NCTF Holds Annual Chairman's Awards Gala On 4/20 Honors Jane Fonda, John Breglio

National Corporate Theatre Fund (NCTF) will hold its Annual Chairman's Awards Gala and benefit on Monday, April 20 at New York's Cipriani's Pegasus (30 Rockefeller Plaza). This year, NCTF Chairman James S. Turley, Chairman & CEO of Ernst & Young, will honor Jane Fonda (returning to Broadway this season in 33 Variations), producer John Breglio (the recent revival of A Chorus Line) and USA TODAY. Accepting the award on behalf of the USA TODAY will be Ed. Cassidy. All net proceeds of the event will be distributed as the NCTF/John Breglio Fund for New American Theatre.

Hosted by Michael Ritchie (Artistic Director of Center Theatre Group in Los Angeles) and wife Kate Burton (Present Laughter, Hedda Gabler), this black-tie event will begin with cocktails at 6:30 PM followed by dinner and presentations at 7:30 PM. The gala will feature a silent auction filled with exciting prize packages.

Bruce Whitacre, NCTF Executive Director, remarks, "The entire theatre community is thrilled that Jane Fonda is back on Broadway, and NCTF and its theatres are privileged to honor her for her immeasurable contributions to our culture on so many levels. The not-for-profit theatre world has relied on John Breglio's passionate advocacy for a generation, and the creative community has equally benefited from his wisdom. As he assumes an ever more prominent role as a producer, his
achievements in theatre are only increasing. USA TODAY is one of the very few institutions to continue to cover theatre on a national basis, and they have been extremely generous to the theatre community through support of NCTF, the Tonys, and many other ways. On behalf of
our theatres, I congratulate our distinguished honorees and thank them for stepping up with us in these very challenging times to help keep live theatre in America vibrant and successful."

Having enjoyed tremendous success as a stage and screen actress, honoree Jane Fonda was born in New York City in 1937, the daughter of Henry Fonda and Frances Seymour Fonda. She studied with renowned acting coach Lee Strasberg and became a member of the Actors Studio in New York. Her subsequent work on stage and screen earned numerous nominations and awards, including Oscars (Best Actress in 1971 for Klute and in 1978 for Coming Home) and an Emmy for her performance in The Dollmaker. Along with starring roles in dozens of highly acclaimed productions, Fonda also took on responsibilities as a film and television producer. Her credits include Coming Home, The China Syndrome, Nine to Five, Rollover, On Golden Pond, The Morning After and The Dollmaker. She revolutionized the fitness industry with the release of Jane Fonda's Workout in 1982. She followed with the production of 23 home exercise videos, 13 audio recordings, and five books - selling 16 million copies all together. The original Jane Fonda's Workout video remains the top grossing home video of all time. In May 2005, Random House published Fonda's memoirs, "My Life So
Far," which immediately went to #1 on The New York Times Best Sellers list. That same spring Monster-in-Law, her first film in 15 years, also became the #1 box office hit making Fonda the first person to simultaneously have a #1 book and #1 movie. Fonda's most recent film, Georgia Rule, opened in spring 2007. Currently, Jane has returned to Broadway after 46 years as the star of Moises Kaufman's 33 Variations, where she plays Katherine Brandt, a Beethoven scholar and victim of physical deterioration from a terminal illness, who is avoiding emotional entanglement with her daughter by obsessing on Beethoven's obsession. Fonda is an avid reader, hiker, fly fisherwoman and yoga enthusiast. She lives in Atlanta, along with her daughter Vanessa Vadim, and her two grandchildren. Her son, Troy Garity, lives in Los Angeles and is an actor. This NCTF Theatre Artist Award will be presented by Elaine Stritch.

