Lia Chang Photos: The 58th Annual Drama Desk Awards and After Party

Hold These Truths’ star Joel de la Fuente and playwright Jeanne Sakata. Photo by Lia Chang

I had a grand time at the 58th Annual Drama Desk Awards presented by TheaterMania.com at Town Hall on Sunday, May 19, 2013, with Jeanne Sakata and her husband, Tim Patterson. The pair had flown in from LA to celebrate Joel de la Fuente, the star of Sakata’s one-man show Hold These Truths, directed by Lisa Rothe and produced Off-Broadway by the Epic Theatre Ensemble last Fall, who had been nominated in the category of “Outstanding Solo Performance”. Jeanne Sakata’s critically-acclaimed play Hold These Truths, starring 2013 Drama Desk Award Nominee Joel de la Fuente, is set for the 10th Annual soloNOVA Arts Festival at Culture Project, 6/4, 6/10 and 6/11

Tim Patterson, Jeanne Sakata, Melissa and Joel de la Fuente. Photo by Lia Chang

Founded in 1949 to explore key issues in the theater and to bring together critics and writers in an organization to support the ongoing development of theater in New York, Drama Desk began presenting its awards in 1955, and it is the only critics’ organization to honor achievement in the theater with competition among Broadway, Off Broadway and Off-Off Broadway productions in the same categories.

The cast of Hands on a Hardbody. Photo by Lia Chang

Presenters Brian Stokes Mitchell and Beth Leavel. Photo by Lia Chang

The 58th Annual Drama Desk Awards ceremony streamed live on Theatermania.com, with co-hosting duties shared by Billy Army, Audrey Lynn Weston, Todd Susman and Marilyn Sokol from the cast of Old Jews Telling Jokes. The show opened with Hands on a Hardbody (Music by Trey Anastasio and Amanda Green, Lyrics by Amanda Green).

This year’s presenters included: Stephanie J. Block, Celia Keenan Bolger, Daniel Breaker, Danny Burstein, David Byrne, Charlotte d’Amboise, Jim Dale, John Glover, Cynthia Henson, Paul Huntley, Steve Karam, Lisa Kron, Beth Leavel, Martin Lowe, Terrence Mann, Joe Mantello, Jan Maxwell, Audra McDonald, Terrence McNally, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Donna Murphy, Denis O’Hare, Benj Pasek, Justin Paul, Michele Pawk, Tonya Pinkins, Alex Timbers, Tommy Tune, and William Wolf.

Terrence McNally and Tom Kirdahy. Photo by Lia Chang

Renee Albulario, Kelvin Moon Loh and Joshua Dela Cruz from the cast of Here Lies Love. Photo by Lia Chang

Dogfight’s Lindsay Mendez. Photo by Lia Chang

Here Lies Love, Starring Jose Llana and Ruthie Ann Miles, Extends at The Public through July 28, 2013
Other featured songs from Drama Desk nominated shows included “Pretty Funny” performed by Dogfight‘s Lindsay Mendez (Music and lyrics by Benji Pasek and Justin Paul); “He Wanted A Girl” performed by Giant‘s Katie Thompson (Music and lyrics by Michael John LaChiusa); and “God Draws Straight” performed by Renee Albulario, Joshua Dela Cruz and Kelvin Moon Loh (Music by David Byrne and Fatboy Slim, Lyrics by David Byrne).

Marie-France Arcilla, Joe Cassidy, Donna Lynne Champlin, Jay Armstrong Johnson, Nehal Joshi, and Kenita R. Miller, the cast of Working: A Musical, performed “All The Livelong Day (I Hear America Singing)”(Music by Stephen Schwartz, Lyrics by Walt Whitman), and were presented with a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Ensemble Performance from Lin-Manuel Miranda.

Working: A Musical’s Donna Lynne Champlin, Jay Armstrong Johnson, Marie-France Arcilla, Colin Donnell, Kenita Miller and Nehal Joshi. Photo by Lia Chang

After the awards ceremony and show at Town Hall, Jeanne, Tim and I met up with Joel and his family at the after party at the Liberty Theatre. Here are my photo highlights of the night. Congrats to all of the winners.

Terrence McNally congratulates fellow playwright Christopher Durang. Photo by Lia Chang

Outstanding Play
Christopher Durang, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike

Christopher Durang, Emily Mann and Andre Bishop. Photo by Lia Chang

Outstanding Musical
Matilda

Outstanding Revival of a Play
Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf’s Tracy Letts and Carrie Coons. Photo by Lia Chang

Cicely Tyson. Photo by Lia Chang

Billy Porter. Photo by Lia Chang

Outstanding Revival of a Musical or Revue
Pippin

Outstanding Actor in a Play
Tracy Letts, Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Outstanding Actress in a Play
Cicely Tyson, The Trip to Bountiful

Outstanding Actor in a Musical
Billy Porter, Kinky Boots

Outstanding Actress in a Musical
Laura Osnes, Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella

Nathan Johnson, Katie Thompson and Laura Osnes. Photo by Lia Chang

Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play
Richard Kind, The Big Knife

Richard Kind, Lindsay Mendez and Joe Mantello. Photo by Lia Chang

Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play
Judith Light, The Assembled Parties

