USTA Serves Theater Benefit Offers WEST SIDE STORY Tix 4/23

USTA Serves - Foundation for Academics. Character. Excellence., the philanthropic and charitable entity of the United States Tennis Association, announced today that it will offer tennis fans and Broadway lovers a memorable theater experience at its 3nd annual USTA Serves Theater Benefit.

For this year's highly anticipated event, the Foundation will host a special evening on Thursday, April 23 that will include seats to the classic Broadway musical West Side Story. The night begins with a cocktail reception and pre-show dinner at Sardi's Restaurant in the famed Eugenia Room. Guests will then watch the show from orchestra seating at the Palace Theater.

Directed by the legendary Tony Award-winning librettist, Arthur Laurents, who, with theater luminaries Leonard Bernstein (music) and Stephen Sondheim (lyrics) brought the original West Side Story production to life in 1957, this groundbreaking, unprecedented new staging is bilingual, selectively incorporating Spanish throughout. The story of the star-crossed lovers caught between rival gangs still resonates today, as does the timeless, celebrated score. The original choreography of famed dancer-director Jerome Robbins has been preserved for this production, which features a cast of 46 actors and 30 musicians in the orchestra pit.

"A landmark New York City restaurant, a treasured Broadway musical masterpiece and the ability to change a child's life once again bring us together for this much anticipated annual event," said Karen Martin-Eliezer, Chief Executive, USTA Serves. "We are looking forward to sharing a special evening with our cherished supporters."

Proceeds from the ticket sales, a portion of which are tax deductible, support community tennis programs and college scholarships across the country that successfully combine tennis and education. Tickets are available by calling 914-696-7223. Sardi's is located at 234 West 44th Street and the Palace Theater is located at 1564 Broadway, in New York City. The pre-show dinner commences at 5:45 pm. The show begins at 8:00 pm. Tickets for the dinner and show are $500 ($300 is tax deductible). Limited tickets are still available.

Established in 1994, USTA Serves supports, monitors and promotes programs that enhance the lives of disadvantaged children through the integration of tennis and education. USTA Serves actively supports individual students from all cultural and ethnic backgrounds through college scholarships and player incentive awards and encourages children to pursue their goals and highest dreams by succeeding in school and becoming responsible citizens. Additionally, the Foundation supports community tennis programs across the country that provide positive role models, academic assistance, life skills, and tennis instruction to help prevent violence, substance abuse and school dropouts. USTA Serves is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that builds on the USTA's social conscience of addressing important health issues, diversity issues, and general well-being in the United States using tennis as the catalyst and change agent.

The USTA is the national governing body for the sport of tennis in the U.S. and the leader in promoting and developing the growth of tennis at every level -- from local communities to the highest level of the professional game. A not-for-profit organization with 725,000 members, it invests 100% of its proceeds in growing the game. It owns and operates the US Open, the highest attended annual sporting event in the world, and launched the Olympus US Open Series linking 10 summer tournaments to the US Open. In addition, it owns the 94 Pro Circuit events throughout the U.S., and selects the teams for the Davis Cup, Fed Cup, Olympic and Paralympic Games. The USTA philanthropic entity, USTA Serves, provides grants and scholarships and through tennis, helps underserved youth and people with disabilities to improve academics, build character and strive for excellence. For more information on the USTA, log on to usta.com.