George Street Playhouse's Spring 2015 Gala to Honor Marlo Thomas with Arthur Laurents Award

The Board of Trustees and Artistic Director David Saint have chosen noted Actress, Producer, Best-Selling Author and Social Activist Marlo Thomas as the inaugural recipient of the Arthur Laurents Award for Distinguished Artistic Achievement. The award will be bestowed upon Ms. Thomas at the New Brunswick theatre's Annual Gala Benefit, to be held on Sunday, May 3. She joins fellow honoree Stephen Jones, CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital and Health System, who will be honored with the Thomas H. Kean Arts Advocacy Award.

"I am thrilled to be honoring Marlo," said Mr. Saint. "She has graced our stage three times, and each time has embodied the talent and exacting artistic standards that Arthur so admired. In addition, Arthur adored her. Working on New Year's Eve, Arthur said to Marlo, 'Where have you been all of my life? You're one of the greats!' There is no better recipient for this inaugural award."

The Black Tie affair at The Heldrich (located on Livingston Avenue directly across the street from George Street Playhouse) begins at 5 pm with a cocktail reception and silent auction. Dinner follows at 6:30 pm with the Cabaret performance, honoring Ms. Thomas, commencing at 7:30. Sponsorship opportunities, tables of ten, as well as individual tickets are available. For further information contact Steve Barry, at (732) 846-2895, ext. 144.

Marlo Thomas was recently honored by President Barack Obama with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in recognition of her artistic and philanthropic efforts, and was also honored with a building named in her honor as part of the St. Jude's Children's Hospital. She has appeared three times on the George Street Playhouse stage: most recently in Joe DiPietro's Clever Little Lies (scheduled to open off-Broadway this Spring); Arthur Laurents' New Years' Eve and Elaine May's Roger is Dead (which moved to Broadway as George is Dead as part of three one-acts titled Relatively Speaking). Previous Broadway appearances include: the aforementioned George is Dead, The Shadow Box, Social Security and Thieves; off-Broadway: The Vagina Monologues, The Guys and The Exonerated (which she also performed in Chicago and Boston). National tour: Six Degrees of Separation. Regional theatre appearances include Paper Doll (Pittsburgh Public Theater); Woman in Mind (Berkshire Theatre Festival); Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Hartford Stage); and The Effect Of Gamma Rays (Cleveland Play House). London West End: Barefoot in the Park. Ms. Thomas has appeared in more than a dozen distinguished television movies, including Nobody's Child, for which she won the Emmy for Best Dramatic Actress. Numerous TV guest appearances include Friends, Law & Order, and The New Normal. Films: Playing Mona Lisa, The Real Blonde, Dust and Stardust, In the Spirit, Thieves, Jenny and L.O.L. Ms. Thomas has produced seven bestselling books, including It Ain't Over...Till It's Over, The Right Words at the Right Time, Volumes 1 and 2, Thanks and Giving All Year Long, and her memoir, Growing Up Laughing. She created the landmark children's projects Free to Be...You and Me and Free to Be...a Family, which included books, records and TV specials. She starred in and produced the groundbreaking, That Girl, television's first comedy series about a single, independent woman. She has been honored with four Emmys, nine Emmy nominations, the Peabody, the Golden Globe and the Grammy, and has been inducted into the Broadcasting Hall of Fame.

Under the leadership of Artistic Director David Saint, George Street Playhouse has become a nationally recognized theatre, presenting an acclaimed mainstage season while providing an artistic home for established and emerging theatre artists. Managing Director Kelly Ryman was appointed in 2013. Founded in 1974, the Playhouse has been well represented by numerous productions both on and off-Broadway - recent productions include the Outer Critics' Circle Best Musical Award-winner The Toxic Avenger, the Outer Critics Circle, Drama Desk and Drama League nominated production of The Spitfire Grill and the recent Broadway hit and Tony and Pulitzer Prize winning play Proof by David Auburn, which was developed at GSP during the 1999 Next Stage Series of new plays. The musical It Shoulda Been You, directed by David Hyde Pierce and starring Tyne Daly moves to Broadway this spring after beginning its life at the Playhouse in 2011. In addition to its mainstage season, GSP's Touring Theatre features four issue-oriented productions that are seen by more than 40,000 students annually. George Street Playhouse programming is made possible in part by funds from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts.

DETAILS:

George Street Playhouse Annual Gala Benefit

Sunday, May 3, 2015 beginning at 5 pm

Event honors:

- Stephen Jones, President and Chief Executive Officer, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital and Robert Wood Johnson Health System, with the Thomas H. Kean Arts Advocacy Award;

- Inaugural Arthur Laurents Award for Distinguished Artistic Achievement to be bestowed upon actress and producer Marlo Thomas

At The Heldrich, New Brunswick, NJ

For tickets and information contact Steve Barry at 732-846-2895, ext. 144 or events@georgestplayhouse.org

Photo Credit: Walter McBride