Signature Theatre's 25th Anniversary Gala Celebrates James Houghton with Edward Norton & More Tonight

Signature Theatre's Annual Gala celebration -- set for tonight, April 18, 2016 -- will celebrate Signature's 25th Anniversary and honor Founding Artistic Director James Houghton's leadership of the company, on the occasion of his final season as Artistic Director.

Under Houghton's leadership the company launched three distinct residency programs; produced more than 100 plays; built The Pershing Square Signature Center, the largest theatre arts center in New York City in the last 50 years; created the Signature Ticket Initiative, designed to create accessibility to theatre for all; and became the first New York City recipient of the Regional Theater Tony Award.

This celebratory evening will feature entertaining highlights from Signature's first 25 years, including music, live performance and video, with Signature's Board Chairman Edward Norton, Alumnus Ty Burrell, playwrights-in-residence, and many more.

The Pershing Square Signature Center is located at 480 West 42nd Street. To make a donation of any amount in support of this momentous occasion, contact gala@signaturetheatre.org or (646) 388-8156. For more information, visit signaturetheatre.org.

Signature Theatre exists to honor and celebrate the playwright. Founded in 1991 by James Houghton, Signature makes an extended commitment to a playwright's body of work, and during this journey, the writer is engaged in every aspect of the creative process. By championing in-depth explorations of a playwright's body of work, Signature delivers an intimate and immersive journey into the playwright's singular vision. In 2014 Signature became the first New York City theatre to receive the Regional Theatre Tony Award.

Signature serves its mission through its permanent home at The Pershing Square Signature Center, a three-theatre facility on West 42nd Street designed by Frank Gehry Architects to host Signature's three distinct playwrights' residencies and foster a cultural community. At the Center, opened in January 2012, Signature continues its founding Playwright-in-Residence model as Residency One, a first-of-its-kind, intensive exploration of a single writer's body of work. Residency Five, the only program of its kind, was launched at the Center to support multiple playwrights as they build bodies of work by guaranteeing each writer three productions over a five-year period. The Legacy Program, launched during Signature's 10th Anniversary, invites writers from both residencies back for productions of premiere or earlier plays.

The Pershing Square Signature Center is a major contribution to New York City's cultural landscape and provides a venue for cultural organizations that supports and encourages collaboration among artists throughout the space. In addition to its three intimate theatres, the Center features a studio theatre, rehearsal studio, and a public café, bar and bookstore. Through the Signature Ticket Initiative: A Generation of Access, Signature has also made an unprecedented commitment to making its productions accessible by underwriting the cost of initial run tickets, currently priced at $25, through 2031.

Signature has presented entire seasons of the work of Edward Albee, Lee Blessing, Horton Foote, María Irene Fornés, Athol Fugard, John Guare, A.R. Gurney, David Henry Hwang, Bill Irwin, Adrienne Kennedy, Tony Kushner, Romulus Linney, Charles Mee, Arthur Miller, Sam Shepard, Paula Vogel, Naomi Wallace, August Wilson, Lanford Wilson, and a season celebrating the historic Negro Ensemble Company. In addition to the Regional Theatre Tony Award, Signature's productions and its resident writers have been recognized with the Pulitzer Prize, Lucille Lortel Awards, Obie Awards, Drama Desk Awards, and AUDELCO Awards, among many other distinctions.

For more information, visit www.signaturetheatre.org.