Acclaimed playwright Theresa Rebeck joins us to discuss her fourth play, “Bernhardt/Hamlet,” which opened September 25 at the American Airlines Theater, starring Janet McTeer in both title roles.

New Yorker staff writer and famed author of The Orchid Thief, Susan Orlean, (at 20:00) joins us to discuss The Library Book. On the morning of April 28, 1986, a fire broke out in the Los Angeles Public Library. The fire was disastrous: it reached 2000 degrees and burned for more than seven hours. By the time it was extinguished, it had consumed four hundred thousand books and damaged seven hundred thousand more. Orlean chronicles the LAPL fire and its aftermath to showcase the larger, crucial role that libraries play in our lives. On October 24, Orlean will speak at New York Public Library. On November 29, Orlean will speak at Columbia University's Butler Library. On November 30, Orlean will speak at Books Are Magic.