Theater For The New City To Host LOVE ’N COURAGE GALA Benefiting Emerging Playwrights Program

Theater for the New City will host its 23rd annual Love ’n Courage gala at The Players, with proceeds supporting the organization’s Emerging Playwrights Program. The event will take place Monday, February 17, beginning at 6:00 p.m., at The Players, located at 16 Gramercy Park South in New York City.

The evening will honor Estelle Parsons, whose career as an actress, director, administrator, and social activist reflects the mission of the gala. Parsons has appeared in film, television, and theater, and has served in leadership roles at The Actors Studio, including as Artistic Director from 1998 to 2003.

The Love ’n Courage gala will be hosted by songwriter, playwright, and performer Phoebe Legere and playwright and director Matt Morillo. The evening will include a cocktail hour starting at 6:00 p.m., followed by a seated dinner at 6:45 p.m. Performances will begin at 8:00 p.m. on The Players’ stage.

Entertainment throughout the evening will include performances by The Head Peddlers, Human Kinetics, and students from TNC’s after-school cultural arts program. Additional performances will feature Charles Busch, Phoebe Legere, Mimi Block and Rome Neal, the Yip Harburg Rainbow Troupe, Cheryl Gadsden and JC Augustin performing music from TNC’s 2025 Street Theater musical The Socialization of a Social Worker, and scenes and musical selections by multiple artists. Honoree Estelle Parsons will also perform a monologue.

Elected officials, including New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and City Councilmembers Mark Epstein and Gale Brewer, have been invited to speak.

The benefit supports Theater for the New City’s Emerging Playwrights Program, which provides full productions for new writers rather than readings, with professional creative teams and multi-week runs. The program has helped establish TNC as one of the most prolific producers of new plays in the country, presenting dozens of premieres annually since the organization’s founding.

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