Joan Didion and Vanessa Redgrave

Photograph by Brigitte Lacombe

A Benefit Performance

Vanessa Redgrave

in

The Year of Magical Thinking

A Play by Joan Didion

Directed by David Hare

In Support of

                                               

 

Monday, October 26, 2009, 8 pm

Tickets

$40, $90, $150

Click here to purchase online or call (866) 811-4111

PATRON AND SPONSOR SEATS

$2,500, $1,000 and $500

contribution includes private reception

Contact Shannon O'Hara for details

(202) 223-3768 / shannon@friendsunrwa.org

Joan Didion, David Hare and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Vanessa Redgrave come to the Cathedral for a special benefit performance of The Year of Magical Thinking. Funds raised will go to programs run by UNICEF, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) and their partners to help provide much needed help to the children of Gaza and southern Israel.

The Year of Magical Thinking, written by Ms. Didion and directed by David Hare, is being performed by Tony-winning actress Vanessa Redgrave. This production was performed in 2007 on Broadway and at the National Theatre in London in 2008.

The decision to dedicate the performance and funds raised from it to the children of Gaza and southern Israel was made in recognition of the urgent need to provide the support necessary to reclaim their lives and contribute to the rebuilding of their communities after the recent violence. The prospects for long-term peace in the region will depend in part on providing critical assistance so that the children of today can be the peacemakers of tomorrow.

Donations to UNICEF will be used to provide for the special needs of Palestinian and Israeli children affected by the recent conflict. UNICEF provides health, water, education and protection programs for children in Gaza. The U.S. Fund for UNICEF supports trauma counseling and psycho-social programs for children in southern Israel in partnership with local organizations. Since its inception following World War II, UNICEF has saved the lives of more children than any organization in history. Its work transcends race, religion, nationality, gender, politics and geography and is focused exclusively on helping all children achieve their full human potential.

In the Gaza Strip, UNRWA is a crucial lifeline. Its emergency services provide food, water, medicine, shelter and other necessities. During the recent violence, it was the only international organization that managed to continuously support the civilian population. In the aftermath, its focus is on helping children and their families rebuild their shattered lives, providing young people with an oasis of stability and normality, and responding to the widespread trauma they have suffered.

 

The Year of Magical Thinking

Remarkable. It will break your heart.       The cultural event of the season.

-- The New York Times                        -- The New York Post

The Year of Magical Thinking is poignant, heartbreaking, and wry; the emotions here are so genuine that we can't help but be deeply affected by them.

-- Newsweek

The Year of Magical Thinking isn’t dispassionately focused on finding answers in sorrow; it’s about the emotional implosion of a universe.

-- Los Angeles Times