Annaleigh Ashford, Lindsay Mendez, Norm Lewis & More To Join The Drama League's EMBRACE THE SEASON Gala

The Drama League has revealed the first performers and appearances slated for Embrace The Season: A Drama League Celebration, the venerated gala event amplifying the extraordinary productions gracing stages in New York City each season. Taking place on Monday, November 13 at 6:00PM at the Edison Ballroom (240 West 47th Street), seats may be reserved by visiting https://dramaleague.org/gala2023, by calling (212) 625-1025, or by emailing events@dramaleague.org.

EMBRACE THE SEASON will feature a dazzling array of exclusive performances, appearances, and “sneak peeks” of Broadway productions to come. To date, the evening includes Tony and Drama League Award Winner Annaleigh Ashford (Sweeney Todd); Lindsay Mendez (Merrily We Roll Along); Andrew Durand (Shucked); Betsy Aidem (Prayer for the French Republic); special glimpses into the upcoming Broadway musicals How To Dance In Ohio and Water For Elephants, the latter featuring the award-winning composer/band PigPen Theatre Co.; and a series of tributes to producer Jeffrey Richards, the 2023 Embrace The Season Gala Honoree, from Tony Award-winning director Diane Paulus, Tony Award Winner Danny Burstein (Moulin Rouge, Fiddler on the Roof), and Tony nominees Norm Lewis (The Gershwins Porgy and Bess) and Jessica Hecht (Summer 1976, Fiddler on the Roof), among others. The full cast and performers will be announced in November.

EMBRACE THE SEASON is directed by Tony Award nominee Sheryl Kaller (Mothers and Sons) and Ben Villegas Randle (Hello Again), with musical direction by the longtime associate conductor of Broadaway's Wicked, David Evans.

EMBRACE THE SEASON, designed to uplift the New York theatrical community, this year honors the legendary Broadway producer Jeffrey Richards. Currently represented on Broadway with the acclaimed revival of Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch, Mr. Richards is celebrating five decades as a producer and publicist. His work has championed historically excluded artists, visionary new plays, and lauded revivals, including The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess, Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill, Sunday in the Park with George, Fiddler on the Roof, All The Way, Glengarry Glen Ross, Chinglish, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, and many more. He has employed many of America's most noteworthy directors for these projects, including Drama League Directors Project alumni Alex Timbers, Diane Paulus, Sam Gold, Pam MacKinnon, Ari Edelson and Michael Mayer.

EMBRACE THE SEASON is chaired by Mary Jain, with major underwriting from Bob Boyett/RB Theatricals, BroadwayHD, Susan Edelstein Productions, and additional support from 101 Productions, Caiola Productions, John Gore Organization and The Nederlander Organization.

Additional Creative Team for the 2023 edition of EMBRACE THE SEASON includes line producer Mary Martha Ford, Stage Manager Karen Schleifer, Event Director Karen Rosenberg, Artistic Associate Andrew Coopman, and Production Assistant Michelle Chan. The event is produced by Artistic Director Gabriel Stelian-Shanks.

