Shop The Elmwood

Rosalind Brackenbury returns to read from her exquisite new novel, Without Her.
2019-10-24 19:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | Mrs. Dalloways Bookstore, 2904 College Avenue, Berkeley, CA, 94705, United States
To reserve your seat, please purchase a copy of Without Her in advance by speaking to a bookseller or clicking on the cover below.

When her old friend Hannah doesn’t show up at her house in the south of France, everyone assumes that Claudia, who has known Hannah since their shared years at boarding school, will know where she is, and what has happened. But as Claudia travels from the USA to France to help Hannah’s husband and children conduct their search, she is forced to deal with her old jealousy of Hannah, as well as her own relationship in the present with her French lover, Alexandre. As events unfold, Claudia begins to wonder if Hannah and Alexandre may have had an affair and if that has had something to do with Hannah’s mysterious disappearance. In this exquisitely written, Ferrante-esque novel, the question of whether or not Hannah will come back becomes urgent and bewildering. And if she doesn’t come back, what will the lives of her friends and family be without her?
Poet and novelist Rosalind Brackenbury is the author of Becoming George Sand, Paris Still Life, The Third Swimmer, and The Lost Love Letters of Henri Fournier. A former writer-in-residence at the College of William and Mary, she has also served as poet laureate of Key West, teaching poetry workshops. Born in London, Rosalind lived in Scotland and France before moving to the United States. She now lives in Key West. Her latest poetry collection, Invisible Horses, was published in May.

Lawrence Weschler presents And How Are You, Dr. Sacks? A Biographical Memoir of Oliver Sacks
2019-10-23 19:30 | Mrs. Dalloways Bookstore, 2904 College Avenue, Berkeley, CA, 94705, United States
Lawrence Weschler presents And How Are You, Dr. Sacks? A Biographical Memoir of Oliver Sacks, the untold story of the famous neurologist, his own most singular patient.

“The story of Lawrence Weschler’s faithful four-decade friendship with the amazing Oliver Sacks offers pleasures and amazements on every page. This loving but unblinking portrait will delight fans of Dr. Sacks as well as devotees of Weschler’s always-pathfinding nonfiction.”–Ian Frazier
To reserve your seat in advance please purchase a copy of And How Are You, Dr. Sacks? by speaking with a bookseller or clicking on the cover image below.

Lawrence Weschler began spending time with Oliver Sacks in the early 1980s, when he set out to profile the neurologist for The New Yorker. Almost a decade earlier, Dr. Sacks had published his masterpiece Awakenings–the account of his long-dormant patients’ miraculous but troubling return to life in a Bronx hospital ward. But the book had hardly been an immediate success, and the rumpled clinician was still largely unknown. Over the ensuing four years, the two men worked closely together until, for wracking personal reasons, Sacks asked Weschler to abandon the profile, a request to which Weschler acceded. The two remained close friends, however, across the next thirty years and then, just as Sacks was dying, he urged Weschler to take up the project once again. This book is the result of that entreaty.
Weschler sets Sacks’s brilliant table talk and extravagant personality in vivid relief, casting himself as a beanpole Sancho to Sacks’s capacious Quixote. We see Sacks rowing and ranting and caring deeply; composing the essays that would form The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat; recalling his turbulent drug-fueled younger days; helping his patients and exhausting his friends; and waging intellectual war against a medical and scientific establishment that failed to address his greatest concern: the spontaneous specificity of the individual human soul. And all the while he is pouring out a stream of glorious, ribald, hilarious, and often profound conversation that establishes him as one of the great talkers of the age. Here is the definitive portrait of Sacks as our preeminent romantic scientist, a self-described “clinical ontologist” whose entire practice revolved around the single fundamental question he effectively asked each of his patients: How are you? Which is to say, How do you be?
A question which Weschler, with this book, turns back on the good doctor himself.
Lawrence Weschler, a longtime veteran of The New Yorker and a regular contributor to NPR, is the director emeritus of the New York Institute of the Humanities at NYU and the author of nearly twenty books, including Seeing Is Forgetting the Name of the Thing One Sees, Mr. Wilson’s Cabinet of Wonder, Everything That Rises, and Vermeer in Bosnia.

Great Art On Screen 2019/20 Season: Gauguin in Tahiti: Paradise Lost
2019-10-23 19:00 | Rialto Cinemas Elmwood, 2966 College Avenue, Berkeley, CA, 94705, United States
Wed, Oct 23 1 & 7pm

To Purchase Tickets Click HERE
GAUGUIN IN TAHITI: PARADISE LOST traces the legendary life story of Paul Gauguin who left France for Tahiti, feverishly in search of deep immersions into lush nature, for feelings, visions and colors, ever purer and brighter. Audiences join this journey from Tahiti to American museums including New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Art Institute of Chicago, National Gallery of Art in DC, and Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts where Gauguin’s greatest masterpieces are now preserved.

