Andy Karl, Orfeh, Javier Muñoz & More to Join Primary Stages 39th Anniversary Gala

PRIMARY STAGES' 39th Anniversary Gala will honor actor and playwright Kate Hamill (Pride and Prejudice; Little Women) with the 2023 Einhorn Mentorship Award. The evening will also honor theater agent Beth Blickers with the inaugural Andrew Leynse Commitment to New Plays Award. The event will take place on Tuesday November 14, 2023, at 6pm at Sony Hall (235 W 46th St).

The Einhorn Mentorship Award is awarded each year to someone in the Primary Stages community who has been a true mentor and inspiration to those who work with them. Past recipients include Carl Andress, Charles Busch, Jeanine Tesori, Kimberly Senior, Judy Gold, Adam Gwon, and Sharon Washington. As an artist that has led the way for so many aspiring performers, held out their hand and inspired others, Primary Stages is thrilled to be honoring actor and playwright Kate Hamill with the 2023 Einhorn Mentorship Award.

“We are so lucky to count Kate not only as an artistic collaborator, but as a board member and longtime friend of Primary Stages,” said Interim Artistic Director Erin Daley. “Her singular voice has delighted and inspired thousands across the country, making her one of the most produced living American Playwrights. Beyond her prolific artistic contributions, she is able to create a supportive sense of community in every production she is involved in that allows her fellow artists to grow and thrive.”

Primary Stages is honored to announce the Andrew Leynse Commitment to New Plays Award. Created in memory of Primary Stages late Artistic Director Andrew Leynse, this award will be given each year to a member of the Primary Stages community who has been a dedicated champion of new plays and new playwrights. Primary Stages is thrilled to be honoring theater agent Beth Blickers with the inaugural Andrew Leynse Commitment to New Plays Award.

Beth Blickers is an agent at APA, where she represents artists who work in theater, opera, dance, television, and film. Throughout her esteemed career, Beth has represented several Primary Stages playwrights, including Kate Hamill, Dan O'Brien, Judy Gold, Leah Nanako Winkler, and Daisy Foote, among others.

“Throughout her career, Beth has been an unwavering champion of playwrights, directors, and designers. Her guidance and support has brought hundreds of new plays to life and forged the careers of dozens of artists,” said Executive Director Shane Hudson. “She is a beacon in the industry, and it is our honor to present her with the inaugural Andrew Leynse Commitment to New Plays Award as her work so beautifully mirrors Andrew's legacy for supporting new American plays.”

The Primary Stages 39th Anniversary Gala is directed by Michelle Bossy (The Oxy Complex), and will include cocktails, dinner, musical performances, and a comedy set with Judy Gold (Yes, I Can Say That!).

Performers will include Andy Karl (Groundhog Day, Pretty Woman the Musical), Orfeh (Pretty Woman the Musical, Legally Blonde the Musical), Jennifer Mudge (The Stendhal Syndrome, Fiasco's Into the Woods), Javier Muñoz (Hamilton, In the Heights), and more to be announced. Program is subject to change.

The Gala Benefit Committee includes Sue Breger, Chair; Jamie deRoy; Eleanor Holtzman; Carol Roaman; and Mary Susnjara.

The Gala is Primary Stages largest annual fundraiser, and its income provides critical support for the company's free educational programs benefiting over 1,000 New York City public school students and teachers annually. Single tickets are $1,000, and tables start at $3,000. For more information, please call 212.840.9705 x214 or visit primarystages.org/gala.

As the Resident Off-Broadway Theater Company at 59E59 Theaters, Primary Stages is currently presenting Dig, a new play written and directed by Pulitzer Prize finalist Theresa Rebeck (Bernhardt/Hamlet, Downstairs at Primary Stages) at 59E59's Theater A (59 E 59th Street). Purchase tickets at 59e59.org/shows/show-detail/dig.

