Oskar Eustis to Be Honored at the American Repertory Theater 2/14

Today the American Repertory Theater announced that Oskar Eustis, Artistic Director of The Public Theater in New York, will be the recipient of the A.R.T.'s 2011 Robert Brustein Award.
The award will be given to Mr. Eustis on Monday, February 14 at the A.R.T.'s annual benefit party "Love Letters to the A.R.T."

The Robert Brustein Award is named to honor the A.R.T.'s Founding Artistic Director Robert Brustein. Each year, Mr. Brustein presents the award to a theater artist whose work has influenced and contributed to the art and craft of live theater. Previous recipients have included director Andrei Serban, actor Sam Waterston, actress Mary Louise Parker, playwrights John Guare and Tony Kushner, as well as A.R.T. regulars Jeremy Geidt, Karen MacDonald, Will LeBow, Thomas Derrah, and Remo Airaldi.

Oskar Eustis is the Artistic Director of The Public Theater and has worked as a director, dramaturg, and artistic director for theaters around the country. He was the Artistic Director of The Redwing Theater Company in New York from 1976-1980, as well as the Artistic Director of Das Labor, the laboratory theater of the Schauspielhaus Zurich in Switzerland from 1978-1980. From 1981 through 1986 he was resident director and dramaturg at the Eureka Theatre Company in San Francisco, and Artistic Director until 1989, when he moved to the L.A.'s Mark Taper Forum as Associate Artistic Director until 1994. Eustis then served as Artistic Director at Trinity Repertory Company in Providence, Rhode Island for eleven years, during which time he was the founder and Chair of the Brown/Trinity consortium for Theater Training. In 2005 he took the helm at New York's Public Theater. Throughout his career, Eustis has been dedicated to the development of new plays as both a director and a producer. At The Public he directed the New York premiere of Rinne Groff's The Ruby Sunrise and Hamlet. He is currently directing Rinne Groff's Compulsion with Mandy Patinkin that will open at The Public in February. His directing credits include the world premiere of Paula Vogel's The Long Christmas Ride Home (Elliot Norton Award for Outstanding Production); Homebody/Kabul (Elliot Norton Award for Outstanding Production); the world premiere of Rinne Groff's The Ruby Sunrise; Angels in America, Part I: Millennium Approaches (Elliot Norton Award for Outstanding Director); Angels in America, Part II: Perestroika; as well as world premieres of plays by Philip Kan Gotanda, David Henry Hwang, Emily Mann, Suzan-Lori Parks, Ellen McLaughlin, and Eduardo Machado. He commissioned Tony Kushner's Angels in America at the Eureka Theatre Company in San Francisco and directed its world premiere at the Mark Taper Forum. Eustis was the lead producer on the Tony Award-winning revival of Hair and the acclaimed rock musical Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson on Broadway as well as the current acclaimed production of The Merchant of Venice. Mr. Eustis has taught at UCLA, Brown University, and NYU, and holds honorary doctorates from Brown University and Rhode Island College.

The 2011 Robert Brustein Award Honorary Committee includes Jenny Gersten, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Tony Kushner, Mandy Patinkin, Willie Reale, and Jeffrey Richards.

This year's benefit party will feature a Valentine inspired environment set in the art-deco styled Dorothy Quincy Suite at the Back Bay Center, 180 Berkeley Street, Boston, with cocktails at 6:00pm, followed by dinner at 7:00pm. The evening will include cocktails, dinner, and performances by local luminaries and special guests including writer Joan Parker, best-selling author Ben Mezrich, television personality Tonya Chen Mezrich, Tony Award-nominated actor Gavin Creel, singer/songwriter Sally Taylor.
In the spirit of the night's theme, each performer will choose a personal love poem, a song, or a romantic scene to perform. The romantic theme will carry into a specially created dinner by MAX Ultimate Foods, delectable chocolates, flowers and champagne.

For further information or to purchase tables or tickets, please call 617-496-2000x8832 or visit www.americanrepertorytheater.org/loveletters.