Bryce Pinkham, Chip Zien, Richard Nelson & More Set for Playwrights Horizons' Annual Gala, 5/5

Acclaimed Off-Broadway theater company Playwrights Horizons announced today a list of performers and speakers for its annual Spring Gala on Monday evening, May 5 at the event space 583 Park Avenue. Titled "IN THE BEGINNING," the evening will honor the theater company's Founding Artistic Director Bob Moss.

The event will be co-hosted by two of the company's alumni actors: two-time Tony Award winner David Hyde Pierce (at PH in The Maderati in 1987) and two-time Tony Award nominee, two-time Obie Award winner and 2012 Special Drama Desk Award winner Mary Testa (at PH in In Trousers in 1979, Lucky Stiff in 1988, From Above in 1998/Obie Award and The Wax in 2000).

The evening's celebration will feature performances and testimonials from some of the many Playwrights Horizons alumni nurtured by Bob Moss. In addition to Mr. Pierce and Ms. Testa, participating artists will include Tony Award winner Walter Bobbie (at PH as a performer in the 1990 edition of the Young Playwrights Festival and as director of The Savannah Disputation in 2009), Tony Award and Obie Award winner Richard Nelson (at PH, writer of The Vienna Notes in 1979 and Frank's Home in 2007; and writer/director of Goodnight Children Everywhere in 1999, James Joyce's The Dead in 1999, Franny's Way in 2002, My Life with Albertine in 2003 and Rodney's Wife in 2004), Tony Award nominee Bryce Pinkham (who just earned his 2014 nomination for his current performance in A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder), Chip Zien (at PH in In Trousers in 1979, March of the Falsettos in 1981, Isn't It Romantic in 1983, Falsettoland in 1990, the Broadway debut of Falsettos in 1992 and An Imaginary Life in 1993) and students from the Playwrights Horizons Theater School at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts.

An artistic director, stage director and teacher for thirty-seven years, Bob Moss founded Playwrights Horizons in 1971 and gave the theater its unique and enduring mission. Three years later, Bob moved the theater to then-derelict West 42nd Street. He founded the 42nd Street Gang, which, with the 42nd Street Development Corporation, envisioned and spearheaded the renovation and creation of 42nd Street's Theatre Row, and gave Playwrights a permanent home. He served as the company's Artistic Director for ten years through 1981. He was also the director of the Playwrights Horizons Theater School, an affiliate of New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. He continues to direct and teach at theaters and colleges across the country, and has mentored hundreds of young theater actors, writers and directors.

Board Chair Judith O. Rubin and Board member Rachel Wilder will serve as Gala Board Co-Chairs; Carol & Tom Creel and James W. & Virginia M. Giddens will serve as Gala Patron Co-Chairs and Scott Slobodnyak will serve as Gala Generation PH Chair. The Tribute Committee includes theater artists Edward Albee, Walter Bobbie, Kathleen Chalfant, William Finn and Rosemary Harris.

The Spring Gala is the organization's largest fundraising event of the year, with donations earmarked to support six annual productions, the development of new plays and musicals, ticket subsidies and programs for students and early-career professionals. The programs cultivate the next generation of artists, arts managers and theatergoers.

For forty-three years, Playwrights Horizons has been the only major Off-Broadway theater dedicated solely to producing new American work. It's a mission that's always timely, always crucial, and it sets the organization apart from every other theater in the country. Six annual productions are the public face of the organization. Writers are also served by the New Works Lab, which includes script evaluations, readings, workshops and commissions. Playwrights Horizons operates Ticket Central, a box office service, as well as affordable rehearsal and performance spaces at 440 Studios. The next generation of artists, arts managers and theatergoers are cultivated through a Theatrical Residency Program, the Playwrights Horizons Theater School at NYU and audience development initiatives.

With the participation of subscribers and supporters, Playwrights Horizons continue to be a vibrant leader in the development of new American plays and musicals and a standard-bearer for excellence in the theater world. As a not-for-profit organization, charitable donations account for nearly 40% of the annual budget. Each year an average of 84% is spent on productions and programs, with only 16% spent on administrative overhead and fundraising.

Cockails and a Silent Auction will begin at 6PM, followed by dinner and the evening's entertainment at 7:30pm. Silent Auction items include tickets to "The Walking Dead" premiere and premiere party; live attendance of "The Voice," "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" and "Late Night with Seth Meyers"; house seats to Broadway shows and lunches with stars; and a trip to Palm Springs with airfare from American Airlines and housing.

Ticket prices for the Gala start at $1,000 and can be reserved by calling Michelle Kiefel at (212) 564-1235 extension 3143 or online at www.PHnyc.org.

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