Berkley, Blazer, O'Hara, Etc. to Sing Songs on 5 Stories

Acclaimed theater company Playwrights Horizons has announced the seven performers who will participate in the return of its unique benefit evening Stories on 5 Stories on Monday, November 13. 

This year's installment will have a musical twist, with the stories being told exclusively through song.  Renamed Songs on 5 Stories, the evening will feature Elizabeth Berkley (Sly Fox on Broadway, last season's Hurlyburly), Judy Blazer (Jack's Holiday at PH, last season's Bernarda Alba), Michael Esper (Manic Flight Reaction at PH, the recent subUrbia), Trey Lyford (all wear bowlers), Tony Award-winner Andrea Martin (Fiddler on the Roof, Oklahoma!, My Favorite Year), two-time Tony Award nominee Kelli O'Hara (My Life with Albertine at PH, The Pajama Game, The Light in the Piazza) and Mary Testa (The Wax, Lucky Stiff and In Trousers all at PH, last season's See What I Wanna See).
 
The evening will feature original music by the theater's alumni and current writers: Tony Award winners Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty (Ragtime, Once on This Island), 5-time Tony Award nominee Michael John LaChiusa (See What I Wanna See, The Wild Party), Tony Award winner Adam Guettel (The Light in the Piazza, Floyd Collins), Ricky Ian Gordon (My Life With Albertine, Dream True), Scott Frankel and Michael Korie (Grey Gardens) and Michael Friedman and Rinne Groff (Playwrights Horizons commissioned artists).  The evening will celebrate the theater's home at 416 West 42nd Street and benefit the company's 2006-2007 season musical theater activities.

Songs are being written specifically for the evening, inspired by and performed in locations around the theater company's 5-story headquarters.  While noted for its two state-of-the-art theaters, the building will host each number in such site-specific, non-traditional locations as the costume shop and the trap room under the Mainstage.

The numbers will be performed concurrently, each repeated several times in its own location.  Attendees will travel throughout the building in small groups in order to see each work, and each will be performed by separate casts.  Everyone will have the opportunity to view all six performances.

The Stories on Five Stories Fall Benefit has rapidly become one of my favorite Playwrights Horizons events. Here in one compact, festive evening, audiences experience the breadth of diverse, adventurous voices that defines who we are," said Artistic Director Tim Sanford.  

The schedule for will be as follows:

6:00 PM – Dinner (optional) at Chez Josephine (414 West 42nd Street), attended by Playwrights Horizons staff and Board members, as well as some of the evening's playwrights

7:30 PM – Event begins

9:00 PM – Post-show reception with artists

Tickets are priced at $150 ("Ovation" ticket - a single ticket to the shows and reception) and $325 ("Overture" ticket - a single ticket for the pre-event dinner, shows and reception).  The event is strictly limited to 200 people, and it is anticipated that tickets will sell quickly.  All net proceeds from the event will benefit the theater's annual musical theater development programs and productions.

Tickets for Songs on 5 Stories can be reserved online by visiting the Playwrights Horizons website www.playwrightshorizons.org or by calling (212) 564-1235, extension 3154

Test and expand your Broadway knowledge with our new game - The Broadway Match-Up! How well do you know your Broadway casting trivia?	Play the Daily Game, explore current shows, and delve into past decades like the 2000s, 80s, and the Golden Age. Challenge your friends and see where you rank!
How well do you know your Tony Awards history? Take our never-ending quiz of nominations and winner history and challenge your friends.	Can you beat your friends? Play today’s daily Broadway word game, featuring a new theatrically inspired word or phrase every day!