Rosie O'Donnell Hosts The Modern Family: A Discussion of Gay Adoption 4/18

Dark Nights at The New Group proudly presents "The Modern Family: A Discussion of Gay Adoption" Sunday, April 18 @ 7:00 PM, The New Group @ THEATRE ROW (410 WEST 42ND STREET).

Hosted by Rosie O'Donnell, this conversation looks at issues surrounding the process of adopting a child for LGBT Americans. With a discussion of The New Group's upcoming musical The Kid as a point of departure, Rosie and special guests Terry Boggis (Director, Family Programs) of New York City's LGBT Community Center, The Kid lyricist Jack Lechner and photographer/adoptive parent Josh Lehrer bring their personal perspectives to bear on a the subject of gay adoption. This ONE NIGHT ONLY event takes place Sunday, April 18 at 7:00 PM.

Tickets are $20 and may be arranged through Ticket Central at www.ticketcentral.com or (212) 279-4200. Limited availability. This event is free to New Group subscribers.

For six years, Rosie O'Donnell was America's best friend for an hour each day as host and executive producer of the critically acclaimed and Emmy Award winning nationally syndicated talk/variety series "The Rosie O'Donnell Show," for which she won three Daytime Emmys. She also won a Primetime Emmy for "The 52nd Annual Tony Awards." Ms. O'Donnell was last seen on daytime television as moderator on the tenth season of ABC's "The View." Her acting credits include: TV - "Curb Your Enthusiasm," "Queer as Folk," "Nip/Tuck;" Film - A League of Their Own, Sleepless in Seattle, Harriet the Spy; and on Broadway - Grease, Seussical, Fiddler on the Roof. In 2004 Rosie and Kelli O'Donnell launched R Family Vacations, a gay, lesbian, straight, young and old, family cruise to the Caribbean. HBO aired a documentary, "All Aboard Rosie's Family Cruise," directed by Emmy nominee Shari Cookson, which garnered three Emmy Award nominations and chronicled this historic undertaking, offering a glimpse of a society shaped by a truly diverse, inclusive network of families. As a tireless crusader for children, she established the "Rosie's For All Kids Foundation" in 1997. Since its inception, the foundation has raised more than $60 million and awarded more than $27 million dollars in grants to over 1,400 child-related non-profit organizations to benefit low income families across the country. In 2003, Ms. O'Donnell established "Rosie's Broadway Kids," a program that provides free in-school, after-school and summer instruction in musical theater to the public school children of New York.

The new musical The Kid is based on the true story of what happens when sex columnist Dan Savage and his boyfriend decide to start a family. Created by Andy Monroe (music), Michael Zam (book) and Jack Lechner (lyrics), it was the winner of the 2009 BMI Foundation Jerry Bock Award for Excellence in Musical Theatre. Performances begin on Friday, April 16. Official Opening Night is set for Monday, May 10. The Kid plays a limited Off-Broadway engagement through May 29 at The New Group @ Theatre Row (410 West 42nd Street).

Directed by Scott Elliott, the cast of The Kid features Christopher Sieber in the role of Dan Savage, and Lucas Steele as Dan's boyfriend Terry. The company also features Kevin Anthony, Susan Blackwell, Jill Eikenberry, Jeannine Frumess, Ann Harada, Tyler Maynard, Brooke Sunny Moriber, Justin Patterson and Michael Wartella.

Presenting its first musical production since Avenue Q, The New Group (Scott Elliott, Artistic Director; Geoff Rich, Executive Director) began its 2009-10 season with Kenneth Lonergan's The Starry Messenger featuring Matthew Broderick, which enjoyed an extended run and the sold-out revival of Sam Shepard's A Lie of the Mind directed by Ethan Hawke. The 2008-2009 season featured the U.S. premiere of Kevin Elyot's Mouth to Mouth, Eugene O'Neill's Mourning Becomes Electra and Ian Bruce's Groundswell. The company's 2007-2008 season featured the premiere of Jonathan Marc Sherman's Things We Want directed by Ethan Hawke, Mike Leigh's Two Thousand Years and Ayub Khan-Din's Rafta, Rafta.... The 2006-07 season featured Jay Presson Allen's The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, Wallace Shawn's The Fever and Bernard Weinraub's The Accomplices. Other past productions include David Rabe's Hurlyburly, Mike Leigh's Abigail's Party, Smelling a Rat, Goose-Pimples and Ecstasy, Wallace Shawn's Aunt Dan and Lemon, Kenneth Lonnergan's This is Our Youth, Kevin Elyot's My Night With Reg, and many more. The New Group is a recipient of the 2004 Tony® Award for Best Musical (Avenue Q).

The Kid plays at The New Group @ Theatre Row (The Acorn Theatre / 410 West 42nd Street, between 9th & 10th Avenues) as follows: Monday at 8:00 PM, Tuesday at 7:00 PM, Wednesday through Saturday at 8:00 PM, with a matinee on Saturday at 2:00 PM.

Tickets may be arranged through Ticket Central at www.ticketcentral.com or (212) 279-4200, or at the Theatre Row Box Office (12:00-8:00 PM daily). Tickets are $60.00 plus $1.25 restoration fee.

DARK NIGHTS AT The New Group offers unique programming and enlightening conversation, coinciding with mainstage productions at The New Group.

For more information, visit www.thenewgroup.org.