Edie Falco to Star in Joan Didion’s The Year of Magical Thinking Benefit Performance at Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center

Award-winning actress brings Tony-nominated solo play to the Hamptons for one-night-only reading presented by The New Group and Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center on Aug. 2

Award-winning actress Edie Falco will bring Joan Didion’s acclaimed solo play The Year of Magical Thinking to the Hamptons for a special one-night-only benefit performance at Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center on Sunday, Aug. 2 at 8 p.m.

Presented by The New Group and Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center, the Tony-nominated play will feature Falco in a reading directed by Tony Award-winning actor and director John Benjamin Hickey. A reception will follow the performance.

Based on Didion’s National Book Award-winning memoir, The Year of Magical Thinking explores love, loss, grief and resilience through the celebrated writer’s signature precision, honesty and keen observation.

The performance marks a collaboration between two major arts organizations, bringing The New Group’s acclaimed contemporary theater programming from New York City to the East End.

“We’re thrilled to bring this work to Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center and partner with this cultural pillar in The Hamptons to present this powerful reading,” said Scott Elliott, Founding Artistic Director of The New Group. “We’ve been wanting to bring programming out to the Hamptons for a while and when our longtime friend Edie agreed to read this wonderful piece by Joan Didion and John agreed to direct, it felt like the perfect opportunity.”

“Having legendary acting powerhouse Edie Falco grace our stage is nothing short of a dream come true,” said Julienne Penza-Boone, Executive Director of Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center. “I so admire The New Group and their stalwart commitment to cutting-edge theater that challenges and profoundly moves its audiences—to share that with our patrons is such a gift.”

Falco is one of television’s most acclaimed performers, becoming the first actress to win an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in both the drama and comedy categories, earning honors for her roles as Carmela Soprano in The Sopranos and Jackie Peyton in Nurse Jackie.

She has received a record 22 SAG Award nominations and is among the select performers to win an Emmy, Golden Globe and SAG Award for the same performance in a single year. Her recent work includes portraying Hillary Clinton in the limited series Impeachment: American Crime Story, starring in The Menendez Murders, appearing in Bupkis opposite Pete Davidson, and a featured role in James Cameron’s blockbuster film Avatar: The Way of Water. She is currently filming Mayor of Kingstown opposite Jeremy Renner.

Falco is also an accomplished stage performer, making her Broadway debut in the Tony Award-winning play Side Man and earning a Tony nomination for her performance in The House of Blue Leaves. She has also appeared in acclaimed productions with The New Group, including The True.

Directed by Hickey, the production brings together two celebrated theater artists. Hickey is a Tony Award-winning actor whose Broadway credits include The Normal Heart, The Inheritance, Six Degrees of Separation, The Crucible and Cabaret. He also directed the Broadway revival of Neil Simon’s Plaza Suite.

Founded in 1995, The New Group is an award-winning, artist-driven theater company known for producing contemporary, emotionally powerful work. Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center, known as the “Crown Jewel” of Westhampton Beach, is a nonprofit cultural institution dedicated to bringing world-class performances and arts education to the East End.

Tickets for The Year of Magical Thinking are $144, $161 and $173, including fees. Tickets are available at whbpac.org.

Angela LaGreca

Editor, Co-Founder/Publisher

Angela LaGreca, Editor-in-chief and co-Founder/Publisher of Spark Hamptons, is a four-time Emmy Award-winning journalist, producer, writer and comedian/host. Her TV credits include NBC’s “Today,” ABC’s “The View,” and, most recently, the primetime cable news program “Cuomo” on NewsNation. On the East End, she was the Creative Director at LTV, VP Features/Events/Photo Editor at Dan’s Papers, and has performed at Guild Hall, Bay Street Theater and the WHBPAC. Her publishing career began at Modern Photography, where she was managing editor. LaGreca lives in Manhattan and East Hampton and can be reached at angelatvmedia@gmail.com and angela@sparkhamptons.com .