Judith Light. Photo by Lia Chang

Pam MacKinnon. Photo by Lia Chang

Andrea Martin. Photo by Lia Chang

Diane Paulus and presenter Tommy Tune. Photo by Lia Chang

Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical
Bertie Carvel, Matilda

Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical
Andrea Martin, Pippin

Outstanding Director of a Play
Pam MacKinnon, Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Outstanding Director of a Musical
Diane Paulus, Pippin

Diane Paulus and her husband Randy Weiner. Photo by Lia Chang

Outstanding Choreography
Chet Walker and Gypsy Snider, Pippin

Chet Walker and Gypsy Snider. Photo by Lia Chang

David Byrne. Photo by Lia Chang

Outstanding Music
David Byrne and Fatboy Slim, Here Lies Love

Outstanding Lyrics
Tim Minchin, Matilda

Outstanding Book of a Musical
Dennis Kelly, Matilda

Outstanding Orchestrations
Danny Troob, Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella

Outstanding Music in a Play
Glen Kelly, The Nance

Outstanding Revue
Old Hats

David Shiner and Bill Irwin. Photo by Lia Chang

David Shiner and Bill Irwin. Photo by Lia Chang

Bill Irwin and Jim Houghton. Photo by Lia Chang

Kenita Miller and Brandon Victor Dixon. Photo by Lia Chang

Laila Robins and Robert Cuccioli. Photo by Lia Chang

Chuck Cooper, Tonya Pinkins and Debra Brevoort. Photo by Lia Chang

Outstanding Set Design
Rob Howell, Matilda

Outstanding Costume Design
William Ivey Long, Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella

Outstanding Lighting Design
Justin Townsend, Here Lies Love
Daniel Winters, The Man Who Laughs

Outstanding Projection Design
Peter Nigrini, Here Lies Love

Outstanding Sound Design in a Musical (3-WAY TIE)
Steve Canyon Kennedy, Hands on a Hardbody
Scott Lehrer and Drew Levy, Chaplin: The Musical
Tony Meola, The Mystery of Edwin Drood

Outstanding Sound Design in a Play
Mel Mercier, The Testament of Mary

Outstanding Solo Performance
Michael Urie, Buyer & Cellar

Unique Theatrical Experience
Cirque du Soleil: Totem

Special Awards – Each year, the Drama Desk votes special awards to recognize excellence and significant contributions to the theater. For 2012-2013, these awards are:

Michael John LaChuisa, Isaac Robert Hurwitz, Isabel Santiago and Katie Thompson. Photo by Lia Chang

The New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF), Isaac Robert Hurwitz, Executive Director and Producer: for a decade of creating and nurturing new musical theater, ensuring the future of this essential art form.

Wakka Wakka. Photo by Lia Chang

Wakka Wakka (Gabrielle Brechner, Kirjan Waage, and Gwendolyn Warnock): for sophisticated puppet theater, as represented by this season’s SAGA, that explores with wit, imagination, and insight serious issues of our times.

Jayne Houdyshell. Photo by Lia Chang

Jayne Houdyshell: for her artistry as an exceptionally versatile and distinctive Broadway and Off-Broadway performer.

Samuel D. Hunter: His empathic and indelible The Whale affirms his arrival as a distinguished dramatist who depicts the human condition.

Maruti Evans, the Sam Norkin Off-Broadway Award: for his ingenious lighting designs, reflecting an exquisite and bold theatrical aesthetic. This season’s The Pilo Family Circus and Tiny Dynamite confirm his incandescent creativity.

Kelvin Moon Loh and Here Lies Love director Alex Timbers. Photo by Lia Chang

Hold These Truths’ Family affair- Tim Patterson, Jeanne Sakata, Melissa and Joel de La Fuente, Bob de la Fuente, Benjamin de la Fuente, Kathryn de la Fuente. Photo by Lia Chang

Isa Goldberg. Photo by Lia Chang

About Drama Desk
The 2012-2013 Board of Directors of the Drama Desk is composed of: Isa Goldberg (Broadwaychannel.com, Theaterlife.com) President, Leslie (Hoban) Blake (Theater Critic/City ARTS-Downtown; Co-Host/TWO on the AISLE, MNN) Vice President, Charles Wright (A+E Networks; Editorial Board, Best Plays Theater Year Book) Treasurer & 2nd Vice President, Richard Ridge (BroadwayWorld.com Backstage with Richard Ridge) Secretary, Arlene Epstein (South Shore Record/Herald Community Newspapers & LIHerald.com), Elysa Gardner (USA Today critic/reporter; New York Drama Critics Circle), Randy Gener (American Theatre; New York Theater Wire), John Istel (Freelance Editor and Arts Journalist; Managing Editor, Drama Desk website), David Kaufman (Author and Freelance), William Wolf (wolfentertainmentguide.com; Adjunct professor, NYU), and Lauren Yarger (Reflections in the Light; BroadwayWorld.com).

Jeanne Sakata, Scott and Barbara Siegel. Photo by Lia Chang

The 2012-2013 Drama Desk Nominating Committee is composed of: Barbara Siegel, Chairperson (TalkinBroadway.com and freelance); David Kaufman (author and freelance), Samuel L. Leiter (Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Theatre, Brooklyn College and the Graduate Center), Martha Wade Steketee (urbanexcavations.com; editor and contributor, Chance Magazine), Adrian Wattenmaker (Theater Faculty, Brooklyn College; Director, School of Creative and Performing Arts), and James Wilson (Professor of Theatre, CUNY; co-editor of Journal of American Drama and Theatre).

