Edward Albee, Josh Brolin, Ruby Dee and Sidney Lumet Added to The New York Times Arts and Leisure Week January 7 - 13

The New York Times announced today that three-time Pulitzer Prize-winner Edward Albee, "No Country for Old Men” and "American Gangster” actor Josh Brolin, Emmy Award-winning actress Ruby Dee and "Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead” director Sidney Lumet were recently added to the list of guests participating in The Times’s 2008 Arts & Leisure Week. The newly expanded Arts & Leisure Week will take place from Jan. 7 to 13 in TheTimesCenter, The Times’s performance venue in its new headquarters in Times Square. The expansion of the 2008 festival includes a wide range of activities, from interviews between journalists and their guests to special offers at cultural institutions around the world. For more information or to purchase advance tickets, which are $25 for each interview, please visit www.ArtsAndLeisureWeek.com. At TheTimesCenter, 242 West 41st Street, The Times will host a series of special TimesTalks discussions featuring an array of luminaries from the arts, film, music, media and politics in conversation with New York Times critics, reporters and editors. The roster of participants also includes Tony Award-winning actors Philip Bosco and Frances Sternhagen and Circle in the Square producer Theodore Mann with Patricia Cohen, culture reporter; news anchor and best-selling author Tom Brokaw with Rick Berke, assistant managing editor for news; award-winning author Bob Drogin, former chairman of the National Intelligence Council and deputy director of the CIA John Gannon, and president emeritus and board senior fellow of the Council on Foreign Relations Leslie Gelb with Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Tim Weiner; indie-rock musician Leslie Feist with chief pop music critic Jon Pareles; award-winning contemporary artist Jeff Koons with art critic Carol Vogel; music director of the Metropolitan Opera and the Boston Symphony Orchestra James Levine with Anthony Tommasini, chief music critic; AMC’s "Mad Men” creator Matthew Weiner with cast members Jon Hamm, January Jones, Vincent Kartheiser, Elisabeth Moss and John Slattery co-moderated by advertising columnist Stuart Elliott and book critic Janet Maslin; Pulitzer Prize-winning jazz composer and Jazz at Lincoln Center artistic director Wynton Marsalis with John Rockwell, a former Arts & Leisure editor; author, homemaking advocate and business magnate Martha Stewart with food reporter Kim Severson; renowned dancer, choreographer and director Mark Morris with culture reporter Daniel J. Wakin; the cast of Nickelodeon’s highly acclaimed children’s television series The Naked Brothers Band, with culture reporter Jacques Steinberg; prominent artist and filmmaker Julian Schnabel with Lynn Hirschberg, New York Times Magazine editor at large; president of Walt Disney Theatrical Productions Thomas Schumacher with performances from "Mary Poppins” and "The Little Mermaid” with Patricia Cohen; best-selling author Jeffrey Toobin with Supreme Court correspondent Linda Greenhouse; Broadway’s "Young Frankenstein” creator Mel Brooks, director Susan Stroman and cast members Roger Bart and Megan Mullally with culture reporter Campbell Robertson; Princeton professor of religion and African-American studies Cornel West with Frank Rich, Op-Ed columnist; Brooklyn-based best-selling authors Paul Auster, Nicole Krauss and Rick Moody with Bill Goldstein, founding editor of NYTimes.com/books; among others. The Times will again offer an Access Pass to many events presented throughout the week. The Pass will be available in event program guides, published in The New York Times, in the Sunday Magazine and posted on the Arts & Leisure Week Web site. Details will be updated regularly at www.ArtsAndLeisureWeek.com. This year's presenting sponsor for Arts & Leisure Week is KIA. Lead sponsors are Greater Fort Lauderdale, HBO and iShares. Corporate sponsors are Design Within Reach; New York University, School of Continuing and Professional Studies; Rodney Strong; and The Container Store. WCBS-TV is this year’s media sponsor. Companies interested in advertising opportunities for Arts & Leisure Week can get more information by contacting their New York Times account manager or Roger Schwoerer, advertising director at (212) 556-1314 or schworo@nytimes.com. For sponsorships, please contact Penfield Marketing Group account manager Doug Metchick at (203) 222-0817 or doug@penfieldmarketing.com. Schedule for Arts & Leisure Week 2007 TimesTalks take place at TheTimesCenter, 242 West 41st Street. Tickets are $25.   