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The City of New Bedford, Zeiterion Performing Arts Center, New Bedford Whaling Museum, and partnering organizations announce the return of a city tradition that once brought the likes of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass to New Bedford. The New Bedford Lyceum established a tradition of intellectual debate in the city, with a model for discussion that brought people together to get to the heart of social and political issues. The first New Bedford Lyceum event is a presentation of two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward. He will examine “The Age of the American Presidency” on Saturday, April 1 at 8:00 p.m. at The Zeiterion Performing Arts Center, New Bedford. Tickets are $25, $35, $45 and the $75 ticket includes a meet and greet with Mr. Woodward. Tickets are available by calling 508-994-2900, online at www.zeiterion.org, or at the Zeiterion Box Office at 684 Purchase Street in New Bedford.
The New Bedford Lyceum partners believe the need for the public’s access to thoughtful discussions that go beyond partisan sound bites and social media has never been greater as the 45th president of the United States begins his leadership in a divided America.
“For 75 years, the New Bedford Lyceum served not only to inform, educate and entertain ordinary citizens in New Bedford but to produce important social change by bringing in the greatest minds of the age, from Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass to Herman Melville and Charles Dickens,” said Bob Unger, principal of Unger LeBlanc Strategic Communications. “Poets, statesmen, philosophers and scientists all spoke here, and together they fostered a discussion that would change America.”
“We believe a similar conversation can and must begin again. We hope to help start that conversation through the revival of the Lyceum, again establishing New Bedford as an intellectual center and champion of citizen-led democracy.”
New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell stated, “The reinstitution of the New Bedford Lyceum is a major step in New Bedford’s emergence as a city that cultivates, celebrates and spreads great ideas. Its mission is as relevant today as it was at the height of the whaling era, if not more so. I can’t thank Bob Unger and the partnership enough for their initiative in bringing this important institution back to life.”
The New Bedford Lyceum’s first act is to present Bob Woodward who will discuss “The Age of the American Presidency” just as the new administration wraps up its first 70 days in the White House. As a Washington Post veteran reporter, he has uncovered hidden stories from the secret world of presidents, the CIA, the Pentagon and the Supreme Court. Beginning with the coverage of Watergate with Carl Bernstein and their book and movie All the President’s Men, to his two bestselling books on Obama, he has an encyclopedic knowledge about presidential leadership, secret decision-making and the hard-nosed politics of Washington.
In his New Bedford Lyceum presentation of “The Age of the American Presidency,” Woodward will speak to critical questions such as: How did Trump get to the White House? What are his true intentions? What can be believed? What positions are real? What information can be trusted and what statements and tweets really reflect where he is going?
New Bedford Lyceum partnership is made up of the City of New Bedford, Zeiterion Performing Arts Center, Whaling Museum, Unger LeBlanc Strategic Communications, New Bedford Area Chamber of Commerce, Community Foundation of Southeastern Massachusetts, SouthCoast Media Group, and Leadership SouthCoast.
In addition, the New Bedford Lyceum is presenting a free screening of the Academy Award winning movie “All the President’s Men” on Friday, March 24 at the New Bedford Whaling Museum theater. The movie, based on Woodward and Bernstein’s book of the same name, is a political thriller about their investigation into the Watergate scandal for the Washington Post. The film stars Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman as Woodward and Bernstein. A facilitated discussion led by Shannon Jenkins, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Political Science at UMass Dartmouth, follows the film.
Tickets for New Bedford Lyceum presentation of Bob Woodward in “The Age of the American Presidency” at the The Zeiterion Performing Arts Center are available for purchase at www.zeiterion.org, by calling 508-994-2900, or in person at the box office at 684 Purchase Street, New Bedford, Mass. Zeiterion Box Office hours are Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Thursday 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. and Saturday 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. and two hours before each performance.
