Stephen Adly Guirgis Honored Tonight at the 2014 'Mimi' Awards

Theatre luminaries will gather tonight, November 17, 2014, to to honor acclaimed playwright Stephen Adly Guirgis as he receives the 2014 Steinberg Distinguished Playwright Award at the Steinberg Playwright Awards, presented by The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust. Scenes highlighting his work will be presented at the 7th Annual 'Mimi' Awards, which will take place at Lincoln Center Theater's Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater.

The evening will feature opening remarks by Kwame Kwei-Armah, Artistic Director, CENTERSTAGE, followed by readings of Guirgis' work. Yul Vázquez and Felix Solis will perform a scene from The Motherf***er with the Hat; Ellen Burstyn andKevin Corrigan will read an excerpt from The Little Flower of East Orange; and Elizabeth Rodriguez will round out the performances of Guirgis' past work with a monologue from The Last Days of Judas Iscariot. The evening will also feature a special premiere reading from a new piece by Guirgis, performed by Stephen McKinley Henderson, Ron Cephas Jonesand Neil Tyrone Pritchard.

Liza Colón-Zayas will introduce Guirgis prior to the presentation of the award by Michael Steinberg of The Harold & Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust, followed by a few words from Guirgis himself. Guests expected include David Adjmi, Helen Carey, David Henry Hwang, John Leguizamo, Andy Karl, Lynne Meadow, Bruce Norris, Lynn Nottage, Orfeh, Annabella Sciorra, Jeremy Shamos, John Patrick Shanley. Jimmy Smits, and many others.

Guirgis is a member and former co-artistic director of LAByrinth Theater Company. His plays have been produced on fivecontinents and throughout the United States. They include: Our Lady of 121st Street (Drama Desk, Lucille Lortel, OuterCritics Circle Best Play Nominations), Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train (Edinburgh Festival Fringe First Award, Barrymore Award,Olivier Nomination for London's Best New Play), In Arabia, We'd All Be Kings (2007 LA Drama Critics Best Play, BestWriting Award), The Last Days of Judas Iscariot ("10 Best," Time and Entertainment Weekly) and The Little Flower of EastOrange, with Ellen Burstyn and Michael Shannon. All five plays were directed by Philip Seymour Hoffman and wereoriginally produced by LAByrinth.

His most recent play, Between Riverside and Crazy, recently completed a sold out run at The Atlantic Theater Company, and will transfer to Second Stage Theatre in 2015. His 2011 play, The Motherf***er with the Hat was directed by Anna D.Shapiro and marked his third consecutive world premiere co-production with The Public Theater and LAByrinth. The show played on Broadway starring Chris Rock and Bobby Cannavale and received six Tony Award nominations, including Best Play. In London, his plays have premiered at The Donmar Warehouse, The Almeida, The Hampstead and at The ArtsTheater in the West End. Other plays include Den of Thieves and Dominica: The Fat Ugly 'Ho for the 2006 E.S.T. Marathon.He has received the Yale Wyndham-Campbell Prize, a PEN/Laura Pels Award, a Whiting Award and a TCG fellowship. Heis also a New Dramatists Alumnae and a member of MCC's Playwrights' Coalition, The Ojai Playwrights Festival, NewRiver Dramatists and LAByrinth Theater Company.

The Steinberg Distinguished Playwright Award is presented biennially to honor and encourage the artistic excellence andachievement of an American playwright whose body of work has made significant contributions to the American theater.The recipient of the Steinberg Distinguished Playwright Award receives a cash award of $200,000.

The Steinberg Playwright Awards and the Steinberg Distinguished Playwright Award are presented in alternate years.

Past recipients include:

· Annie Baker and Rajiv Joseph, Steinberg Playwright Awards, 2013

· David Henry Hwang, Steinberg Distinguished Playwright Award, 2012

· Lisa D'Amour and Melissa James Gibson, Steinberg Playwright Awards, 2011

· Lynn Nottage, Steinberg Distinguished Playwright Award, 2010

· David Adjmi, Tarell Alvin McCraney and Bruce Norris, Steinberg Playwright Awards, 2009

· Tony Kushner, Steinberg Distinguished Playwright Award, 2008

These playwrights were each presented with a monetary award along with "The Mimi," a statuette designed by TonyAward-nominated scenic designer and architect David Rockwell.

In 2008, the Board of Directors of the Steinberg Trust created an Advisory Committee of prominent theaterprofessionals to establish the awards criteria, nominate individual candidates and select each recipient. The 2014 Advisory Committee is comprised of Jeremy Cohen, Producing Artistic Director, The Playwrights' Center; Paige Evans,Artistic Director, LCT3; Kwame Kwei-Armah, Artistic Director, CENTERSTAGE; Neil Pepe, Artistic Director, AtlanticTheater Company; Bill Rauch, Artistic Director, Oregon Shakespeare Festival; Carole Rothman, Artistic Director,Second Stage Theatre; and Chay Yew, Artistic Director, Victory Gardens Theater.

The members of the Board of Directors of The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust are Carole A. Krumland, James D. Steinberg, Michael A. Steinberg, Seth M. Weingarten and William D. Zabel.

Photo Credit: Chris Kateff