Play Company hosts Cabaret Gourment gala 4/28

The Play Company hosts its fifth annual Cabaret Gourmet gala on Monday, April 28 at The Metropolitan Pavilion.  This year honoring the renowned editor and author Judith Jones, Cabaret Gourmet is a theatrical celebration of food, glorious food and a tribute to the shared spirit of the culinary and theater arts.  This event will feature samplings from New York City's top chefs and restaurants, distinctive wines and specialty cocktails, silent and live auctions, and performances by stars of stage and screen. Throughout the evening, enjoy savory and sweet fare, festive cocktails and classic wines.
 
Participating Chefs / Restaurants: Chef Jason Avery / Pera Mediterranean Brasserie, Chef David DeCarlo / Angus McIndoe, Chef Alexandra Guarnischelli / Butter, Chef Michael Hu / Hana Pastries, Chef Jehangir Mehta / Graffiti, Chef Nancy Olson / Gramercy Tavern, Chef Shannon Pacifico / Back Forty, and others.
 
The event will also feature an array of exciting entertainment from performers Anthony Mackie, (Off-B'way: A Soldier's Play, Film: Notorious, Million Dollar Baby), Wilson Jermaine Heredia (B'way: Rent – Tony® Award), Myra Lucretia Taylor (B'way: Nine, Electra, Chronicle of a Death Foretold) and Penny Fuller (B'way: The Dinner Party – Tony® Award nomination, TV: "ER," "The Elephant Man" – Emmy® Award), among others.
 
Off-Broadway's acclaimed not-for-profit The Play Company is proud to honor Judith Jones for her international vision, dedication to the art and enjoyment of food, and lifetime service to extraordinary writing.  Ms. Jones has worked over the past 50 years to bring international cuisine into the homes of Americans.  She recently published her acclaimed memoir The Tenth Muse.  As an editor at Alfred A. Knopf, she has introduced and nurtured a treasure trove of esteemed food writers including Julia Child (beginning with her first book Mastering the Art of French Cooking in 1961 and continuing throughout her career), Lidia Bastianich, James Beard, Marcella Hazan, Ken Hom, Madhur Jaffrey, Jaques Pepin and Katy Sparks among many others.  She has also worked with many distinguished authors including Langston Hughes, Ann Tyler and John Updike. 
 
The evening will feature silent & live auctions with prizes such as hard-to-get tickets to Broadway's hottest shows, exclusive dining & spa packages, film & theater memorabilia, celebrity dinners and more.  Proceeds will benefit The Play Company's artistic programs.
 
The Play Company is a New York City not-for-profit theater that develops and produces adventurous new plays from the U.S. and all over the world.  Recognized for bringing some of the finest international new writing to the New York stage, The Play Company boasts an impressive roster of world, American and New York premieres.  The company kicked off its 2007-08 season with the U.S. premiere of Robert Farquhar's Bad Jazz directed by Trip Cullman and is currently represented Off-Broadway by Simon Farquhar's Rainbow Kiss directed by Will Frears.  Other productions include the English-language premiere of Yoji Sakate's The Attic directed by Ari Edelson; Romania. KISS ME!, six short plays from Romania's new wave; Roland Schimmelpfennig's Arabian Night directed by Trip Cullman; Leslie Ayvazian's Lovely Day directed by Blair Brown; the Presnyakov Brothers' Terrorism directed by Will Frears (co-production with The New Group); Vijay Tendulkar's Sakharam Binder directed by Maria Mileaf; Gary Mitchell's Trust directed by Erica Schmidt; Brooke Berman's Smashing directed by Trip Cullman; and Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt's Monsieur Ibrahim and the Flowers of the Koran directed by Maria Mileaf.  The Play Company, launched in 1999 by Kate Loewald, Jack Temchin and Mike Ockrent, was honored with an OBIE Theatre Grant Award in 2007 in recognition of its distinctive mission and body of work.  
 
The Play Company Board of Directors: Michael Dweck, James V. Hart, Patricia Heaton, Ruth Hendel, David Hunt, Lawrence Kaplen, Kate Loewald, Victoria Reese, George Sheanshang, Brian Silver, Jeffrey A. Sine, and Susan Stroman.  2008 Gala Committee: Carmine D. Boccuzzi, Eric Case, Meera Gandhi, Madhur Jaffrey, Bernard Lumpkin, Christine McNamara, and Matthew Rego.
 
Cabaret Gourmet is set for Monday, April 28 from 7:00–9:30 PM at The Metropolitan Pavilion
(123 West 18th Street – The Level, 5Th Floor).  Tickets: $99; $250; $2,500 - $5,000 for VIP tables (10 pp).  For reservations and information call Hilary Leichter at The Play Company at (212) 398-2977 or email hleichter@playco.org.  For more info, visit www.playco.org.