Bay Street Theatre Hosts Star-Studded Jackson And Wallach Celebration 5/1
By: Charlie Piane Apr. 16, 2010
On Saturday, May 1st, Bay Street Theatre will host an exciting, star-studded evening of performances and tributes, to honor the legendary lives of one of America's greatest theatrical couples-Anne Jackson and Eli Wallach. The evening kicks off at 6:30pm with a wine reception in the Bay Street lobby, followed by a live all-star performance by an ever-growing list of Who's Who from American theater and film.
The show begins at 7:30pm with a broad range of talent composed of Anne and Eli's friends and colleagues including legendary playwrights, film stars, singers and more. Famed actors Zoe Caldwell, Brian Murray, and Peter Riegert will perform live in scenes from celebrated works which originally featured Anne and Eli. The plays include "THIS PROPERTY IS CONDEMNED", in which the couple met in 1946 and married 2 years later, "MAJOR BARBARA", "TWICE AROUND THE PARK" and "LUV". The evening also includes personal dedications from Lauren Bacall, Patricia Neal, Joe Pintauro, Murray Schisgal and Betsy von Furstenberg who will all pay tribute to Anne and Eli live on the Bay Street stage. Sprinkled throughout the night will be pre-recorded readings and messages from the likes of Barbara Cook, Harvey Keitel, Mike Nichols, Al Pacino, Kate Winslet and more. Finally, several of their students and family members will partake in this intimate evening with their own special messages for the renowned couple.In addition to honoring Anne and Eli, the evening marks a wonderful moment in Bay Street Theatre's history-- the dedication of its new 99-seat 2nd stage, to be created inside the Bay Street Theater for use during non-summer months. This new ‘theater within a theater' will be known as The Annie & Eli 2nd Stage. The space itself will be physically created as a temporary space, with flats or walls put into place for select productions. The Annie & Eli 2nd Stage will be used to present both new and experimental works. In addition, this space will house the already popular Workshops sponsored by the Lucille Lortel Foundation, created to present projects still in development.
The concept for a second stage is one that Artistic Directors Sybil Christopher and Murphy Davis have dreamt of since Bay Street's inception nearly 20 years ago. Like the summer Mainstage productions, The Annie & Eli 2nd Stage offers the East End community the opportunity to see professional actors in high quality productions in a more intimate setting. This vision became viable through recent concessions granted by the Actors Equity Association, the union which represents professional actors and stage managers. These concessions allow for Bay Street Theatre to provide its high quality productions, at a more economical cost to both the theater and its patrons.
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