Michael Mayer & Rick Miramontez to be Honored at New York Stage And Film's Annual Gala, 11/16

New York Stage and Film has announced that its Annual Winter Gala, to be held this year on Sunday, November 16, 2014 at The Plaza Hotel (770 Fifth Avenue, New York City), will honor Tony Award winner Michael Mayer and veteran theatrical press agent Rick Miramontez. NYSAF has also announced that the Co-Chairs for this year's gala are Grammy Award winner Billie Joe Armstrong, Emmy Award winner Edie Falco, Tony Award winner Harvey Fierstein, Tony and Emmy Award winner Neil Patrick Harris, Emmy, Grammy, and Tony Award winner Cyndi Lauper, and Thomas Schumacher, president of Disney Theatrical Group. Gala Committee members include Kristin Chenoweth, Julianna Margulies, Kevin Bacon & Kyra Sedgwick, Laura Linney, Jennifer Westfeldt & Jon Hamm, Lea Michele, Josh Radnor, Amy Ryan, Anjelica Huston, Jonathan Groff, John Gallagher Jr., Isabel & Ruben Toledo, David Rockwell and Camryn Manheim, among many others.

"We are thrilled to honor two gentlemen who are, quite simply, at the top of their respective games," said Artistic Director Johanna Pfaelzer. "Michael Mayer's extraordinary range as an artist, encompassing everything from theater to television to cutting edge opera, not to mention his 20 year relationship to New York Stage and Film, makes him a perfect recipient for this honor. And our tradition of also honoring a business luminary in the entertainment world this year shines a spotlight on a man most often behind the scenes: Rick Miramontez, whose mix of intelligence, inventive campaigning and old-school charm have helped establish him as one of our industry's most valuable players. "

Michael Mayer is currently represented on Broadway with Hedwig And the Angry Inch. He received the 2007 Tony Award, as well as Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards for his production of Spring Awakening, which also played in London, Vienna, Tokyo, and Seoul. His other Broadway credits include: On A Clear Day You Can See Forever; Everyday Rapture? American Idiot (for which he won the Drama Desk Award for Direction)? Side Man (Tony Award/Best Play)? Thoroughly Modern Millie (Tony Award/Best Musical)? A View from the Bridge (Tony Award/Best Revival)? Uncle Vanya? 'night, Mother? After the Fall? You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown? and Triumph of Love. National Tours: Angels in America? Thoroughly Modern Millie? Spring Awakening? Charlie Brown? and American Idiot. Feature films: A Home at the End of the World and Flicka. Television credits include: "Smash" (Pilot) and "Alpha House" for Amazon Prime. He made his Metropolitan Opera debut with a celebrated new production of Rigoletto, and serves on the Board of Directors of New York Stage and Film

Rick Miramontez is the president of O&M Co., one of the leading theatrical press offices in New York City with clients on and off Broadway. He was recently profiled in The New York Times. Miramontez is responsible for campaigns for a number of recent Tony winning productions including Kinky Boots, A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, Clybourne Park, Hair and The Normal Heart, to name but a few. Current projects also include the star-studded It's Only A Play, Here Lies Loves, Sleep No More and upcoming Broadway musicals Side Show, Finding Neverland, and Fun Home. He began his career as the press director of the Center Theatre Group / Ahmanson Theatre where he organized the campaigns for more than 25 major productions in Los Angeles. From 1988-1996, Miramontez headed his own firm, Rick Miramontez Company, which represented many of the major arts events on the West Coast, including the American Premiere of Sunset Boulevard, Disney's Beauty and the Beast, Cirque du Soleil, Los Angeles Festival, introducing Cirque du Soleil and The Mahabharata to the United States.

Vice Chairs of the 2014 Gala are Rebecca Carpenter & Max Mayer, Michael Cohl, Dasha Epstein, Tom Hulce, Amanda Lipitz, Barbara Manocherian, Ira Pittelman, Daryl Roth, Jordan Roth, Andy Snyder, Sylvia & David Steiner, Denise & Dean Vanech and WME Entertainment.

Gala Committee Members include: Amy Aquino & Drew McCoy, Dori Berinstein, Jed Bernstein, David Binder, Lewis Black, Mike Bosner, Michael Chabon, Kristin Chenoweth, Emily Colson, Lauren Cramer, Susan DeKrey, Susan Dietz, Eve Ensler, Beth Fargis-Lancaster, Angelina Fiordellisi & Matt Williams, Carol Friscia, John Gallagher, Jr., Jonathan Groff, Deann Halper, Ruth & Stephen Hendel, Alan Hergott, Lisa Huestis, Anjelica Huston, John Lahr, Laura Linney, Margo Lion, Pat Magnarella, Camryn Manheim, Julianna Margulies, Lea Michele, Jode Millman & Mike Harris, John Cameron Mitchell, Jessie Mueller, Gabrielle & Michael Palitz, Josh Radnor, David Rockwell, Amy Ryan, Dick Scanlan, Sherie Rene Scott, Kyra Sedgwick & Kevin Bacon, Francine & Marc Segan, John Patrick Shanley, Anne Tatlock, Jon Tenney, Isabel & Ruben Toledo, Garry Trudeau, Jennifer Westfeldt & Jon Hamm and Barbara Whitman.

Past honorees include Stanley Tucci, Laura Linney, Christopher Plummer, Julianna Margulies, Steve Martin, John Patrick Shanley, Jon Robin Baitz, Aaron Sorkin, David Strathairn, Dana Delany, Tony Shalhoub, Marc Platt and Peter Gallagher.

New York Stage and Film is a not-for-profit company dedicated to both emerging and established artists in the development of new works for theater and film. Since 1985 New York Stage and Film has played a significant role in the development of new plays, provided a home for a diverse group of artists free from critical and commercial pressures, and established itself as a vital cultural institution for residents of the Hudson Valley and the New York metropolitan region. The company recently completed the 30th Powerhouse Summer season, its annual collaboration with Vassar College, which included Richard Greenberg's The Babylon Line, the large-scale dance play In Your Arms directed and choreographed by Christopher Gattelli, with original music by Stephen Flaherty and vignettes written by Douglas Carter Beane, Nilo Cruz, Christopher Durang, Carrie Fisher, David Henry Hwang, Rajiv Joseph, Terrence McNally, Marsha Norman, Lynn Nottage & Alfred Uhry; and John Patrick Shanley's new play The Danish Widow. Recent seasons have included the new Steve Martin & Edie Brickell musical Bright Star; and Lin-Manuel Miranda's newest work The Hamilton Mixtape, among many others. NYSAF has developed and premiered numerous plays including the Tony Award winning Tru and Side Man, the Broadway hits American Idiot and A Steady Rain, the Tony and Pulitzer award-winning Doubt, Broadway's On A Clear Day You Can See Forever, and 2012 Pulitzer Prize finalist Sons of the Prophet, among many others. For more information, visit www.newyorkstageandfilm.org.

Photo by Walter McBride / Retna Ltd.