Bid in Playwrights Horizons' Online Auction, Go Backstage at THE KING & I and More, Now thru 5/19

Acclaimed Off-Broadway theater company Playwrights Horizons has announced details for its 2015 special online Auction. Bidding for the auction, which will feature an eclectic array of items and unique opportunities, begins today, Tuesday, May 5 at www.CharityBuzz.com/PlaywrightsHorizons. Online bidding will continue through Tuesday, May 19.

Celebrating its 44th Anniversary Season, Playwrights Horizons is one of New York's most prized non-profit theater companies. Proceeds from the Auction benefit the company's six annual productions and programs, the development of new work, access to the arts for all and training the next generation of theater managers and artists. A writer's theater dedicated to the support and development of contemporary American playwrights, composers and lyricists, it has presented the work of over 400 writers. It has also been the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including 6 Pulitzer Prizes.

Some of the many top items include tickets to the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards and After Party; a set visit to the hit series "Orange is the New Black"; NBA Draft Experience; Deluxe Giants Package featuring tickets to a home game, complete with field tour and tailgating; Broadway house seats and exclusive backstage tours including meeting Tony Award nominee and PH alumna Kelli O'Hara and tickets to see her in The King & I.

Many more items will be added throughout the two-week auction. All interested bidders must go to www.CharityBuzz.com/PlaywrightsHorizons to register to bid.

For 44 years, Playwrights Horizons has been the only major Off-Broadway theater dedicated solely to producing new American work. It's a mission that's always timely, always crucial, and it sets the organization apart from every other theater in the country. Six annual productions are the public face of the organization. Writers are also served by the New Works Lab, which includes script evaluations, readings, workshops and commissions. Playwrights Horizons operates Ticket Central, a box office service, as well as affordable rehearsal and performance spaces at 440 Studios. The next generation of artists, arts managers and theatergoers are cultivated through a Theatrical Residency Program, the Playwrights Horizons Theater School at NYU and audience development initiatives.

With the participation of subscribers and supporters, Playwrights Horizons continue to be a vibrant leader in the development of new American plays and musicals and a standard-bearer for excellence in the theater world. As a not-for-profit organization, charitable donations account for nearly 40% of the annual budget. Each year an average of 84% is spent on productions and programs, with only 16% spent on administrative overhead and fundraising.

Currently on stage as part of Playwrights Horizons 2014/2015 Season is IOWA, the world premiere of a new musical play written by Jenny Schwartz, music by Todd Almond, lyrics by Ms. Schwartz and Mr. Almond, directed by Ken Rus Schmoll. Concluding the 2014/2015 Season will be THE QUALMS, the New York premiere of a new play by Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winner Bruce Norris, directed by Tony and Obie awards winner Pam MacKinnon. Playwrights Horizons recently announced the six productions of its 2015/2016 Season. In season order, they are: THE CHRISTIANS, the New York premiere of a new play by Lucas Hnath, directed by Obie Award winner Les Waters; HIR, the New York premiere of a new play by Obie Award winner Taylor Mac, directed by Niegel Smith; MARJORIE PRIME, the New York premiere of a Playwrights Horizons commission by Jordan Harrison, directed by Obie Award winner Anne Kauffman; FAMILIAR, the New York premiere of a new play by Danai Gurira, directed by Rebecca Taichman; ANTLIA PNEUMATICA, the world premiere of a Playwrights Horizons commission by Anne Washburn, directed by two-time Obie Award winner Ken Rus Schmoll; and INDIAN SUMMER, the world premiere of a Playwrights Horizons commission by Gregory S. Moss, directed by Carolyn Cantor.

Playwrights Horizons is a writer's theater dedicated to the support and development of contemporary American playwrights, composers and lyricists and to the production of their new work. Under the leadership of artistic director Tim Sanford and managing director Leslie Marcus, the theater company continues to encourage the new work of veteran writers while nurturing an emerging generation of theater artists. In its 44 years, Playwrights Horizons has presented the work of more than 400 writers and has received numerous awards and honors, including a special 2008 Drama Desk Award for "ongoing support to generations of theater artists and undiminished commitment to producing new work." Notable productions include six Pulitzer Prize winners - Annie Baker's The Flick (2013 Obie Award, 2013 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize), Bruce Norris's Clybourne Park (2012 Tony Award, Best Play), Doug Wright's I Am My Own Wife (2004 Tony Award, Best Play), Wendy Wasserstein's The Heidi Chronicles (1989 Tony Award, Best Play), Alfred Uhry's Driving Miss Daisy and Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's Sunday in the Park with George - as well as Ms. Baker's Circle Mirror Transformation (three 2010 Obie Awards including Best New American Play); Lisa D'Amour's Detroit (2013 Obie Award, Best New American Play); Samuel D. Hunter's The Whale (2013 Lortel Award, Best Play); Kirsten Greenidge's Milk Like Sugar (2012 Obie Award); Robert O'Hara's Bootycandy; Anne Washburn's Mr. Burns, a post-electric play, Sarah Ruhl's Stage Kiss and Dead Man's Cell Phone; Gina Gionfriddo's Rapture, Blister, Burn; Dan LeFranc's The Big Meal; Amy Herzog's The Great God Pan and After the Revolution; Bathsheba Doran's Kin; Adam Bock's A Small Fire; Edward Albee's Me, Myself & I; Melissa James Gibson's This (2010 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize finalist); Doug Wright, Scott Frankel and Michael Korie's Grey Gardens (three 2007 Tony Awards); Craig Lucas's Prayer For My Enemy and Small Tragedy (2004 Obie Award, Best American Play); Adam Rapp's Kindness; Lynn Nottage's Fabulation (2005 Obie Award for Playwriting); Kenneth Lonergan's Lobby Hero; David Greenspan's She Stoops to Comedy (2003 Obie Award); Kirsten Childs's The Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin (2000 Obie Award); Richard Nelson and Shaun Davey's James Joyce's The Dead (2000 Tony Award, Best Book); Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman's Assassins; William Finn's March of the Falsettos and Falsettoland; Christopher Durang's Betty's Summer Vacation and Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All For You; Richard Nelson's Goodnight Children Everywhere; Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty's Once on This Island; Jon Robin Baitz's The Substance of Fire; Scott McPherson's Marvin's Room; A.R. Gurney's Later Life; Adam Guettel and Tina Landau's Floyd Collins; and Jeanine Tesori and Brian Crawley's Violet.

For more about Playwrights Horizons, visit www.PHnyc.org or follow on Facebook: www.Facebook.com/PlaywrightsHorizons, Twitter: @PHnyc and Instagram: PHnyc.

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