Donald Margulies, a Pulitzer Prize winning playwright, will be the second speaker in the new Perspectives Series at 7:30 p.m. April 28 at the Jewish Community Center, 360 Amity Road, Woodbridge.

His presentation is entitled "On Playwriting: An Evening with Donald Margulies."

The evening will revolve around a conversation between Margulies and Gordon Edelstein, the artistic director of Long Wharf Theatre.

They will discuss the playwright's work and life in the theater, and the dynamics of staging plays.  Students from the Yale Drama School will enact a scene from "Sight Unseen," Margulies' 2004 Broadway play, and perhaps another play.

Time has been scheduled for questions from the audience. This will Margulies' first speaking engagement at the JCC in a decade.

"My plays all seem to grapple with moral questions," said Margulies, "whether it's the ethics of photojournalism on the battlefield in 'Time Stands Still' or of fidelity on the homefront in 'Dinner with Friends.' Some of my plays (like Brooklyn Boy and The Loman Family Picnic) have dealt directly with my secular Jewish upbringing in 1960s Brooklyn, while it is arguable that a Jewish worldview permeates everything I have written."
A professor of English literature at Yale University, Margulies received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2000 for his play, Dinner With Friends. His other plays include Two Days; God of Vengeance, adapted from the classic Yiddish drama by Sholem Asch; The Model Apartment (Obie Award); Found a Peanut; Luna Park; and What's Wrong with This Picture? produced on Broadway in 1994. Time Stands Still, directed by Daniel Sullivan and starring Laura Linney, completed its premiere engagement on Broadway in January 2011.

Edelstein is in his eighth season as Long Wharf Theatre's artistic director. Edelstein has directed more than 100 plays, musicals and operas across the U.S. and Europe. 

 With the JCC on the cusp of its 100^th year, the Adult Programming Committee launched Perspectives to celebrate its long tradition of presenting thought-provoking topics by award-winning speakers.

 According to Marc Wortman, a member of the committee that developed the Perspectives Series concept, "The JCC is a great place for family fitness, educational and early childhood programs and recreation. This new series will help expand offerings for adults.  Our members and guests will hear from some of the brightest and most thoughtful people anywhere on issues of importance to our community and the larger world."

 Upcoming speakers in the Perspectives Series will be announced in the fall.  Please check www.jccnh.org.

Admission is $10 for members; $12 for non-members.  Register on-line at the web address above or call Cathy Lombardi, 203-387-2522, x225.  

 Editor's note: All information in this post was contributed.