Hyde Pierce Hosts Drama League Gala with Stokes, Murphy, Carmello

Broadway luminaries Brian Stokes Mitchell, David Hyde Pierce, Donna Murphy, Carolee Carmello, Gregg Edelman and James Naughton are set to appear in "A Musical Celebration of Broadway Honoring Roger Berlind," presented as the 24th annual spring gala benefit concert for The Drama League. The event will take place on Monday, February 11, 2008 at the famed Rainbow Room, high atop Rockefeller Plaza in the heart of midtown Manhattan (30 Rockefeller Plaza, 65th Floor).

Directed by B.T. McNicholl, "A Musical Celebration of Broadway Honoring Roger Berlind" is written by David Thompson and features musical direction by Paul Gemignani, and will feature performances by many of Broadway's best and brightest. Tony Award winner and 2007 Drama League honoree David Hyde Pierce (Curtains) serves as the host for the evening.

The concert is the highlight of The Drama League's annual benefit gala at Rockefeller Center's breathtaking Rainbow Room.  The evening will begin at 7PM with a cocktail reception and silent auction/raffle, where guests can mingle with the performers while taking in the awe-inspiring views of Manhattan.  The evening continues at 8 p.m. with an elegant seated dinner in the main dining room, followed by the star-studded performance.

Gala honoree Roger Berlind has been producing on Broadway for more than 30 years. His credits include Copenhagen; Kiss Me, Kate; Proof; Anna in the Tropics; Caroline, or Change; Wonderful Town; Doubt; The History Boys; Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?; Deuce and The Year of Magical Thinking. He is currently represented on Broadway with Kander & Ebb's Curtains, Mark Twain's Is He Dead? and Tom Stoppard's Rock 'n' Roll, as well as the upcoming revival of Gypsy starring Patti LuPone.

All proceeds from "A Musical Celebration of Broadway Honoring Roger Berlind" support The Drama League, which was founded in 1916 as an association of theatre professionals and patrons dedicated to encouraging the finest in professional theatre and has since then developed into the theatre's premiere service organization.  The Drama League provides an unparalleled training program for emerging theatre artists through The Directors Project, which encourages and trains talented young directors while providing much-needed exposure and essential connections to the professional theatrical community.

The Drama League's Audience Project is dedicated to building strong, passionate audiences for the American theatre, providing discounted tickets for its members to the best Broadway, Off-Broadway, and regional productions across the United States while enhancing the theatergoer's understanding and experience of live theatre through its informative panels, luncheons and discussions with leading figures in the field.  The Drama League has over 3,500 annual members across the United States and in Europe.

Tickets for "A Musical Celebration of Broadway Honoring Roger Berlind" are $750-$2,500 which includes the concert, a pre-gala cocktail reception and a full three-course dinner. Tables of ten are available from $7,000-$25,000.

To arrange tickets for "A Musical Celebration of Broadway Honoring Roger Berlind" or for any additional information about The Drama League, please call Special Events Manager Derek Travis Collard at (212) 244-9494, ext. 5. For more information, please visit www.dramaleague.org

David Hyde-Pierce