Bloomberg Proclaims Today, 9/4, 'Samuel J. Friedman Theatre Day' in Honor of Dedication

New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg has issued a mayoral proclamation declaring today, September 4, 2008 to be “Samuel J. Friedman Theatre Day.”

In addition, the Council of the City of New York, Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn, and Council Member David I. Weprin has issued a city council proclamation celebrating the debut of the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre.

Later today, Manhattan Theatre Club will hold a ceremony where the theatre will be officially dedicated in recognition of Samuel J. Friedman, the pioneering Broadway publicist.

ABOUT MTC

Under the leadership of Artistic Director Lynne Meadow and Executive Producer Barry Grove, MTC has become one of the country’s most prominent and prestigious theatre companies. MTC productions have earned a total of 16 Tony Awards and five Pulitzer Prizes, an accomplishment unparalleled by a New York theatrical institution. Renowned MTC productions include Top Girls; From Up Here; Come Back, Little Sheba; The Receptionist; LoveMusik; Blackbird; Translations; Shining City; Rabbit Hole; Doubt; Proof; The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife; Kimberly Akimbo; Love! Valour! Compassion!; Sylvia; Four Dogs and a Bone; Putting It Together; Lips Together, Teeth Apart; Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune; Crimes of the Heart; and Ain’t Misbehavin’.

Today, MTC will officially rename its Broadway stage the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre (261 West 47th Street). The landmarked theatre has been the institution’s home on Broadway since 2003 and was rehabilitated by MTC following a two-year, $35 million capital campaign.

The first production to take up residence at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre will be the world premiere of Nick Whitby’s TO BE OR NOT TO BE. The production, based on the 1942 motion picture To Be or Not To Be, will begin previews Saturday, September 13 open on Thursday, October 2.

The production, directed by Casey Nicholaw (The Drowsy Chaperone, Monty Python’s Spamalot) features Peter Benson (The Pajama Game), Robert Dorfman (The Drowsy Chaperone), Steve Kazee (Monty Python’s Spamalot), Tony Awardâ nominee and Drama Desk Award winner Jan Maxwell (Coram Boy, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang), Peter Maloney (Almost An Evening, Dinner At Eight), Michael McCarty (Mary Poppins), two-time Obie Award winner Kristine Nielsen (Les Liaisons Dangereuses, MTC’s Our Leading Lady), Brandon Perler (Broadway debut), David Rasche (Burn After Reading, MTC’s Regret’s Only) Rocco Sisto (Iphigenia 2.0), Jimmy Smagula (Damn Yankees at Encores!), and Marina Squerciati (MTC’s Beauty of the Father).

In addition to the Friedman, MTC operates two theatres at New York City Center (131 West 55th Street), its Off-Broadway home since 1984.