ABOUT Jeffrey Richards

Jeffrey Richards is proud to have presented plays and musicals by David Mamet, Tracy Letts, Harold Pinter, Gore Vidal, August Wilson, Adam Rapp, Joshua Harmon, Ossie Davis, Thornton Wilder, Adrienne Kennedy, Sharr White, Christopher Demos-Brown, Eric Bogosian, George Abbott, Richard Adler and Jerry Ross, Duncan Sheik and Steven Sater, Jeremy Kareken & David Murrell and Gordon Farrell, Herman Wouk, Betsy Kelso and David Nehls, Matthew Barber, Herb Gardner, Peter Ackerman, John Logan, David Ives, Jess Winfield, Adam Long, Daniel Singer, Will Ferrell, Noël Coward, Neil LaBute, Eugene O'Neill, Barry Humphries, Michael Feinstein, Christopher Durang, Lucy Prebble, Alex Timbers and Michael Friedman, David Henry Hwang, Frank Wildhorn, Don Black, Ivan Menchell, George and Ira Gershwin, Dorothy and Du Bose Heyward, Suzan Lori Parks, Edward Albee, Tennessee Williams, Marsha Norman, Jason Robert Brown, Robert Schenkkan, Lanie Robertson, Will Eno, George S. Kaufman, Moss Hart, Wendy Wasserstein, Hilary Mantel, Michael Poulton, A.R. Gurney, Joseph Stein, Jerry Bock, Sheldon Harnick, Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, John D'Agata, Jim Fingal, Will Aronson and Hugh Park. He is equally thrilled to have worked with the directors Joe Mantello, Daniel Sullivan, Anna D. Shapiro, David Cromer, Jerry Zaks, Kenny Leon, Michael Mayer, Trip Cullman, Kathleen Marshall, Leigh Silverman, Michael Wilson, John Rando, Jeremy Dobrish, Ethan McSweeny, Warner Shook, James Macdonald, Adam McKay, Neil Pepe, Terry Kinney, Diane Paulus, Robert Falls, Tina Landau, David Mamet, Rupert Goold, Michael Blakemore, Alex Timbers, Pam MacKinnon, Bartlett Sher, Bill Rauch, Sam Gold, Lonny Price, Scott Ellis and Michael Arden. He would like to acknowledge Primary Stages, Signature Theatre (Washington, D.C), Hartford Stage Company, Roundabout Theatre Company, Atlantic Theatre Company, The Public Theater, the Huntington Theatre, Manhattan Class Company, The Goodman Theatre, La Jolla Playhouse, The American Repertory Theatre at Harvard University, Yale Repertory Theatre, Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Williamstown Theatre Festival, the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Alliance Theatre and the Almeida Theatre, all of whom originated many of the productions that he has been proud to bring to both off-Broadway and Broadway stages.

ABOUT THE DRAMA LEAGUE

The Drama League has been at the forefront of the American theater community since 1916, providing career development and artistic resources for directors, and a platform for dialogue with audiences. Drama League Directors have received 22 Tony Award Nominations and nine Tony Award Wins, 20 Obie Awards, and multiple Oscar, Emmy, Golden Globe, Peabody, Jefferson, Drama-Logue, Helen Hayes, NAACP, GLAAD and Princess Grace Nominations and Awards, among other honors. Over 100 alumni are Artistic Leaders of theaters and production companies across the United States, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. Collectively directing approximately 1,000 productions each season, Drama League Directors work in every aspect of the arts and entertainment industries. They have transformed, entertained, and inspired millions around the world.

President of the Drama League Board of Directors Bonnie Comley said, “It is my pleasure to share how proud we are to provide essential, critical support to the American Theater. This Gala will celebrate our community by honoring the thrilling season ahead for Broadway and Off-Broadway theater and provide awareness and funds to support the artists in our Directors Project. We hope you will join us!"  

The Board of Directors' Executive Committee is Bonnie Comley (President); Joseph Pizza and Arthur Pober (Vice Presidents); Townsend Teague (Treasurer); Irene Gandy (Secretary); Gabriel Stelian-Shanks (Artistic Director); and Bevin Ross (Executive Director). Completing the Drama League Board of Directors are Elena Araoz, Tony Benten, Trish Chambers, Estefanía Fadul, Sarah Hutton, Kirk Iwanowski, Una Jackman, Mary Jain, Paula Kaminsky Davis, Jonathan Lonner, Gwynn MacDonald, Stan Ponte, Nicole A. Watson, and Kumiko Yoshii.  

For tickets to EMBRACE THE SEASON, visit https://dramaleague.org/gala2023, call 212-625-1025, or email events@dramaleague.org. The suggested dress for the Gala event is festive cocktail attire, black tie is optional.