Judy Kuhn, Stephen Bogardus and More Set for Classic Stage Company's 5/10 Gala

Classic Stage Company, under the leadership of Artistic Director Brian Kulick and Executive Director Greg Reiner, will celebrate the theater's past, present and future at its 45th Anniversary Bash this Friday evening, May 10 at the Edison Ballroom (240 West 47th Street). The evening will include an exclusive sneak peek at works under consideration for the company's future Musical Theatre Initiative productions with performances from Judy Kuhn, Stephen Bogardus and Jeffry Denman-all of whom were featured in this season's critically-acclaimed Passion-as well as Alexander Gemignani, Alexandra Silba, Jenny Fellner and more, directed by Jack Cummings III, with musical direction by Greg Jarrett.

The evening begins at 7:30pm with cocktails, dinner and an auction; followed by the performance at 10pm. Performance-only tickets are available in advance for $75 or at the door that evening beginning at 9:00pm for $100. Table sponsorships and individual tickets are also available. For benefit tickets and information, contact Audrey Carmeli at (212) 677-4210 or at Audrey.carmeli@classicstage.org.

Now in its 45th Anniversary Season, CSC is the award-winning Off-Broadway theatre committed to re-imaging the classical repertory for a contemporary American audience. Founded in 1967, CSC uses works of the past as a way to engage in the issues of today.

Highly respected and widely regarded as a major force in American theatre, it has become the home to New York's finest established and emerging artists, the place where they gather to grapple with the great works of the world's repertory from Sophocles to Sondheim. CSC has been cited repeatedly by all the major Off-Broadway theater awards: Obies, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, Drama League and the Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Body of Work.

CSC began its current season with Anton Chekhov's Ivanov, starring Ethan Hawke, Joely Richardson and Juliet Rylance, directed by Austin Pendleton. The theatre recently presented the highly-acclaimed production of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's Passion, directed by John Doyle, and starring Melissa Errico, Judy Kuhn, and Ryan Silverman. CSC concludes its season with Bertolt Brecht's The Caucasian Chalk Circle, starring Christopher Lloyd, featuring new music by Duncan Sheik, directed by Brian Kulick. Past productions include: Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream with Bebe Neuwirth; Brecht's Galileo with F. Murray Abraham; Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard with Dianne Wiest and John Turturro; Chekhov's Three Sisters with Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jessica Hecht, Juliet Rylance and Peter Sarsgaard; David Ives' The School for Lies with Hamish Linklater; Unnatural Acts conceived by Tony Speciale; Ostrovsky's The Forest with Dianne Wiest and John Douglas Thompson; David Ives' Venus in Fur with Nina Arianda (Broadway transfer 2011/2012, Tony Award nom. Best Play); Shakespeare's The Tempest with Mandy Patinkin; Chekhov's Uncle Vanya with Maggie Gyllenhaal, Denis O'Hare and Peter Sarsgaard; Anne Carson's An Oresteia; Chekhov's The Seagull with Dianne Wiest and Alan Cumming; David Ives' New Jerusalem with Richard Easton;Richard III, Richard II and Hamlet with Michael Cumpsty; Yasmina Reza's A Spanish Play with Zoe Caldwell; Steve Martin's adaptation of The Underpants; Philip Glass's In the Penal Colony; Bill Irwin's adaptation of Texts for Nothing; Waiting for Godot with John Turturro, Tony Shalhoub and Christopher Lloyd; Entertaining Mr. Sloane with Brian Murray; Harold Pinter's The Birthday Party with David Strathairn and Faust Parts I and II, directed by CSC founding Artistic Director Christopher Martin.