Albee, McNally, Hwang, and Rapp Talk Censorship for NCAC, 6/23

The National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) will host 'Playwrights on Censorship,' an evening with four of America's most celebrated playwrights speaking about their own experiences of censorship and self-censorship. This special event for the NCAC Free Speech Leadership Council will be hosted on Wednesday, June 23, from 6:30 - 8:30PM by Jane Friedman (CEO, Open Road Integrated Media). Playwrights Edward Albee, David Henry Hwang, Terence McNally, and Adam Rapp will participate.

For tickets, please contact Development Director Larry Horne at (212) 807-6222 ex 17, lhorne@ncac.org, or visit www.ncac.org/Free-Speech-Leadership-Council. The panel will take place at the home of Jane Friedman. The address will be sent after you sign up to attend.

'Playwrights on Censorship' continues NCAC's series of special events for the Free Speech Leadership Council, a select national group of cultural, intellectual, legal and business leaders committed to the defense of free expression. Over the years, NCAC has defended the works of many playwrights, including Tony Kushner, Christopher Durang, Craig Lucas, and David Henry Hwang, as well as the work of student playwrights and directors whose schools have attempted to control student speech. 'Playwrights on Censorship' promises to be as compelling as last year's inaugural event, 'A Conversation with Toni Morrison.' The evening will be intimate and informal, and therefore space is limited. Please let us know at your earliest convenience if you will be able to join.

The National Coalition Against Censorship's (NCAC) Free Speech Leadership Council is a group of intellectual, cultural, legal and business leaders committed to the defense of freedom of expression. When you join or renew your commitment to the Council with a gift of $1,000 or more, you are making a vital contribution to NCAC's ability to promote and protect freedom of thought and expression.

Edward Albee has won the Gold Medal in Drama from the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters, the Kennedy Center Honors, and the National Medal of Arts for his contributions to the theater. His plays include Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Tony Award), A Delicate Balance (Pulitzer Prize, Tony Award), Seascape (Pulitzer Prize), Three Tall Women (Pulitzer Prize), The Goat or Who Is Sylvia? (Tony Award), and many others.

David Henry Hwang is a playwright, screenwriter, and librettist best known as the author of M. Butterfly (Tony Award, Pulitzer-Finalist). His other plays include FOB, Family Devotions; The Sound of Voice, Golden Child, and Yellow Face (Pulitzer Prize Finalist.) His Broadway musicals include his book for Flower Drum Song, Disney's AIDA (music and lyrics by Elton John and Tim Rice) and Tarzan (music by Phil Collins).

Terrence McNally has won Tony Awards for his plays Master Class and Love! Valour! Compassion! and for his libretti for the musicals Ragtime and Kiss of the Spider Woman. His other plays include Corpus Christi; The Lisbon Traviata; Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune; Dedication or The Stuff of Dreams; The Stendhal Syndrome, and most recently, Golden Age at the Kennedy Center.

Adam Rapp is an Obie-award-winning playwright, director, and author of numerous plays including Nocturne, Blackbird, and Red Light Winter (Pulitzer Prize finalist). He is also the author of graphic novels and young adult fiction, including The Buffalo Tree, whose removal from the curriculum at Muhlenberg High School in Reading, Pennsylvania in 2005 inspired his most recent play, The Metal Children.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride/Retna Ltd.