SpeakEasy Stage Sets 25th Anniversary Gala Nominees

SpeakEasy Stage Company will honor Tufts University Professor Barbara Grossman and her husband, former Massachusetts State Treasurer Steve Grossman, for their sustained and generous support of the arts at its 25th Anniversary Gala to be held Friday, April 1, from 6-9PM at the Hyatt Regency, Boston.

Massachusetts State Rep. Cory Atkins (D-Concord) will be on hand to present to the Grossman's the company's Mayor Thomas M. Menino Memorial Award for Inspired Support of the Arts in Boston

Barbara Grossman is a full-time faculty member in the Drama and Dance Department at Tufts University, a theater historian, voice specialist, director, and author. A presidential appointee to the National Council on the Arts (1994?1999) and the United States Holocaust Memorial Council (2000?2005), Barbara was a member of the Museum's Committee on Conscience until 2011. She served on the Mass Humanities board from 1992 to 1998 and has been vice chair of the Massachusetts Cultural Council since 2007. She was also recently appointed to the Leadership Council for Boston Creates, a community?wide effort to build a shared vision for Boston's creative future.

Steve Grossman currently serves as CEO for the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC), where he leads a dynamic and growing team of professionals dedicated to achieving economic prosperity in America's inner cities. Prior to ICIC, he served as Treasurer of Massachusetts from 2011-2015. Prior to that, he served for 35 years as President of Grossman Marketing Group, a fourth-generation marketing communications firm started by his grandfather. Throughout his career, has been an active leader in many civic, philanthropic and political organizations.

"SpeakEasy Stage is pleased to honor both Barbara and Steve as true friends of both the arts and Boston artists," said SpeakEasy Stage Company Founder and Producing Artistic Director Paul Daigneault in announcing the award.

"Throughout their many years of service, the Grossmans have advocated for and demonstrated the power of the arts to change lives and build healthy, vibrant communities," Daigneault added. "Thus, we are excited to honor them both with the company's own Mayor Thomas M. Menino Memorial Award, given annually for Inspired Support of the Arts in Boston."

Tickets to SpeakEasy Stage Company's 25th Anniversary Gala, which includes the award ceremony, will go on sale February 15. Tickets are $250 and include a cocktail reception, open bar, seated dinner, silent auction, and live performances by some of Boston's top musical theater performers.

For more information about the gala, the public can call SpeakEasy Stage Development Associate Rebecca Miller at 617-482-3279 or visit www.SpeakEasyStage.com/gala.