Cumpsty, Moore, Redgrave, Short, et al. Set for New York Times Arts and Leisure Weekend

Michael Cumpsty, Julianne Moore, Lynn Redgrave, Vanessa Redgrave, and Martin Short are among the artists who will participate in the sixth annual New York Times Arts and Leisure Weekend, to be held January 5-7 in New York City.

The weekend consists of “Times Talks” in which artists sit down for conversations with writers from the newspaper. On Friday, January 5, Vanessa Redgrave and author Joan Didion will talk with John Darnton; Redgrave will star this spring on Broadway in a stage adaptation of Didion’s memoir The Year of Magical Thinking. That evening, Metropolitan Opera general manager Peter Gelb, star Renée Fleming, and director Bartlett Sher — who is currently helming the Met’s The Barber of Seville — will speak with Anthony Tommasini.

On Saturday, January 6, cabaret stars John Pizzarelli and Jessica Molaskey will sit down with Stephen Holden. On Sunday, January 7, Cumpsty, Lynn Redgrave, author James Shapiro, and Public Theater artistic director Oskar Eustis will talk with Bill Goldstein; Moore and playwright David Hare will discuss The Vertical Hour; and Short, star of the Broadway show Fame Becomes Me, will talk with Jesse Green.

Other participants in the weekend will include film director and television producer J.J. Abrams, dancer/choreographer Mikhail Baryshnikov, author Augusten Burroughs, artist Brice Marden, and singer Rufus Wainwright. In addition, there will be a kick-off event on Thursday, January 4 at Joe’s Pub hosted by James Taylor, and a special “Times Talk” on Monday, January 8 with musical star Fergie and writer Jon Pareles to benefit The Actors’ Fund of America.

Tickets go on sale on November 23. To order or for information, visit www.ArtsandLeisureWeekend.com.