ABOUT PRIMARY STAGES

Primary Stages is an Off-Broadway not-for-profit theater company dedicated to inspiring, supporting, producing. and sharing the art of playwriting. We operate on the strongly held belief that the future of American theater relies on nurturing playwrights and giving them the artistic support needed to create new work. Last year, we proudly returned to 59E59 Theaters as their Resident Off-Broadway Theater Company with our productions of Judy Gold's Yes, I Can Say That!; Jiehae Park's peerless; Clarence Coo's On That Day in Amsterdam and Karen Hartman's New Golden Age. Since our founding in 1984, we have produced more than 135 new plays, including Theresa Rebeck's Poor Behavior and Downstairs; Kate Hamill's Pride and Prejudice and Little Women; Billy Porter's While I Yet Live; Charles Busch's The Confession of Lily Dare and The Tribute Artist; Sharon Washington's Feeding the Dragon; Leah Nanako Winkler's God Said This; In Transit by James-Allen-Ford, Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Russ Kaplan, and Sara Wordsworth (on Broadway in 2017); Horton Foote's Dividing the Estate (two Tony nominations); Donald Margulies' The Model Apartment (1995 premiere and 2013 revival); David Ives' All in the Timing (original 1993 production and 2013 revival); Tanya Saracho's Fade; Michael McKeever's Daniel's Husband; A.R. Gurney's Black Tie; Terrence McNally's Dedication or the Stuff of Dreams; Conor McPherson's St. Nicholas (which marked the playwright's U.S. debut); and Danai Gurira and Nikkole Salter's In the Continuum (which went on to tour the U.S., Africa, and Scotland). Our productions and artists have received critical acclaim, including Tony, Obie, Lortel, AUDELCO, Outer Critics' Circle, Drama League and Drama Desk Awards and nominations. Primary Stages supports playwrights and develops new works through commissions, workshops, readings, and our education and training programs: The Dorothy Strelsin New American Writers Group, the Marvin and Anne Einhorn School of Performing Arts (ESPA), the Echoes Writers Group, the Free Student Matinee Program, and the Primary Stages Off-Broadway Oral History Project. Through these programs, Primary Stages advocates for our artists, helping them make important—and often transformative— connections within the theater community.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT

WWW.PRIMARYSTAGES.ORG

Kate Hamill

is an actor/playwright. Wall Street Journal Playwright of the Year, 2017. Her work includes her play Pride & Prejudice at Primary Stages / HVSF (in which she originated the role of Lizzy; Nominee, Off-Broadway Alliance Award), Sense & Sensibility at Bedlam (originated role of Marianne; Winner, Off-Broadway Alliance Award; Nominee, Drama League Award), Vanity Fair at the Pearl Theatre (originated the role of Becky Sharp; Nominee, Off-Broadway Alliance Award), Mansfield Park at Northlight, Little Women at Primary Stages and the Jungle, Dracula at Classic Stage Company (originated the role of Renfield), Ms. Holmes & Ms. Watson – Apt. 2B at Kansas City Rep (originated the role of Joan Watson), Emma at the Guthrie, and The Scarlet Letter (upcoming). Other plays include The Piper (O'Neill NPC Finalist, PlayPenn Haas Fellowship), In the Mines, BadAssGalBoss (Primary Stages), Scrooge for Senate, The Light and The Dark, and a new adaptation of The Odyssey. Her plays have been produced Off-Broadway, at A.R.T., the Guthrie, Seattle Rep, PlayMaker's, Folger, OSF, Trinity Rep, Pittsburgh Public, Dorset Theatre Festival, Shakespeare Theatre of DC, Dallas Theater Center, Kansas City Rep, Long Wharf, A.C.T., Actors Theater of Louisville, Hartford Stage, & others. Upcoming world premieres: The Little Fellow at Cygnet Theater; The Scarlet Letter at Two River Theater. Kate has been one of the most-produced playwrights nationwide every season from 2017-2022. www.kate-hamill.com

Beth Blickers

is an agent at APA, where she represents artists who work in theater, opera, dance, television, and film. She started her career at the William Morris Agency, where she began work after graduating from NYU. Beth has served on the jury panel for the Weissberger Award, the Ed Kleban Award, the Lark's PONY Fellowship and Playwrights Week, and facilitated industry related workshops and panels for organizations around the country. Throughout her esteemed career, Beth has represented several Primary Stages playwrights, including Kate Hamill, Dan O'Brien, Judy Gold, Leah Nanako Winkler, and Daisy Foote, among others.

She is the Past President of Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas and is the Board Chair Emeritus of Theatre Breaking Through Barriers, a New York company that works with artists with disabilities.

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