Vanessa Redgrave Honors Joan Didion, To Benefit BC/EFA

At 8 p.m. on Monday, November 17 at New York City's Cathedral of St. John the Divine, Tony Award-winning actress Vanessa Redgrave will deliver a special benefit reading from "Blue Nights," an evocative memoir by acclaimed author, and close friend, Joan Didion.

"Magical thinking is when we believe that the past can be reversed, somehow," said Redgrave. "Blue nights are when everything has a future. For many of us, that means our children. When the blue nights end, we each confront the ludicrous enigma 'Why can't I be who I was? Why can't I wear the black tights and hooped earrings that made me feel I knew who I was?'"

At Redgrave's request, the evening will benefit Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS and Cathedral Community Cares. Redgrave will be joined by guest artist Jimmy Owens, 2012 NEA Jazz Master and leader of Jimmy Owens Plus, on the trumpet-flugelhorn.

Redgrave drew a connection between "Blue Nights" and Didion's "The Year of Magical Thinking," which Redgrave performed on Broadway and in London's West End.

Redgrave said those who attend the special reading will find "a curious solace -- and laughter -- in Joan's strange encounters with those who try to assist us with coping."

"Joan Didion wrote, 'We tell ourselves stories in order to live,'" said Redgrave. "That's why I'm reading from Blue Nights in the Cathedral on November 17."

"I feel the life that Joan Didion went through was the height of the saddest of the blues," added Owens. "All the life elements worked out because she was strong in her thoughts and emotions and knew she had to continue in her life. Music is always a part of our life's emotions and can help bridge many personal situations. I'm honored to be able to share my music, my emotions, as part of this evening."

"Blue Nights" is an account of the death of Quintana Roo, Didion's daughter with husband John Gregory Dunne. In the novel, Didion shares her struggle, as a mother and a writer, to cope with this assault on her emotional and physical resources just two years after her husband passed away.

Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS is one of the nation's leading industry-based, nonprofit AIDS fundraising and grant-making organizations. By drawing upon the talents, resources and generosity of the American theatre community, since 1988 BC/EFA has raised more than $250 million for essential services for people with AIDS and other critical illnesses across the United States.

Broadway Cares awards annual grants to more than 450 AIDS and family service organizations nationwide and is the major supporter of the social service programs at The Actors Fund, including the HIV/AIDS Initiative, the Phyllis Newman Women's Health Initiative and the Al Hirschfeld Free Health Clinic.

The one-night-only performance will be at 8 p.m. Monday, November 17, at The Cathedral of St. John the Divine, 1047 Amsterdam Ave. in New York City. Tickets range from $40-$175 and can be purchased at stjohndivine.org or by calling 212-316-7449.

For more information, visit Broadway Cares online at broadwaycares.org, on Facebook at facebook.com/BCEFA, on Twitter at twitter.com/BCEFA, on YouTube at youtube.com/BCEFAtv and on Instagram at instagram.com/BCEFA.