Redford joins the club
Unique Lives features male star Lecture series expands format
When is a man welcome in a women’s club? When that man is Robert Redford. And that marks a departure for this 14th year of the Unique Lives & Experiences lecture series, considered North America’s foremost forum for women and their issues.
It was the audience members who chose him, explains series producer Howard Szigetti, opening a new layer of programming options — but one that is rather limited.
“ I doubt we would find very many men with the right DNA that would appeal to our women,” he says. “ There would be a really small cluster of men who would be allowed into this club.”
At the close of each season, producers present a list of potential speakers and gauge audience interest. Last year they decided to test the waters by adding some men to the list. Three male names proved to be popular: Paul Newman, Robert Redford and Bill Clinton. Newman wasn’t available and Clinton had just been here, but Redford was swayed to accept a tour of three cities. The Toronto lineup includes June Callwood on Jan. 23, Catherine Deneuve on Feb. 6, Vicki Gabereau on March 6, Carol Channing on April 25, Paula Zahn on May 15 and Redford on June 5. Tickets for the series — which is already close to being sold out to previous subscribers — go on sale to the public Saturday.
Feedback also suggested people were receptive to more programming, which is why there will be six speakers instead of the usual five. Maya Angelou is a special addition on May 25.
Tickets for her appearance are sold separate from the series, but also go on sale Saturday. The average subscriber has been with the series since the first year, Szigetti notes. “ If it’s this successful, let’s build on it.”
Szigetti is hoping the format will appeal to both women and men with a new series that premieres next March called Headlines & Biographies, created because one didn’t exist in Toronto. “ I thought it was time for me to fill the void, before someone else did,” Szigetti says. That series kicks off with Adrienne Clarkson March 28 — in her first major appearance since leaving the GovernorGeneral’s office — and includes Tom Wolfe on April 24, Dan Rather on May 16 and Redford on June 6. Where Unique Lives is geared toward a women’s night out, this one will answer men’s question “ What about us?” Szigetti says. “ Although we know that women drive the decision to buy most everything these days, for this one at least she’ll be going to her husband or boyfriend and saying, ‘ What do you think?’ ” Both series, sponsored in part by the Toronto Star, will be held at Roy Thomson Hall. Tickets for Headlines & Biographies also go on sale Saturday at noon. For information, call the box office at 416- 872- 4255.