American Theatre Wing Honors Lane and Broderick, April 10

On Monday, April 10, 2006, the American Theatre Wing's annual Spring Gala will honor The Odd Couple stars Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane for their creative achievements. The event will be held at Cipriani 42nd Street, 110 East 42nd Street in New York. The evening will begin with cocktails at 6:30p.m., dinner at 7:30p.m. and will feature an entertainment tribute to the stars. 

Mel Brooks, author of The Producers, the show which first brought Lane and Broderick together on stage, will be an honorary chairman as will playwright Neil Simon. The latter has had a long association with both Broderick and Lane, who separately have originated roles in Simon's plays and currently appear together on Broadway in Simon's classic, The Odd Couple. The Gala co-chairs are CeCe Black and Chappy Morris.

The American Theatre Wing's annual Gala recognizes individuals and organizations who have made significant contributions to theatre. Lane and Broderick have been outstanding advocates of theatre on stage and off and regularly lend their time and talents to a host of theatrical charities, including the American Theatre Wing. The gala will raise funds to sustain ATW's programs in support of excellence and education in theatre.

Lane is a two-time Tony winner--for The Producers in 2001, and for A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum in 1996. Other Broadway credits include The Man Who Came to Dinner, Love! Valour! Compassion!, Laughter on the 23rd Floor (as well as its Showtime adaptation), Guys and Dolls, Wind in the Willows, Merlin and Present Laughter. His film credits include Nicholas Nickelby, Love's Labour's Lost, the Stuart Little films and The Birdcage.

Like Lane, Broderick has had extensive experience in film, television and theatre. Broadway credits include Taller Than a Dwarf, Night Must Fall and Biloxi Blues. He received a Tony for his role in the 1995 revival of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying and for 1983's Brighton Beach Memoirs. Most recently, Broderick appeared off-Broadway in The Foreigner, and other off-Broadway credits include The Widow Clare and Torch Song Trilogy. His film credits include the recent The Stepford Wives as well as Election, the TV musical version of "The Music Man," You Can Count on Me, and Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Both Broderick and Lane leant voices to The Lion King.
The American Theatre Wing is a not-for-profit service organization dedicated to education and excellence in the theatre, serving both the theatre community and theatergoing public. In addition to creating and, with its partners the League of American Theatres and Producers, jointly awarding the Antoinette Perry "Tony" Awards®, ATW's programs including: the long-running "Working in the Theatre" seminars, broadcast in New York on CUNY-TV; grants and scholarship program annually awarding support to more than 50 New York not-for-profit theatre companies and theatre students; "Downstage Center," a weekly theatrical interview show on XM Satellite Radio; "SpringboardNYC," a two-week intensive training session for aspiring theatre professionals moving to New York; and Theatre Intern Group, a social and professional development network. Over 200 hours of ATW's media projects are available for free, on-demand from the company's website, www.americantheatrewing.org, with new material added weekly. At ATW, Sondra Gilman is Chairman, Doug Leeds is President and Howard Sherman is Executive Director.

For Gala information and reservations please call The American Theatre Wing at 212 765-0606 x 314 or Fax: 212-307-1910. Individual tickets are $2,500; $1,250; and $650. Tables of Ten are: $6,500; $12,500 and $25,000.