Dive into the Library’s collections for true tales of crime and chicanery from some of the city’s most outstanding lawbreakers.

In-person registration for this event has sold out, but livestream tickets are still available. A limited number of standby tickets may be available on the night of the event.

Featuring:

• Noah Galvin


• Omar Maskati


• Adrienne C. Moore


• Ajay Naidu


• Roxy Sternberg


• Sam Waterston

and more!

The citizens of New York count among their numbers a former president running for office while being convicted of 34 felonies and the first sitting mayor to be indicted for federal crimes. They are only two of the most recent examples in a long history of lawbreaking and law enforcement that stretches as far back as the city’s founding. For one night only, beloved actors and performers read stories mined from the Library’s collections about the words and deeds of New Yorkers who lived on either side of the letter of the law. Whether it was Stephanie St. Clair, Harlem’s “Queen of Numbers,” or Anthony Comstock, the moralizing crusader whose efforts still haunt us today, the story of illegality and vice in New York might be as old as the city, but it’s one we are still living with now.

To join the event in person | Doors will open 30 minutes before the program begins. For LIVE from NYPL events, we generally overbook to ensure a full house. Please arrive early to avoid disappointment; we will do our best to accommodate everyone. Booked seats that have not been claimed will be released shortly before start time, and seats may become available then. A standby line will form 30 minutes before the program.

To join the livestream | A livestream of this event will be available on the NYPL event page. To receive an email reminder shortly in advance of the event, please be sure to register! If you encounter any issues, please join us on NYPL's YouTube channel.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

Noah Galvin is an actor, singer, writer, and producer. Noah can currently be seen in the Broadway Center Stage production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee at the Kennedy Center. Most recently, he wrote, produced, and starred in the musical comedy Theater Camp, which Noah co-wrote alongside Ben Platt, Molly Gordon, and Nick Lieberman. Galvin also recently starred on ABC’s The Good Doctor as Dr. Asher Wolke and as Kenny O’Neal, in the Emmy nominated ABC comedy The Real O’Neals. In May 2019, Galvin was featured in Olivia Wilde’s directorial debut, Booksmart, opposite Kaitlyn Dever, Beanie Feldstein and Billie Lourd. Galvin also appeared in Assassination Nation for director and writer Sam Levinson, which premiered on September 21, 2018.

Previously, Galvin has starred Off-Broadway at theaters such as The Signature, Playwrights Horizons, MCC, The Vineyard, The Public, The Culture Project, The Flea, The Wild Project, New York Theater Workshop, the Barrow Street Theater, Rattlestick, and Ensemble Studio Theater, among others.

Born and raised in New York, Galvin currently splits his time between Los Angeles and New York.

Omar Maskati is an award-winning actor from New Jersey. He recently completed production on the new Amazon Prime series Étoile from Amy Sherman-Palladino and Dan Palladino as well as the second season of The Recruit for Netflix. Omar is known for his series regular role on the CBS show Good Sam, as well as recurring roles on As We See It, The Equalizer, The Handmaid’s Tale, 68 Whiskey, Unbelievable, and Better Call Saul. His film credits include leading roles in Amazon’s Evil Eye, Lizzie Lazarus, and Do I Shock U Like Lightning. Omar’s roles in the award-winning films Revenge Tour and Sand & Snow each earned him the distinction of Best Actor for his work. On stage, he has worked Off-Broadway, playing principal roles in the Pulitzer Prize-winning production of Disgraced, Second Stage's Engagements, and the world premieres of Two Brown Porters and The Snake Charmer’s Demise.

Adrienne C. Moore is a critically acclaimed and award-winning stage, TV, film, and voice-over actress. Moore's extensive theatre repertoire includes The Blood Quilt (Lileana Blain-Cruz, Lincoln Center), Black Odyssey (Stevie Walker-Webb, Classic Stage Company), the award-winning revival of Ntozake Shange's, For Colored Girls... (Leah Gardiner, The Public), The Taming of the Shrew (Phyllida Lloyd, Shakespeare in the Park), Milk Like Sugar (Rebecca Taichman, La Jolla Playhouse, Playwrights Horizons) and 365 Plays/365 Days (Suzan-Lori Parks, The Public). Adrienne is most recognized for her NAACP Image Award-nominated role of Black Cindy on Netflix's Orange Is the New Black, which she earned three SAG awards. Selected TV, film, and animation credits include 30 Rock, Homeland, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Law and Order SVU, Pretty Hard Cases, Search Party, Bupkis, Poker Face, Shaft, Wonder Woman: Bloodlines (DC Comics, Etta Candy), We Lost Our Human (Netflix Interactive, Human) and Curious George: Royal Monkey. Additionally, Adrienne can be seen in Clint Eastwood's upcoming film Juror #2.

