Howard Kissel, Theodore Mann Inducted into Off Broadway Hall of Fame at Alliance Awards, 6/19

The Off Broadway Alliance, the organization of Off Broadway producers, theaters, general managers, press agents and marketing firms, will present the 2nd annual Off Broadway Alliance Awards Reception tonight, June 19th at Sardi's. Honorees will be on hand to receive their awards and Howard Kissel and Theodore Mann will be posthumously inducted into the Off Broadway Hall of Fame.

The announcement was made by Peter Breger, Chairman of the Off Broadway Alliance.

"Off Broadway's vibrant contributions to the cultural and economic fiber of New York City are on display from Broadway to the Bowery, from the Upper West Side to the Lower East Side, in theaters, concert halls, places of worship and even a hotel," said Breger. "What an auspicious time to honor the best of Off Broadway past and present and to celebrate the 2012 theater season."

Among the attendees will be Legend of Off Broadway honorees Gerard Alessandrini, Catherine Russell, Mary Louise Wilson, and Andromache Chalfant accepting on behalf of her mother Kathleen Chalfant. Adam Feldman, president of the New York Drama Critics' Circle, will posthumously honor Off Broadway Hall of Fame inductee Howard Kissel, and Paul Libin will posthumously honor his co-founder and former partner at the Circle in the Square, Hall of Fame inductee Theodore Mann.

Other honorees scheduled to appear include producers and casts from all of this year's winners: Best New Musical, SILENCE! The Musical; Best New Play, Tribes; Best Musical Revival, Carrie; Best Play Revival, Cymbeline; Best Special Event, Traces; and Best Family Show, StinkyKids, the Musical.

Last year's Off Broadway Alliance winners for Best New Play (Freud's Last Session) and Best New Musical (NEWSical the Musical) are still running strong Off-Broadway.

The Off Broadway Alliance will also be presenting their 1st annual Friend of Off Broadway Award to Roni and Sol Cohen of Genie Printing. Roni will be accepting the award on behalf of herself and her late husband. The Alliance established the new Friend of Off Broadway Award to honor the people or organizations that have consistently provided extraordinary generosity, support and expertise to the Off Broadway community.

The awards honor outstanding achievement in Off Broadway theater for the 2011-2012 season. Admission to the awards ceremony is by invitation only.

The Off Broadway Alliance is a non-profit corporation organized by theater professionals dedicated to supporting, promoting and encouraging the production of Off Broadway theater and to making live theater increasingly accessible to new and diverse audiences. Among its initiatives, The Off Broadway Alliance founded and sponsors 20at20, the biannual event that offers $20 tickets to dozens of Off Broadway shows twenty minutes before curtain. It produces a free Seminar Series focusing on the culture, business and history of Off Broadway featuring major players from the Off Broadway scene. The Alliance compiles the annual Off Broadway Economic Impact Report, which documents Off Broadway's over $500 million annual impact on the economy of the City of New York.