Tony Kushner to Host SONGS FOR FREEDOM at Joe's Pub, 10/30

Joe's Pub at The Public Theater, New York Theatre Workshop, and Friends of the Jenin Freedom Theatre announced today an evening of song, video and performance on October 30th, 2011 at 7:00pm to benefit the Freedom Theatre. Tickets are $100 and the event is hosted by Pulitzer Prize-winner Tony Kushner and featuring Academy Award-winner David Byrne, Pulitzer Prize-winner Suzan-Lori Parks, Grammy-winners Aimee Mann and Angelique Kidjo, Tony Award-winner Audra McDonald, Palestinian hip-hop group DAM, as well as a special performance by The Acting Company of The Freedom Theatre. The entire evening is directed by Jo Bonney.

The Freedom Theatre was founded in 2006 in the Jenin Refugee Camp in the Palestinian-occupied territories. Its mission is to create a safe space where young artists living under occupation could learn, create, perform and dream. This past spring, Juliano Mer-Khamis-actor, director, and beloved founder of the Freedom Theatre in Jenin-was murdered by a masked gunman near the theater he built.
"Since the murder of Juliano Mer-Khamis, the theatre's co-founder, earlier this year," says Constancia Dinky Romilly, President of Friends of the Jenin Freedom Theatre, "the Freedom Theatre has been in jeopardy. It is imperative that we stand together for this cultural beacon, and for the principles and ideals of artistic freedom and expression on which it was founded."

"The Freedom Theatre of Jenin is a courageous band, a group of artists determined to make theater under conditions of extraordinary difficulty," adds Oskar Eustis, Artistic Director at The Public Theater. "We are honored to support them in the name of international solidarity."

"We at New York Theatre Workshop are proud to support our friends and colleagues of the Freedom Theatre on their inspirational journey to create art and build community," says Linda Chapman, Associate Artistic Director at New York Theatre Workshop.

Tickets are on sale now for this one-time event and can be purchased at www.joespub.com, by phone at 212-967-7555 , or in person at The Public Theater box office (1pm - 6pm) located at 425 Lafayette Street, NYC.

JOE'S PUB at The Public Theater, which reopened October 4th, 2011 from a top to bottom renovation, debuted in October 1998 and quickly became one of New York City's most celebrated and in-demand showcase venues for live music and performance. With its genre-blind booking and vast diversity of interests, the stage at Joe's Pub gives voice to a world of varied and stellar artists. Joe's Pub is open seven days a week, regularly hosting as many as three shows a day. Dinner and drink service is available during every performance. In addition to its reputation of presenting internationally known stars, Joe's Pub has also developed into a premier showcase stage for up-and-coming musicians and emerging artists from a variety of disciplines. www.joespub.com
The Public Theater (Oskar Eustis, Artistic Director; Joey Parnes, Interim Executive Director) was founded by Joseph Papp in 1954 and is now one of the nation's preeminent cultural institutions, producing new plays, musicals and productions of classics at its downtown home and at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park. The Public Theater's mandate to create a theater for all New Yorkers continues to this day on stage and through extensive outreach programs. Each year, more than 250,000 people attend Public Theater-related productions and events at six downtown stages, including Joe's Pub, and Shakespeare in the Park. The Public Theater's productions have won 42 Tony Awards, 158 Obies, 42 Drama Desk Awards and four Pulitzer Prizes. Fifty-four Public Theater Productions have moved to Broadway, including Sticks and Bones; That Championship Season; A Chorus Line; For Colored Girls...; The Pirates of Penzance; The Tempest; Bring in 'da Noise, Bring in 'da Funk; The Ride Down Mt. Morgan; Topdog/Underdog; Take Me Out; Caroline, or Change; Passing Strange; the revival of HAIR; Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson and The Merchant of Venice. www.publictheater.org.

NEW YORK THEATRE WORKSHOP, founded in 1979, is a contemporary Off-Broadway theatre company dedicated to supporting theatre artists at all stages of their careers and providing an environment where innovative theatre can be created free the forbidding financial demands often associated with commercial ventures. Each year, NYTW welcomes an audience of approximately 40,000 to a Season of three to five productions; serves hundreds of artists by providing career and project development opportunities, and connects with students and the local community through a variety of Education Initiatives. Committed to exploring and presenting theatrical experiences that reflect, respond to, and invigorate the world in which we live and work, the Workshop is renowned for a long list of acclaimed work, including Jonathan Larson's RENT, Tony Kushner's Homebody/Kabul, Martha Clarke's Vienna: Lusthaus (revisited), Caryl Churchill's Far Away and A Number, John Guare's Lydie Breeze, Doug Wright's Quills, Claudia Shear's Dirty Blonde, Will Power's The Seven and Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen's Aftermath. NYTW's productions have received a Pulitzer Prize, four Tony Awards, and assorted Obie, Drama Desk, and Lucille Lortel Awards.