TACT Honors A.R. Gurney at Spring Gala Tonight

TACT/The Actors Company Theatre, the critically acclaimed company voted "Company of the Year" by The Wall Street Journal, will celebrate its 21st Anniversary of presenting "neglected or rarely produced works of literary merit" at its annual Spring Gala on tonight, April 29th at The University Club (One East 54th Street). The celebratory evening will kick off at 6:30 p.m. with a cocktail reception featuring the popular "Pick-a-Prize" Raffle, where attendees can select which prize they want to win, followed by dinner and live auction featuring celebrity auctioneer David Silvermanat 7:30 p.m.

Since inception in 1992, TACT has become an enduring contributor to the New York theatre scene and part of the fabric of its cultural life. This year, the company is pleased to celebrate its most recent season and to honor the distinguished playwright and author A.R. Gurney. "Pete" Gurney has been contributing and enriching the American theatre for four decades. He is the renowned author of such plays as The Dining Room, Sylvia, The Cocktail Hour,Love Letters, Later Life, Family Furniture and many more, including Children, which TACT presented in 2012.

The entertainment portion of the evening will commence at 8:30 p.m. and will include a special performance by Tony Award nominee Liz Callaway with her music director Alex Rybeck, as well as an original tribute to Mr. Gurney written by TACT Company member and Laurents/Hatcher Award-winning playwright, Jeff Talbott, performed by Company members Jeremy Beck, Terry Layman, Justine Salata, Scott Schafer, Darrie Lawrence andLynn Wright. Co-Artistic Director Jenn Thompson will direct the evening.

In addition to the live auction, TACT has set up an on-line auction with BiddingForGood, a web site that supports charities and non-profit organizations. The auction (which goes live on April 15), is open to everyone and includes some amazing theatre packages, a week in paradise in the Florida Keys, and a sunset cruise on a private yacht. Please visit www.biddingforgood.com. All proceeds from the auction go directly toward supporting the company.

Tickets for the gala evening are $500. To purchase tickets, please contact TACT at (212) 645-8228 or info@tactnyc.org.

TACT/The Actors Company Theatre (Scott Alan Evans, Cynthia Harris & Jenn Thompson - Co-Artistic Directors) is dedicated to presenting neglected or rarely produced plays of literary merit, with a focus on creating theatre from its essence: the text and the actor's ability to bring it to life. This season, the company presented the first New York revivals of William Inge's Natural Affection and Christopher Durang's Beyond Therapy.

TACT's company of actors was drawn together in 1992 by a love of the literature of the theatre. Since that time, they have grown to become a true ensemble: a group that has developed a common vocabulary and a technique based on their specific artistic vision and collective body of work. TACT company members, whose cumulative experience includes scores of significant roles on and off Broadway, in the country's finest regional theatres, and in many films and television shows, have received Emmy, Obie, Outer Critics Circle and Drama Desk Awards, in addition to several Tony nominations.

Photo by Kevin Thomas Garcia