NT Live: Fleabag
2019-10-17 19:00 | Rialto Cinemas Elmwood, 2966 College Avenue, Berkeley, CA, 94705, United States
To Purchase Tickets Click HERE
Written and performed by
Phoebe Waller-Bridge
Directed by Vicky Jones
★★★★★ “Witty, filthy and supreme!”
– Guardian
See the hilarious, award-winning, one-woman show that inspired the BBC’s hit TV series Fleabag, broadcast live to Rialto Cinemas from London’s West End.
Written and performed by Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Fleabag, Killing Eve) and directed by Vicky Jones, Fleabag is a rip-roaring look at some sort of woman living her sort of life.
Fleabag may seem oversexed, emotionally unfiltered and self-obsessed, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. With family and friendships under strain and a guinea pig cafe struggling to keep afloat, Fleabag suddenly finds herself with nothing to lose.
Playing to sold-out audiences in New York and London, don’t miss your chance to see this ‘legitimately hilarious show’ (New Yorker), broadcast live to Rialto Cinemas.
Presented by DryWrite, Soho Theatre and Annapurna Theatre
Show image by Jason Hetherington
Please note that Fleabag is not eligible for the Pick Six/Pick Ten discount offer

Prerna Lal launching Unsung America: Immigrant Trailblazers and Our Fight for Freedom
2019-10-16 19:30 | Mrs. Dalloways Bookstore, 2904 College Avenue, Berkeley, CA, 94705, United States
Prerna Lal launching Unsung America: Immigrant Trailblazers and Our Fight for Freedom. Please join us for a most timely discussion.

“Deeply insightful and intentionally detailed–Prerna Lal has conceived a text that breaks down the inner workings of the United States immigration system and the impact it has had on the lives of countless immigrants and families. Lal lays out a timeline both old and new, that vividly chronicles the birth and impact of certain policies, views, and opinions within the realm of immigration policy.”–Juan Escalante
To reserve your seat please purchase a copy of Unsung America by speaking to a bookseller or clicking on the cover below.

Far too often, immigrants are demonized and scapegoated, when they should be celebrated as heroes and revolutionaries. This book strings together both triumphant and painful stories of immigrants who blazed trails and broke barriers in their fight for American citizenship and fundamental human rights.
These are ordinary people who have used their own stories on the fight for citizenship to illustrate their triumphs and trials as immigrants in a new land. Each uses a different strategy and tactics; what works for one does not work for another. They all have one thing in common, however—a desire for racial and social justice.

Prerna Lal is a naturalized United States citizen, born and raised in Fiji Islands with roots in the San Francisco Bay Area. Lal is an Indo-Fijian attorney, based in the Bay Area, and founder of DreamActivist, an online advocacy network led by undocumented youth. Through the use of social media, Lal has been credited for organising an online network to stop the deportations of undocumented youth and they are well known as one of the pivotal figures and leaders of the DREAM Act movement. A clinical law professor, Lal is a frequent writer on immigration, racial justice, sexual orientation, and how these forces intersect.

Metallica & San Francisco Symphony: S&M²
2019-10-09 19:00 | Rialto Cinemas Elmwood, 2966 College Avenue, Berkeley, CA, 94705, United States
A must-see celebration of the 20th anniversary of Metallica’s groundbreaking S&M concerts and album recorded with the San Francisco Symphony. See them once again perform with the Symphony as legendary conductor Michael Tilson Thomas leads a portion of the show, kicking off his final season in San Francisco. Recorded live on September 6th and 8th, the shows also commemorate the opening of the state-of-the-art Chase Center, a historic addition to the city’s waterfront.
Including Metallica “classics” from the 1999 S&M release as well symphonic versions of new songs, this theatrical release gives millions of fans around the world the chance to eclipse time and experience the show as a modern-day big screen concert.

Ivy Moon All-Stars: A Cajun Creole Band - FREE
2019-10-06 13:30 - 16:30
Playing for Free at the Elmwood Wine Walk! Come check them out at from 1:30-4:30 at College & Russell

Wine Walk in the Elmwood
2019-10-06 13:00 - 17:00 | Elmwood Business Association, College and Ashby, Berkeley, CA, 94705, United States
Enjoy a leisurely Sunday afternoon stroll in The Elmwood and sample over 50 wines!
Buy tickets online by October 4th for only $25. After October 4th, tickets will be available for $35. If we do not sell out, tickets will be available day of at the ticket table on the lawn next to Wells Fargo Bank on Ashby Ave.
Bring your ticket and ID to one of the check-in locations: Anton Salon or the table on the lawn next to Wells Fargo. Pick up your wine glass and program. The program has a map with the participating locations and information about the wines being poured.
50% of the event’s net proceeds will be donated to Emerson Elementary School (BUSD).
For more information on wines, participating retailers and restaurants, transportation, parking suggestions and more, go to www.ShopTheElmwood.com.
Sunday 1-5 pm, October 6, 2019

Snoopy, Come Home
2019-10-05 12:00 - 13:30 | Rialto Cinemas Elmwood, 2966 College Avenue, Berkeley, CA, 94705, United States
FREE Kid Pack with Each Child Admission!
To Purchase Tickets Click HERE
For the first time since its original release in 1972, the Peanuts classic Snoopy, Come Home has been digitally remastered and will be shown in theaters.
In this follow up to 1969’s A Boy Named Charlie Brown, the scholarly Snoopy finds himself dragged between two owners and challenged to remain true to himself. When Charlie Brown’s beloved dog Snoopy receives a letter from his original owner Lila, who is in hospital, his heartstrings are torn. Along with his bird pal Woodstock, Snoopy decides to venture out and visit ailing Lila, making his way across the country. But when Lila gets better and asks Snoopy to live with her, the poor beagle faces a dilemma of loyalty, where he must choose between Charlie and Lila.
Written by Schulz, with a much admired score by Oscar winners Richard and Robert Sherman (“Best Original Song” and “Best Original Music Score,” Mary Poppins, 1964) and featuring the on-screen debut Woodstock, Snoopy, Come Home is a fun-loving animated adventure for the whole family.

