MCNY Presents Louis Auchincloss Prize to Lynne Meadow with Special Bebe Neuwirth Performance, 10/22

The annual presentation of the Museum of the City of New York's Louis Auchincloss Prize will be held tonight, October 22nd at 6 pm. This year, the prize will be awarded to Lynne Meadow, artistic director of the Manhattan Theater Club, and the event will feature a performance by Bebe Neuwirth and special appearances by Jill Eikenberry and Michael Tucker.

The Louis Auchincloss Prize is presented to writers and artists whose work is inspired by and enhances the five boroughs of New York City. Disciplines include literature, architecture, art, music, playwriting, and photography. The Prize honors Louis Auchincloss (1917–2010) for his many years of service to the Museum of the City of New York as well as for his literary contributions that established him as one of the leading American novelists of the 20th and 21st centuries. Past recipients include lyricist Sheldon Harnick, Ada Louise Huxtable, for her architectural criticism, Pete Hamill for his literary contributions, and photographer Elliott Erwitt. Louis Auchincloss accepted the first prize himself in 2007.

As Artistic Director of Manhattan Theatre Club (MTC) for four decades, Lynne Meadow has created one of the nation's most acclaimed not-for-profit theatres. She has directed and/or produced more than 500 New York and world premieres and nurtured hundreds of writers and theater artists. Six MTC productions have been honored with The Pulitzer Prize for Drama, including four in the past 11 years (Lynn Nottage's Ruined in 2009, David Lindsay-Abaire's Rabbit Hole in 2007, John Patrick Shanley's Doubt in 2005, and David Auburn's Proof in 2001). Plays developed at MTC under her visionary leadership include Donald Margulies' Time Stands Still; Charles Busch's The Tale of the Allergist's Wife; Terrence McNally's Love! Valour! Compassion!; Beth Henley's Crimes of the Heart; and Richard Maltby's Ain't Misbehavin.

On behalf of MTC, Meadow has accepted every major theatrical award including 18 Tony Awards, 47 Obies, and 29 Drama Desk Awards; Meadow herself is the recipient of the Mr. Abbott Award for Lifetime Achievement, Lucille Lortel Lifetime Achievement Award, and The Lilly Award for Lifetime Achievement. Meadow has strived to ensure that MTC's work reaches a range of theatergoers. Her initiatives include collaborating with leading regional theatres to bring major new American plays to New York; bringing student and family audiences to the theatre through ambitious education programs; and moving successful plays, originally produced at MTC, to other venues for longer runs. Today, MTC's plays are studied on every college campus, performed all over the country and the world, and have been translated into many different languages. For the exceptional body of innovative work created for the theater under Meadow's artistic direction - productions as broad and diverse as New York City itself - the Museum is honored to present her with its 2012 Louis Auchincloss Prize.

A reception will follow the presentation.

Space is limited and reservations are required. Tickets for Museum Members are $15. Tickets for Non-Members are $25. To purchase, please call Gillian Halbreich at 917-492-3414.

Founded in 1923 as a private, nonprofit corporation, the Museum of the City of New York celebrates and interprets the city, educating the public about its distinctive character, especially its heritage of diversity, opportunity, and perpetual transformation. The Museum connects the past, present, and future of New York City, and serves the people of the city as well as visitors from around the world through exhibitions, school and public programs, publications, and collection.

For more information about the Museum of the City of New York, visit the Museum online, Follow them on Twitter, Like them on Facebook and visit their blogs at http://mcnyblog.org/.

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