Ebersole & Stritch Set for Playwrights Horizons Gala, 4/16

Acclaimed Off-Broadway theater company Playwrights Horizons will hold its annual "High Standards" Gala Benefit on Monday evening, April 16th at Guastavino's (409 East 59th Street).

The evening will star Tony Award winner Christine Ebersole, acclaimed leading lady of the current hit Broadway musical Grey Gardens, which premiered at Playwrights Horizons last spring.  For her performance in the musical, Ebersole received the Obie Award, Drama Desk Award, Outer Critics Circle Award, a special Citation from the New York Drama Critics, and the Drama League's 2006 Award for Performance of the Year, a distinction also bestowed on her by The New York Times and New York Magazine.

At the Gala, Ms. Ebersole will perform with her longtime collaborator, jazz pianist and singer Billy Stritch.  The two were recently honored by the 2007 Nightlife Awards as Outstanding Duo for their celebrated engagement at The Metropolitan Room last summer.  

The evening will also include a special Silent Auction.  Preview and preliminary bidding will begin online the week of March 26 at www.playwrightshorizons.org.  Auction items will include:

2 tickets to 2 shows at New York Fashion Week
A 2-night stay at the luxury resort Acqualina in Sunny Isles Beach, FL
2 tickets to Grey Gardens with an exclusive backstage tour
Dinner for 2 at such restaurants as Gramercy Tavern, B.R. Guest Restaurants, Josephina, and Chez Josephine
Getaway to a historic private home in Stratford-upon-Avon
Round of golf and lunch for 3 at the Westchester Country Club
Bracelet by red-hot jewelry designer David Yurman
A one-of-a-kind doghouse designed and custom built by the Playwrights Horizons production department
2 rentals from the TDF Costume Collection for Halloween
Tickets to such Broadway shows as Talk Radio, Journey's End, A Chorus Line, Les Misérables and The Phantom of the Opera 
 
Corporate Auction sponsors include: B.R. Guest Restaurants, Chez Josephine, David Yurman, Gramercy Tavern, IMG Sports & Entertainment, Inform Fitness, Josephina Restaurant, Sundance Channel, TDF Costume Collection, The Understudy LLC, Mansion Pictures, and Vineyard Vines.

Cocktails and Silent Auction will begin at 6:00 PM, followed by dinner at 7:45 PM.  Ebersole and Stritch will perform beginning at 9PM.  

Ebersole is currently starring on Broadway in the musical Grey Gardens, for which she received the Obie Award, Drama Desk Award, Outer Critics Circle Award, and a Special Citation from NY Drama Critics Circle.  Her other Broadway credits include Steel Magnolias, Dinner at Eight (Tony and Outer Critics Circle noms.), 42nd Street (2001 Tony and Outer Critics Circle awards), The Best Man, Getting Away With Murder, Harrigan 'n Hart, Camelot (opposite Richard Burton and Richard Harris), Oklahoma!, On the Twentieth Century, I Love My Wife and Angel Street.  TV credits include "Saturday Night Live" (series regular 81-82 season), "Gypsy" with Bette Midler, "One Life to Live" (Emmy nom.), "Ryan's Hope," "The Cavanaughs" (with Barnard Hughes), "Valerie," "Ink," "Related" and guest appearances on "Will & Grace," "Just Shoot Me," "Murphy Brown" and "Ally McBeal." CD's include "In Your Dreams, Live at the Cinegrill" with Billy Stritch.

Pianist and singer Stritch one of the premier performers on the jazz and nightclub scene.  His many albums include "Billy Stritch," "Waters of March," "Jazz Live," and "In Your Dreams" (the latter with Christine Ebersole).  Stritch has performed all over the United States and internationally in such famed venues as Rainbow and Stars, The Russian Tea Room, and The Palais de Congres in Paris. He also appeared with Chita Rivera and Tommy Tune in a tribute to Jule Styne at the Palladium in London. He made his Broadway debut as Oscar in the Tony-winning revival of 42nd Street.  At Broadway's legendary Palace Theatre, he was arranger, vocal arranger, and musical supervisor for Liza Minnelli's Minnelli on Minnelli and co-produced the live recording with Phil Ramone.

Ticket prices for the Gala Benefit start at $800 and can be reserved by calling Cynthia Flowers, Development Associate, at (212) 564-1235 extension 3145, or Jill Garland, Director of Development, at extension 3140.

Visit www.playwrightshorizons.org for more on Playwrights Horizons.

Photo of Christine Ebersole by Mark Rupp