This morning the Bedford Playhouse revealed its design and construction team and announced that construction will begin next month. The team includes architect Darren Mercer, builder RC Torre Construction, designer Danielle Galland, and project manager John Burkhardt of Big Show. “We are very excited to get our shovels in the ground," says Sarah Long, Chairman of the Board of Directors. "We can now focus on the exciting tasks: programming and our membership!"

To that end, the Playhouse is poised to hit a home run with its inaugural Author Series event on Sunday, May 7. The evening will feature not just one but four entertaining women of note who will do readings at Glen Arbor Golf Club in Bedford Hills. Legendary journalist Leslie Stahl (CBS’s 60 Minutes) will interview HBO’s Sheila Nevins (below) about her new book You Don’t Look Your Age…and Other Fairy Tales, while actress Ellen Burstyn and columnist Liz Smith will read excerpts. The evening promises to be both thought-provoking and hilarious. Nevins has been referred to as “your hysterical girlfriend whose stories about men will make laugh until you cry.”

“Sheila Nevins is one of a kind—president of HBO Documentary (with over 1000 documentaries to her credit, plus 39 Emmys, out of about 160 nominations), 11 Academy Awards, and God knows how many Peabodys. She is honest, outrageous, funny, and shocking,” says Pound Ridger Joni Evans, chair of the Author Series. “And, having her interviewed by the incomparable, take-no-prisoners Lesley Stahl makes for sparks.”

Evans enjoyed a successful career as a literary agent, writer, editor, and book publisher of over 100 bestsellers. Now retired, she is still a voracious reader and bibliophile, so it is only natural that she was tapped to chair the Bedford Playhouse Author Series. “Our hope is to continue to invite interviewers as interesting as the guests,” she continues. The intimate gathering has limited seating available and will include cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, and most importantly, engagement with Nevins and her friends. Guests will take home signed copies of both Nevins’s and Stahl’s new books.

The Bedford Playhouse will be a vibrant, not-for-profit arts house cinema and cultural resource for Bedford and the surrounding communities. The facility will offer 3 state-of-the-art theaters: the large theater (180 seats) will be used for celebrity events and programming in addition to screenings; one smaller theater (40 seats) will host intimate events and screenings, and one flex-use theater space, The David Worby Theater, will feature removable furniture, which will allow for a range of public and private events, performances, art exhibits, and more. "The exciting thing is that it will be so much more than a movie theater," adds Evans. "It will be a cultural center for our area and will have the room (and comfort) to accommodate lectures of many kinds." In addition to the theaters, the Playhouse will offer a café, serving light meals at breakfast, lunch and dinner.

To purchase tickets to this Author Series event, click here.

To make a donation to the Bedford Playhouse, click here.