Mandy Patinkin Joins Alan Cumming, PS122 to Honor Claire Danes, Jimmy Van Bramer Tonight

PS122's 2015 Spring Gala celebrates homecomings by honoring actor and dancer Claire Danes, whose history with PS122 includes her 1985 performance debut at the age of six along with critically acclaimed dance pieces in 2005 and 2007. In addition, New York City Council Member Majority Leader Jimmy Van Bramer will receive the Shining Star Award for his unwavering dedication to New York City arts and culture.

PS122's 2015 Spring Gala is hosted by Alan Cumming and features remarks by Broadway and television legend Mandy Patinkin, as well as performances by Peaches, cabaret artist Meow Meow, playwright Edgar Oliver, choreographer Faye Driscoll, and Gala 2015 house band led by renowned musician Lance Horne.

The event will take place tonight, April 20th at Capitale (130 Bowery) and begin at 6:30 PM with cocktails with AndrewAndrew, hors d'oeuvres and a silent auction. Dinner, performances, presentations and a live auction conducted by powerhouse auctioneer Ck Swett will begin around 7:30 PM. The after-party, with DJ Sammy Jo and additional performances, will start at 10:30 PM. The Gala producer is once again Tanya Selvaratnam, this time with additional production by Jacob Langfelder.

Dinner and dessert are designed by notable chef and author Gabrielle Hamilton of Prune. Honoree and Shining Star awards are provided by Swarovski. Auction highlights include original artwork by Dan Colen and Julien Schnabel, tickets to Alan Cumming's upcoming performance at the Cafe Carlyle and drinks with him after the show, a private concert by International Contemporary Ensemble, VIP tickets to Jon Stewart's last season on Comedy Central's The Daily Show, and luxury excursions to Rome or Las Vegas. Online auction opens March 20th at PS122.org/gala.

Individual tickets, starting at $400, table sponsorships, starting at $2,500, and after-party tickets at $75 can be purchased via Lori Vroegindewey at PS122 at 212-477-5829 x 302 and lori@ps122.org or online at PS122.ORG/GALA beginning February 12th.

The April 20 Gala also expands PS122's Give Performance Space capital campaign and celebrates PS122's anticipated return to its newly renovated East Village building, the organizations home for 30 plus years. A City of New York led renovation of PS122's beloved home at 150 First Avenue is currently underway with an expected completion in 2016. Lead by co-chairs Alan Cumming, Stella Schnabel, and PS122's Board Vice President Charles Kerr, the 2015 Spring Gala and PS122's capacity campaign, Give Performance Space (GPS), will ensure that PS122 can successfully navigate the institutional and physical growth necessary to take full advantage of the buildings renovation. Unlike funds from a bricks and mortar campaign, the GPS campaign gives PS122 the flexibility to take risks, adapt, and grow as a leader within the cultural ecology of New York City. PS122 is invigorated by the boundless possibilities in returning to its custom designed theaters. Larger, column-free, flexible theater spaces will open up a world of programming opportunities that enable artists to thrive through technological capability, flexible configuration, and vastly improved stage space. This moment provides PS122 with a unique opportunity to increase its organizational capacity and create a physical hub for bold new work of contemporary performance.

The 2015 Spring Gala Committee includes Marie Abma and Dike Blair, Louise Allen, Justin Vivian Bond, Winsome Brown and Claude Arpels, Sammy Chadwick, Alan Cumming, Gaby Darbyshire, Olga Garay-English and Kerry English, Gillian Fallon and Ross Mollison, Melinda Hackett, Suzanne Geiss, Eileen Guggenheim, Agnes Gund, Dena Hammerstein, Simon Hammerstein, Jesse Hernreich, James Kaliardos, Thomas O. Kriegsmann and Shanta Thake, Matthew Kwatinetz, Sheila Lewandowski, Jennifer Lim and Gary Wilmes, Josephine Linden, Kathryn Lynch, Sean and Rachelle MacPherson, Ivan Martinez, Hilary McMahon, Tom Moore, Adam Whitney Nichols, Sherwin Parikh MD, Mandy Patinkin and Kathryn Grody, Russell Piccione, Michael Rich, Brian Rogers, Tamar Rogoff, Daryl Roth, Eli Scheier, Kambiz Shekdar, Stella Schnabel, Heather Thomas and Charles Kerr, Timothée Verrecchia, Arden Wohl, and Lucien Zayan.

