Theatre Development Fund News

On Thursday October 16th 2008, in honor of the opening of the revitalized Father Duffy Square and the new TKTS booth, the Theatre Development Fund(TDF) and the Times Square Alliance (TSA) hosted the Inaugural lighting of the red steps under which the TKTS booth sits, in celebration of the Broadway community. This marked the first time the newly designed glowing red staircase was lit for the public.

Broadway legend Bernadette Peters just announced from the podium at the ribbon cutting ceremony* for the opening the revitalized Duffy Square and new TKTS Booth, that the first 1,000 tickets sold will be courtesy of Target. Ticket buyers standing in line for the booth's 3pm opening will have the opportunity to receive one or two vouchers, each redeemable for one free ticket.

Theatre Development Fund (TDF)'s new TKTS Discount Booth, located 'under the red steps' in Father Duffy Square (Broadway and 47th Street, Manhattan), will open on Thursday, October 16th at 3pm, preceded by a 12:30pm ribbon cutting ceremony* in honor of the revitalization of Duffy Square.

In honor of the opening of the revitalized Father Duffy Square and the new TKTS booth, the Theatre Development Fund (TDF) and the Times Square Alliance (TSA) will host the Inaugural lighting of the red steps under which the TKTS booth sits, in celebration of the Broadway community. This will mark the first time the newly designed glowing red staircase will be lit for the public.

Theatre Development Fund has been a leader in programs and advocacy for theatergoers with physical disabilities through their TDF Accessibility Programs (TAP) since 1979.

Theatre Development Fund (TDF)'s new TKTS Discount Booth, located 'under the red steps' in Father Duffy Square (Broadway and 47th Street, Manhattan), will open on Thursday, October 16th at 3pm, preceded by a 12:30pm ribbon cutting ceremony* in honor of the revitalization of Duffy Square.

For years, the public's number one request for improved service at Theatre Development Fund's TKTS Discount Booths has been the addition of credit cards as a method of payment. When TDF's new booth opens 'under the red glass steps' in the newly revitalized Father Duffy Square (Broadway and 47th Street, Manhattan) on Thursday, October 16 at 3pm, ticket buyers will be able to make their purchases using major credit cards, in addition to cash and travelers checks, for same-day tickets to Broadway, Off Broadway, music and dance productions.

Playwrights Horizons (Tim Sanford, Artistic Director; Leslie Marcus, Managing Director) has announced additional casting and details for the third production of its 2008/2009 Season, the New York premiere of PRAYER FOR MY ENEMY, a new play by two-time Tony Award nominee, two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist and two-time Obie Award winner Craig Lucas (Small Tragedy at Playwrights Horizons, The Light in the Piazza, Prelude to a Kiss, Reckless, The Dying Gaul). PRAYER FOR MY ENEMY is the first of two plays by Mr. Lucas that will receive their New York premiere this season.

The League of Off-Broadway Theatres and Producers hosted a Season Kickoff Party at Planet Hollywood on September 15, 2008. Actors, producers, playwrights, managers, theatre owners, advertising and marketing professionals and other members of the Off-Broadway community raised a glass to the upcoming season.

Spamalot's Drew Lachey will host the 17th annual 'Broadway on Broadway' concert presented by Continental Airlines, to be held today Sunday, September 14th at 11:30 a.m in Times Square. The annual free outdoor concert brings together stars and performances from current and upcoming Broadway productions to celebrate the beginning of the Broadway season.

Bensonhurst native Kerry Butler, the star of Broadway's musical hit XANADU, Brooklyn Borough President MARTY MARKOWITZ and Assemblywoman JOAN MILLMAN (52nd Assembly District, Brooklyn, NY) lent a hand to help cut the ribbon at the opening ceremony for Theatre Development Fund's new TKTS Downtown Brooklyn Discount Ticket Booth on Thursday, July 10 at 10:15am. The cast of FORBIDDEN BROADWAY performed songs from this summer's edition of the long-running, award winning hit, entitled FORBIDDEN BROADWAY DANCES WITH THE STARS!

Bensonhurst native KERRY BUTLER, the star of Broadway's musical hit XANADU, Brooklyn Borough President MARTY MARKOWITZ and Assemblywoman JOAN MILLMAN (52nd Assembly District, Brooklyn, NY) will lend a hand to help cut the ribbon at the opening for Theatre Development Fund's new TKTS Downtown Brooklyn Discount Ticket Booth on Thursday, July 10 at 10:15am.

Bensonhurst native KERRY BUTLER, the star of Broadway's musical hit XANADU, Brooklyn Borough President MARTY MARKOWITZ and Assemblywoman JOAN MILLMAN (52nd Assembly District, Brooklyn, NY) will lend a hand to help cut the ribbon at the opening for Theatre Development Fund's new TKTS Downtown Brooklyn Discount Ticket Booth on Thursday, July 10 at 10:15am.

