A New One Man Show About Shakespeare in our Lives Today; Debut Novel About a Megachurch Pastor's Wife's Secrets

In his new one man show, actor Jacob Ming-Trent recalls the story of his life through his relationship with the Bard, and his love of poetry. He discusses "How Shakespeare Saved My Life," running at the Public Theater through October 25.

Deesha Philyaw burst onto the literary scene with her hit short story collection, The Secret Lives of Church Ladies. Now, she treads familiar ground in her hotly anticipated debut novel, The True Confessions of First Lady Freeman. The novel follows Scharisse Freeman, the wife of a megachurch pastor who is threatened when secrets from her past threaten to come to light. Philyaw discusses the novel, set to publish on September 29.

Photo by HanJie Chow: Jacob Ming-Trent in HOW SHAKESPEARE SAVED MY LIFE at The Public Theater.