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About TheaterMania.com
Founded in 1999, TheaterMania connects the theater industry with a mass consumer audience with comprehensive listings, news, reviews, features, interviews, and video content covering theater across the United States. TheaterMania’s widely distributed email newsletters provide special offers to its subscribers. In addition to providing theaters with online marketing programs to drive ticket sales, TheaterMania’s proprietary ticketing system OvationTix™ is used throughout America by hundreds of performing arts organizations, museums, concerts, festivals, and events to process tickets sales, and manage fundraising and patron information. TheaterMania recently acquired London-based WhatsOnStage.com, a source for information and tickets to UK theater. Gretchen Shugart, CEO of TheaterMania, became Executive Producer of Drama Desk Awards in 2012.

About Joey Parnes Productions
Led by Joey Parnes, a veteran Broadway producer and general manager who served as coordinating producer for the TONY Awards from 2001 to 2008, primarily focuses on producing and general managing plays and musicals for Broadway as well as providing executive producer and general management services for a wide range of theatrical ventures including non-profit theater consulting and working with non-profits on Broadway transfers. Sue Wagner and John Johnson are his associates.

In addition to TheaterMania and Gretchen Shugart, Robert R. Blume and David S. Stone in association with Renee McCurry are Co-Executive Producers of Drama Desk Awards.

www.DramaDeskAwards.com

Brandon Victor Dixon and Lia Chang. Photo by
Tim Patterson

Lia Chang is an actor, a performance and fine art botanical photographer, and an award-winning multi-platform journalist. This summer she will appear as Carole Barbara in Lorey Hayes’ Power Play at the National Black Theatre Festival in Winston-Salem, N.C., with Pauletta Pearson Washington, Roscoe Orman, Lorey Hayes, Marcus Naylor and Penwah, July 30-August 1, 2013.

Jeanne Sakata, Joel de la Fuente and Lia Chang. Photo by Tim Patterson

Other articles by Lia Chang:
Lorey Hayes’ Power Play Set for National Black Theatre Festival 7/30-8/1
Photos & Video: Frank London’s Klezmer Brass All-Stars, Manu Narayan, Deep Singh and More
Here Lies Love, Starring Jose Llana and Ruthie Ann Miles, Extends at The Public through July 28, 2013
Christine Toy Johnson, Thom Sesma, Ali Ewoldt, Jose Llana, Ann Harada, Telly Leung and More Set for The Asian American Composers and Lyricists Project at The Alice Griffin Jewel Box Theatre
Photos: Working Theater’s World Premiere of Ed Cardona, Jr.’s La Ruta
Christine Toy Johnson and Raul Aranas Lead the Cast of the National Asian Artists Project’s (NAAP) Benefit Presentation of Hello Dolly!, at The Pershing Square Signature Center on April 29 and May 6
Photos: All-Access Pass to August Wilson’s Two Trains Running with John Earl Jelks, Harvy Blanks, Chuck Cooper, Anthony Chisholm, Owiso Odera, Roslyn Ruff and James A. Williams
Chuck Cooper, Austin Pendleton, Nicholas L. Ashe, Kyle Beltran, Grantham Coleman, Jeremy Pope, and Wallace Smith Set for MTC’s World Premiere of Tarell Alvin McCraney’s Choir Boy, June 18- July 21, 2013
Jose Llana, Ruthie Ann Miles, Maria-Christina Oliveras, Conrad Ricamora, Kelvin Moon Loh and More Set for World Premiere of David Byrne and Fatboy Slim’s Here Lies Love at The Public, April 2 – May 19, 2013
Keith David, January LaVoy, John Douglas Thompson, Glynn Turman, Lillias White and More Set for Joe Turner’s Come and Gone at the CTG/Mark Taper Forum, April 24 – June 9, 2013
Ellen Burstyn, Jayne Houdyshell, Elizabeth Marvel, Kristine Nielsen and David Hyde Pierce Set for Drama Desk Panel: “The Art of Storytelling” at Sardi’s on March 22, 2013
Photos: David Henry Hwang, Jennifer Lim, Leigh Silverman, Samuel L. Jackson, Kenny Leon, David Ives, Douglas Carter Beane and More at The Drama Desk & Fordham University Theatre Program’s “Anatomy of a Breakout” Panel
Orville Mendoza is currently appearing as Sergeant Lombardi in Classic Stage Company’s Passion through April 19, 2013
Ann Harada Plays Cinderella’s Stepsister Charlotte in Broadway Premiere of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella at the Broadway Theatre
Manu Narayan, Mark Bennett, Lea Salonga, Michael K. Lee and Stafford Arima Among 2012 Craig Noel Award Nominees
Photos: Maurice Hines, Jonathan Groff, Mercedes Ellington, Charles Randolph Wright at The Beechman for André De Shields’s I PUT A SPELL ON YOU
Signature’s Off-Broadway Revival of August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson, helmed by Ruben Santiago-Hudson, runs October 30 -December 9, 2012
Raul Aranas, Kate Baldwin, Brian d’Arcy James, P.J. Griffith, Bobby Steggert and Michele Pawk Set for New York Premiere of GIANT at The Public Theater, October 26-December 2, 2012
Albee, Hwang, Enos, Taylor, Wilson, Clarke and Jacobs-Jenkins Set for Signature Theatre’s 2013-14 Season
Photos: David Henry Hwang’s The Dance and The Railroad Opening Night at Signature Theatre
Photos: Partying with the Cast of David Henry Hwang’s Golden Child
Photos: Q & A with Mel Sagrado Maghuyop, The King in Harbor Lights’ Production of The King and I http://wp.me/pla1d-6SR
Playing Lady Thiang in the Harbor Lights’ Production of The King and I is a dream come true for Christine Toy Johnson
Multimedia: Manu Narayan Dazzles as Richard Roma in La Jolla Playhouse’s Revival of David Mamet’s Glengarry Glen Ross
Tony Award Winner Tonya Pinkins Celebrates Ethel Waters at 54 Below on August 27, 2012
Photos: All-Access Pass to Disney’s Aladdin at The Muny with Thom Sesma, Francis Jue, Robin De Jesus, John Tartaglia, Jason Graae, Curtis Holbrook, Eddie Korbich, Samantha Massell and Ken Page
C.J. Wilson navigates armor and swordplay in Signature Theatre Company’s World Premiere of Kenneth Lonergan’s Medieval Play
Up Close and Personal with Darren Pettie, Star of The Milk Train Doesn’t Stop Here Anymore
Photos and Video: Disney’s The Lion King Las Vegas- In the Makeup Chair with Thom Sesma
Click here for the Lia Chang Articles Archive and here for the Lia Chang Photography Website.

