Jason Robert Brown, Phylicia Rashad, Betsy Wolfe and More Sign on for Theatre Forward's 2017 Gala

As previously announced, Theatre Forward and Chairman James S. Turley will lead a celebration to support American theatre at the annual Chairman's Awards Gala on Monday, April 3rd, at The Pierre New York (2 East 61st Street at Fifth Avenue).

The Chairman's Awards Gala supports the work of Theatre Forward, which is dedicated to advancing American theatres and its communities through its Educating Through Theatre and Advancing Strong Theatre initiatives.

Emmy- and Tony Award-winner and six-time Academy Award nominee Glenn Close (Fatal Attraction, Dangerous Liaisons, Albert Nobbs), will be honored this spring with the Theatre Artist Award. Roe Green, visionary arts philanthropist, will receive the Theatre Forward Leadership Award. Center Theatre Group will receive the Achievement in Theatre Award on behalf of their 50th anniversary.

Phylicia Rashad (A Raisin in the Sun, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof) will present the Achievement in Theatre Award to Center Theatre Group on behalf of their 50th anniversary and Quiara Alegria Hudes (Water by the Spoonful, In the Heights) will present the Theatre Forward Leadership Award to Roe Green. Members of the Sunset Boulevard company Nancy Anderson, Preston Truman Boyd, Britney Coleman, Katie Ladner, Lance Roberts and Jim Walton will present to Glenn Close.

The event will also include performances by Tony Award winner Jason Robert Brown (Bridges of Madison County, The Last Five Years) and Betsy Wolfe (Bullets Over Broadway, Mystery of Edwin Drood). Bjorn DuPaty (Carnaval), Nedra McClyde (upcoming Marvin's Room), Leenya Rideout (Cyrano de Bergerac, Company), and Brian Sills (The Lion King), will perform an excerpt from Fairfield by playwright Eric Coble (Velocity of Autumn). Lee MacDougall (The Wizard of Oz, Mamma Mia!) and Sharon Wheatley (Avenue Q, Les Misérables) will perform a number from Come From Away.

Pamela Farr & Buford Alexander and James S. & Lynne P. Turley serve as Gala Co-Chairs.

The Gala will include cocktails, dinner, and performances, as well as a live and silent auction. Auction proceeds will benefit the creation of theatrical works and theatre education programs across the country serving 500,000 students.

The Patron and Co-Chair Tables are priced at $25,000. Benefactor Tables are priced at $15,000 and Sponsor Tables are priced at $10,000. Ticket pricing is as follows: $2,500 (Patron Ticket), $1500 (Benefactor Ticket) $1,000 (Individual Ticket). Journal ads and Sponsorships are also available. For ticket information, contact Emily Miller at (212) 750-6895 or events@theatreforward.org.

ABOUT THE HONOREES:

GLENN CLOSE Select theatre: BROADWAY: Phoenix Theatre Company's Love for Love, directed by Hal Prince, (professional debut, 1974), Cy Coleman's Barnum (Tony nomination), Tom Stoppard's The Real Thing, directed by Mike Nichols, (Tony Award), Death and the Maiden, directed by Mike Nichols (Tony Award), Andrew Lloyd Webber's Sunset Boulevard, directed by Trevor Nunn, (Tony Award), Edward Albee's A Delicate Balance. OFF-BROADWAY: Wendy Wasserstein's Uncommon Women and Others, Simone Benmussa's The Singular Life of Albert Nobbs (Obie Award), Nathalie Sarraute's Childhood. LONDON: Royal National Theatre's A Streetcar Named Desire, directed by Trevor Nunn, Andrew Lloyd Webber's Sunset Boulevard directed by Lonnie Price (The Evening Standard Award) Select Film: The World According to Garp (Film debut/Oscar nomination), The Big Chill,(Oscar nomination), The Natural (Oscar Nomination), Fatal Attraction (Oscar nomination), Dangerous Liaisons (Oscar nomination), 101 & 102 Dalmatians, Mars Attacks, Air Force One, Cookie's Fortune, Things You Can Tell Just By Looking At Her, Nine Lives, Heights, Albert Nobbs (producer/actress, Oscar nomination, ), Guardians of the Galaxy,Upcoming films: The Wife, Crooked House, Guardian of the Galaxy II, What Happened To Monday?, The Girl With All The Gifts, Wilde Wedding and Bastards. Select television:Hallmark Hall of Fame's The Sarah, Plain & Tall Trilogy (Producer/Actress/Emmy nomination), Something About Emilia(Emmy nomination), Damages (two Emmys/two Golden Globes), The Lion In Winter(SAG Award, Golden Globe Award), The Shield(Emmy and Golden Globe nominations), In The Gloaming(Cable ACE Award), The Ballad of Lucy Whipple (producer/actress) Roger & Hammerstein's South Pacific for ABC TV (producer/actress), Serving In Silence (producer/actress/Emmy Award) Charities: Bring Change 2 Mind, Panthera and Congohounds.