Matt Maiocco, Brad Mangin & Brian Murphy present Letters to 87: Fans Remember the Legacy of Dwight Clark
2019-10-04 19:30 | Mrs. Dalloways Bookstore, 2904 College Avenue, Berkeley, CA, 94705, United States
Matt Maiocco, Brad Mangin & Brian Murphy present Letters to 87: Fans Remember the Legacy of Dwight Clark, a coffee table book featuring heartfelt letters from fans of the San Francisco 49ers hero, with essays by Edward J. DeBartolo Jr., Ronnie Lott, Joe Montana, Brian Murphy, and Kelly Clark. Letters to 87 also offers rare photos from Michael Zagaris, Brad Mangin, and John Storey.

To reserve your seat, please purchase a copy of Letters to 87 by speaking to a bookseller or clicking on the cover below.

Football fans will always remember “The Catch” as the moment a dynasty was born. When Dwight Clark received the touchdown pass that sent the 49ers to their first Super Bowl in 1982, an indelible moment was etched into the history of the NFL. Later, as Clark battled ALS, he and sportswriter Matt Maiocco put out a call to fans, asking them to share their memories of this moment. The letters that Clark and Maiocco received tell the story of how the man who wore number 87 brought together a city and a franchise through his sincerity, his loyalty, and his spirit for life and the game.
All royalties will go the the Golden Heart Fund, a nonprofit arm of the 49ers that helps support former 49er players. Find out more at www.lettersto87.com.
Matt Maiocco, beat reporter for NBC Sports Bay Area, has covered the San Francisco 49ers for over a decade. Brad Mangin is a photographer who, since 1987, has captured the biggest stars in professional sports. Brian Murphy is half of KNBR’s « Murph and Mac » sports report. He’s written six books, three of which celebrate the World Series Champions SF Giants.

National Theatre Live: One Man, Two Guvnors - Special Encore Presentation
2019-10-01 19:00 | Rialto Cinemas Elmwood, 2966 College Avenue, Berkeley, CA, 94705, United States
To Purchase Tickets Click HERE
★★★★ Daily Telegraph, Evening Standard, The Times, Time Out
In Richard Bean’s English version of Goldoni’s classic Italian comedy, sex, food and money are high on the agenda.
Featuring a Tony Award-winning performance from host of the The Late Late Show, James Corden, the hilarious West End and Broadway hit One Man, Two Guvnors returns to Rialto Cinemas to mark National Theatre Live’s 10th birthday.
Fired from his skiffle band, Francis Henshall becomes minder to Roscoe Crabbe, a small time East End hood, now in Brighton to collect £6,000 from his fiancee’s dad. But Roscoe is really his sister Rachel posing as her own dead brother, who’s been killed by her boyfriend Stanley Stubbers.
Holed up at The Cricketers’ Arms, the permanently ravenous Francis spots the chance of an extra meal ticket and takes a second job with one Stanley Stubbers, who is hiding from the police and waiting to be re-united with Rachel. To prevent discovery, Francis must keep his two guvnors apart. Simple.

L. John Harris launches his delightful new book, Café French: A Flâneur’s Guide to the Language, Lore and Food of the Paris Café.
2019-09-29 15:00 | Mrs. Dalloways Bookstore, 2904 College Avenue, Berkeley, CA, 94705, United States
L. John Harris launches his delightful new book, Café French: A Flâneur’s Guide to the Language, Lore and Food of the Paris Café.

“L. John Harris’s amusing and instructive book distills Parisian flânerie—that unique blend of urban strolling and conversing that fuses literary, spatial and historical life—with playful images, witty narrative and memorable quotations by and about the notorious flâneurs of yore.”–W. Scott Haine, author of The World of the Paris Café
To reserve your seat, please purchase a copy of Café French in advance by speaking to a bookseller.

He has been called Mr. Garlic, the Balzac of Berkeley and now a Neoflâneur: author, artist, cookbook publisher, filmmaker and “pre-foodie” L. John Harris, a founding father of Berkeley’s Gourmet Ghetto, is all of the above and more. Join us as we celebrate the publication of his new book of witty texts and whimsical illustrations inspired by his wanderings through the streets and cafés of Paris.
A native of Los Angeles, L. John Harris studied art at UC Berkeley from 1965-1969. Through the 1970’s, while working in some of Berkeley’s iconic food businesses–the Cheese Board, Chez Panisse and The Swallow–he wrote The Book of Garlic, followed by The Official Garlic Lovers Handbook. His book Foodoodles came out in 2010. A modern Renaissance man, Harris is also a documentary film maker (Divine Food: 100 Years in the Kosher Delicatessen Trade and Los Romeros: The Royal Family of the Guitar) and classical guitar afficionado whose programs at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music feature world-class guitarists playing vintage classical and flamenco guitars from his personal collection. Harris spends his time between Berkeley and Paris.

