Brian Stokes Mitchell and Donna McKechnie Headline MTC Benefit January 23

MANHATTAN THEATRE CLUB will present its annual Winter Benefit, "An Intimate Night," an evening of cocktails and dinner followed by a special one-night-only cabaret-style show featuring Tony Award winning Broadway stars, Donna McKechnie and Brian Stokes Mitchell. A third performer will be announced shortly. "An Intimate Night " takes place Monday, January 23, 2006 at the Rainbow Room (30 Rockefeller Plaza, 65th Floor).

The evening begins with a 7pm cocktail reception, followed by dinner at 8pm and the show at 9:15pm. All monies raised from this annual event will benefit MTC's extensive educational outreach programs, as well as its musical theatre and play development activities.

Kitty Carlisle Hart and Liz Smith are the Honorary Chairs. Bethany Millard and Ellen Moskowitz are the Co-chairs.

Tony Award-winning star of A Chorus Line, Donna McKechnie is regarded internationally as one of Broadway's foremost dancing and singing stars. Some of her Broadway credits include: How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying; Sondheim - A Musical Tribute (which she also choreographed); On the Town; Promises, Promises; Company and State Fair for which she received the Fred Astaire Award for Best Female Dance. Donna enjoyed one of her greatest triumphs as Sally in the acclaimed revival of Follies.

Dubbed "The Last Leading Man" by the New York Times, Brian Stokes Mitchell has enjoyed a rich and varied career on Broadway, television and film. Highlights of his Broadway career include performances in Man of La Mancha; Kiss Me Kate (Tony Award); Ragtime; August Wilson's King Hedley II; Kiss of the Spider Woman; Jelly's Last Jam; David Merrick's Oh, Kay! and Mail. His long television career began with a seven year stint on "Trapper John, MD."

Under the leadership of Artistic Director Lynne Meadow and Executive Producer Barry Grove, Manhattan Theatre Club has grown in three decades from a prolific Off-Off Broadway showcase into one of the country's most acclaimed theatre organizations. MTC develops and presents works of the highest quality by both established and emerging American and international playwrights. Significant productions include Craig Lucas's Reckless, David Auburn's Pulitzer Prize-winning Proof; Charles Busch's The Tale of the Allergist's Wife; Terrence McNally's Tony Award-winning Love! Valour! Compassion!; the Fats Waller musical Ain't Misbehavin'; Beth Henley's Pulitzer Prize-winning Crimes of the Heart; and August Wilson's The Piano Lesson and Seven Guitars. They are currently represented on Broadway with the Pulitzer Prize-winning production of John Patrick Shanley's Doubt.

Their acclaimed Education Program has brought theatre into the lives of more than 30,000 underserved students in New York and around the country since its inception in 1989.

Individual tickets for MTC's Winter Benefit, including cocktails, dinner and the show are available for $2,500, $1,500 and $1,000. Tables of ten are also available for $25,000, $15,000, and $10,000. For more information, call (212) 399-3000, ext. 146.