Live Events

Discover the game of Mahjong—or build on the skills you already have—with two hands-on sessions in the Playhouse Café.

Join Bedford magician and seven-time Emmy winner David Pogue for a hands-on, 90-minute master class in the Playhouse Café. Learn impromptu street-magic tricks using everyday objects—forks, pencils, string, cards, and even your phone—that are easy to do but amaze any audience. All materials, including cards, are provided, and copies of Magic for Dummies will be available for purchase. Build confidence, dazzle your friends, and experience the fun of real magic. Space is limited—reserve your spot today!

Minear’s voice delivers raw emotion, while her lyrics, likened to Joni Mitchell and Sarah McLachlan, cut straight to the soul. She is a unique artist with a gift for translating human experience into sound. In the words of multi-platinum songwriter, Andrea Stolpe, “[Lauren has] the ability to make the most difficult experiences relatable”. Minear’s transformative third album, Boxing Day was released on October 17, 2025 to critical acclaim. Show begins at 6:30pm. Free admission, no reservation required.

Your mobile phone is dinging, the coffee pot is overflowing, and you are running late for work (again). THIS IS NOISE! Sometimes it’s blaring, obvious, and in your face. Other times it’s pervasive, sneaky, and barely audible. The moments you can’t seem to shake the nagging feeling you are just not good enough, the “helpful” advice that floods your thoughts with worry, stress, or guilt, waking up feeling more exhausted than the night before. ‘Noise’ is relentless, it can affect everything. Fortunately, we don’t have to be at the mercy of ‘noise.’ Blocking the Noise gives you the tools to identify, understand, and remove the way in which ‘noise’ influences your life. Blocking the Noise is a reset button providing you with the guidance to live a life you truly enjoy rather than one you passively accept. Books will be available for sale/signing.

What connects Dionysus and Spider-Man? In Tony Stark, Odysseus, and the Myths Behind Marvel, Professor of Classics Peter Meineck explores how Marvel’s superheroes draw from ancient Greek mythology. From Captain America and Wolverine to Black Widow and Black Panther, Meineck reveals surprising and insightful connections between modern pop culture and the myths that shaped human storytelling. Entertaining and eye-opening, this talk bridges ancient legends and today’s superheroes. Books will be available for sale and signing.

Trivia Night returns to the Bedford Playhouse Cafe, hosted by Rachel from Rock Paper Scissors Custom Events. Play solo or as a team and test your knowledge on a wide range of topics, including movies, music, history, geography and more. Food and drink available for sale from the bar.

Renowned composer/songwriter Alan Menken performs selections and shares stories from his unparalleled career live at Bedford Playhouse. Alan Menken is an iconic American composer best known for his work in musical theater and film, especially his collaborations with Disney. He has written the music for beloved animated films such as The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and Pocahontas. In addition to his film work, Menken has had a successful career in stage musicals, including Little Shop of Horrors, Newsies, Sister Act, A Bronx Tale, and Broadway adaptations of Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin. Menken is one of the few artists to have achieved EGOT status, winning Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Awards.

Join a panel of experts for an enlightening conversation covering everything from infancy to toddlerhood and beyond. Dr Abby Siegel, M.D., FAAP is a Board Certified Pediatrician who does home sick visits for children in Westchester and CT through her private practice, Abby Siegel Health Consulting. Rachel Gertsman, M.S., E.D. is the owner of Tot Time, a private Preschool located in North Salem. Carla Perl, CPSC is a Certified Pediatric Sleep and Positive Encouragement Consultant. Through her company, Slumberland Solutions, she creates customized sleep and toddler behavior plans tailored to each family’s unique needs. Alexandra White, M.A., IBCLC is an International Board-Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) working in private practice and overseeing the Doula Program at Bedford Hills Correctional Facility.

David Hosack (1769-1835) transformed medicine and surgery, medicinal and agricultural botany, and the intellectual and cultural life of New York City. He knew virtually every major European scientist, and virtually every American Founder – he was the physician who attended both Hamilton and Burr at their duel. Lively and learned, American Eden was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in History (2019) and the National Book Award for Nonfiction (2018), among many other awards and prizes. Victoria Johnson is Professor of Urban Policy and Planning at Hunter College in New York City.

Guitarist Adam Moezinia, a Juilliard-trained musician from Los Angeles, has performed with greats like Freddy Cole, Cecile McLorin Salvant, and George Coleman at venues including Jazz at Lincoln Center, The Blue Note, and Birdland. He released his debut album in 2021 and now tours worldwide with his trio. For this performance, Adam teams up with bassist Alec Safy in an intimate Standards Duo, presenting fresh arrangements of classics from the American Songbook by Gershwin, Porter, Rodgers, and more.

Back by popular demand! Internationally-regarded psychic medium Thomas John performs an insightful and lively evening of readings. Witness John remarkably channel and deliver messages from spirits from the other side. While there is no guarantee that a specific person will come through, John is typically able to channel the people that are most meaningful to you and give you a message that is just what you need to hear. His readings are known for their incredible accuracy with specific details, providing unequivocal evidence of the existence of consciousness. Premium recliner tickets include a reception and VIP session with Thomas after the main event.

Join author Ariel Sullivan and Jenna Bush Hager in conversation on Ariel’s new book Beneath. A copy of the book is included with each ticket. Presented in partnership with Bedford Books. Hundreds of years before the Illum ruled supreme, humanity risked everything to rebuild after a devastating war in this explosive dystopian romance and prequel to Conform. Twenty-three-year-old Sasha Cadell knows time is running out in the underground city, filled with survivors of the nuclear fallout six years ago. She works in the Expansion Sector, trying to escape the memories of those she lost. Her bleak existence is upended when Tristian Hayes, a stunningly handsome, frustratingly determined commander of the Force, recruits her to join him and his elite team of soldiers as they embark on a secret mission to the surface. Sasha is thrust into brutal training with stakes far beyond mere survival. The fate of the remaining humankind depends on their success—or failure. As she confronts her own demons, Sasha finds both allies and foes in the training program, as well as a sizzling attraction between her and Tristian that threatens the walls she’s built around her heart. But under the surface, secrets and deception run as rampant as illnesses. And not everyone will survive the rise of a power more terrifying than anything they’ve ever known.

The second in a trilogy about America’s Constitution, Born Equal follows The Words That Made Us:  America’s Constitutional Conversation, 1760-1840; Amar asks us to consider 10 possible meanings of the word “equal.” A widely published and cited Constitutional scholar, Sterling Professor of Law and Political Science at Yale and winner of their DeVane Medal for excellence in teaching, he has spoken twice at the John Jay Homestead, about New York and the US Constitution, and in an interview with Albie Sachs, about the Constitution of South Africa.  He is sometimes called a “liberal originalist,” and that is what he calls Lincoln.

Back once again by popular demand!  Live standup comedy featuring performers from Last Comic Standing, The Tonight Show, America's Got Talent and Comedy Central. Starring Maureen Langan, Ian Lara, Peter Revello and Brian Scolaro.  Hosted by Ray Ellin.

The Founders wanted schools to teach students to understand our political system and to engage in reasoned political debate as adults; the Schoolhouse at John Jay Homestead was built for Jay children and also for the children of tenant farmers and farm hands. Historian, journalist and former Friends of John Jay Homestead speaker on his renowned John Quincy Adams: Militant Spirit, Traub spent a year exploring how schools now teach students–or fail to teach them–the essentials of American history and government, as well as how to use that knowledge in respectful, informed debate. Note: the talk will be preceded by a short business section of John Jay Homestead's Annual Meeting.