Tuesday, Sept. 9 1:30 to 3 pm

Book Discussion: A Marriage at Sea by Sophie Elmhirst. Please contact me via email to register for this book discussion. Fee: $ 50 for in-person class. My email address is rotscant@yahoo.com

Wednesday, Sept. 10 1:30 to 3 pm

Location: Shaarei Tikvah congregation, Scarsdale NY

Fee $ 35 payable to Scarsdale Adult School

Discuss the mind-blowing story of a young British couple shipwrecked at sea: a tale of survival, obsession, and partnership under extreme conditions. Maurice and Maralyn Bailey make an odd pair. He’s an awkward loner; she’s charismatic and ambitious. But they both share a dream of running away from it all. What if they quit their jobs, sold their house, bought a boat, and sailed away? In June 1972, they set sail. For nearly a year all went well, until a whale knocked a hole in their boat and it sank beneath the waves. Adrift and alone together in a tiny rubber raft, they fight to stay alive—and to get along with one another, until they are rescued. This adventure tale is also an unusual love story that asks how we continue to love our partners in times of adversity; and invites us to ponder how we would fare if forced to endure such dire circumstances.

Thursday, Sept. 11 1:30 to 3:00 pm

Book Discussion, The Correspondent by Virginia Evans

Sybil Van Antwerp has always used letters to make sense of her place in the world. Most mornings, she sits down to write letters—to her brother, to her children, to her best friend, to former colleagues, and even to famous authors in which she opines on their latest books. And then there are the missives she composes, but never mails, to a mysterious person from her past. At age 73, facing worsening eyesight, Sybil isn't seeking novelty or change. But when she receives letters from someone that force her to revisit a painful period in her past, she realizes that she cannot move forward until she finds a way to forgive. As debut novelist Virginia Evans brilliantly maps a web of characters through Sybil’s correspondence, she crafts an appealing family drama and a rich epistolary portrait of delayed self-awareness and hard-won wisdom.

Wednesday, Sept. 17 1:30 to 3 pm

Discuss the mind-blowing story of a young British couple shipwrecked at sea: a tale of survival, obsession, and partnership under extreme conditions. Maurice and Maralyn Bailey make an odd pair. He’s an awkward loner; she’s charismatic and ambitious. But they both share a dream of running away from it all. What if they quit their jobs, sold their house, bought a boat, and sailed away? In June 1972, they set sail. For nearly a year all went well, until a whale knocked a hole in their boat and it sank beneath the waves. Adrift and alone together in a tiny rubber raft, they fight to stay alive—and to get along with one another, until they are rescued. This adventure tale is also an unusual love story that asks how we continue to love our partners in times of adversity; and invites us to ponder how we would fare if forced to endure such dire circumstances.

Thursday, Sept. 25 11 am - 12:15 pm (ET)

Location: ZOOM

Fee $ 35 payable to Scarsdale Adult School

Sybil Van Antwerp has always used letters to make sense of her place in the world. Most mornings, she sits down to write letters—to her brother, to her children, to her best friend, to former colleagues, and even to famous authors in which she opines on their latest books. And then there are the missives she composes, but never mails, to a mysterious person from her past. At age 73, facing worsening eyesight, Sybil isn't seeking novelty or change. But when she receives letters from someone that force her to revisit a painful period in her past, she realizes that she cannot move forward until she finds a way to forgive. As debut novelist Virginia Evans brilliantly maps a web of characters through Sybil’s correspondence, she crafts an appealing family drama and a rich epistolary portrait of delayed self-awareness and hard-won wisdom.

Thursday, Sept. 25 1:30 to 3 pm

Location: Shaarei Tikvah congregation, Scarsdale NY

Fee $ 35 payable to Scarsdale Adult School

Sybil Van Antwerp has always used letters to make sense of her place in the world. Most mornings, she sits down to write letters—to her brother, to her children, to her best friend, to former colleagues, and even to famous authors in which she opines on their latest books. And then there are the missives she composes, but never mails, to a mysterious person from her past. At age 73, facing worsening eyesight, Sybil isn't seeking novelty or change. But when she receives letters from someone that force her to revisit a painful period in her past, she realizes that she cannot move forward until she finds a way to forgive. As debut novelist Virginia Evans brilliantly maps a web of characters through Sybil’s correspondence, she crafts an appealing family drama and a rich epistolary portrait of delayed self-awareness and hard-won wisdom.

