8 PM, Fri. & Sat.
A CHRISTMAS CAROL: A Staged Radio Play
Featuring Caryle Owens, Mike Jarmus, Laurence Mintz, Gwen Owens, and Alex Dawson
Adapted from the classic Charles Dickens' novella, the story tells of a misanthropic pinchpenny named Ebenezer Scrooge and his ideological, ethical, and emotional transformation after the supernatural visits of Jacob Marley and the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet to Come. To this day, A Christmas Carol remains extraordinarily popular. It has never been out of print and has been adapted to film, opera, and radio (natch). Reservations required! $10 (suggested donation). Sound Effects! Costumes! Theatrical Lighting!
8 PM, Sat. Dec 10
WILLIAM GIRALDI
Reading/Signing
BUSY MONSTERS
Memoirist of mediocre fame, Charles Homar has a problem: his bride-to-be, Gillian Lee, has nixed their nuptials and fled to the high seas in search of a legendary giant squid, unleashing an unholy heart wreck upon him. In a hell-bent effort to prove his mettle as an American male and win back Gillian's affections, Charlie crisscrosses the nation seeking counsel, confronting creatures both mythic and real—Bigfoot, space aliens, bodybuilders. Echoing a narrative tradition that includes Don Quixote and Kurt Vonnegut's Breakfast of Champions, Giraldi's debut novel is a love story of linguistic bravado that explores American excess, the diaphanous line between fiction and fact, and what desperate men and women will do to one another. William Giraldi's work has appeared in the New York Times Book Review, Georgia Review, The Believer, Kenyon Review, and Poets & Writers. A senior editor at AGNI, he teaches in the Writing Program at Boston University. FREE! Comp wine. Books on sale at event.
6 PM, Sun. Dec 11
CLAY MCLEOD CHAPMAN & ALEX DAWSON
Reading/Signing
Now, as we approach the final curtain, I thought it fitting to invite back our very first guest, my good friend, the mesmerizing performer/playwright/author Clay Mcleod Chapman, who's been called "hauntingly poetic" by Time Out New York, compared to Lovecraft and Faulkner by the Times and the Voice respectively, and described as a "demon angel on a skateboard" by acclaimed author Tom Robbins.. Plus: I'll be reading a cheery, holiday piece about a pie-eyed deer hunter who, the day before Christmas, inadvertently kills what he thinks is a unicorn. Not to be missed, folks! FREE! Books on sale at the event. Complimentary wine & Jack Daniel minis.
The Raconteur, The Forum Theatre, and The Metuchen Arts Council Present
8 PM, Sat. December 17
AMIGO
W/Writer/Director/Producer JOHN SAYLES
Screening/Reading/On Stage Discussion/Audience Q&A
Oscar nominee, MacCarthur fellow, and the indisputable "Godfather of Independent Cinema," John Sayles, screens and discusses his 17th feature film, the acclaimed, historic war drama, Amigo, starring Chris Cooper and the legendary Filipino actor Joel Torre, and reads from his new novel, A Moment in the Sun, a spectacular work of fiction compared to both Doctorow and Deadwood.
$15 TIX NOW ON SALE! Click HERE to buy yours before it sells out!
PLUS: A special pre-event reception with John Sayles at The Raconteur from 6 - 7 PM. $10 (pay at the door). Have a complimentary cup (or two) of wine and some face time with the man himself!
Before Kevin Smith maxed out his credit cards, before there was an IFC or a Sundance film festival, and long before "independent film" became a marketing niche, there was John Sayles, making it happen with a combination of talent, shrewdness, and determination. An acclaimed novelist before he ever touched a camera, Sayles burst onto the film scene in 1980, when he wrote and directed the much praised social comedy, Return of the Secaucus 7. Three years later, Sayles received a MacArthur Fellowship, using the money to partially fund his second film, The Brother from Another Planet, a fantasy flick about a black, three-toed slave who arrives from outer space and finds himself at home among the people of Harlem. Since then, Sayles has directed 17 features (Lone Star, Passion Fish, Eight Men Out, The Secret of Roan Inish, and Matewan), funding most of his award winning, oft Oscar nominated productions by penning low budget shockers like Piranha, Alligator, and The Howling. Recently compared to a "left leaning, baby boom John Ford" by the New York Times, John Sayles produces populous pageants, spinning fables of the American character out of the threads of myth, memory and ideology.
Click HERE for the New York Times review. $15.00 NOTE: At The Forum Theatre (314 Main Street) NOT The Raconteur.
7:30 PM, Weds. Dec 21
BRIAN RALPH & JOSH BAYER
Discussing & Signing
DAYBREAK: A GRAPHIC NOVEL & RAW POWER
Ralph's stunning debut was the wordless graphic novel Cave-In, created while he was one of the founding members of the influential Fort Thunder art collective. Drawing inspiration from zombies, horror movies, television, and first-person shooter video games, his brand new graphic novel, Daybreak departs from zombie genre in both content and format, achieving a living-dead masterwork of literary proportions."Brian Ralph's adventure stories combine the hand-crafted charm of indie comics with the well-thought-out thrills of good pulp." -The Onion, The A.V. Club
Josh Bayer (Raw Power) was listed among 100 outstanding cartoonists by The Best American Comics Anthology for 2007, 2008, and 2009. His graffiti-influenced drawings were featured in the 2006-2007 HBO series ROME and MTV videos for David Bowie, Metallica and Good Charlotte among many others.
8 PM, Fri. Dec 23
WHO IS KRAMPUS? X-MAS BASH!!
The Raconteur's Seventh Annual (and FINAL) Christmas Party!
As an alternative to your basic run-of-the-mill mall Santa (and what is The Rac if not an alternative to everything mall), The Raconteur bring you a holiday hybrid of St. Nicholas and the mythical Alpine figure known as Krampus, played by Michael Jarmus and designed by Tom Savini protege Dan Diana, who did the incredible makeup for our recent Haunted Bookshop and the Raconteur stage production, Nosferatu. According to legend, the ram-horned Krampus accompanies St. Nicholas during the Christmas season. Traditionally young men dress up as Krampus in Austria and southern Bavaria during the first two weeks of December, roaming the streets with chains and bells. $10, includes a supremely weird reading and performance by Krampus, a picture of YOU with Krampus, and a groaning board laden with homemade treats and three different kinds of punch (with and without alcohol). PLUS: from 6 - 8 there will be a special photo session with Krampus for just $5 a pop. Forget the mall this year, put your kid on different knee! All ages!!
8 PM, Thurs. Dec 29
DAVID GATES & ALETHEA BLACK
Reading/Signing
PRESTON FALLS & I KNEW YOU'D BE LOVELY
More info soon...