On Thursday June 26th, DON'T QUIT proudly celebrated its 2nd anniversary. The show began as a one-off benefit on June 26, 2006 at Joe's Pub, which grew into 10 sellout months. In the spring of 2007, a commercial production played off-Broadway at the HA! Comedy Club in Times Square. By 2008, the show was firmly planted at The Zipper Factory, playing to oversold houses for six months straight.

DON'T QUIT YOUR NIGHT JOB, featuring a revolving cast of Broadway's brightest performing without a net, sails into summer at their home sweet home, The Zipper Factory (336 West 37th Street, between 8th and 9th Avenues) on Thursday, June 26 at 11:30pm. Tickets are $20.00 and proceeds go to benefit the Theatre Development Fund's Open Doors program.

DON'T QUIT YOUR NIGHT JOB, featuring a revolving cast of Broadway's brightest performing without a net, sails into summer at their home sweet home, The Zipper Factory (336 West 37th Street, between 8th and 9th Avenues) on Thursday, June 26 at 11:30pm. Tickets are $20.00 and proceeds go to benefit the Theatre Development Fund's Open Doors program.

Theatre Development Fund (TDF) and MetroTech Business Improvement District today announced that a new TKTS Discount Ticket Booth located in the MetroTech Center in Downtown Brooklyn will open on Thursday, July 10 at 11am, preceded by a ribbon cutting ceremony. TDF will offer Broadway, Off Broadway, music, dance and Brooklyn performing arts events at discounted prices to Brooklyn residents and visitors. TKTS Downtown Brooklyn will be located on the ground floor of 1 MetroTech Center at the corner of Jay Street and Myrtle Avenue.

LAByrinth Theater Company (John Ortiz, Artistic Director; Philip Seymour Hoffman, Co-Artistic Director; John Gould Rubin, Co-Artistic Director & Executive Director) has announced complete casting for the new play in development, Penalties & Interest by Rebecca Cohen, the sixth play in the inaugural PUBLIC LAB series. Directed by John Gould Rubin, the cast features LAByrinth Theater Company members Julian Acosta ('Dirt'), Elizabeth Canavan (The Little Flower of East Orange), Yetta Gottesman (The Last Days of Judas Iscariot), Craig 'muMs' Grant (A View From 151st Street, 'Oz'), and Michael Puzzo (Dirty Story). The development production begins performances Tuesday, June 10th for a limited engagement through June 28th at The Public Theater (425 Lafayette Street at Astor Place). The insular existence of office life is a Petri dish for contemporary society in Rebecca Cohen's comedy, Penalties & Interest. Lollie, Lyle and Amy try to keep their heads above water, and their boss, Dick, bobs up when they least expect it. LAByrinth first presented Penalties & Interest behind closed doors at its annual retreat, the Summer Intensive, and then presented it as a free reading at the 2006 Barn Series festival. Now, this bare-bones PUBLIC LAB production marks the next stage in LAByrinth's unique play development process, taking the collaboration between the playwright, director, designers and audiences, to the next level. To follow this process, from planning through rehearsals and closing night, members of the general public are invited to contribute to the Penalties & Interest Blog (at www.LABtheater.org), where author, director, company and creative team are talking about the play's development, and hosting a forum for audience response. The creative team for Penalties & Interest includes Chris Barreca (Scenic Design), Oana Botez-Ban (Costume Design), Nicole Pearce (Lighting Design), Betsy Rhodes (Sound Design) and Paula Pizzi (Dramaturg). Penalties & Interest will play the following performance schedule: Tuesdays - Saturdays at 8:00 p.m. Tickets are $10 and available at The Public Theater Box Office, by calling (212) 967-7555, or online at www.publictheater.org. The Public Theater is located at 425 Lafayette Street. The performance of Penalties & Interest on Tuesday, June 24th will feature open-captioning for members of the Hard-of-Hearing community. For reservations and information, contact LAByrinth at (212) 513-1014 or visit LABtheater.org. LAByrinth's Accessibility Project is made possible with a grant from Theatre Development Fund's TAP Plus program. Open-Captioning provided by c2 (caption coalition) inc.

LAByrinth Theater Company has announced complete casting for the new play in development, 'Penalties & Interest' by Rebecca Cohen.

DON'T QUIT YOUR NIGHT JOB, the critically acclaimed comedy variety show featuring a revolving cast of Broadway's brightest performing without a net, welcomed the Spring at their monthly home The Zipper Factory (336 West 37th Street, between 8th and 9th Avenues) on Thursday, May 29 at 11:30pm. Tickets are $20.00 and proceeds go to benefit Wendy Wasserstein's TDF/Open Doors program.