Lane, Esparza, Gasteyer & Krakowski Set for MTC's 'An Intimiate Night' Benefit, 1/25

Manhattan Theatre Club will present its annual Winter Benefit "An Intimate Night," an evening of cocktails and dinner followed by a special one-night-only cabaret-style show on Monday, January 25, 2010 at The Plaza (Fifth Avenue and Central Park South).

MTC's Artistic Director Lynne Meadow will direct the show which will feature a special appearance by two-time Tony Award winner Nathan Lane (The Addams Family, The Producers) and performances by four-time Tony nominee Raúl Esparza (Speed-the-Plow, Company), "Saturday Night Live" alum Ana Gasteyer (MTC's The Royal Family, Wicked), and Tony and Olivier Award winner Jane Krakowski ("30 Rock," Nine on Broadway).

MTC board members Bethany Millard and Fiona Kirk are the co-chairs of the event.

"An Intimate Night" begins with cocktails at 7 PM, followed by dinner at 8 PM, and the show at approximately 9:15 PM. All proceeds from this annual event will support MTC's mission as a leading non-profit theatre company producing contemporary plays on and off-Broadway.

The evening features a set by John Lee Beatty, lighting by Peter Kaczorowski and sound by Dan Gerhard.

Individual tickets for MTC's Winter Benefit, including cocktails, dinner and the show are available for $2,500 and $1,500. Tables of ten are also available for $25,000, $20,000, and $15,000. Tickets can be purchased at www.ManhattanTheatreClub.com/winterbenefit or for more information, call (212) 399-3000, ext. 4145.

As Artistic Director of MTC since 1972, Lynne Meadow has overseen hundreds of productions for MTC and accepted many awards on behalf of the company, including 16 Tony Awards, 47 Obies and 29 Drama Desk Awards, as well as numerous Drama Critics Circle, Outer Critics Circle and Theatre World Awards. Her directing credits include New York premieres of Charles Busch's Our Leading Lady and The Tale of the Allergist's Wife (Broadway, MTC, National tour), The American Pilot by David Greig, Moonlight and Magnolias by Ron Hutchinson (MTC, ALLIANCE THEATRE), Nine Armenians by Leslie Ayvazian (Drama Desk nomination, Best Director), The Loman Family Picnic by Donald Margulies, Alan Ayckbourn's Woman in Mind (Drama Desk nomination, Best Director), Absent Friends and A Small Family Business (Broadway), Ashes by David Rudkin (Obie Award) and also premieres of plays by Marsha Norman, Simon Gray, Howard Brenton, Lee Blessing, Sybille Pearson, etc. She attended Yale School of Drama and Bryn Mawr College. She is the recipient of numerous awards including the Mr. Abbott Award, the Margo Jones Award, etc. and has taught at Yale, Fordham, NYU, Circle in the Square School, etc. This spring she will direct the Broadway premiere of Donald Margulies' Collected Stories starring Linda Lavin and Sarah Paulson.

Raúl Esparza recently starred as Charlie Fox in Broadway's Speed-the-Plow for which he received his fourth Tony nomination. Esparza first drew attention by winning the Theatre World Award for his performance in the Broadway revival of The Rocky Horror Show (2000). Other Broadway credits include tick, tick... BOOM! for which he received an Obie Award as Outstanding Actor in a Musical; Taboo for which he received a Drama Desk Award; Chitty Chitty Bang Bang; Company which garnered him the Outer Critics Circle and Drama Desk Awards for his brilliantly acclaimed performance as Bobby; and the 2007 Broadway revival of The Homecoming. TV appearances include: "Pushing Daisies," "Law & Order" and "Law & Order: Criminal Intent." Film credits include: Wes Craven's 25/8 and Sidney Lumet's Find Me Guilty.

Ana Gasteyer. Broadway: The Royal Family, Wicked, The Threepenny Opera, The Rocky Horror Show. Off-Broadway/Regional: Girl Crazy (City Center Encores!), Kimberly Akimbo (MTC), Roulette, The Vagina Monologues, Cinderella (NYC Opera), Fanny Brice in Funny Girl (Pittsburgh CLO), "Fosca" in Passion (Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Jeff nom), originated "Elphaba" in Wicked (Chicago's Oriental Theatre, Jeff nom). Film: Dare, Reefer Madness, The Women, Mean Girls, What Women Want, Dick, What's the Worst That Could Happen. TV includes: "Saturday Night Live" (6 seasons), "Frasier," "Just Shoot Me," "3rd Rock From the Sun," "Seinfeld," and "Law & Order." Recordings: Hair (Actor's Fund), Reefer Madness.

Tony Award winner Jane Krakowski currently stars as "Jenna Maroney" in NBC's Emmy Award-winning "30 Rock." Krakowski, along with the "30 Rock" cast, won the 2008 Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series. This year she received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. Jane won Tony, Drama Desk and Outer Critics awards for her portrayal of "Carla" in Broadway's Nine opposite Antonio Banderas, and won the Olivier Award for Guys and Dolls in which she starred with Ewan McGregor on London's West End. She earned her first Tony nomination for her work in the production of Grand Hotel. Her other Broadway credits include Company, Once Upon a Mattress, Tartuffe and Starlight Express. Last summer Krakowski starred in the Encores revival of Damn Yankees opposite Sean Hayes. During her five-year stint on the Emmy, Golden Globe, and Screen Actors Guild award-winning series "Ally McBeal," she received a Golden Globe nomination for her portrayal of "Elaine Vassal." Making her film debut as "Cousin Vickie" in National Lampoon's Vacation (with Chevy Chase), Krakowski has also starred alongside Jude Law in Alfie (the remake of the famous 1966 film), Pretty Persuasion (with Evan Rachel Wood and James Woods), and co-starred, opposite Abigail Breslin in the family film Kit Kittredge: All American Girl. Most recently, she appeared in the Universal feature The Vampire Diaries: Cirque du Freak (directed by Paul Weitz).

Nathan Lane. Broadway: Present Laughter (Drama Desk nom.), Merlin, The Wind in the Willows, Some Americans Abroad, On Borrowed Time, Guys and Dolls (Tony nom., Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards), Laughter on the 23rd Floor, Love! Valour! Compassion! (Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards), The Man Who Came to Dinner, The Producers (Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle and Olivier Awards), The Frogs, The Odd Couple, Butley, November and Waiting For Godot (Outer Critics Circle nom.). Off-B'way: 1992 Obie Award for Sustained Excellence. Credits include Dedication or the Stuff of Dreams (Drama Desk nom.); Trumbo; A Midsummer Night's Dream; Measure for Measure (Bayfield Award); Luv, the Musical; She Stoops to Conquer; The Common Pursuit; The Film Society; Mizlansky/Zilinsky; In a Pig's Valise; The Lisbon Traviata (Drama Desk and Lucille Lortel Awards); Bad Habits; Lips Together, Teeth Apart; Love! Valour! Compassion! (Obie Award) and Do Re Mi at Encores! Television: Five Emmy noms., two Emmy Awards and a People's Choice Award. More than 30 films including The Birdcage (Golden Globe nom., Screen Actors Guild and American Comedy Awards), Ironweed, Frankie and Johnny, Mousehunt, Jeffrey, The Lion King, Stuart Little, Nicholas Nickleby (National Board of Review Ensemble Acting Award), Swing Vote and The Producers (Golden Globe nom.). Honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and recently inducted into the Theater Hall of Fame. This spring Lane will star as ‘Gomez Addams' in the world premiere musical The Addams Family.