Jean Fruth & Jeff Idelson present Grassroots Baseball: Where Legends Begin.
2019-09-25 19:30 | Mrs. Dalloways Bookstore, 2904 College Avenue, Berkeley, CA, 94705, United States
Jean Fruth & Jeff Idelson present Grassroots Baseball: Where Legends Begin. The evening includes a presentation by photographer Jean Fruth and retiring National Baseball Hall of Fame President Jeff Idelson, on some of the legends in the book and the places they come from. Followed by a book signing. A matching donation of the book price ($60) will be donated to Oakland Little League for every book sold at this event.

To reserve your seat, please purchase a copy of Grassroots Baseball ($60 hardcover) in advance by speaking with a bookseller.

In Grassroots Baseball: Where Legends Begin, photographer Jean Fruth features more than 250 of the best images from all levels of the amateur game in the U.S. as well as several hotbeds of baseball around the world. Each chapter opens with a portrait of a baseball legend and a first-person essay recounting his early memories of playing the game. Some of the stars highlighted in this full-color book include Whitey Ford, Vladimir Guerrero, Hank Aaron, Randy Johnson, Nolan Ryan, and Ichiro Suzuki. The pages that follow in each chapter document the game from sandlots to big time ballparks, and at every level of organized baseball, giving readers a window into how these legends’ careers began. With an introduction by Cal Ripken, Jr., a foreword by Steve Wulf, and an afterword by Johnny Bench, this book makes the perfect gift for baseball fans of all teams.
Jean Fruth has been a photographer for nearly two decades and shooting baseball for the past 15 years. She covered the San Francisco Giants and Oakland A’s before turning her attention to the National Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum, where she helped to build the museum’s profile and photo archive. Today Fruth is the traveling photographer for La Vida Baseball, a digital media company and Hall of Fame partner that tells the story of Latino baseball across the United States and Latin America. She is recognized by Sony as one of its 45 Sony Artisans of Imagery, world-wide.

Shakespeare's Globe: The Merry Wives of Windsor
2019-09-24 19:00 | Rialto Cinemas Elmwood, 2966 College Avenue, Berkeley, CA, 94705, United States
To Purchase Tickets Click HERE
Double-meanings, disguises and dirty laundry abound in The Merry Wives of Windsor as Sir John Falstaff sets about improving his financial situation by wooing Mistress Page and Mistress Ford. But the ‘Merry Wives’ quickly caught on to his tricks and decide to have a bit of fun of their own at Falstaff’s expense…
The Merry Wives of Windsor is the only comedy that Shakespeare set in his native land. Drawing influences from 1930s British fashion, music and dance, this new production from Shakespeare’s Globe will celebrate women, and the power and beauty of nature. With its witty mix of verbal and physical humour, the play celebrates a tradition that reaches right down to the contemporary English sitcom.
Directed by Elle While, the production stars Olivier Award-nominated Bryony Hannah (Call the Midwife, The Children’s Hour), Sarah Finigan (Suffragette, Upstart Crow) and Pearce Quigley (Hamlet, As You Like It) as Falstaff. The Merry Wives of Windsor will be staged at the beautiful and iconic Globe Theatre in London and will be broadcast live to cinemas. The live broadcast will feature exclusive interviews and behind-the-scenes insights into the play.

E.R. Razmipoor OFFSITE presenting The Ventriloquists
2019-09-24 18:30 | Mrs. Dalloways Bookstore, 2904 College Avenue, Berkeley, CA, 94705, United States
E.R. Razmipoor OFFSITE presenting The Ventriloquists, her much-anticipated debut novel inspired by true events, about a ragtag gang of journalists and resistance fighters risking everything for an elaborate scheme to undermine the Reich.

“Magnetic… Sprawling and ambitious, with crisp pacing and fully realized characters, this will fascinate anyone looking for an unusual, enthralling war story.” — Publishers Weekly

In this fast-paced historical thriller, twelve-year-old street orphan Helene survives by living as a boy and selling copies of the country’s most popular newspaper, Le Soir, now turned into Nazi propaganda. Helene’s world changes when she befriends a rogue journalist, Marc Aubrion, who draws her into a secret network that publishes dissident underground newspapers. The Nazis track down Aubrion’s team and give them an impossible choice: turn the resistance newspapers into a Nazi propaganda bomb that will sway public opinion against the Allies, or be killed. Faced with no decision at all, Aubrion has a brilliant idea. While pretending to do the Nazis’ bidding, they will instead publish a fake edition of Le Soir that pokes fun at Hitler and Stalin–daring to laugh in the face of their oppressors. The ventriloquists have agreed to die for a joke, and they have only eighteen days to tell it.
E.R. Razmipoor studied political science at UC Berkeley, where she researched underground literature in resistance movements and discovered the forgotten story of Faux Soir. Her writing has been featured in McSweeney’s.

Peter Dale Scott and Freeman Ng present Poetry and Terror: Politics and Poetics in Coming to Jakarta
2019-09-22 15:00 | Mrs. Dalloways Bookstore, 2904 College Avenue, Berkeley, CA, 94705, United States
Peter Dale Scott and Freeman Ng present Poetry and Terror: Politics and Poetics in Coming to Jakarta, a study at many levels of Scott’s long poem Coming to Jakarta.

To reserve your seat, please purchase a copy of Poetry and Terror ($34.99 paperback) in advance by speaking to a bookseller.

