Jordan Fisher, Anthony Rapp, Alice Ripley and More Set For New York Theatre Workshop 2019 Gala

On February 11, New York Theatre Workshop is celebrating 40 years of bringing the work of visionary artists to adventurous audiences. Each season, from its home in New York's East Village, NYTW presents four new productions, over 80 readings and numerous workshop productions for over 45,000 audience members. NYTW supports artists in all stages of their careers by maintaining a series of workshop programs, including work-in-progress readings, summer residencies and artist fellowships.

Stephen Graham founded New York Theatre Workshop in 1979 with a vision to support and encourage outstanding new playwrights and directors outside the commercial arena, and to develop inventive new works for the theatre. In addition to his formative and ongoing work with NYTW, Mr. Graham is a Bard Center Fellow and professor of literature, and Chairperson Emeritus of the 52nd Street Project.

The evening will feature performances from Alice Ripley (Next to Normal); Anthony Rapp (RENT), Daphne Rubin-Vega (RENT), Amber Gray (Hadestown); Nathaly Lopez (What's It All About); Cristina Monet ( Disco Clone ) plus members of the original casts of RENT; Bright Lights, Big City; What's It All About; Hadestown and more.

Special guests for the evening include Jordan Fisher, Leigh Silverman, Lisa Kron, Anna Deavere Smith, Ayad Akhtar, Doug Wright, Thursday Williams, Mike Iveson, Irene Lucio, Ato Blankson-Wood, Danielle Skraastad, Kate Wetherhead, Madeleine George, Rosdely Ciprian, Chalia La Tour, Mia Barron, Dael Orlandersmith and more.

Since its founding, NYTW has produced over 100 new, fully staged works, including Jonathan Larson's Rent; Tony Kushner's Slavs! and Homebody/Kabul; Doug Wright's Quills; Claudia Shear's Blown Sideways Through Life and Dirty Blonde; Paul Rudnick's The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told and Valhalla; Martha Clarke's Vienna: Lusthaus; Caryl Churchill's Mad Forest, Far Away, A Number and Love and Information; Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen's Aftermath; Glen Hansard, Mark ta Irglov and Enda Walsh's Once; Rick Elice's Peter and the Starcatcher; David Bowie and Enda Walsh's Lazarus; Ana s Mitchell's Hadestown; and seven acclaimed productions directed by Ivo van Hove. NYTW's productions have received a Pulitzer Prize, seventeen Tony Awards and assorted Obie, Drama Desk and Lucille Lortel Awards.