Circle in the Square's Theodore Mann to Be Remembered with New Tribute Page

As a special homage to Theodore Mann, Circle in the Square's co-founder, artistic director, and co-producer who passed away on February 24th of this year, Circle in the Square Theatre School is inviting the theater-going public, the theater community and those who worked with him to share their remembrances of Mann and the over 175 productions that he with Jose Quintero, and later with Paul Libin brought to the stage.

Paul Libin, President of Circle in the Square Theatre School, announced that a special "Remembering Theodore Mann" tribute page has been created at the School's website to gather these memories and recollections (see link below). "Ted was a major force in today's theater," said Libin, who was Mann's business partner for nearly 50 years. "So many people have wonderful personal remembrances that not only pay tribute to Ted, but in their telling add even more to the rich history of this theater. We wanted to provide a way for those remembrances to be preserved so future generations have a perspective about the role Theodore Mann and Circle in the Square played in affecting the course of American theater. Through their reflections theater persons everywhere will have an opportunity to participate in recording Circle's history." Tributes from Al Pacino, Vanessa Redgrave and others in the theater community have already been posted at the tribute page.

Libin encourages tax-deductible donations to be made in Mann's honor to Circle in the Square Theatre School. The funds will support the School's training and outreach programs. Mann was devoted to the School, which he and Paul Libin founded in 1963, and Mann worked closely with all of its programs. Mann directed stellar productions of Wilder's Our Town, Chekhov's The Bear, Urinetown, Godspell and several children's Theater Productions for the School, These included a children's musical that was presented in 2011, based on stories he created in the 1960s called Fat Horse and Slim. Most recently, Mann developed and presented a new musical version of Aesop's Fables. His seminar series at the School with Tony-winner Judith Light concluded on Valentine's Day, 2012 with a session on expressing love through theater. Distinguished alumni of Circle in the Square Theatre School include luminaries such as: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Kevin Bacon, Lady Gaga, Benicio del Toro, Molly Shannon, Idina Menzel, Felicity Huffman and many more.

Please visit http://www.circlesquare.org/Remembering-Theodore-Mann.html to add your tribute, comment and/or make a tax-deductible donation to Circle in the Square Theatre School in Theodore Mann's memory.

Checks can be made out and mailed to:
Circle in the Square Theatre School, 1633 Broadway NY, NY 10019.
Please mention "Remembering Theodore Mann."

Theodore Mann was at the forefront of American theater since 1951, when he co-founded Circle in the Square Theatre with Jose Quintero. Their production of Tennessee Williams' Summer and Smoke with Geraldine Page in 1952 is recognized as having been the birth of Off-Broadway, and their history-making revival of Eugene O'Neill's The Iceman Cometh and the American premiere of Long Day's Journey Into Night in 1956 led to several awards, a posthumous Pulitzer Prize for O'Neill and O'Neill's recognition as America's greatest playwright. Since Iceman, Circle has presented 19 O'Neill productions -- more than any other theater in the world.

In 1963, Mann was joined by Paul Libin, beginning a partnership that lasted for almost five decades. Circle in the Square Theatre, which moved in 1972 from its Greenwich Village origins to its current home on Broadway, created new audiences for classic and new American and European plays, with productions of plays by Moliere, Shaw, Shakespeare, Euripides, Genet, Chekhov, Arthur Miller, Horton Foote, Sam Shepard, Thornton Wilder, Terrence McNally, Noel Coward, Truman Capote, Jules Feiffer, Athol Fugard, and many more.

At Circle in the Square, Mann helped launch or further the careers of such actors as: Geraldine Page, Jason Robards, George C. Scott, Colleen Dewhurst, Dustin Hoffman, James Earl Jones, Alan Arkin, Vanessa Redgrave, Al Pacino, Nathan Lane, Kevin Kline, Raul Julia, JoAnne Woodward, Annette Bening, Robert Klein, John Lithgow, Frances McDormand, Blythe Danner, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Julie Christie, Ruby Dee, and Frank Langella.

Theodore Mann's life was celebrated at a Memorial Tribute held in May at Circle in the Square Theatre. Speakers included James Earl Jones; Terrence McNally; Robert Klein; Elizabeth Wilson; Salome Jens; Nick Wyman, president of Actor's Equity; and Mann's longtime Circle partner, Paul Libin. Vanessa Redgrave's comments were presented via video. Letters from Campbell Scott, son of George C. Scott and Colleen Dewhurst, and from Al Pacino were read by Robert Klein.
Circle in the Square Theatre School has trained more than five thousand actors since 1963, and was incorporated as a 501(c)(3) non profit organization in 1993. The School is a member of the National Association of Schools of Theater. We train up to 200 students each year from across America and around the world, in Seven-week Summer and Two-Year Professional acting and musical theater Workshops. Our program's tone and elements have been carefully developed over five decades through The Combined efforts of our leadership (Paul Libin and Theodore Mann, who produced over 100 plays on and off-Broadway), our faculty, administration and advisors.

The School's mission is twofold: first, to provide training that prepares our students to pursue professional careers in theater, film and television; and second, to provide engaging and entertaining learning opportunities for youth, seniors and adults which enable them to experience theater and recognize its relevance to their own lives.