TheatreWorks Presents Their GALA 40: CELEBRATING 40 YEARS, Hwang To Host

A host of prominent civic leaders will honor one of Silicon Valley's leading arts institutions at TheatreWorks Gala 40: Celebrating 40 Years, a black-tie dinner that will pay tribute to two valley innovators: Robert Kelley, founding artistic director of TheatreWorks, for Innovation in the Arts, and Frank Quattrone, CEO of Qatalyst Group, for Innovation in Technology. The evening will be held Saturday, May 8, 2010, on the Microsoft Campus in Mountain View followed by a thrilling One Night Only concert at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, featuring Broadway composers and recording stars, and hosted by Tony Award-winning playwright David Henry Hwang. To request an invitation or for more information, the public may contact TheatreWorks' Special Events Department at (650) 463-7125 or events@theatreworks.org. More information can be found at www.theatreworks.org.

The evening will begin at 5:00pm with cocktails and hors d'oeuvres, followed at 7:00pm by dinner and a live auction. At 8:30pm the party moves to the Mountain View Center for Performing Arts, where a One Night Only Concert will be hosted by Guest Emcee, Tony Award-winning playwright David Henry Hwang. The gala will include a stunning array of talent, including appearances by Broadway composers Paul Gordon (Jane Eyre, Emma, Daddy Long Legs) and Jeanine Tesori (Caroline, or Change, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Shrek the Musical), composers/recording artists Brendan Milburn and Valerie Vigoda of the hit Indie band GrooveLily, and record-breaking recording star Vienna Teng. Gala 40 Co-Chairs are Michelle Kwatinetz (Atherton) and Ronni Watson (Menlo Park), working with committee members Peggy Dalal (Palo Alto), Anne Hambly (Los Altos), Gina Klein Jorasch (Palo Alto), Julie Kaufman (Atherton), Cynthia Keely (Portola Valley), Judy Kleinberg (Palo Alto), Gayla Lorthridge (Los Altos Hills), Leslie Murphy-Chutorian (of Palo Alto), and Carolyn Schutz (Redwood City).

Co-honoree of the evening Robert Kelley is Founder and Artistic Director of TheatreWorks and the creative force behind of TheatreWorks' nationally acclaimed New Works Initiative. Kelley founded the company in 1970 in Palo Alto, as a theatre arts workshop for teenage and college students and went on to produce13 wholly original works for the stage in its first three years. For TheatreWorks in those early days, "the stage" was a parking garage, a warehouse or basement, an outdoor park, or wherever the company could make space for a performance. The company has grown to be one of the nation's leading theatres dedicated to cultivating and producing new musicals, and has become home to the New Works Festival and Writers Retreat, both attracting composers and writers of national stature who come to TheatreWorks to develop and hone new material.

Joining Kelley as co-honoree is Frank Quattrone, the visionary investment banker who foresaw the emergence of the technology industry and helped finance the creation of Silicon Valley. A former investment banker at Credit Suisse First Boston who helped bring dozens of companies public during the 1990s tech boom, including Netscape, Cisco, and Amazon.com, Quattrone now heads merchant banking firm Qatalyst Group, which he founded in March 2008.

Funds raised at the event will support TheatreWorks' outstanding performances and innovative education, community, and new works programs.

With over 8,000 subscribers and 100,000 patrons per year, TheatreWorks has captured a national reputation for artistic innovation and integrity, often presenting Bay Area theatre-goers with their first look at acclaimed musicals, comedies, and dramas, directed by award-winning local and guest directors, and performed by professional actors cast from across the country. TheatreWorks has just unveiled the line-up for its 41st season, which will begin in July 2010, and will include three more World Premieres, bringing the company's total to 56. Last fall, TheatreWorks celebrated the arrival on Broadway of the hit musical Memphis (developed at TheatreWorks New Works Festival and presented on its Main Stage). Memphis is now in its 6th month on Broadway, has played to more than 600,000 patrons and grossed more than $11.6 million to date. The company recently concluded a held-over run of the World Premiere musical Daddy Long Legs, by John Caird and Paul Gordon, which has become one of the best attended shows in TheatreWorks history. Its present season will continue in March with the West Coast premiere of the Latino comedy Sunsets and Margaritas, followed by a 50th anniversary presentation of the American drama To Kill a Mockingbird, and wrap-up in June with a comedic look a string quartet forced to find a new player, Opus.