Pierce, Lane, Etc. Set for Gala Honoring Stritch & Perloff

National Corporate Theatre Fund (NCTF) will hold its Annual Chairman's Awards Gala and benefit on Monday, May 21 at New York's Tavern On The Green (Central Park at West 67th Street). This year, NCTF Chairman James S. Turley, Chairman & CEO of Ernst & Young, will honor Carey Perloff (Artistic Director, American Conservatory Theater), the legendary Elaine Stritch and Citi Private Bank.  Accepting the award on behalf of Citi Private Bank will be Richard M. Ditizio (Head, US High Net Worth, Citi Private Bank).
 
David Hyde Pierce will serve as Master of Ceremonies for this black-tie event.  The awards to the evening's honorees will be presented by Olympia Dukakis, Nathan Lane and Karen Ziemba.  Cocktails begin at 6:30 PM with dinner at 7:30 PM.  The gala will feature a silent auction filled with exciting prize packages. 
 
"Citi Private Bank is a leading patron of a wide range of arts organizations across the country," said NCTF Executive Director Bruce Whitacre.  "We are very pleased to recognize especially their support for many of our member theatres.  Carey Perloff's achievements in San Francisco have just been extraordinary.  With ACT celebrating its 40th anniversary, and Carey concluding fifteen years as artistic director, we salute Carey and an institution that is one of our country's leading developers of actors, a standard bearer of artistic excellence, and a major forum for new plays.  No words can describe the ability of Elaine Stritch to knock out an audience with her talent.  We are thrilled to have this opportunity to recognize this amazing star."
 
Carey Perloff will be honored with the NCTF Achievement in Theatre Award.  Perloff is celebrating her 15th season as artistic director of ACT in San Francisco, where she has directed numerous acclaimed productions including, recently, her own new adaptation of A Christmas Carol as well as David Mamet's adaptation of The Voysey Inheritance, and the American premiere of Tom Stoppard's The Invention of Love. She is celebrated for her direction of innovative productions of classics and for championing new writing for the theatre.  This award will be presented by Olympia Dukakis.
 
Elaine Stritch will be honored with this year's Theatre Artist Award.  Her illustrious career began when she stood by for Ethel Merman in Call Me Madam, and has included star turns in such memorable productions as Company, A Delicate Balance and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, as well as numerous film and television appearances and her show Elaine Stritch At Liberty, for which she won Emmy and Tony Awards.  This award will be presented by Nathan Lane.                  
 
Citi Private Bank has been named recipient of this year's Corporate Leadership Award.  Their giving has ranged from significant gifts to Center Theatre Group in Los Angeles and the Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis through NCTF, as well as patronage of theatres in Chicago, Greater Los Angeles, Costa Mesa, and throughout the country.  NCTF Board member Richard Ditizio, who is accepting the award on behalf of Citi Private Bank, has been an active leader of the organization, and is a longstanding patron of the arts in his own right.  This award will be presented by Karen Ziemba.

Co-chairs of this year's Annual Chairman's Awards Gala are Altria Group, Inc., Cisco Systems, Inc., Ernst & Young and Heather Kitchen, Executive Director of ACT.  The Gala Committee includes Richard Ditizio, Mitchell Auslander of Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP; John Dutt of Marsh and McLennan Companies; and Marla Chandler. 
 
Director and choreographer Denis Jones (director of past Broadway Bares, Broadway concerts, and Actors' Fund events, as well as associate choreographer on Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and Legally Blonde) will oversee the evening's entertainment, which will feature surprise appearances by Broadway stars.
 
NCTF is an association of ten of America's finest not-for-profit theatres dedicated to increasing the participation of corporations and their employees in the support of theatre across the country and in New York. NCTF member theatres include: Actors Theatre of Louisville, American Conservatory Theater, American Repertory Theatre, Center Theatre Group, The Cleveland Play House, Guthrie Theater, Long Wharf Theatre, The Old Globe, Seattle Repertory Theatre, and Trinity Repertory Company.

The NCTF Annual Chairman's Awards Gala and benefit will take place Monday, May 21 at Tavern On The Green (Central Park @ West 67th Street).  For reservations, please call Lucia Gajda (212) 750-6895.  Individual tickets are $1,000 and reserved tables are $10,000 – $25,000.  For more information, please visit www.nctf.org.

Photo of Elaine Stritch by Ben Strothmann