ROE GREEN is an arts patron, community activist and chief executive officer of the Roe Green Foundation. With a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre and Communications from the University of Colorado and a Master's degree in Theatre from Kent State University, her experience in stage and business management includes Cain Park, Cleveland Opera and Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park. Today, she is President Emeritus of CAVORT, Inc., the Conference About Volunteers of Regional Theatres; serves on the Kent State University School of Theatre and Dance Advisory Board; the Foundation Board of Kent State University; the Board of Porthouse Theatre; the Board of Maltz Jupiter Theatre in Jupiter, Florida; and the Board of Cleveland Play House. She is responsible for the Roe Green Visiting Director Series for the School of Theatre and Dance at Kent State and the University of Colorado. Ms. Green has received numerous awards for her support of the arts and new play development including the State of Ohio Governor's Award for Arts Patron (2009); the Dramatist Guild's Patron of the Arts Award (2013); and the Muse Award from the Cultural Council of Palm Beach County (2014). In 2013, she received the Cleveland Play House (CPH) Centennial Star Award that recognizes select individuals who have made special and important contributions to CPH's rich legacy of artistic and educational programming. She is the first recipient of the CPH Super Nova Award (2015) in recognition of her leadership and generosity which has been instrumental in elevating CPH's presentation of new works through the New Ground Theatre Festival. 2017 marks the sixth year of the Roe Green Award at CPH, which recognizes a playwright and the development of a new work.

Center Theatre Group, one of the nation's preeminent arts and cultural organizations, is Los Angeles' leading nonprofit theatre company, programming seasons at the 736-seat Mark Taper Forum and 1600 to 2000-seat Ahmanson Theatre at The Music Center in Downtown Los Angeles, and the 317-seat Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City. In addition to presenting and producing the broadest range of theatrical entertainment in the country, Center Theatre Group is one of the nation's leading producers of ambitious new works through commissions and world premiere productions and a leader in interactive community engagement and education programs that reach across generations, demographics and circumstance to serve Los Angeles. Center Theatre Group is led by Artistic Director Michael Ritchie, Managing Director Stephen D. Rountree, and Producing Director Douglas C. Baker.

Theatre Forward is devoted to advancing the American theatre and its communities by providing funding and other resources to the country's leading nonprofit theatres. Through this network of funders and regional theatres, Theatre Forward aims to increase access and opportunity for all to experience theatre that builds community and sets the stage for individual achievement by advancing strong theatre and educating through theatre. Theatre Forward is an association of institutional nonprofit theatres located in 19 cities across the country.

Theatre Forward, formerly National Corporate Theatre Fund, was created in 1977 by our 10 founding member theatres. Today, Theatre Forward theatres include the Actors Theatre of Louisville, Alley Theatre, Alliance Theatre, American Conservatory Theater, American Repertory Theater, Arena Stage, Center Theatre Group, Cleveland Play House, Dallas Theater Center, Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Goodman Theatre, Guthrie Theater, Hartford Stage, Long Warf Theatre, Manhattan Theatre Club, The Old Globe, Seattle Repertory Theatre and Trinity Repertory Company, and Walnut Street Theatre.

For more information, visit theatreforward.org.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride