Beth Holmgren's Modjeska at the Bowers Museum, April 22, 2012 at 1:30 p.m.

The Helena Modjeska Art and Culture Club is proud to co-sponsor a lecture by Prof. Beth Holmgren (Duke University), “On Tour with Madame Modjeska.” The lecture will take place on Sunday, Apr 22 1:30 pm to 2:30pm, followed by a reception at Bowers Museum (2002 N. Main St., Santa Ana, CA 92706, tel. 714.567.3600). Free with museum admission tickets ($8.00).

Beth Holmgren, Ph.D. Professor of Slavic Cultures and Theater Studies, and chair of the Department of Slavic and Eurasian Studies, Duke University, will read from her recently published biography of the great Polish-American actress Helena Modjeska (1840-1909). This lecture will feature numerous photographs from the Bowers Museum collection. The book signing will follow.

Starring Madame Modjeska: On Tour in Poland and America (Indiana University Press, 2011) traces the meteoric rise to international fame of Poland’s leading actress, Helena Modrzejewska (1840-1909), who emigrated to the U.S. in 1876. After the failure of her plans to establish a utopian community on an estate in Orange County, CA, she changed her name to Modjeska and quickly became a leading star on the American stage, where she reigned for the next 30 years. During this time, she established herself as America's most esteemed Shakespearean actress, playing opposite such celebrated actors as Edwin Booth and Maurice Barrymore. Prof. Beth Holmgren is author of, among other books, Women's Works in Stalin's Time, editor (with Helena Gościło) of Poles Apart: Women in Modern Polish Culture, and translator and editor (with Helena Gościło) of The Keys to Happiness by Anastasya Verbitskaya.

The event is presented in association with the Helena Modjeska Foundation that sponsors their own event on Saturday, April 21, 2012. See the attached flyer. For more information, please e-mail education@bowers.org or call 714.567.3677.

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Modjeska Luncheon and Book Signing

for the Helena Modjeska Foundation of Orange County

will take place on Saturday, April 21, at 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

at the Irvine Ranch Historic Park:

13109 Old Myford Road

Irvine, CA 92602


Tickets are $30 for lunch. Advanced reservations are required.
Call (949) 923-2230 with questions.