All text, graphics, articles & photographs: © 2000-2013 Lia Chang Multimedia. All rights reserved. All materials contained on this site are protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of Lia Chang. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content. For permission, please contact Lia at liachangpr@gmail.com

Broadway Stars Pay Tribute to Alan Muraoka at National Asian American Theatre Co. Gala on September 10, 2012

Alan Muraoka Photo by Lia Chang

John Tartaglia, Stephanie D’Abruzzo and Carey Anderson (all from Broadway’s AVENUE Q) along with Gwen Hollander (LITTLE WOMEN), Christine Toy Johnson (FALSETTOLAND),Francis Jue (THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE, PACIFIC OVERTURES), singer/songwriter Phoebe Kreutz, Raymond J. Lee (ANYTHING GOES), Adam Levinskas, Jose Llana (THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE, RENT), Orville Mendoza (PETER AND THE STARCATCHER), Olivia Oguma (MAMMA MIA) and actress Lexi Windsor will all be on hand to perform and pay tribute to director and actor Alan Muraoka (“Sesame Street”, Broadway’s MISS SAIGON, THE KING AND I) at an evening to benefit National Asian American Theatre Company (NAATCO) on Monday, September 10 at 416 W. 42 St. in New York.

The event will be hosted by Ann Harada (AVENUE Q), with a special guest appearance by Terrence McNally. The evening will be directed by Thom Sesma, with musical direction by Michael Lavine.

The event begins at 6 p.m. with cocktails, followed by the performance at 7 and dessert at 8:30. Tickets range in price from $125-$250-$500-$1000 and can be purchased by going online at www.naatco.org.

As a director, Alan Muraoka received critical acclaim for his all-Asian American production of the William Finn musical FALSETTOLAND for the National Asian American Theatre Company (NAATCO), which enjoyed a sold-out run at the Vineyard Theatre in NYC. The production was revived in June 2007 for the First National Asian American Theatre Festival held in New York City. Alan’s other NAATCO credits include having staged benefit readings of INTO THE WOODS and LOVE! VALOUR! COMPASSION! He directed the Tony-nominated actor John Tartaglia (AVENUE Q) in his one-man show, “John Tartaglia AD-LIBerty,” which ran at Joe’s Pub at The Public Theatre, and won numerous cabaret awards. Other New York directing credits include KARAOKE STORIES (Imua Theater Company); “Christmas Eve With Christmas Eve 1-3” and “The Leading Men 1-4″ all benefit concerts for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, which starred many of Broadway’s current male talent; “Empty Handed,” a benefit concert starring the puppeteers of Broadway’s AVENUE Q; and cabarets for Tony-nominated actress Stephanie D’Abruzzo and Ann Harada. On television, Alan has directed for “Sesame Street” and for the “Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade” on NBC.

As an actor, Alan is most recognizable for his role in the Emmy Award winning series, “Sesame Street,” where he plays “Alan,” the proprietor of Hooper’s Store. He has appeared in six Broadway shows; the recent revival of PACIFIC OVERTURES, MAIL, SHOGUN: THE MUSICAL, MY FAVORITE YEAR, THE KING AND I (with Lou Diamond Phillips and Donna Murphy), and most notably MISS SAIGON, where he played the lead role of the Engineer.

NAATCO (National Asian American Theatre Company) puts into service its total commitment to Asian American theatre artists to more accurately represent onstage the multi- and intercultural dynamics of our society. NAATCO’s mission is to assert the presence and significance of Asian American theatre in the United States, demonstrating its vital contributions to the fabric of American culture, by presenting the following repertory: European and American classics as written with all Asian American casts; adaptations of these classics by Asian American Playwrights; and new plays – preferably world premieres – written by non-Asian Americans, not for or about Asian Americans, but realized by an all Asian American cast. NAATCO’s work has been acknowledged by an OBIE Award (for their productions of William Finn’s FALSETTOLAND and Brecht’s HE WHO SAYS YES/HE WHO SAYS NO), the Village Voice (for THE HOUSE OF BERNARDA ALBA), Off-Off-Broadway Review (for SCHOOL FOR WIVES) and the Rosetta LeNoire Award from Actors’ Equity Association in recognition of its contributions toward increasing diversity and non-traditional casting in American theatre.

