Library Offers Eye-Opening Women, Intriguing Films

The is gearing up a full schedule of programs in March.

In honor of Women's History month, the Library is presenting four programs featuring fascinating women. The programs will take place on the first four Mondays in March at 10:30 am in the Chase Room. The schedule is as follows
 

• March 7 - Aldona Skrypa will present "Surviving Education." A long-time teacher now retired from the Madison Public Schools, Aldona will discuss the ins and outs and ups and downs of education.  
• March 14 -  Cathy Bao Bean, author of "The Chopstick Fork Principle," will discuss her humorous memoir about life in the United States as a Chinese immigrant. Copies of the book will be available for purchase.
• March 21 -  The Traveling Stage Company returns with their poignant one-woman show "Mary Todd Lincoln," a look at the life of Abraham Lincoln's wife.
• March 28 - Deborah Farrar Starker, president of Madison Arts & Culture Alliance and former museum professional, will share some of her observations and experiences from her recent trip to Tanzania. The journey through landscapes, cultures and wildlife migration includes Dr. Leakey's museum in Olduvai Gorge,  coffee plantations in the Ngorongoro foothills,  and the magnificent Masai warrior welcome rituals.

The programs are free and open to the public, thanks to sponsorship from the . 

A “Tribute to Judy Garland” featuring husband and wife duo Joel Zelnik on piano and soloist Francine Evans will be held on Thursday, March 10 at 11 a.m. at the Library. The concert will include some of Garland’s best known songs such as “The Boy Next Door,” “Swanee,” “Easter Parade,” The Trolley Song,” “But Not For Me,” “The Man That Got Away,” and of course, “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.”

Evans is a veteran of cabaret shows around the world and performer at New York City’s hotel ballrooms, while Zelnik has entertained five presidents, and performed at concert venues in New York, Atlantic City, Las Vegas, Japan and Greece. He has recorded four CDs and has an M.A. from Rutgers University.

Reservations are not required but seating is on a first-come, first-served basis.  This is a free program paid for by the Friends of the Madison Public Library.

The Library's popular "Wednesday Night at the Movies" series continues in March and April. The free films begin promptly at 7 p.m.  The schedule is as follows:

• March 9 - "Some Came Running," starring Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Shirley MacLaine;
• March 23 - "Sideways," starring Paul Giamatti, Thomas Haden Church, and Virginia Madsen;
• March 30 - "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps," starring Shia LaBoeuf, Michael Douglas, and Carey Mulligan;
• April 6 - "The Kids Are All Right," starring Annette Bening, Julianne Moore, and Mark Ruffalo;
• April 13 - "Resurrection," starring Ellen Burstyn, Sam Shepard, and Richard Farnsworth.

The program is hosted by Madison resident Tim Hoey, and a discussion follows each of the films.

The Madison Public Library is located at 39 Keep Street. For further information, please contact Carrie Thompson at (973) 377-0722.