Jamie Bernstein, author of Famous Father Girl, is the daughter of celebrated composer/conductor Leonard Bernstein, coauthor of the iconic American musical West Side Story. (A film remake is now in production with Steven Spielberg and playwright Tony Kushner). Her intriguing new book about her childhood “captures what it’s like to be raised by a man with mythic successes and long-held secrets” (David Denby, The New Yorker).
Bernstein joins NAC’s David Masello onstage for an intimate interview about the book. How did she pursue her family research? How did she decide what to conceal or reveal? What was it like to be the daughter of a much-loved celebrity, while continuing to regard him as a father first? Archival footage and recordings of some of her father’s performances of West Side Story, Candide, and sessions of his conducting the New York Philharmonic will be included in this lively appearance.
Jamie Bernstein is an author, concert narrator and filmmaker.