Other Articles by Lia Chang
Photos: 4 Wedding Planners’ Illeana Douglas, Kimberly-Rose Wolter and Michael Kang at Screen Actors Guild Foundation Conversations Series in NY
André De Shields Returns to The Laurie Beechman Theatre with I Put A Spell on You, October 5 and 12
MTC’s An Enemy of The People Starring Boyd Gaines and Richard Thomas Begin Previews at Samuel J. Friedman Theatre
Tony Award – winning Playwright Terrence McNally to be Honored at Westport Country Playhouse Annual Gala, September 24, 2012
Signature Theatre’s World Premiere of Sam Shepard’s Heartless Starring Lois Smith, Gary Cole, Jenny Bacon, Betty Gilpin, and Julianne Nicholson Extends through September 30, 2012
Photos: Tonya Pinkins, André De Shields, S. Epatha Merkerson, Billy Porter and George C. Wolfe at 54 Below
Sean Dugan Set for West Coast Premiere of George C. Wolfe’s Tony Award-Winning Production of The Normal Heart at A.C.T., September 13 – October 7, 2012
Illeana Douglas, Kimberly-Rose Wolter and Michael Kang Set for 4 Wedding Planners Screening in Screen Actors Guild Foundation Conversations Series in NY on August 21, 2012
Multimedia: Screen Actors Guild Foundation’s Conversations with Derek Ting, Linus Roache and Michael Park of $upercapitalist
10 minutes with Sullivan & Son’s Jodi Long, Award Winning Actor and Filmmaker
Lily Mariye’s Model Minority, Jayshree Janu Kharpade’s Fire in Our Hearts, Eliaichi Kimaro’s A Lot Like You, Vincent Sandoval’s Señorita, and Liang Cheng’s My Spiritual Medicine among AAIFF’12 Award Winners
David Henry Hwang to Receive the 2012 Steinberg Distinguished Playwright Award at the 5th Annual Steinberg Playwright “Mimi” Awards on October 29, 2012
Faith Prince and Jason Graae: The Prince & the Showboy in Concert at 54 Below, August 21-25, 2012
Photos: All-Access Pass to Disney’s Aladdin at The Muny with Thom Sesma, Francis Jue, Robin De Jesus, John Tartaglia, Jason Graae, Curtis Holbrook, Eddie Korbich, Samantha Massell and Ken Page
Photos: Yellow Fever Playwright Rick Shiomi Explores New Territory with An All-Female Cast
Click here for the Lia Chang Articles Archive and here for the Lia Chang Photography Website.

Tony Award-winning Playwright Terrence McNally to be feted at Westport Country Playhouse Annual Gala, September 24, 2012

Terrence McNally (Photo by Lia Chang)

Tony Award winner Terrence McNally will be honored at The Full McNally: A Celebration of the Writing and Works of Terrence McNally, presented by Westport Country Playhouse at the theater’s annual fundraising gala on Monday, September 24, 2012. Actors Tyne Daly and Richard Thomas, who have appeared in McNally plays; Daly in Master Class and Thomas in Unusual Acts of Devotion and The Stendhal Syndrome, will co-host the evening’s festivities which kick off at 5:45 pm with cocktails, followed at 7 p.m. by performances by Broadway friends of The Playhouse. Dinner with the evening’s stars will be at 8:30 p.m. A silent auction will be on-going throughout the evening. Attire is festive; black tie optional. Proceeds will benefit Westport Country Playhouse – its work on stage, with schools, and throughout the community.

“Terrence is the only truly great American playwright who has written successfully for the dramatic as well as the musical stage,” said Mark Lamos, Playhouse artistic director. “It’s such an honor for us to be able to do this for him, especially since the co-hosts of the gala are two stars who have been influential in bringing Terrence’s work to the stage in mesmerizing performances.”

Lamos added, “Terrence has worked with some of the finest musical theater talents as well as some of our greatest actors. What other writer can you say that about? Our revival last season of his Lips Together, Teeth Apart made us all the more eager to honor him with a line-up of fantastic Broadway talent.”

Directing the 2012 gala production is Josh Rhodes (the film version of Company, Broadway Bares, Sondheim: The Birthday Concert); and music director is Mary-Mitchell Campbell (Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Orchestrations for Company; The Addams Family; Sweeney Todd; Next to Normal).