Monday, Jan. 7 6 - 7:15 p.m. Jeff Koons Big Art, Big Ideas: Contemporary artist Jeff Koons has been all over town - from his "Puppy" in Rockefeller Center to his big silver rabbit at Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Hear him talk about his career creating sky-high art with sky-high prices. Interviewed by Carol Vogel   8 - 9:15 p.m. Sidney Lumet "Before The Devil...": Mr. Lumet's first feature, "12 Angry Men" (1957), earned him an Oscar nomination for directing. Then came recognition for such films as "Dog Day Afternoon," "Network" and "The Verdict." His latest film, "Before the Devil Knows You're Dead," features award-caliber performances by three actors also known for their stage work - Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke and Marisa Tomei. Interviewed by David Carr   Tuesday, Jan. 8 6 - 7:15 p.m. Philip Bosco, Ruby Dee, Theodore Mann, Frances Sternhagen New American Theater: Circle in the Square: Leading actors of one of the most successful New York theater companies join its producer to celebrate the history of Circle in the Square, as described in the new memoir, "Journeys in the Night." Interviewed by Patricia Cohen   8 - 9:15 p.m. Matthew Weiner, Jon Hamm, January Jones, Vincent Kartheiser, Elisabeth Moss, John Slattery "Mad Men" and the Sixties: The creator and cast members of TV's new hit series discuss how they capture the zeitgeist of the early 1960s, from Madison Avenue to the bedroom. Interviewed by Stuart Elliott and Janet Maslin   Wednesday, Jan. 9 6 - 7:15 p.m. Mark Morris Modern Dance Master: The acclaimed dancer/choreographer/director on his extraordinary career and new directions in dance. Interviewed by Daniel J. Wakin   8 - 9:15 p.m. Julian Schnabel Film, Art, Life: The artist and filmmaker - named best director at Cannes last May - talks about his work, the connection between painting and film, and his latest movie, the biopic "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly." Interviewed by Lynn Hirschberg   Thursday, Jan 10 6 - 7:15 p.m. Tom Brokaw Chronicling Our Times: The distinguished television news journalist and author of the bestsellers "Boom!: Voices of the Sixties" and "The Greatest Generation" on covering almost a half-century of national and world news. Interviewed by Rick Berke   8 - 9:15 p.m. Josh Brolin Breakthrough Actor: With his four 2007 film roles - as a man who discovers $2 million in cash in "No Country for Old Men," a crooked detective in "American Gangster," a brutish husband in "Grindhouse" and a small-town police chief in "In the Valley of Elah," this busy actor is having a breakthrough year. Hear him talk about co-starring with Tommy Lee Jones and Javier Bardem in his latest film, directed by the Coen Brothers, and what it's like to have accomplished four star-turn performances in the span of one year. Interviewed by Caryn James   Friday, Jan. 11 6 - 7:15 p.m. Martha Stewart Megabrand: The innovative, sometimes controversial, entrepreneur on conquering entertaining, media and merchandising - and becoming an icon known worldwide by her first name. Interviewed by Kim Severson   8 - 9:15 p.m. Wynton Marsalis Music Man: The outstanding jazz and classical musician and trumpeter, big band leader, composer, arts advocate, educator and artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center riffs on orchestrating it all. Interviewed by John Rockwell   Saturday, Jan. 12 10 - 11:15 a.m. Naked Brothers Band Rock 'n' Reality: Alex and Nat Wolff of the kids' rock band behind the popular Nickelodeon show talk about fame, friends, music and fun, joined by show and real-life parents Polly Draper and Michael