Coming to Jakarta is Scott’s response to a midlife crisis triggered in part by his initial inability to share his knowledge and horror about American involvement in the great Indonesian massacre of 1965. In Poetry and Terror, interviews with Ng supply fuller information about the poem’s discussions of: a) how this psychological trauma led to an explorations of violence in American society and then, after a key recognition, in the poet himself; b) the poem’s look at east-west relations through the lens of the yin-yang, spiritual-secular doubleness of the human condition; c) how the process of writing the poem led to the recovery of memories too threatening at first to be retained by his normal presentational self, and d) the mystery of right action, guided by the Bhagavad Gita and the maxim in the Gospel of Thomas that “If you bring forth what is within you, what you bring forth will save you.”
Led by the interviews to greater self-awareness, Scott then analyses his poem as also an elegy, not just for the dead in Indonesia, but “for the passing of the Sixties era, when so many of us imagined that a Movement might achieve major changes for a better America.” Subsequent chapters develop how human doubleness can lead to an inner tension between the needs of politics and the needs of poetry, and how some poetry can serve as a non-violent higher politics, contributing to the evolution of human culture and thus our “second nature.”
Peter Dale Scott is a poet and author of many books including The American Deep State: Big Money, Big Oil, and the Attack on U.S. Democracy and Coming to Jakarta: A Poem About Terror, and he is co-founder of the Peace and Conflict Studies Program at University of California, Berkeley. Freeman Ng is a former Google software engineer, an author, and an artist.

Bonnie Tsui & other Writers Grotto members host an interactive party/workshop inaugurating a new series for writers: LIT STARTS
2019-09-19 19:00 | Mrs. Dalloways Bookstore, 2904 College Avenue, Berkeley, CA, 94705, United States
Bonnie Tsui & other Writers Grotto members host an interactive party/workshop inaugurating a new series for writers: LIT STARTS. Writing Action is the focus of this evening, with Foreword author Bonnie Tsui reading and guiding a prompt-and-response session.

To reserve your seat, please purchase any of the four LIT STARTS books listed below by speaking to a bookseller or clicking on the covers below. Bring a writing instrument and your creative juices!

Focus on a single aspect of the craft of writing with help from the San Francisco Writers’ Grotto. Writing Action kicks off with a foreword by award-winning author and journalist Bonnie Tsui, who offers pointers for creating page-turning prose. The rest of the book consists of prompts and space to write, providing opportunities to explore how both high-stakes and low-key moments can be action-packed. Among other ideas, you’ll be asked to write an account of:

a highly competitive game of hopscotch
an orange being peeled as if it were the last one on earth
a car ride with an overly confident student driver
a meal prepared by a cook who is really depressed
the step-by-step process of opening a long-awaited piece of mail

Perfectly sized to take to a café, on vacation, or on your morning commute, this book is designed for practicing your creative writing a little bit at a time.
The San Francisco-based Writers Grotto is comprised of more than one hundred professional writers, including journalists and novelists, podcasters and poets, comedians and filmmakers, playwrights and publishers. Since its founding in 1994, members have written New York Times bestsellers, feature films, and television series, and have won everything from Pushcarts to Pulitzers. Bonnie Tsui is a longtime contributor to the New York Times and the author of American Chinatown. Visit her at bonnietsui.com

Great Art On Screen 2019/20 Season: Tintoretto: A Rebel in Venice
2019-09-19 19:00 | Rialto Cinemas Elmwood, 2966 College Avenue, Berkeley, CA, 94705, United States
To Purchase Tickets Click HERE
Tintoretto: A Rebel in Venice fully immerses audiences in the life of the last great artist of the Italian Renaissance. With the enchanting narrative voice of twice Academy Award nominee Helena Bonham Carter, cinema audiences visit places that evoke and preserve the memory of the painter, including the State Archives, the Doge’s Palace, St. Mark’s Square, the Church of San Rocco, and more, all in celebration of the 500th anniversary of Tintoretto’s birth.

National Theatre Live: The Lehman Trilogy
2019-09-18 19:00 | Rialto Cinemas Elmwood, 2966 College Avenue, Berkeley, CA, 94705, United States
Wed, Sep 18 7pm

To Purchase Tickets Click HERE
by Stefano Massini
adapted by Ben Power
directed by Sam Mendes
starring Simon Russell Beale, Adam Godley and Ben Miles
★★★★★ “What an astonishing evening! Engrossing play and an acting masterclass.” – Guardian
★★★★★ “Theatre at its best. Sam Mendes triumphs.” – Times
★★★★ “Spectacular saga magnificently performed by Simon Russell Beale, Adam Godley and Ben Miles. “ – The Stage
The story of a family and a company that changed the world, told in three parts on a single evening.
Academy Award-winner Sam Mendes (Skyfall, The Ferryman) directs Simon Russell Beale, Adam Godley and Ben Miles who play the Lehman Brothers, their sons and grandsons.
On a cold September morning in 1844 a young man from Bavaria stands on a New York dockside. Dreaming of a new life in the new world. He is joined by his two brothers and an American epic begins.
163 years later, the firm they establish – Lehman Brothers – spectacularly collapses into bankruptcy, and triggers the largest financial crisis in history.
This critically acclaimed and five-time Olivier Award nominated play features stunning set design from Es Devlin (NT Live: Hamlet) and will be broadcast live from London’s West End as part of National Theatre Live’s 10th Birthday season.