Claire Danes is an American actress known for her roles as "Angela Chase" in the ABC series My So-Called Life, "Temple Grandin" in the HBO television film Temple Grandin, and "Carrie Mathison" in the Showtime series Homeland. She has received three Emmy Awards (5 nominations), four Golden Globe Awards (5 nominations), and two Screen Actors Guild Awards (8 nominations).

Ms. Danes made her stage debut on the Performance Space 122 stage at the tender age of six. "I was a duck, and I quacked!", she recalls of that initial performance. Ms. Danes also performed at PS 122 in choreographer Tamar Rogoff's 'Christina Olson, American Model' (2005) and 'Edith & Jenny' (2007) to critical acclaim.

Hear Claire Danes speak on her first performance at PS122 on the Mark Marin WTF Podcast: www.ps122.org/claire-danes-first.

Ms. Danes first came to major public attention in the critically acclaimed television series My So-Called Life (1994), for which she received an Emmy nomination and a Golden Globe Award. A successful film career followed with roles in such notable films as Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet (1996) with Leonardo DiCaprio, Francis Ford Coppola's The Rainmaker (1997) with Matt Damon, Stephen Daldry's The Hours (2002) with Meryl Streep, Anand Tucker's Shopgirl (2005) with Steve Martin, Thomas Bezucha's The Family Stone (2005) with Diane Keaton, and Temple Grandin (2010) with David Strathairn for which she won an Emmy, Golden Globe, and Screen Actors Guild Award.

A life long resident of Queens, Jimmy Van Bramer has been a member of the New York City Council since 2009. In 2014 he was elected Majority Leader of the New York City Council, which is the second highest ranking member in the 51 member body. As part of his duties as Majority Leader, he was also appointed to co-chair the newly constituted Budget Negotiating Team (BNT), which plays an integral role in formulating the City's budget process to fund critical programs, projects and organizations citywide.

Since taking office he has also served as chair of the Council's Cultural Affairs, Libraries and International Intergroup Relations Committee. As Chair of the committee, he has direct oversight over 200 libraries and thousands of cultural organizations, institutions and programs throughout New York City. During his first four years as Chair of the Cultural Affairs Committee, Council Member Van Bramer fought hard to restore over $575 million for our City's libraries and the arts.

Alan Cumming is an actor and activist beyond eclectic; Time Magazine named him one of the most fun people in show business. He plays political maverick Eli Gold on CBS's The Good Wife, for which he received Golden Globe, Emmy, SAG, and Satellite award nominations; and is currently reviving his Tony Award-winning role of the Emcee in the Broadway musical Cabaret at Studio 54.

Alan's diverse career has found him performing at venues around the globe including the Sydney Opera House; making back-to-back films with Stanley Kubrick and The Spice Girls; directing and starring in a musical condom commercial; creating voices of a Smurf, a goat, and Hitler; entering upside down and suspended by his ankles in a Greek tragedy (in the National Theatre of Scotland's The Bacchae); and recording an award-winning album of songs (plus a dance remix). Alan is also Host of PBS's Masterpiece Mystery and appears opposite Lisa Kudrow in Showtime's Web Therapy. Alan has written for The New York Times, Newsweek, Harpers Bazaar and Out, and two books: Tommy's Tale and his New York Times Best Selling memoir, Not My Father's Son. A tireless champion for LGBT civil rights and HIV/AIDS, Alan serves on the Board of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS and works closely with amfAR, The Trevor Project, and the Ali Forney Center to name but a few. In 2009, Alan was made an OBE in the Queen's Honors List and by his homeland, Scotland, for which he was a vocal supporter of the YES for independence campaign; he has been awarded the Great Scot and Icon of Scotland awards, as well as recently having his portrait unveiled at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery as seen on the finale of Portrait Artist of the Year.