Dead Ladies Show NYC #38

Do you wish a woman was quietly running a winning Democratic Party? Does the current political moment make you want to wail loudly? Are you thinking a lot about China?

Same.

On Thursday, January 29, the Dead Ladies Show NYC brings you three women who feel uncannily relevant right now. We'll meet Belle Moskowitz, a political operator who ran New York from the shadows and did it well; Pearl S. Buck, a writer who lived between cultures and thought seriously about power, responsibility, and belonging; and Janis Joplin, a rocker who turned frustration into music that still holds up. Come for the history. Stay for the bar. Leave with at least one new fun fact you can deploy at dinner parties.

DETAILS

Date: Thursday, January 29
Time: 7–9 pm (doors open at 6:50)
Location: The Private Curtain
85 E 4th Street at Second Avenue

If you’re new here: the Dead Ladies Show began in Berlin and has since gone international, celebrating remarkable women of the past through live storytelling. Each show features three presenters who dig into the lives of bold, brilliant, and sometimes scandalous women who deserve to be remembered, and toasted. Think history class with better lighting and a functioning bar.

Questions? (Ex: Can I bring snacks? How do I get in on this sweet, sweet presenter action?) See FAQs below!

P.S. We’re charging a modest cover to keep the lights on and the mic working — if that’s a barrier, email us and we’ll make it work. Tickets purchased online are $10 plus fees; at the door, $15.

Belle Moskowitz Deemed “the most powerful woman within the Democratic Party” upon her death. Belle Moskowitz is the the hidden architect behind many of the social programs and reforms that define New York City. Serving as Al Smith’s advisor, a social reformer, and a mentor, Belle rose to power when few women played major political roles. Belle worked in the background, doing research, brokering backroom deals, and identifying candidates to place in positions of power. Rarely without her knitting needles, Belle showcased a pathway of quiet femininity using her wits and communication skills to essentially run New York.

Pearl S. Buck was an American writer who grew up in China as the child of Presbyterian missionaries and spent her life feeling more at home between cultures than inside any one of them. Fluent in Chinese, blunt in her opinions, and suspicious of literary prestige, she wrote more than 70 novels and over 100 works in total, winning a Pulitzer Prize for The Good Earth and the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1938. Beyond writing, she campaigned tirelessly for cross-cultural understanding, women’s rights, and international adoption, helping hundreds of children find homes. Restless and outspoken, Buck lived by her belief that “the test of a civilization is the way that it cares for its helpless members.”

Janis Joplin wasn’t just a singer - she was a force of nature in American music. Born in Port Arthur, Texas, she erupted into the late-1960s rock scene with the Big Brother and the Holding Company. Her music was filled with visceral, raw shrieks of joy and pain- the likes of which had rarely been heard. Joplin and her eccentric outfits, loud behavior, charming personality and infectious laughter was every shattered expectations of what a female rock singer could be. She became a symbol of rebellion, freedom, and shocking vulnerability. Taken from us too young- her sound and spirit still echo through rock history.

Alana Bradley tries to balance out her standard Corporate America lifestyle with as many fun hobbies as she can find. An avid reader, library patron, theatre attendee, knitter, volunteer and now dead ladies presenter, she hopes to bring her humor and nerd tendencies to the stage.

Micah Snow is a young finance hustler living in NYC who yearns to fulfill her true passion of writing incredibly stupid headlines for the Atlantic magazine. She loves to spend her time thrifting in the city and believes that the muppets deserve greater recognition in everyday life.

JR Pepper is a lecturer, college professor, digital photo restoration specialist, cemetery tour guide, and guinea pig herder. She is also the proud author/photographer of Buried Boston and Buried New Orleans.

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Host or Publisher Dead Ladies Show NYC