Terrence McNally was awarded the Dramatists Guild Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011. He is the winner of Tony Awards for his plays Love! Valour! Compassion! and Master Class, and his books for the musicals Ragtime and Kiss of the Spiderwoman. His other plays include Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune; Lips Together, Teeth Apart (produced at Westport Country Playhouse in 2011); Corpus Christi; A Perfect Ganesh; The Ritz; It’s Only a Play; Some Men; Golden Age; Deuce; The Lisbon Traviata; Bad Habits; The Stendhal Syndrome; Dedication or The Stuff of Dreams; Next; Unusual Acts of Devotion; Sweet Eros; Witness; Where Has Tommy Flowers Gone?; and his first play, And Things that Go Bump in the Night. McNally has written the books for the musicals The Full Monty, A Man of No Importance, The Visit, and The Rink. He won an Emmy Award for Best Drama with his teleplay “Andre’s Mother,” and he wrote the screenplays for Frankie and Johnny, Love! Valour! Compassion!, and The Ritz. Among his many awards are a Citation from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best New Play, four Drama Desk Awards, three Hull-Warriner Best Play Awards from the Dramatists Guild, two Obies, two Lortel Awards, and two Guggenheim Fellowships.

Tyne Daly © Tyne Daly

Tyne Daly recently starred in Master Class on Broadway and in London, reprising the role of Maria Callas which she played at The Kennedy Center. A renowned stage, screen, and television actress, Ms. Daly’s stage work has won her numerous awards, including a Tony Award for her performance as Rose in the highly successful 1989 revival of Gypsy and a Tony nomination for Rabbit Hole. Her television appearances are too numerous to list, but she is best known for her work on “Cagney & Lacey” (four Emmy Awards), “Judging Amy” (Emmy Award) and “Christy” (Emmy Award), in addition to appearances on “Burn Notice” and “Grey’s Anatomy,” and in several TV films. She has received 16 Emmy nominations. Film work includes Georgia, with Joan Allen and Jeremy Irons. Ms. Daly was trained at the American Shakespeare Festival, Brandeis University, and the American Musical and Dramatic Academy.

Richard Thomas. Photo by Lia Chang

Richard Thomas appeared in the Westport Country Playhouse productions of Critic’s Choice and Whose Life Is It Anyway? Last season, he was in a Script in Hand reading of The Golden Age and a presentation of A Distant Country Called Youth. Thomas starred in the Emmy Award-winning series, “The Waltons.” He has continued to star in series, films, plays, and over 50 movies for television. On stage, he has been called “one of the leading classical actors of his generation” – Newsday. His career began on Broadway at age seven with 1958’s Sunrise at Campobello, and has continued with such shows as Fifth of July, The Seagull, The Front Page, Tiny Alice, Peer Gynt, Richard II, Richard III, Hamlet, and The Stendhal Syndrome. Recent appearances include Broadway’s Democracy and Race, The Public Theater’s Timon of Athens, and the national tour of the acclaimed Broadway revival of 12 Angry Men. Thomas can be seen in “The Music Teacher,” A Hallmark Channel Original Movie World Premiere, which airs on August 11, and on Broadway at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre in Manhattan Theatre Club’s An Enemy of the People this Fall.

The Gala Committee includes Katia and John Friend and Carlyn and Robert Stonehill, co-chairs; Karen Parrella, auction chair; Marjorie Barnes; Emily Boothroyd; Ania Czekaj-Farber; Michele Flaster; Angela Graham; Kim Harizman; Joanna Heimbold; Irma Hilton; Beth Hayes; Carole Hochman; Jennifer Huisking; Darlene Krenz; Mary Ellen Marpe; Mark Osgood; Judy Phares; Marjorie Treisman; and Judy Wetzel.

Gala tickets range from $2,500 to $250. Benefactor level, at $2,500 per person, includes a cocktail party, highest priority seating at performance, post-performance dinner with the evening’s stars, and an invitation to a Benefactor Preview Party at a private home in early September; Patron level, at $1,000 per person, includes a cocktail party, priority seating at performance, and post-performance dinner with the evening’s stars; and Supporter level, at $250 per person, includes a 6:30 p.m. champagne toast followed by the performance. A limited number of Supporter tickets are available. Purchase gala tickets online at www.westportplayhouse.org/gala.

Other Articles by Lia Chang
Multimedia: NAATCO’s Love! Valour! Compassion! with Terrence McNally
Annie Potts and Richard Thomas star in ‘The Music Teacher’ A Hallmark Channel Original Movie World Premiere on August 11 http://wp.me/pla1d-5U4
Richard Thomas and Boyd Gaines to star in An Enemy of the People at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre during Manhattan Theatre Club’s 2012-2013 Season
Photos: All-Access Pass to Disney’s Aladdin at The Muny with Thom Sesma, Francis Jue, Robin De Jesus, John Tartaglia, Jason Graae, Curtis Holbrook, Eddie Korbich, Samantha Massell and Ken Page
Emmy Award Winner Richard Thomas Hosts Give Kids a Shot! National Meningitis Association Gala 2012 at the New York Athletic Club
Photos: Highlights of Shinsai: Theaters for Japan (3pm) with Andre Bishop, Mary Beth Hurt, Jennifer Lim, Angela Lin, Philip Kan Gotanda, Thom Sesma, Sab Shimono, Richard Thomas, Jay O. Sanders, and more
Photos: Highlights of Shinsai: Theaters for Japan (8pm) with Oskar Eustis, Patti LuPone, Lisa Emery, Ann Harada, Paolo Montalban, Thom Sesma, Sab Shimono, Henry Stram, Richard Thomas, John Weidman and more
Photos: In Rehearsal with Director Bartlett Sher and the cast of Shinsai: Theaters for Japan
Performing Arts Images from the Asian American Pacific Islander Collection on Display at the Library of Congress to Celebrate APA Heritage Month
Click here for the Lia Chang Articles Archive and here for the Lia Chang Photography Website.