Ajay Naidu recently completed a critically acclaimed run in Waiting for Godot at TFANA opposite Michael Shannon and Paul Sparks. Film credits include Bunny, Brenda, Only Good Feelings, Peas and Carrots, The Zombie Wedding, The Good Nurse, The Kindergarten Teacher, Antarctica, The Sleepless, The Dark End Of The Street, Office Space, Richard Linklater’s SubUrbia (Independent Spirit Award nomination), Bad Santa, Scary Movie 3, Hotel For Dogs, The Accidental Husband, Loins of Punjab Presents, The Wrestler, The Honeymooners, The Guru, Hannibal, Requiem For A Dream, Chutney Popcorn, and Pi. Television credits include Elsbeth, Extrapolations, Dr. Death, Uncoupled, WeCrashed, Blindspot, Social Distance, Billions, The Blacklist, God Friended Me, Friends From College, Odd Mom Out, Deadbeat, Bored to Death, 30 Rock, West Wing, Lateline and The Sopranos. In theatre, he has worked extensively with Theatre Complicite in London and worldwide. He is a member of the Labrynth Theater Company here in New York. His directorial debut film Ashes garnered him best actor wins at the New York Indian Film Festival and at the London Asian Fim festival.

British born actress Roxy Sternberg stars in Dick Wolf’s CBS series, FBI: Most Wanted, opposite Dylan McDermott and Keisha Castle-Hughes. She has also appeared in Nat Geo’s acclaimed series, Mars, from Imagine Entertainment and the Amazon series, Absentia, opposite Stana Katic. She starred in BBC3’s all Black British sketch comedy show, Famalam. Roxy was a series regular on the NBC series, Emerald City, was featured in the BAFTA winning comedy, Chewing Gum and recurred on AMC’s Into the Badlands. Her first job was the lead role in It’s A Lot, a British urban cult comedy, which she landed quickly after graduating from the Royal Holloway University in London.

An Emmy, a Golden Globe, a SAG award, and Oscar and Tony Award nominations are just a few of Sam Waterston’s many achievements in a long and prestigious career. He has been in some of the most memorable works of film, television and stage.

Recently Sam starred in Emmy winning limited series The Dropout, where he portrayed the polarizing figure George Shultz, opposite Amanda Seyfried. Additionally, he was a lead opposite Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, and Martin Sheen on the Emmy-nominated Netflix Original series Grace and Frankie, which ran for seven seasons, making it the longest running Netflix Original series. Sam also co-starred alongside Jeff Daniels and Emily Mortimer in the Aaron Sorkin HBO series The Newsroom. Sam is perhaps best well known for his portrayal of Jack McCoy on the iconic Law and Order franchise, reprising his titular role earlier this year.

Sam started his career on the New York stage appearing in multiple revivals of Shakespeare. His theater credits include Indians, The Trail of Cantonsville Nine, A Doll’s House, Hamlet, and he received rave reviews for his portrayal of Abe Lincoln in Gerald Gutierrez’s Abe Lincoln in Illinois, for which he received a Tony nomination.

On the big screen, Waterston played Nick Carraway opposite Robert Redford and Mia Farrow in The Great Gatsby. Through his relationship with Woody Allen, he also starred in Academy Award-nominated Interiors, Hannah and her Sisters, and September. Roland Joffe’s biographical drama film about the Khmer Rouge, The Killing Fields, earned Waterston an Academy Award nomination for his role as Sydney Schanberg.

Sam currently serves as Board Chair of Oceana, the world’s largest Ocean focused NGO, and on the Board of Refugees International.

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ACCESSIBILITY

In-Person | Assistive listening devices and/or hearing loops are available at the venue. You can request a free ASL (American Sign Language) interpretation or CART (Communication Access Real-Time Translation) captioning service by emailing your request at least two weeks in advance of the event: email accessibility@nypl.org or use this Gmail template. This venue is fully accessible to wheelchairs. 

Livestream | Captions and a transcript will be provided. Media used over the course of the conversation will be accompanied by alt text and/or audio description. You can request a free ASL (American Sign Language) interpretation by emailing your request at least two weeks in advance of the event: email accessibility@nypl.org or use this Gmail template.

CONNECT

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LIVE from NYPL is made possible by the continuing generosity of Celeste Bartos, Mahnaz Ispahani Bartos and Adam Bartos, the Margaret and Herman Sokol Public Education Endowment Fund, and the support of Library patrons and friends.

Noah Galvin © Jakob Mandel
Courtesy Omar Maskati
Courtesy Adrienne C. Moore
Courtesy Ajay Naidu
Courtesy Roxy Sternberg
Courtesy Sam Waterston