Tuesday, Sept. 30 1:30 to 3 pm

The Jewish Museum, 1109 5th Ave. NYC

Fee: $ 60

Join us for a private guided tour on a day when the museum is closed to the public. We will explore the exhibition Ben Shahn: On Nonconformity, which examines the artist’s commitment to confronting crucial issues of his era, from the Great Depression through the Vietnam War. Featuring 175 artworks and objects, the show highlights the enduring relevance of Shahn’s art across media, and addresses issues including unemployment, discrimination, authoritarianism, social justice activism, and threats to freedom of expression.

Registration is still OPEN for this tour. Please email me to register at rotscant@yahoo.com.

Tuesday, Oct. 7 1:30 to 3 pm

Location: The Yale Club of NYC

Sold Out

Wednesday, Oct. 22 1:30 to 3 pm

Location: Shaarei Tikvah congregation, Scarsdale NY

Fee $ 35 payable to Scarsdale Adult School

Behind every Broadway show, there is a story. Discuss two works that explore the hopes, dreams, successes, and failures of young people who made it to Broadway. Jeffrey Seller was a misfit growing up in a dysfunctional household near Detroit. In his coming-of-age tale, Theater Kid (2025) Seller dramatizes how he came to terms with his family’s poverty, his adoption, and his sexuality—and how he found a purpose, a community, and an authentic voice, on and backstage. Before long, he was producing Broadway hits including Rent, In the Heights, and Hamilton. In addition, view the doc film, The Best Worst Thing That Ever Could Have Happened (2016) directed by Lonny Price, which chronicles the young actors cast in the 1981 Broadway debut of Merrily We Roll Along—a musical created by Stephen Sondheim and Hal Prince, about jaded adults played by their teenage counterparts. Despite the cast’s dedication and optimism, the show was a spectacular flop—closing after 16 performances. This cinematic retrospective revisits the anticipation of opening night and the aftermath of failure, including cameos by Seinfeld star Jason Alexander and others who wrestle with the fallout. Note: Theatre Kid is available in hardcopy as well an audio book narrated by the author and Broadway actors. The film is streaming on amazon prime.

Tuesday, Oct. 28 1:30 to 3 pm

Location: Upper East Side, NYC

sold out

Thursday, Nov. 6 1:30 to 3 pm

Location: Shaarei Tikvah congregation, Scardale NY

Fee $ 35 payable to Scarsdale Adult School

Discuss two recent autobiographical works that explore the intersection of family life, public persona, and personal identity for women living and working in the entertainment industry. Jennette McCurdy’s memoir, I’m Glad My Mom Died, (2022) is a heartbreaking, often hilarious account of her struggles as a former child actor—especially her complicated relationship with her overbearing, deeply flawed mother. As a performer on Nickelodeon TV during the early 2000s, McCurdy’s story sheds light on the darker side of the entertainment business, as well as her journey toward finding her own voice and emotional stability as a young adult. In contrast, actress Mariska Hargitay grew up during the 1960s and 1970s and never got to know her famous mother, actress and “Hollywood bombshell” Jayne Mansfield, who died in a car crash when Mariska was 3 years old. Hargitay’s cinematic investigation, the documentary film My Mom Jayne, explores Mansfield’s on-screen and private personas and navigates emotional recollections and buried family truths to reclaim what has been painfully lost. Please Note: The film My Mom Jayne can be viewed on the HBO /Max streaming platform.

Tuesday, Nov. 18 1:30 to 3 pm

Location: Upper East Side

sold out

Tuesday, Dec. 9 1:30 to 3 pm

Location: Upper East Side

sold out