Lia Chang. Photo by Brianne Michelle Photography

Lia Chang is an actor, a performance and fine art botanical photographer, and an award-winning multi-platform journalist.
All text, graphics, articles & photographs: © 2000-2012 Lia Chang Multimedia. All rights reserved. All materials contained on this site are protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of Lia Chang. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content. For permission, please contact Lia at liachangpr@gmail.com

Lia Chang Multimedia: NAATCO’s Love! Valour! Compassion! with Terrence McNally

Terrence McNally and Tom Kirdahy © Lia Chang

Last night, love, valour and compassion lingered in the summer night’s air of September at The Cherry Lane Theater in New York, where director Alan Muraoka had assembled a superb Asian American cast to perform in a staged reading of Terrence McNally’s Tony Award-winning play LOVE! VALOUR! COMPASSION!, during an evening in support of the National Asian American Theatre Co. (NAATCO).

Founded in 1989 by Richard Eng and Mia Katigbak to promote and support Asian American actors, directors, designers, and technicians through the performance of European and American classical and contemporary works, the NAATCO LOVE! VALOUR! COMPASSION! cast featured Francis Jue as John and James Jeckyll (who had flown in from California where he is currently appearing in the TheatreWorks production of David Henry Hwang’s YELLOW FACE), Satya Bhabha as Ramon Fornos, Joel de la Fuente as Gregory Mitchell, Orville Mendoza as Buzz Hauser, Andy Pang as Arthur Pape, Ralph Peña as Perry Sellars, James Yaegashi as Bobby Brahms, with stage directions read by Ann Harada.

NAATCO's LOVE! VALOUR! COMPASSION! benefit reading at the Cherry Lane Theater in New York on September 14, 2009. (L-R back row) Director Alan Muraoka, Ann Harada, Satya Bhabha, Joel de la Fuente,Orville Mendoza, James Yaegashi, Ralph Pena, (L-R seated) Francis Jue, playwright Terrence McNally and Andy Pang. Photo by Lia Chang

In LOVE! VALOUR! COMPASSION!, eight gay friends spend one summer together, congregating at a summer vacation house in Dutchess County on the Memorial Day, Fourth of July and Labor Day weekends, where they struggle with infidelity, flirtations, soul-searching, AIDS, truth-telling and skinny-dipping.

Justin Kirk, Joe Mantello, Alan Muraoka, Francis Jue and Stephen Bogardus © Lia Chang

I loved Alan Muraoka’s last directing foray at NAATCO, the OBIE Award winning, critically-acclaimed production of FALSETTOLAND, which debuted Off-Broadway at The Vineyard Theatre in 1998. Jason Ma, Ann Sanders, Manu Narayan, Francis Jue, Christine Toy Johnson, MaryAnn Hu and Ben Wu were pitch perfect in the 2007 revival presented during the first National Asian American Theatre Festival in New York.

Jason Ma, Francis Jue, Manu Narayan, Ann Sanders, Ben Wu, MaryAnn Hu and Christine Toy Johnson were the merry musical neurotics in NAATCO's Falsettoland at the Dimson Theater in New York in 2007. Photo by Bruce Alan Johnson

I knew that last night’s show of LOVE! VALOUR! COMPASSION! would be a special one, and it was spectacular. Joseph Thalken, who worked on the original Manhattan Theater Club version of the show and did all the piano recordings for MTC and the Broadway versions, provided musical direction and accompaniment, and with only three rehearsals under their collective belts, Muraoka nurtured performances from his talented cast that were every bit as nuanced as a mainstage production. I was very moved, and look forward to seeing a fully realized production of LOVE! VALOUR! COMPASSION! with these actors.

The cast received a standing ovation at the curtain call and were joined by playwright Terrence McNally, Joe Mantello (the original director of LOVE! VALOUR! COMPASSION!), and LOVE! VALOUR! COMPASSION! Broadway castmembers Stephen Bogardus, John Glover and Justin Kirk, for a group photo.

NAATCO's LOVE! VALOUR! COMPASSION! benefit reading at the Cherry Lane Theater in New York on September 14, 2009. (L-R back row) Joseph Thalken, Stephen Bogardus, Joe Mantello Ann Harada, Satya Bhabha, Joel de la Fuente,Orville Mendoza, James Yaegashi, Ralph Pena, Justin Kirk, Mia Katigbak (L-R front row) John Glover, Francis Jue, playwright Terrence McNally, Andy Pang and Alan Muraoka © Lia Chang

The play was first produced Off-Broadway at the Manhattan Theatre Club in October, 1994, then transferred to the Walter Kerr Theatre on Broadway. It received five 1994-1995 Tony Award nominations, winning for Best Play and Best Featured Actor in a Play (John Glover). In addition to Bogardus, Glover and Kirk, Anthony Heald, Nathan Lane, Randy Becker and John Benjamin Hickey were in the Broadway cast.

