2017 FALL SEASON AT THE SHEEN CENTER FOR THOUGHT & CULTURE OPENS WITH VANESSA WILLIAMS AND FR. EDWARD L. BECK, C.P. ON SEPTEMBER 9TH

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 24, 2017n

The Sheen Center for Thought & Culture opens its fall season with a new series, BROADWAY BARES SOUL: AN INTIMATE EVENING OF SONG & SPIRIT hosted by CNN Faith and Religion Commentator Fr. Edward L. Beck, C.P. and his first guest, legendary, award-winning performer Vanessa Williams on September 9 at 7:30 pm in the Loreto Theater. In keeping with The Sheen Center's signature commitment to showcase art and meaningful cultural discourse, the three-part series explores the spiritual, social, and personal influences that shaped the worldviews of three celebrated performers: Vanessa Williams (September 9 at 7:30 pm) Kelli O'Hara (October 3 at 7:30 pm), and Raúl Esparza (December 14 at 7:30 pm). The series consists of three 90-minute interviews by Fr. Beck. All of his guests are invited to perform musical numbers of special significance to them during the evening

Programming at The Sheen Center encompasses thoughtful discussion, as well as all facets of the performing arts; including film, theater, music, and more. This fall, The Sheen Center presents the New York premiere of the Tectonic Theater Project production UNCOMMON SENSE, a play by Anushka Paris-Carter and Andy Paris, directed by Andy Paris, with artistic direction from Moisés Kaufman, Tectonic's founder. This groundbreaking play amplifies the conversation around autism, challenging conventional notions of "difference" through the unifying theme of love and the various ways in which the four protagonists approach connectedness through love. The play will run from October 25 through November 26, with talkbacks after Saturday matinees and "relaxed performances" with subdued light and sound for the autism community

THE JUSTICE FILM FESTIVAL returns to The Sheen Center on October 6 with a roster of films organized around themes of social justice, redemption, and the sacred. Among them is OUTCASTS, the much anticipated documentary film that follows the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal as they serve the marginalized in Central America, New York, London, and Ireland. Also featured is SACRED, an audio/visual panoply of religious expression throughout the world, directed by Academy Award-winner Thomas Lennon and scheduled to air on PBS. SACRED was filmed by 40 production teams worldwide, documenting first-hand experience of the sacred and religious practice on an unprecedented scale.

The Sheen Center is a forum to highlight the true, the good, and the beautiful as they have been expressed throughout the ages. Cognizant of our creation in the image and likeness of God, The Sheen Center aspires to present the heights and depths of human expression in thought and culture, featuring humankind as fully alive. At the Sheen Center, we proclaim that life is worth living, especially when we seek to deepen, explore, challenge ourselves, Catholic and non-Catholic alike, intellectually, artistically, and spiritually. The Sheen Center is located at 18 Bleecker Street in NoHo.