Nick Westrate to Host New York Theatre Workshop's Casino Night Fundraiser, 4/29

New York Theatre Workshop (NYTW) Artistic Director James C. Nicola and Managing Director William Russo have announced that the 4th Street Bar Association (4SBA), NYTW's young patron group, will hold a Casino Night, hosted by Nick Westrate (THE LITTLE FOXES, TRIBES), on Monday, April 29 at New York Theatre Workshop, 79 East 4 Street.

New York Theatre Workshop's main stage, where renowned productions like ONCE, Peter and the Starcatcher and RENT got their start, will be transformed into a Vegas style casino. The evening will include games of blackjack, Texas hold'em, roulette and craps. Guests will play casino games with "funny money" and at the end of the evening trade winnings for raffle tickets and the chance to win prizes including a trip to Las Vegas, tickets to Shakespeare in the Park, The Carlyle Cafe, MET Opera, Broadway and off-Broadway productions, Brooklyn Botanic Garden, trapeze and trampoline classes, gym memberships, spa passes, cooking classes and more. The evening will feature hors d'oeuvres, casino themed cocktails, beer, wine and festive desserts.

The Casino Night honorary committee includes Nina Arianda (VENUS IN FUR), Teddy Bergman (PETER AND THE STARCHATER), Kathleen Chalfant (WIT), Alex Dinelaris (THE BODYGUARD MUSICAL), Maria Dizzia (IN THE NEXT ROOM...), Jesse Eisenberg (THE SOCIAL NETWORK), Glen Hansard (ONCE), Greg Hildreth (CINDERELLA), Greg Keller (BELLEVILLE), Dave Malloy (Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812), Anne L. Nathan (ONCE), Alfredo Narciso (RED DOG HOWLS), David Rossmer (PETER AND THE STARCATCHER), Stephen Spinella (ANGELS IN AMERICA), Andy Taylor (ONCE), Erikka Walsh (ONCE) and Paul Whitty (ONCE).

Entertainment will be provided by DJs AndrewAndrew, who recently appeared on HBO's "Girls."

The Casino night begins at 6:30pm and concludes at 10:00pm. Tickets start at $60 each and can be purchased in advance by calling New York Theatre Workshop at 212-780-9037 or visiting www.nytw.org/cn_lp.asp. NY1, Stella Artois, Brooklyn Gin and NATASHA, PIERRE & THE GREAT COMET OF 1812 are official 4SBA Casino Night sponsors.

Founded by a group of young patrons excited to see theatre together and then wander across East 4th Street to the bar for drinks and conversation, the 4th Street Bar Association (4SBA) gives young New York theatre lovers a chance to regularly take advantage of stimulating social and cultural experiences while contributing to one of the City's leading Off-Broadway institutions. Over the years, the 4SBA has hosted an annual bar crawl around NYTW's neighborhood, the East Village; trips to see Broadway shows; and other parties on the stage and in the studios of NYTW. Made up of a diverse group of New Yorkers in their 20s and 30s and led by a dedicated Steering Committee, the 4SBA plays a major role in supporting the artistic vision of NYTW and raising the profile of the theatre among a new generation of audiences. www.nytw.org/4SBA.asp.

New York Theatre Workshop, now celebrating its 30th Season, is a leading voice in the world of Off-Broadway and within the theatre community in New York and around the world. NYTW has emerged as a premiere incubator of important new theatre, honoring its mission to explore perspectives on our collective history and respond to the events and institutions that shape our lives. In addition, NYTW is known for its innovative adaptations of classic repertory. Each season, from its home in New York's East Village neighborhood, NYTW presents three to five new productions, over 80 readings, and numerous workshop productions, for over 45,000 audience members. Over the past 28 years, NYTW has developed and produced over 100 new, fully staged works, including Jonathan Larson's Rent, Tony Kushner's Slavs! and Homebody/Kabul, Doug Wright's Quills, Claudia Shear's Blown Sideways Through Life and Dirty Blonde, Paul Rudnick's The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told and Valhalla, Caryl Churchill's Mad Forest, Far Away, and A Number, Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen's Aftermath, and Rick Elice's Peter and the Starcatcher. The 2002 remounting of Martha Clarke's seminal work, Vienna: Lusthaus and subsequent American tour was one of the longest-running productions in NYTW's history. NYTW's acclaimed production of Once is currently enjoying a Broadway run, and Peter and the Starcatcher, which made its New York Premiere at NYTW, has returned to off-Broadway following a successful Broadway run. NYTW supports artists in all stages of their careers by maintaining a series of workshop programs including work-in-progress readings, summer residencies, and minority artist fellowships. In 1991, NYTW received an OBIE Award for Sustained Achievement and in 2000 was designated to be part of the Leading National Theatres Program by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The NYTW 2012/13 Season is dedicated to the memory of Joan Stein.

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Photo Credit: Walter McBride