In Other News…

First Parish Member and playwright Don Cohen’s new play to be read at Munroe Saturday Nights’ next performance

Perhaps you’ve been reading the news about the Cassini spacecraft recently – how its mission is nearing an end after decades of work, featuring interviews with the scientists who birthed and cultivated the program?  Maybe you’ve seen the remarkable images coming back to earth as the mission explores the rings of Saturn.

The subject of space exploration plays a major role in Celestial Mechanics,” playwright Don Cohen’s new work which will be featured for the upcoming May 13, 2017 Munroe Saturday Nights performance. The reading, directed by award-winning director, actor and playwright Melinda Lopez, will feature actors Will Lyman and Deb Martin. The event will be held at First Parish in Lexington, 7 Harrington Road, at the head of the Lexington Battle Green. The performance begins at 7:30 PM.

Don Cohen is the author of a book of short stories; other stories have appeared in The South Carolina Review, The Fiddlehead and Jewish Fiction.net. He has been awarded a Massachusetts Artists Foundation playwriting fellowship for Bella Vista Lodge. Previous plays by Cohen presented in readings for Munroe Saturday Nights include Length of Stay.

Melinda Lopez, acclaimed as “one of Boston’s most important writers” by WBUR (NPR in Boston) is a playwright, actress, and educator. She is currently the inaugural Mellon playwright-in-residence at the Huntington Theatre Company, and teaches theatre and performance at Wellesley College and playwriting at Boston University. Ms. Lopez is active in the Cuban American community and co-produced Munroe Saturday Nights’ opening production for this season focusing on Cuban arts and culture.

Reservations are strongly recommended for this event. A suggested donation of $10/person is invited. First Parish is handicapped accessible, and free parking is available at the rear of the church. Reservations are strongly encouraged.  Visit http://www.munroecenter.org/reserve-your-seat.html to reserve your seat.


The Reclaim Our Democracy group at First Parish in Concord is inviting members of our neighboring congregations to attend the following movie event.

“Requiem for the American Dream”

Monday, May 15, 7-9 pm

First Parish in Concord, 20 Lexington Road, Concord, MA

How did we become a nation that is so far removed from our core beliefs? In this extraordinary 2016 documentary Noam Chomsky discusses how the concentration of wealth and power among a small elite has polarized American society and brought about the decline of the middle class. Through interviews filmed over four years, Chomsky unpacks the principles that have brought us to the crossroads of historically unprecedented inequality.

“Regarded by many as America’s most influential intellectual, Noam Chomsky is also a great story teller. Without overwhelming the viewer or the material, he marshals data, example and anecdote, cutting through 250 years of history to distill ten basic principles of wealth and power which have conspired against the American Dream.  More than anything, the film is a well-organized, thoughtful look at these forces and their consequences moderated by Sen. Mike Barrett with . Home-made refreshments included. Free and open to the public.

For more information about our group, please visit ReclaimOurDemocracy.org.