John Glover, Francis Jue, Orville Mendoza and playwright Terrence McNally © Lia Chang

Outside the Cherry Lane before the show, I caught up with Marcus Ho, who cut quite a dashing and elegant figure as Prince Oshima in THE SHANGHAI GESTURE this Spring with Tina Chen. He is currently rehearsing his role as Trigorin in NAATCO’s new adaptation of Chekhov’s THE SEAGULL, alongside Rajesh Bose, Cindy Cheung, Jojo Gonzalez, Peter Kim, Lavrenti Lopes, Mia Katigbak, Orville Mendoza, Andrew Pang, Sophia Skiles, and Tiffany Villarin. Helmed by Gia Forakis, the play kicks off NAATCO’s 20th season and is part of the 2nd National Asian American Theatre Festival lineup in New York. Previews for THE SEAGULL begin September 26 prior to an official press opening of October 1 at Theater for the New City (155 First Ave) in Manhattan.

During the cocktail reception, I chatted with Elaina Erika Davis, Jorge Ortoll, Karen Lee, Ariel Estrada, Henry Yuk and his wife Holly, Jojo Gonzalez, and said hello to Loy Arcenas, Nicky Paraiso and Ching Valdez-Aran, who had all turned out to show their support for NAATCO.

NAATCO’s upcoming production of THE SEAGULL takes its cue from Chekhov’s subtitle: “A Comedy in 4 Acts.” Director Gia Forakis excavates the vaudevillian sense of humor in the play and couples it with the bitter despair of Chekhov’s characters to provoke what she calls “comedy’s wicked step-cousin, the grotesque,” where tragedy and comedy live alongside one another.

With set design by Lee Savage, lighting design by Stephen Petrilli, costume design by Alixandra Gage Englund, video production by S. Katy Tucker and sound design and original music by Robert Murphy.

Performances of THE SEAGULL run Mondays through Saturdays at 7:00pm, with a Wednesday matinee performance at 1:00pm on October 14. Tickets are $15-20, and available online at TheaterMania.com or by calling TheaterMania at 212-352-3101. For additional details, visit www.naatco.org

All text, graphics, articles & photographs: © 2000-2011 Lia Chang Multimedia. All rights reserved. All materials contained on this site are protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of Lia Chang. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content. For permission, please contact Lia at liachang@hotmail.com.

Lia Chang Photo by Brianne Michelle Photography

Lia Chang is an actor, performance and fine art botanical photographer, and an award-winning multimedia journalist.

As a photographer and videographer, Lia collaborates with artists, organizations and companies in establishing their documentary photo archive and social media presence. She has been documenting her colleagues and contemporaries in the arts, fashion and journalism since making her stage debut as Liat in the National Tour of South Pacific, with Robert Goulet and Barbara Eden.

Selections of Lia’s archive of Asian Pacific Americans in the arts, fashion, journalism, politics and space are now in the newly created LIA CHANG THEATER PHOTOGRAPHY PORTFOLIO in the ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICAN PERFORMING ARTS COLLECTION housed in the Library of Congress Asian Division’s Asian American Pacific Islander Collection.

Lia’s portraits and performance photos have appeared in Vanity Fair, Gourmet, German Elle, Women’s Wear Daily, The Paris Review, TV Guide, Daily Variety, Interior Design, American Theatre, Broadwayworld.com, Life & Style, OUT, New York Magazine, InStyle, Timeout.com, Villagevoice.com, Playbill.com, Theatermania.com, thelmagazine.com, The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, USA Today, The Boston Globe, New York Times and Washington Post. A former syndicated arts and entertainment columnist for KYODO News, Lia is the New York Bureau Chief for AsianConnections.com. She writes about culture, style and Asian American issues for a variety of publications and this Backstage Pass with Lia Chang blog.

Other Articles by Lia Chang:
A night out with Gordana Rashovich, Flora Goforth in The Milk Train Doesn’t Stop Here Anymore
André De Shields Set for World Premiere of Charles Smith’s The Gospel According to James at Indiana Rep, 3/22-4/10
Photos:The Working Theater’s Off-Broadway production of HONEY BROWN EYES by Stefanie Zadravec at The Clurman
Lia Chang Photo Slideshows of Productions in the Working Theater’s 25th Anniversary Season
Andy Warhol, Romare Bearden, Alexander Calder, Lia Chang in Art & Healing Exhibit at Snug Harbor on SI
Juicy Buns at Ollie’s
The Dish on Susur Lee and Shang
Click here for the Lia Chang Articles Archive.

Lia Chang: LOVE! VALOUR! COMPASSION! staged reading to benefit NAATCO

Satya Bhabha, Joel de la Fuente, Francis Jue, Orville Mendoza, Andy Pang, Ralph Pena, James Yaegashi and Ann Harada will be in a staged reading of LOVE! VALOUR! COMPASSION!, under the direction of Alan Muraoka, to benefit the National Asian American Theatre Co. (NAATCO) tonight at the Cherry Lane Theater, 38 Commerce St. in New York at 7pm. The evening will be hosted by Stephen Bogardus and Joe Mantello w/ special guest Terrence McNally.

Price: Varies; $50 artist rate! – info & tix @ http://www.NAATCO.org
Date: Monday, September 14, 2009
6:00pm – 10:00pm
Cherry Lane Theater
38 Commerce St.
New York, NY
Cocktail Reception @ 6pm
Reading @ 7pm

For tickets check out www.naatco.orgThe National Asian American Theatre Company (NAATCO) was founded in 1989 by Richard Eng and Mia Katigbak to promote and support Asian American actors, directors, designers, and technicians through the performance of European and American classical and contemporary works.

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