Drama League Launches UP CLOSE Series with Laura Benanti Tonight

The Drama League (Executive Director, Gabriel Shanks; Artistic Director, Roger T. Danforth) launches their highly popular Up Close: A Conversation with...Series with Tony Award winner Laura Benanti, moderated by Tony Award nominee Susan Blackwell, tonight at 7:00 p.m., as part of the Fall 2013 Programming Schedule of special performances, events and educational offerings at the new Drama League Theater Center in Tribeca (32 Avenue of the Americas).

With one of the most acclaimed careers in modern musical history - including her Tony-winning performance in Gypsy, The Wedding Singer, Nine, In The Next Room (or the Vibrator Play), Into The Woods, and this season's upcoming The Most Happy Fella - the incredible Laura Benanti joins fellow Broadway star Susan Blackwell ([title of show]) for an intimate conversation about her career on stage and screen.

Future upcoming special guests in the series will include actor Tony Danza (10/15), Tony Award winners Cherry Jones (10/21) and Judy Kaye (11/6), plus conductor/composer David Friedman (11/21) who will discuss "Conducting Disney," and more.

The Drama League also offers special performances on Broadway and Off-Broadway, as well as open rehearsals, backstage tours, play readings, intimate gatherings with legendary stars, behind-the-scenes discussions with industry titans, day trips to world-class theatres, and more. To see the entire Fall Program Guide, visit http://www.dramaleague.org.

"Having opened The Drama League Theater Center in May, we're excited to begin our first full season of event programming in our new home," shared Gabriel Shanks, Drama League Executive Director. "It's truly remarkable to be welcoming old friends like Cherry, and Laura."

The Drama League Theater Center, a new, state-of-the-art facility, brings world-class theater artists, emerging talents, and New York theatergoers together under one roof. The Center is located on the lobby level of the historic former AT&T Building at 32 Avenue of the Americas, in the heart of TriBeCa's arts district.