by e-mail (esuwdc@verizon.net) or by phone (202-234-4602).

Tips on Speaking the Speech from Gary Logan

SATURDAY, JANUARY 30, at 10:00 a.m.

ACADEMY FOR CLASSICAL ACTING, 2129 G Street NW, Building L

No Admission Charge, but Reservations are Requested

We're delighted to announce a master class with Gary Logan, one of the most gifted drama instructors in the United States. Director of the Academy for Classical Acting (a one-of-a-kind postgraduate degree-granting institution jointly administered by the Shakespeare Theatre Company and the George Washington University), Mr. Logan is also an STC associate who regularly works on the company's productions. A widely admired scholar, he recently published The Eloquent Shakespeare: A Pronouncing Dictionary for the Complete Dramatic Works, With Notes to Untie the Modern Tongue (University of Chicago Press). He has worked with leading classical ensembles throughout the