Clark, Lapine, Timbers Lead Musical Theater: From the Page to the Stage

New York City Center's final "Musical Theater: From the Page to the Stage," program on Monday, May 16 will be curated and hosted by Tony Award-winning actress Victoria Clark. Pulitzer Prize-winning director James Lapine will moderate "All About Collaboration," a dialogue with Alex Timbers and Michael Friedman, the creative team behind Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson. The program will be held at City Center, 130 W. 56th Street, (between 6th and 7th avenues.) beginning at 6:30 p.m.

"Musical Theater: From the Page to the Stage" is the newest addition to the Studio 5 at City Center series, which debuted last year with a dance program curated and hosted by renowned dancer-turned-director Damian Woetzel. Studio 5 provides an intimate forum for informal conversations with some of today's most compelling figures in the theater and dance worlds. Interactive discussions and performances by guest artists offer audiences a glimpse beyond the proscenium into the creative worlds of theater and dance.

Victoria Clark has been nominated for a 2011 Tony Award for her role in Sister Act, and was recently was seen off-Broadway in Love, Loss and What I Wore and at Lincoln Center Theater in When the Rain Stops Falling. Ms. Clark's previous work includes the Broadway musicals The Light in the Piazza (Tony Award), How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Cabaret, Urinetown, Titanic and Guys and Dolls. Ms. Clark portrayed Sally in the acclaimed Encores! production of Follies and the title role in Juno.

James Lapine is the Tony Award- and Pulitzer Prize-winning director and book writer of Sunday in the Park With George, Into the Woods, Falsettos and Passion, among others.

Alex Timbers is the Tony Award-nominated and Drama Desk Award-winning author and director of Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, which had its New York premiere in May 2009 before transferring to Broadway in the fall of 2010.

Michael Friedman wrote both the music and lyrics for Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson. He also worked on Broadway's 33 Variations and the 2004 revival of A Raisin In The Sun.

Studio 5 at City Center is generously supported by Barbara Brandt, Margee and John Falk, and Barbara and David Zalaznick.

New York City Center (Arlene Shuler, President & CEO) has played a defining role in the cultural life of the city for more than 60 years. It was Manhattan's first performing arts center, dedicated by Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia in 1943 with a mission to make the best in music, theater and dance accessible to all audiences. Today, City Center is home to many distinguished companies, including Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Paul Taylor Dance Company and Manhattan Theatre Club; a roster of renowned national and international visiting artists; and its own critically acclaimed and popular programs. The Tony-honored Encores! musical theater series has been hailed as "one of the very best reasons to be alive in New York." Dance has been integral to the theater's mission from the start, and dance programs, including the annual Fall for Dance Festival and a partnership with London's Sadler's Wells Theatre, remain central to City Center's identity. City Center is dedicated to providing educational opportunities to New York City students and teachers with programs such as Encores! In Schools and the Young People's Dance Series. Special workshops cater to families, seniors and other groups, while events such as the Fall for Dance DanceTalk series offer learning opportunities to the general public. City Center is currently undergoing an extensive renovation project to revitalize and modernize its historic theater. A grand reopening gala is scheduled for October 25.

Tickets for "Musical Theater: From the Page to the Stage" are $20 and must be purchased in advance via CityTix® at 212-581-1212, online at www.NYCityCenter.org or at the City Center Box Office, (West 55th Street between 6th and 7th avenues). Studio 5 events are at 6:30 p.m. and take place in City Center Studio 5, 130 W. 56th Street, 5th floor.