Pearl Theatre Presents 'The Play's The Thing' Gala 4/26, Honors Pendleton And Seldes

The Pearl Theatre Company will host its exciting and intimate 26th season Gala on Monday, April 26, 2010, honoring award-winning artists Austin Pendleton and Marian Seldes. The evening, which is The Pearl's largest fundraising event of the year, includes a cocktail reception, a three-course dinner, various raffle prizes, and one-of-a-kind live entertainment at The Yale Club of New York.

The highlight of the event will be tributes to Austin Pendleton and Marian Seldes, honoring their numerous contributions to the arts community and their steadfast dedication to The Pearl's unique missions and commitment to artistic excellence. The Pearl's Resident Acting Company will perform select scenes from some of the landmark productions of Mr. Pendleton's and Ms. Seldes' careers. Joining the company in honoring Mr. Pendleton and Ms. Seldes are renowned actors George Morfogen (A Man for All Seasons, "Oz") and Frances Sternhagen (The Heiress, "Sex and the City").

Table sponsorships and tickets are now available. To purchase tickets or receive additional information, contact Sarah Wozniak, Artistic Administrator at The Pearl Theatre Company at 212-505-3401 or www.pearltheatre.org.

About the Honorees

Austin Pendleton, Tony-nominated director of The Little Foxes (1981), directed The Pearl's acclaimed productions of Toys in the Attic in 2007 and Vieux Carré in 2009. Also an award-winning actor and playwright, Mr. Pendleton has tread the boards all over New York, including Broadway (Fiddler on the Roof, The Diary of Anne Frank) and off-Broadway (Mother Courage and Her Children, The Last Sweet Days of Isaac). A long-time ensemble member of Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre, his work has also been seen on the small and silver screens in "Oz" and "Homicide: Life on the Street," as well as Academy Award-winning films A Beautiful Mind and Finding Nemo. Mr. Pendleton continues to inspire the next generation of artists through his teaching at the HB Studio and The New School. Marian Seldes is a Drama Desk and Tony Award winning actress and a long-time friend of The Pearl. Since her Broadway debut in Medea in 1948, Ms. Seldes has commanded the New York stage with acclaimed performances in A Delicate Balance, Dinner at Eight, Equus, Father's Day, and Deuce. In addition to her legendary stage career, Ms. Seldes has appeared in numerous television shows, films, and radio programs, including "The Book of Daniel," "Gunsmoke," Mona Lisa Smile, August Rush, and Himan Brown's CBS Radio Mystery Theater. Ms. Seldes joined a select group of artists in 1995 when she was inducted into the prestigious American Theatre Hall of Fame. An inspiration for countless artists, she continues her illustrious career as a teacher at Juilliard School of Drama and Fordham University.

About The Pearl Theatre Company 26th Season

The Pearl Theatre Company produces a full-range classical repertory with an established Resident Acting Company, dedicated to bringing timeless stories to new and vivid life. Moving this season out of its 15-year home in the East Village, the company now performs uptown at New York City Center Stage II. Currently performing HARD TIMES, the company has presented J.M. Synge's THE PLAYBOY OF THE WESTERN WORLD and Bernard Shaw's MISALLIANCE thus far in its 2009-2010 season. The season will conclude with the Pulitzer Prize-winning THE SUBJECT WAS ROSES by Frank D. Gilroy, directed by Amy Wright.

The Resident Acting Company greets the challenges of classical repertory through season-specific training and craft-building workshops. The versatility and talents of this award-winning group of artists have been instrumental in The Pearl receiving an Obie grant for continued artistic excellence, two Drama League nominations for outstanding play, and an American Theatre Wing grant for consistent commitment to excellence in the professional theatre.
The 2009-2010 Resident Acting Company

The 2009-2010 Resident Acting Company consists of veterans of the New York and regional stages including: Jolly Abraham, Rachel Botchan, Robin Leslie Brown, Bradford Cover, Dominic Cuskern, Dan Daily, TJ Edwards, Robert Hock, Sean McNall, Carol Schultz, and Edward Seamon. The 2009-2010 resident stage managers are Lisa Ledwich and Dale Smallwood.