NaNoWriMo's Grant Faulkner, Rebecca Stern and Laura Bradley launch Brave the Page
2019-09-15 15:00 | Mrs. Dalloways Bookstore, 2904 College Avenue, Berkeley, CA, 94705, United States
NaNoWriMo’s Grant Faulkner, Rebecca Stern and Laura Bradley launch Brave the Page, the official NaNoWriMo handbook that inspires young people to tackle audacious goals and complete their creative projects.

To reserve your seat, please purchase a copy of Brave the Page by speaking to a bookseller or clicking on the cover below.

National Novel Writing Month (aka NaNoWriMo) has generated one of the most effective approaches to writing the novel of your dreams. But it’s not just for adults. Its Young Writers Program encourages kids in grades K-12 to pick up their pens (or pencils, or keyboards) and tackle this enormous feat head-on.
Come to celebrate the publication of NaNoWriMo’s teen writing guide, Brave the Page, which promotes NaNoWriMo’s belief that everyone’s stories deserve to be told. It’s a fun guide that introduces young people to NaNoWriMo’s signature “deadline plus goal” approach and includes craft information, pep talks from popular authors, advice on how to commit to your goals, a detailed roadmap for writing a novel in a month, and more!
National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that believes in the transformational power of creativity. They provide the structure, community, and encouragement to help people find their voices, achieve creative goals, and build new worlds–on and off the page. With its first event in 1999, the organization’s programs now include National Novel Writing Month in November, Camp NaNoWriMo, the Young Writers Program, Come Write In, and the “Now What?” Months.
Grant Faulkner is the Executive Director of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) and the co-founder of 100 Word Story. He’s published two books on writing: Brave the Page and Pep Talks for Writers: 52 Insights and Actions to Boost Your Creative Mojo. He’s also published Fissures, a collection of 100-word stories, and Nothing Short of 100: Selected Tales from 100 Word Story. His stories have appeared in dozens of literary magazines; his essays on creativity in The New York Times, Poets & Writers, Writer’s Digest, and The Writer. He also co-hosts Write-minded, a weekly podcast on writing and publishing.
Rebecca Stern has experienced NaNoWriMo from every angle: she had her students participate in the Young Writers Program when she was a teacher, did a victory dance in the 50K winner’s circle, served on the organization’s Associate Board, and then was Director of Programs. Rebecca is now Development Manager. Prior to working for NaNoWriMo, Stern was a teacher and a Senior Digital Editor at Pearson Education. She also co-edited an anthology for kids called Breakfast on Mars and 37 Other Delectable Essays.
Laura Bradley teaches middle school English, Design Lab and Broadcast Media at Kenilworth Junior High School in Petaluma. After 20 years of pulling teeth to get her students to write, she hit the jackpot with NaNoWriMo’s Young Writers Program. She and her 8th graders have participated in NaNoWriMo since 2011, and she credits the novel-writing challenge with dramatically increasing her students’ enthusiasm about writing, as well as their skills and confidence. Bradley is a National Board Certified Teacher, Edutopia facilitator, PBS Innovator All-Star, and occasional blogger.

Kids 4-8! Mac Barnett & Greg Pizzoli launch their new books Hi, Jack! and Jack Blasts Off
2019-09-14 10:00 | Mrs. Dalloways Bookstore, 2904 College Avenue, Berkeley, CA, 94705, United States
Kids 4-8! Mac Barnett & Greg Pizzoli launch their new books Hi, Jack! and Jack Blasts Off, a funny early reader series about a mischievous rabbit, a cranky old lady, and a lovable dog sure to delight fans of Elephant & Piggie. The always entertaining author/illustrator duo will hold forth at Mrs. Dalloway’s for this special Saturday morning family event. While all ages will enjoy this presentation, the Jack books are best suited for children ages 4 to 8.

Mac Barnett is the New York Times bestselling author of more than forty books, including Sam & Dave Dig a Hole, Extra Yarn, and the Mac B., Kid Spy series. His books have won numerous prizes, including three E.B. White Read-Aloud Awards, two Caldecott Honors, and the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award. He lives in Oakland.
Greg Pizzoli is an author, illustrator, and printmaker. His first picture book, The Watermelon Seed, won the Theodor Seuss Geisel Award, and his book Good Night Owl was a Geisel Honor. His nonfiction picture book Tricky Vic was a New York TimesBest Illustrated of 2015. He lives in Philadelphia.

Kids 9-12! Lucy Jane Bledsoe launch party for her new middle-grade novel, Running Wild.
2019-09-13 19:00 | Mrs. Dalloways Bookstore, 2904 College Avenue, Berkeley, CA, 94705, United States
To reserve your seat, please purchase a copy of Running Wild by speaking to a bookseller or clicking on the cover below.

Twelve-year-old Willa and her twin brothers have survived with their father in the Alaskan wilderness for five years. But Willa knows this can’t go on–they must escape.Since their mother died five years ago, Willa, her younger brothers, and her father have lived in the wilderness, in a log cabin they built. They survive on food they grow and animals they hunt. Every year they have struggled a little bit more to survive. Now, with winter approaching and her father becoming more reckless, Willa wonders if they will live to see spring. She also knows her father will never agree to leave.
When her father goes on a hunting expedition by himself, Willa convinces her brothers that they must make the four-day journey down the Yukon River to Fort Yukon to get help. But first, they’ll need to survive the treacherous trip…and all the while, their father is on their trail.
Perfect for middle grade readers looking for adventure stories with strong female protagonists, Lucy Jane Bledsoe’s Running Wild is a page-turner that hooks you from the beginning and doesn’t let go.
Lucy Jane Bledsoe is an author of books for children and adults, both fiction and nonfiction. An adventurer, Lucy has been to Alaska many times to hike and kayak, and has worked as a National Park Service ranger. She lives in Berkeley.

