Boyd Gaines Joins Julia Murney and More in Fundamental Theater Project's 2015 Gala

Boyd Gaines, four-time Tony Winner (Gypsy, She Loves Me, Driving Miss Daisy), joins Julia Murney (Wicked, The Wild Party), veteran director Tony Walton, and Fundamental Theater Project in celebration of their honorary patron, Sir Peter Shaffer (Equus, Amadeus, Royal Hunt of the Sun) and in support of their mission of fostering emerging voices in the theater.

This year's benefit gala will present the Peter Shaffer Award for emerging excellence in playwriting to company member and resident playwright, Ben Holbrook. Co-Artistic Director Sam Underwood (Dexter, Homeland, The Following) will direct a special staged reading of Mr. Holbrook's plays, THE WHALE AND THE DOG STAR - a quirky, fantastical and poignant exploration of grief and dreams.

FTP most recently produced One Day When We Were Young by Nick Payne, starring Sam Underwood and Valorie Curry (The Following, Twilight, House of Lies) at Edinburgh Fringe 2015 to critical acclaim.

In 2012 the company presented a celebration of Sir Peter Shaffer's work, and was honored by Sir Ian McKellen, Alec Baldwin, Sir Derek Jacobi, John Guare, Tom Stoppard, Brian Bedford, Juliet Mills, and Simon Callow. Other special artists over the years include James Rado, Kate Mulgrew, Zosia Mamet, Anthony Rapp, Scott Adsit, Michael Emerson, Richard Easton, and Shirley Knight, among others.

FTP's reading of THE WHALE AND THE DOG STAR will be held Tuesday, December 15th at 7:30pm at Symphony Space, NYC. Additional casting to be announced shortly.

Tickets to this event are tax-deductible. $100 for general seating and $250 for premium seating gains admittance and post show reception to follow. Symphony Space members can purchase tickets for $80. Premium seat holders are also invited to a pre-show cocktail hour and will subsidize a student ticket to this special event.

For reservations visit www.SymphonySpace.org/event/9132/Theatre/the-peter- shaffer-award. Seating is extremely limited. For more information, visit www.fundamentaltheaterproject.com.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride