SPEAKER: MICHAEL SCHULMAN and FOSTER HIRSCH | ENTERTAINER: MARIEANN MERINGOLO

Forty-five dollar admission includes a three course lunch payable at the door by cash or check only

SPEAKER: MICHAEL SCHULMAN & FOSTER HIRSCH

Michael Schulman, staff writer for The New Yorker since 2006, and author of the acclaimed Oscar Wars: A History of Hollywood in Gold, Sweat and Tears, will discuss the book with renowned film historian, Foster Hirsch. America does not have royalty. It has celebrity, particularly in the Academy Awards. For nine decades, perfectly coiffed actresses, debonair leading men, and producers with gold in their eyes, have chased the holy grail of the elusive Oscar. What began as an industry banquet in 1929, has morphed into a holy grail, complete with high couture, red carpets, envelopes, and little gold men. But don’t be fooled by the pomp: the Oscars more than anything else, are a battlefield, where the history of Hollywood—-and of America itself—unfolds in dramas large and small.

ENTERTAINER: MARIEANNE MERINGOLO

Marieann Meringolo is a native New Yorker who grew up on the songs of the Great American Songbook.  She has been called “One of the circuit’s most powerful singers” and Time Out New York claimed, “If k.d. lang’s DNA were to get whipped together with Barbra Streisand’s in a genetics lab specializing in divas, the result might well be Marieann Meringolo.” She is a MAC Award-Winning Recording Artist as well as a Back Stage Bistro Award-Winner for “Outstanding Vocalist.” She has received rave reviews for her newest album, released on the BluJazz label, “Between Yesterday and Tomorrow: The Songs of Alan & Marilyn Bergman” New York music critic, Will Friedwald notes, “The music of the Bergmans, as movingly realized by Marieann Meringolo, transports us to a better and more ideal world.” And, noted by The Wall Street Journal, “If you don’t do it brilliantly it isn’t worth doing at all…Ms. Meringolo’s powerhouse interpretation makes full use of the dramatic Bergman lyric.” Marieann is currently in residency performing her critically acclaimed show “A Lot Of Livin’ To Do!” at New York City’s newest hotspot, Chelsea Table + Stage. Her next performance will be Friday, May 12th with Special Guest, Ari Axelrod. Visit MarieannMeringolo.com for all upcoming performances. And, check out Marieann’s latest single video "I Am Blessed" on YouTube, now with over 82,000 views!