"Broadway" comes to Madison Community House

The Thursday Morning Club welcomes Ilene Beckerman--author, actress, humorist—as the February 20th speaker in its “Wise Wonderful Women” series.  Beckerman’s topic will be “Comments of a Once Shy Women Who Doesn’t Shut Up.”  The public is cordially invited to attend the lunch and talk from 11:30 to 1:30 at the Madison Community House, 25 Cook Avenue.

Beckerman is best known for her memoir, Love, Loss, and What I Wore, which became the basis for Nora and Delia Ephron’s hit play of the same name.   The play set an off-Broadway record and has been performed on six continents and more than eight countries.  Beckerman herself has portrayed the crucial role of the narrator, first on Long Island, then with the Chester Theatre Group in New Jersey in 2013.

Beckerman did not begin writing professionally until she was sixty, when word of mouth brought What I Wore, originally penned as a memento for children and friends, to the attention of a national publisher.  To her surprise, Beckerman’s memoir became a major best seller.  Since then, she has written four more books, including her most recent, The Smartest Woman I Know, about her wise and witty grandmother.

Beckerman’s focus on issues close to women—often filtered through her favorite medium of clothes—has brought her a wide and devoted audience.  Her humor and unique illustrations (“I doodle,” she reports) make her books instantly recognizable and readable.

Beckerman has written for the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and the Ladies Home Journal, among other publications.  She has been profiled by Oprah and the New York Times and interviewed for a YouTube video.

As noted above, both members and non members of the Thursday Morning Club are welcome to attend this lunch and presentation on Thursday, February 20.  The registration fee is $35.  Checks should be made payable and mailed to “TMC, Wise, Wonderful Women,” P.O. Box 345, Madison, N.J. 07940.   Seating is limited. No tickets will be mailed- a list of payees will be at the door.  For information, contact Peggy Philp, the Club’s Ways and Means chairwoman, at mgphilp@optonline.net or (973) 822-3433. 

Proceeds will benefit the Madison Community House, which is owned and operated and maintained by the Thursday Morning Club.  Organized in 1896, the Club is a member of both the New Jersey State and General Federation of Women’s Clubs.  The Club offers programs and services to support the community, and its Community House has provided a home for a number of sports, recreation and civic groups.

For information about the Thursday Morning Club or membership, call the Community House at (973) 377-0244 or visit www.TMCMCH.org

                                                                               Carol Schessler, Communications

                                                                               Thursday Morning Club