Walnut Street Theatre's 202nd Anniversary Gala May 13

Walnut Street Theatre is pleased to announce that it will celebrate multiple honorees this year with the 2011 Edwin Forrest Award at its landmark 202nd Anniversary Gala. This unforgettable evening will begin with a spectacular 90-minute concert featuring some of your favorite Walnut performers including Josie Andrews, Taylor Bright, Melinda Chua, Jeff Coon, Ben Dibble, Kate Fahrner, Eric Kunze, Ben Lipitz, Forrest McClendon, Brandon O'Rourke, Katie O'Shaughnessey, Rebecca Robbins, Peter Schmitz and Denise Whelan. All proceeds from the Gala benefit the Walnut Street Theatre's Education and Outreach programming, which reach over 110,000 children annually in the Delaware Valley.

The Gala Concert, Love Changes Everything, will take place on the Walnut Street Theatre Mainstage at 7PM on Friday, May 13. Following the Gala Concert, a VIP After-Party will be held on the Thomas Jefferson University Campus in the Sidney and Ethal Lubert Plaza (1001 Locust Street, between 10th and 11th Streets).

This event is held annually to honor members of the business community and the artistic community with the Edwin Forrest Award for their contributions to American Theatre. The award was created in 1990 in honor of the leading American actor of the nineteenth century, Edwin Forrest. Forrest is a Philadelphia native who made his debut at the Walnut in 1820. This year the Walnut honors Walnut media partner NBC-10 and Diane Dalto Woosnam, former Chairman of the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts.

NBC 10/WCAU has been providing news and entertainment to the Delaware Valley for over 60 years. The station is one of ten NBC Universal owned and operated stations. It serves over 7 million viewers throughout Greater Philadelphia, the Lehigh Valley, South Jersey and Delaware. Along with the most up-to-date news, weather, sports, consumer, health and traffic reports, viewers can also tune in daily to the "The 10! Show," an upbeat lifestyle and entertainment show featuring local, national and internationally known celebrities, including stars of the Walnut Street Theatre. In addition to the main channel, NBC 10 now offers a unique viewing alternative through NBC Philadelphia Nonstop, a round-the-clock local information and lifestyle broadcast channel.

Accepting the award for NBC 10 is Dennis Bianchi, President and General Manager of NBC 10 Philadelphia, NBC Philadelphia NonStop and NBCPhiladelphia.com. During his tenure at the station, Bianchi has grown the NBC 10 brand beyond a television news station. He has launched Philadelphia's first local entertainment and lifestyle program, "The 10! Show," NBC Philadelphia NonStop, the StudioTEN Creative Group and the 10pm newscast of MYPHL powered by NBC 10 News. Bianchi is active in the community, serving as past Chairman and current member of the Police Athletic League of Philadelphia's Board of Directors. Bianchi also serves as Board Member for the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, the United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania, Urban League of Philadelphia, St. Christopher's Foundation for Children, Pennsylvania Association of Broadcasters and the Philadelphia Ad Club.
Diane Dalto Woosnam is a strong force behind the development of the Philadelphia arts community. Most recently, Woosnam served as Chairman of the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, having previously served as Director of the Office of Arts and Culture for the City of Philadelphia. She was Co-Chairman of the Arts, Culture and History Transition Committee for the Governor of Pennsylvania, Edward G. Rendell and Chaired or Co-Chaired three Transition Committees for Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter. During her eight year tenure with the City of Philadelphia, The Avenue of the Arts development project became the centerpiece of the City's redevelopment of its former commercial center. With the arts as a draw, the new cultural district is a national model of cultural redevelopment.

In 2000, Woosnam was awarded an Eisenhower Fellowship to examine the state of the arts and their relationship to government since the fall of communism in Hungary and The Czech Republic. She sits on the Boards of numerous organizations including The Annenberg Center for Performing Arts, Arden Theatre Company, The Philadelphia Orchestra, The Philadelphia Art Alliance, Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation (MD), Artspace, Inc. (MN) and the Indiana University Art Museum (IN). Woosnam is a Fellow of the Philadelphia College of Physicians and currently serves on the Mayor's Cultural Advisory Council. The Walnut is delighted to honor Diane Dalto Woosnam with the Edwin Forrest Award for her continued support of the arts community in the Greater Philadelphia Region.

The Gala Committee is comprised of Walnut Trustees Mrs. Camille Andrews (Haddonfield, NJ), Mr. Albert A. Giagnacova (Yardley, PA), Mr. Ben Lipitz (East Stroudsburg, PA), and Mr. Jon Sirlin (Philadelphia, PA).

DRESS: Cocktail
TICKETS: $35 Orchestra and Mezzanine

$75 Premium Tickets: Center section Orchestra and Mezzanine, plus a pre-show cocktail

$250 Gala Tickets: VIP seating (Center Section Orchestra), pre-show cocktails, plus access to the VIP after-party

PHONE: 215-574-3550
WEBSITE: www.walnutstreettheatre.org

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