3rd Annual New York Dog Film Festival
2019-09-12 19:00 | Rialto Cinemas Elmwood, 2966 College Avenue, Berkeley, CA, 94705, United States
To Purchase Tickets Click HERE
Bringing the joy of dog videos to the masses and raising money for dogs in need. 10% proceeds will go to Friends of Berkeley Animal Care Services!
The NY Dog Film Festival is an annual celebration of the love between dogs and their people, through short films from around the world that inspire, educate and entertain, benefiting local animal welfare groups that bring people and pets together.
These films are free of physical or verbal abuse toward people or animals. The only tears you might shed would be tears of joy for happy endings. The programs are designed for adult audiences but can be enjoyed by all members of the family, including mature children.

2nd Annual New York Cat Film Festival
2019-09-11 19:00 | Rialto Cinemas Elmwood, 2966 College Avenue, Berkeley, CA, 94705, United States
To Purchase Tickets Click HERE

Bringing the joy of cat videos to the masses and raising money for cats in need. 10% proceeds will go to Friends of Oakland Animal Services!
The NY Cat Film Festival is an exploration through film of the fascinating felines who share our lives, creating a shared audience experience that inspires, educates and entertains. Cats have their own unique and indescribable bond with people – even when living independently as community cats. For far too long, felines have been the “invisible” part of the human-animal bond and it’s time to shine the spotlight on these magnificent creatures and the humans devoted to them. A portion of every ticket at every destination goes to a local animal welfare non-profit, bringing community awareness and support for the needs of local kitties.
These films are free of physical or verbal abuse toward people or animals. The only tears you might shed would be tears of joy for happy endings. The programs are designed for adult audiences but can be enjoyed by all members of the family, including mature children.

Meg Waite Clayton returns to launch The Last Train to London
2019-09-10 19:30 | Mrs. Dalloways Bookstore, 2904 College Avenue, Berkeley, CA, 94705, United States
Meg Waite Clayton returns to launch The Last Train to London, a beautifully rendered novel centering on the Kindertransports that carried thousands of children out of Nazi-occupied Europe–and one brave woman who helped them escape to safety.

“Painful and beautiful, absorbing and unforgettable. A wonderful tribute to courage, to a remarkable woman, to the ones she saved, and the ones she could not. Recommend this book to anyone who thinks no single person can make a difference.”–Karen Joy Fowler
To reserve your seat, please purchase a copy of The Last Train to London by speaking with a bookseller or ordering from our website.

In 1936, the Nazi are little more than loud, brutish bores to fifteen-year old Stephan Neuman, the son of a wealthy and influential Jewish family and budding playwright whose playground extends from Vienna’s streets to its intricate underground tunnels. Stephan’s best friend and companion is the brilliant Zofie-Helene, a Christian girl whose mother edits a progressive, anti-Nazi newspaper. But the two adolescents’ carefree innocence is shattered when the Nazis’ take control.
Yet there is hope in the darkness. Truus Wijsmuller, a member of the Dutch resistance, risks her life smuggling Jewish children out of Nazi Germany to the nations that will take them. It is a mission that becomes even more dangerous after the Anschluss–Hitler’s annexation of Austria–as, across Europe, countries close their borders to the growing number of refugees desperate to escape.
Tante Truus, as she is known, is determined to save as many children as she can. After Britain passes a measure to take in at-risk child refugees from the German Reich, she dares to approach Adolf Eichmann, the man who would later help devise the “Final Solution to the Jewish Question,” in a race against time to bring children like Stephan, his young brother Walter, and Zofie-Helene on a perilous journey to an uncertain future abroad.
Meg Waite Clayton is the author of The Four Ms. Bradwells, The Wednesday Sisters, The Language of Light, and The Wednesday Daughters. She’s written for the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times, the Washington Post, the San Jose Mercury News, Forbes, Writer’s Digest, Runner’s World, and public radio. A graduate of the University of Michigan Law School, she lives in Palo Alto.

Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake
2019-09-10 19:00 | Rialto Cinemas Elmwood, 2966 College Avenue, Berkeley, CA, 94705, United States
To Purchase Tickets Click HERE

★★★★★ “Witty, menacing, lyrical and wild!” – Daily Telegraph
★★★★★ “As vital as ever!” – The Stage
★★★★★ “A charged emotional core ensured Swan Lake flew, and continues to fly!” – The Observer
Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake comes to cinemas with a fresh look for the 21st century and is ‘as bold and beautiful as ever’ (Telegraph). This thrilling, audacious and witty production is perhaps still best known for replacing the female corps-de-ballet with a menacing male ensemble, which shattered convention, turned tradition upside down and took the dance world by storm. Retaining the iconic elements of the original staging loved by millions around the world, Matthew Bourne and award-winning designers Lez Brotherston (Set & Costumes) and Paule Constable (Lighting) have created a ‘spellbinding’ (Independent) re-imagining of this classic New Adventures production. Filmed live at Sadler’s Wells Theatre in London, Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake stars Will Bozier as The Swan/The Stranger, Liam Mower as The Prince and Nicole Kabera as The Queen.
Collecting over thirty international accolades including an Olivier Award and three Tonys on Broadway, Matthew Bourne’s powerful interpretation of Tchaikovsky’s beloved tale is ‘still original, still unmissable’ (Metro), a passionate and contemporary Swan Lake for our times.