Wolff. Interviewed by Jacques Steinberg   12 - 1:15 p.m. Paul Auster, Nicole Krauss, Rick Moody Literary Brooklyn: Award-winning authors who live and work in Brooklyn discuss the borough's burgeoning climate for writers and creativity. Interviewed by Bill Goldstein   2 - 3:15 p.m. Edward Albee A Life in the Theater: With some 30 plays and almost 80 years behind him, this three-time Pulitzer Prize-winning American playwright - best known for the epochal "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" - is still going strong. The 2007 - 2008 theater season includes four major New York-area productions of his work. Interviewed by Jesse Green   6 - 7:15 p.m. Feist Indie Music Scene: Canadian-born, globe-trotting indie-rock musician Leslie Feist talks about her exploding career, touring the world and the independent music scene today. Interviewed by Jon Pareles   Sunday, Jan. 13 10 - 11:15 a.m. "Mary Poppins," "The Little Mermaid," Thomas Schumacher Behind the Scenes and On Stage - Talk with performances by Ashley Brown, Henry Hodges, Lila Coogan and others: Disney producer and author of "How Does the Show Go On?" reveals how a big Broadway musical gets to the stage, with performances by the stars of "Mary Poppins" and "The Little Mermaid." Fun for children of all ages. Interviewed by Patricia Cohen   12 - 1:15 p.m. Jeffrey Toobin The Future of the Supreme Court: The author of the best-seller "The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court," one of the Most Notable Books of 2007, talks with The Times's Supreme Court correspondent, author of "Becoming Justice Blackmun," about the state of the nation's highest court and its future under a new administration. Interviewed by Linda Greenhouse   2 - 3:15 p.m. Bob Drogin, John Gannon, Leslie Gelb The CIA and U.S. Intelligence: The author of "Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA," the 2007 winner of the National Book Award, talks with Bob Drogin, author of "Curveball: Spies, Lies, and the Con Man Who Caused a War," Leslie Gelb, president emeritus and board senior fellow of the Council on Foreign Relations, and John Gannon, former chairman of the National Intelligence Council and deputy director of the CIA, about the state of U.S. intelligence and how intelligence-gathering will shape American foreign policy under the next president. Interviewed by Tim Weiner   4 - 5:15 p.m. James Levine Perpetual Motion Maestro: The most famous American conductor of his generation talks about leading the Boston Symphony Orchestra, his music direction of the Met and what's next. Interviewed by Anthony Tommasini   6 - 7:15 p.m. Cornel West Political Dialogue: The Princeton professor of religion and African- American studies talks about American society, race, politics and class. Interviewed by Frank Rich   8 - 9:15 p.m. Mel Brooks, Susan Stroman, Roger Bart, Megan Mullally of "Young Frankenstein" Screen to Stage: It's Alive!: The talent on stage and behind the scenes of the new musical "Young Frankenstein" on creating a new Broadway musical. Interviewed by Campbell Robertson Arts & Leisure Week was originally established as the Arts & Leisure Weekend in 2001 to mark The Times’s 150th anniversary and to give back to its readers. Due to popular demand, Arts & Leisure Weekend is being extended this year to a seven-day event. Throughout the week, The Times collaborates with hundreds of cultural institutions in the United States and Europe to offer free admission, reduced prices and special events at museums, theaters, performing arts centers, tourist attractions, movie theaters, restaurants, spas and health clubs. About The New York Times Company The New York Times Company (NYSE: NYT), a leading media company with 2006 revenues of $3.3 billion, includes The New York Times, the International Herald Tribune, The Boston Globe, 15 other daily newspapers, WQXR-FM and more than 30 Web sites, including NYTimes.com, Boston.com and About.com. The Company’s core purpose is to enhance society by creating, collecting and distributing high-quality news, information and entertainment. This press release can be downloaded from www.nytco.com.