Honoree John Breglio has spent over three decades working in the theatre and film industries throughout the world. In 2006, Mr. Breglio produced the new Broadway production of A Chorus Line which is currently on tour throughout North America. His documentary film, Every Little Step, will be released nationally by Sony Classics in April of 2009. In February, he opened his new production of Dreamgirls in Seoul, South Korea to rave reviews. This production will open in Harlem's famed Apollo Theater in November and then commence touring North America. As a former entertainment lawyer in the New York law firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison for 36 years, Mr. Breglio has been involved in all aspects of the entertainment industry. He has collaborated with his clients in financing and producing hundred of plays, musicals and films and has represented literally hundreds of individual performing and other artists in their professional careers. Mr. Breglio is also widely known for his experience in advising cultural not-for-profit organizations such as The New York Shakespeare Festival, The Actors Fund of America, The Manhattan Theatre Club, the Goodman Theatre of Chicago, Playwrights Horizons, the Roundabout Theatre Company, and Second Stage. In addition to the Actors Fund of America, he currently serves on the boards of the American Foundation for Aids Research, the Alliance for the Arts, Young Playwrights and The John Golden Fund and is a Chair emeritus of the Theatre Development Fund. He is proud to say that he was the recipient of the Actors Fund Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007 and was honored by Joseph Papp's Public Theater in 2004 for his service to The Public Theater and the theatre nationwide. He has also lectured frequently for the National Law Journal Seminars, the Practicing Law Institute, Yale University and is an adjunct professor at Columbia University School of the Arts. This NCTF Achievement in Theatre Award will be presented by Swoosie Kurtz.

USA TODAY, recipient of the Corporate Leadership Award, was founded in 1982 with a mission to serve as a forum for better understanding and unity to help make the USA truly one nation. USA TODAY is includes the top-selling newspaper in the United States (average daily circulation more than 2.3 million). The brand now includes: USATODAY.com, an award-winning news and information Web site; USA TODAY Mobile; USA TODAY Sports Weekly; and USA TODAY LIVE, the television arm of the brand. USA TODAY, published by Gannett Co., Inc., is committed to coverage of the arts in the newspaper's Life Section and throughout its multiple platforms including USA TODAY Education (currently on 540 college campuses through the U.S.). In addition to its support of the vital National Corporate Theatre Fund, USA TODAY is a proud sponsor of the Tony Awards, Grammy Awards, The Business Committee for the Arts and the Golden Trailer Awards. Accepting on behalf of USA TODAY is Vice President of Communications and Event Marketing, Ed. Cassidy. Prior to joining USA TODAY in June, 2005, Cassidy was Marketing Director for the St. Petersburg (FL) Times and for both the Tennessean and Nashville Banner, as well as editor/publisher of the city magazine Honolulu. Cassidy also handled publicity and promotion for more than 200 feature films with positions at such studios as 20th Century Fox, American Cinema and Columbia/ Spectra. He is a proud recipient of the "Star of Touring Broadway" award from the Broadway League for his work in promoting national Broadway tours. This NCTF Corporate Leadership Award will be presented by Lauren Ambrose, currently starring in Broadway's Exit The King.

Co-chairs of the 2009 Chairman's Awards Gala are Bank of America, Cisco Systems, Inc. and Ernst & Young.

The Gala Committee includes Mitchell Auslander, Richard M. Ditizio, John R. Dutt, Isabelle Halphen, Gretchen Shugart, and John Thomopoulos.

NCTF is an association of ten of America's finest not-for-profit theatres dedicated to increasing the participation of corporations and their employees in supporting theatre across the country and in New York. Member theatres include: Actors Theatre of Louisville, American Conservatory Theater, American Repertory Theatre, Center Theatre Group, The Cleveland Play House, Guthrie Theater, Long Wharf Theatre, The Old Globe, Seattle Repertory Theatre, and Trinity Repertory Company.

The NCTF Annual Chairman's Awards Gala and benefit honoring Jane Fonda, John Breglio and USA TODAY will take place Monday, April 20 at Cipriani's Pegasus (30 Rockefeller Plaza, 64th Floor). For reservations, please call Todd Rosen at (212) 750-6895 or email trosen@nctf.org. Individual tickets are $1,000 - $2,500 and reserved tables are $10,000 - $25,000. For more information, please visit www.nctf.org.

 

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