TDF to Receive 5th Annual Friend of Off-Broadway Award

The Off Broadway Alliance, the organization of Off Broadway producers, theaters, general managers, press agents and marketing professionals, will bestow its 5th annual Friend of Off Broadway Award to Julian Christenberry, Director of Ticket Programs for the Theatre Development Fund. Created in 1968, TDF is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to making theatre affordable and accessible to all. The Alliance established the Friend of Off Broadway Award to honor the people or organizations that have consistently provided extraordinary support and generosity to the Off Broadway community. The award will be presented at the 6th annual Off Broadway Alliance Awards reception next Tuesday, June 21st at 4 PM at Sardi's. All of the 2016 honorees will be on hand to receive their awards.

Among the attendees will be Legend of Off Broadway honorees Lois Smith, Robert Moss and Merle Debuskey.

Other honorees scheduled to appear include producers and casts from all of this year's winners: Best New Musical, Futurity; Best New Play, Exit Strategy; Best Musical Revival, The Robber Bridegroom; Best Play Revival, The School for Scandal; Best Unique Theatrical Experience, Sense & Sensibility; Best Solo Performance, James Lecesne, The Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey; and Best Family Show, The Pirate La Dee Da.

Past winners of the top awards bestowed by The Off Broadway Alliance include Hamilton, Fun Home, Hand to God, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, Freud's Last Session, Buyer & Cellar, and SILENCE! The Musical.

The Off Broadway Alliance is a non-profit corporation organized by theater professionals dedicated to supporting, promoting and encouraging the production of Off Broadway theater and to making live theater increasingly accessible to new and diverse audiences. The Alliance holds monthly meetings and membership is open to everyone in the Off Broadway theater community.

Among its initiatives, The Off Broadway Alliance sponsors 20at20, the event that runs twice a year for 20 days and lets theatergoers purchase $20 tickets to dozens of Off Broadway shows 20 minutes before curtain. It also produces a free Seminar Series focusing on the culture, business and history of Off Broadway featuring major players from the Off Broadway scene. The Alliance operates the OBA Mentorship Program, which provides new producers with guidance and direction from Off Broadway veterans. And the Alliance created the Off Broadway Economic Impact Report, which outlines Off Broadway's over $500 million annual impact on the economy of the City of New York.

For more information, visit www.OffBroadwayAlliance.com.

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