American Theater Magazine Turns 25

Long considered the essential magazine for professional not-for-profit theatre, AMERICAN THEATRE magazine (AT), published ten times annually by Theatre Communications Group (TCG), has been providing theatre professionals, students, advocates and audiences a comprehensive journal since April, 1984. At a time when coverage of the arts may be at an all-time low, the substantive and continuing contributions of AMERICAN THEATRE put it in a class of its own.

To mark the occasion, TCG will honor the publication in three distinct ways. First, TCG Books will publish The American Theatre Reader, a 650-page compilation of significant and insightful articles, essays and interviews from the magazine's first quarter century. Second, the magazine staff invited 25 innovative theatre artists - directors, performers, designers, writers, dramaturgs, producers and curators of new work - to write about their vision for the next quarter century in theatre. Their answers will be published in the special April issue of AT. Finally, TCG will host a benefit celebration in New York City on April 20, 2009.

"This is truly a special occasion," said Teresa Eyring, TCG executive director. "The magazine's coverage over 25 years offers a depth and diversity of perspective that goes unmatched in any single theatre industry publication. American Theatre is a remarkable historical reference, but remains alive and urgent, especially today, and will continue to be for future generations of theatre lovers and practitioners."

The American Theatre Reader is a compendium of the best essays and interviews from the magazine's history. It is an intimate look at the people, plays, and events that have shaped American theatre over the past twenty-five years. This one-of-a-kind collection includes more than a hundred artists, critics, and theatre professionals, from the visionaries who conceived of a diverse and thriving National Theatre community to the practitioners who have made that dream a reality. The American Theatre Reader captures their wide-ranging stories in a single compelling volume, essential reading for theatre professionals and theatergoers alike.
Anne Bogart, Olympia Dukakis, Jonathan Larson, Arthur Miller, Joseph Papp, Sam Shepard, Stephen Sondheim, and Wole Soyinka are just some of the many theatre luminaries whose interviews appear in The American Theatre Reader. Among the featured writers are Tony Kushner, Zelda Fiehandler, Suzan-Lori Parks, David Henry Wang, Elsa Davis, Hal Prince, Frank Rich, Wallace Shawn, and Studs Terkel.
In the preface, AMERICAN THEATRE Editor-in-Chief Jim O'Quinn writes that The American Theatre Reader is "a book you can read sequentially, as an impressionistic history of theatre in our time."
While The American Theatre Reader celebrates the magazine's past, the magazine's special April anniversary issue will look toward the future, featuring twenty-five theatre artists who are currently shaping and creating the next twenty-five years. This varied lineup of directors, playwrights, actors, designers, and dramaturges, including Young Jean Lee, Will Power, Sarah Ruhl, and Anika Noni Rose, will headline the issue with their ideas about what the next quarter-century will bring, allowing AMERICAN THEATRE magazine to charge into the next quarter century with innovations aimed at making its communication even more immediate and the context more important.
Eyring also said, "Publisher Terry Nemeth and Editor in Chief Jim O'Quinn have been helming this ship for its entire life. To Terry and Jim, and the countless staff members who contributed to AT through the years, I offer my congratulations."
On Monday, April 20, 2009, TCG will host an AMERICAN THEATRE benefit evening. Invited guests include theatrical luminaries, member theatres, TCG published authors and magazine devotees. The legacy of the magazine will be celebrated with old and new friends of the magazine coming together to relish its past, envision its future, and raise funds to make that vision a reality for the next generation of American theatre artists.

 

 

Monday, April 20, 2009

Benefit tickets are available at www.tcg.org/AT25

Studio 450
360° Views of New York City
450 West 31st Street @ 10th Avenue, New York, NY
7:00PM - 9:00PM
Cocktails, hors d'oeuvres and AMERICAN THEATRE'S Celebrity Piano Bar
Honorary Committee:
Anne Bogart
Eric Bogosian
Nilo Cruz
Olympia Dukakis
Oskar Eustis
Richard Foreman
David Henry Hwang
Tony Kushner
Michael John LaChiusa
Ming Cho Lee
Suzan-Lori Parks
Marion Seldes
Lindy Zesch

MCs
Steven Sapp and Mildred Ruiz of Universes

Special Performances by:
Michael John LaChiusa
Mary Testa,
Marc Kudisch,
Laura Osnes Johnson (currently in South Pacific as Nellie Forbush)
Surprise guests