Coyote Rep Gala with 'In the Heights' & Lypsinka, Nov.3

Coyote REP celebrates its second season with the Rising Moon Gala and Fundraiser on November 3 at 8PM, with cocktails, reception and auction at The Players' Club (16 Gramercy Park South, East 20th Street between Park and Irving). Entertainment will be provided by award-winning actor John Epperson (aka Lypsinka) and Broadway stars of In the Heights, Mandy Gonzalez and Chris Jackson, followed by a presentation of the "Moon" Awards.  

Coyote Rep will present two "Moon" awards at the Gala, honoring outstanding contributions to the theatre.  Jeremy Dobrish will receive the Moon Award for Outstanding Playwriting for his play Deception and John Martello will receive the Moon Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Theatre.

A sample of the items up for auction and raffle are:  2 tickets to the Tony Awards, 2 orchestra tickets to the Broadway show of your choice, tickets to a taping of Saturday Night Live and Live with Regis and Kelly, 2 Day-Hopper Passes to Disney World in Orlando, FL, VIP tickets to Finding Nemo, a 2-night stay at a suite in the beautiful Lexington Hotel in downtown Orlando, NY Giants tickets, and much more!

Jeremy Dobrish is a director and playwright.  Off-Broadway directing credits: Election Day (Second Stage), In the Wings (Promenade), Drift ('06 NY Musical Theatre Festival) Spain (SPF and currently MCC), Ted Kaczynski Killed People with Bombs (Clurman), The Joys of Sex (Variety Arts Theatre, Excellence in Directing Award – NYC Fringe Festival), The Tutor with Anthony Rapp (York), Class Mothers '68, and The Complete Works of Williams Shakespeare (Abridged) (Century Center). Dobrish has also directed at WPA, The Kirk, Soho Playhouse, Actor's Playhouse, and two seasons with the Young Playwrights Festival. Jeremy is an Artistic Associate at Second Stage and was the Artistic Director of the critically acclaimed Adobe Theatre Company from 1991 until 2004.

John Martello has been an actor, producer and director for nearly 35 years.  As an actor, he has appeared in dinner theatres, regional theatres and Off-Broadway in everything from Shakespeare to Sugar Babies. Off-Broadway, Mr. Martello produced the musical revue Daugherty & Field Off-Broadway, which ran for a year and was nominated for the Outer Critics Circle Award, and the acclaimed one-man show Damon Runyon's Tales of Broadway, which Mr. Martello also wrote and performed. He is currently in the process of producing Simon Gray's The Old Masters for Broadway in 2008.   As Executive Director of The Players, Mr. Martello has produced hundreds of presentations over the last 15 years, including evenings honoring Jason Robards, Julie Harris, Christopher Plummer, Gregory Peck, Marian Seldes, Peter O'Toole, Tony Bennett, Carol Burnett, Gerald Schoenfeld, Angela Lansbury, Edward Albee and dozens of other theatrical luminaries.  He was the recipient, in 2001, of the Pirandello Medallion (presented by the Pirandello Society of America) to acknowledge his performing, producing and directing the work of that great playwright.

Coyote Rep is a not-for-profit theatre company dedicated to balancing process and production, committed to developing, producing and inspiring original plays through innovative means: (R)ecorded sound plays, an (E)lectronic documentary and (P)roductions for the stage -  REP.  Coyote REP was founded by and is comprised largely of graduates from UC Irvine's Masters of Fine Arts in Theatre Program. Coyote REP produces its sound play series at WNYC studios. A documentary, which follows the members of the company through the highs and lows of producing in New York, is currently running on YouTube. For Gala tickets more information, visit the company's website, www.coyoterep.org.

Photos: Mandy Gonzalez and Chris Jackson of In the Heights (by Joan Marcus); Lypsinka