Lantern Theater Company To Honor Villanova University President and Barrymore Award-Winning Director Peter M. Donohue

Lantern Theater Company will host Rite of Spring on Monday, May 1, 2017 at 6 p.m., a festive evening to celebrate the company's record-breaking 2016/17 season and to present the 2017 Luminary Award to the Rev. Peter M. Donohue, O.S.A, PhD, in recognition of his significant contributions to the performing arts in Philadelphia.

With Philadelphia's historic Union Trust serving as a stunning backdrop, the evening will include a cocktail reception, buffet dinner, silent auction, award presentation, and live entertainment featuring theater artists from Father Donohue's 2002 Barrymore Award-winning production of Chicago. Auction items will include exclusive vacation getaways, nights out at the region's finest restaurants and cultural hotspots, priceless collectibles, and unique experiences. All event proceeds will benefit the Lantern's award-winning artistic and education programming, which reaches over 20,000 adults and children each year. Rite of Spring is co-chaired by 2016 Luminary Award recipient and frequent Lantern collaborator Mary Martello and Matthew Pettigrew.

Press planning coverage of the event are invited to make reservations by contacting Anne Shuff at ashuff@lanterntheater.org by Monday, April 24, 2017.

Ticket prices range from $200 to $1,000 and are available online at www.lanterntheater.org or by calling the Lantern Box Office at (215) 829-0395. Union Trust is located at 717 Chestnut St. in Center City Philadelphia.

About the Honoree

The Rev. Peter M. Donohue, O.S.A, PhD, has served as Villanova University's president since 2006. Under his leadership, Villanova has charted a course of significant transformation, including launching an ambitious ten-year strategic plan and the university's largest comprehensive fundraising campaign, initiating a vibrant physical campus renovation, and dramatically expanding student opportunities. Father Donohue is a tenured associate professor who served as chair of Villanova's Department of Theatre from 1992 to 2006. He is also a six-time Barrymore Award nominee for Outstanding Direction of a Musical, winning in 2002 for his production of Chicago. He holds an MA in theater from the Catholic University of America, a MDiv from the Washington Theological Union, and a PhD in theater from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

About Lantern Theater Company

Founded in 1994, Lantern Theater Company launched its twenty-third season with a record number of subscribers, its largest-ever operating budget at $1.3M, and a growing community of theater artists engaged in its productions and audience enrichment events. Last season, the Lantern launched the Lantern Theater Artist Fair Pay Initiative, a pioneering program to increase the compensation of its contract theater artists by 50% over the prior season. The Lantern seeks to be a vibrant, contributing member of its community, exposing audiences to great theater, inviting participation in dialogue and discussion, engaging audience members on artistic and social issues, and employing theatrical language and techniques to enrich learning in the classroom. Since the inception of the Barrymore Awards for Excellence in Theatre in 1995, the Lantern has received 94 nominations and 19 awards, including the 2009 Excellence in Theatre Education and Community Service Award for its innovative education program, Illumination. The Lantern's 2016/17 season concludes with The Gospel According To Thomas Jefferson, Charles Dickens and Count Leo Tolstoy: Discord by Scott Carter and directed by James Ijames (June 1 - July 2, 2017). More information is online at www.lanterntheater.org.

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