ZZ TOP: That Little Ol Band From Texas
2019-09-09 19:00 | Rialto Cinemas Elmwood, 2966 College Avenue, Berkeley, CA, 94705, United States
Produced by the Emmy award-winning Banger Films, ZZ TOP: THAT LITTLE OL’ BAND FROM TEXAS tells the story of how three oddball teenage bluesmen – Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill, and Frank Beard – became one of the biggest, most beloved bands on the planet, all while maintaining a surrealist mystique that continues to intrigue fans and entice onlookers 50 years after the band’s inception.
Buoyed by candid band interviews, never-before-seen archive, animation, celebrity fan testimonials (Billy Bob Thornton, Joshua Homme and more), and an intimate performance at the legendary Gruene Hall shot exclusively for this documentary, “That Little Ol’ Band” runs the gamut, from the absurd to the poignant, from squalid Texas bars to MTV heroics, all in celebration of this notoriously private, but larger than life, power trio. In the end, ZZ TOP: THAT LITTLE OL’ BAND FROM TEXAS unravels the extraordinary tale of a band whose image we know, but whose story we don’t.

American Heretics: The Politics of the Gospel
2019-09-04 19:00 | Rialto Cinemas Elmwood, 2966 College Avenue, Berkeley, CA, 94705, United States
Q&A with director Catherine Butler
To Purchase Tickets Click HERE
American Heretics: The Politics of the Gospel takes audiences into the buckle of Bible belt where a group of defiant Oklahomans are rising up to challenge deeply rooted fundamentalist Christian doctrine. Labeled as “heretics” for their beliefs and actions, they refuse to wield their faith as a sword sharpened by literal interpretations of the Bible. Especially those interpretations that continue to justify nationalism and hack away at landmark civil rights protections for women, minorities, immigrants, and the LGBTQ communities. These American Heretics are still interested in saving you from hell, but it’s the earthly one, where poverty, discrimination and nationalism oppress those “who are the least among us.”
Directed and Produced by Emmy Award-winning filmmakers Jeanine and Catherine Butler; edited by award-winning editor Jamie Lee Godfrey (National Geographic, Newseum); and lensed by Peter Hutchens (Showtime’s “The Trade,” and Oprah Winfrey’s “Belief” series).

Kids 12 up! Elizabeth Lim reads from Spin the Dawn
2019-08-29 18:30 | Mrs. Dalloways Bookstore, 2904 College Avenue, Berkeley, CA, 94705, United States
Kids 12 up! Elizabeth Lim reads from Spin the Dawn, a sweeping YA fantasy about a young girl who poses as a boy to compete for the role of imperial tailor and embarks on an impossible journey to sew three magic dresses, from the sun, the moon, and the stars.

“Pure magic. Romance, artistry, and deep enchantment.”–Gregory Maguire, author of Wicked
“What an amazing creation! Every time I thought I knew where it was going, I was wrong. This is a white-knuckle read.”–Tamora Pierce, author of Tempests and Slaughter
To reserve your seat, purchase a copy of Spin the Dawn by speaking to a bookseller or ordering from our website.

Maia Tamarin dreams of becoming the greatest tailor in the land, but as a girl, the best she can hope for is to marry well. When a royal messenger summons her ailing father, once a tailor of renown, to court, Maia poses as a boy and takes his place. She knows her life is forfeit if her secret is discovered, but she’ll take that risk to achieve her dream and save her family from ruin. There’s just one catch: Maia is one of twelve tailors vying for the job.
Backstabbing and lies run rampant as the tailors compete in challenges to prove their artistry and skill. Maia’s task is further complicated when she draws the attention of the court magician, Edan, whose piercing eyes seem to see straight through her disguise.
And nothing could have prepared her for the final challenge: to sew three magic gowns for the emperor’s reluctant bride-to-be, from the laughter of the sun, the tears of the moon, and the blood of stars. With this impossible task before her, she embarks on a journey to the far reaches of the kingdom, seeking the sun, the moon, and the stars, and finding more than she ever could have imagined.
Elizabeth Lim grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she was raised on a hearty diet of fairy tales, myths, and songs. Before becoming an author, Lim was a professional film and video game composer, and she still tends to come up with her best book ideas when writing near a piano. An alumna of Harvard and Juilliard, she now lives in New York City with her husband and daughter.

Royal Shakespeare Company: Measure for Measure
2019-08-27 19:00 | Rialto Cinemas Elmwood, 2966 College Avenue, Berkeley, CA, 94705, United States
Tue, Aug 27 1 & 7pm

To Purchase Tickets Click HERE
“To whom should I complain?”
When a young novice nun is compromised by a corrupt official, who offers to save her brother from execution in return for sex, she has no idea where to turn for help. When she threatens to expose him, he tells her that no one would believe her. Shakespeare wrote this play in the early 1600s, yet it remains astonishingly resonant today. Artistic Director, Gregory Doran, directs this new production.
