Gerald Schoenfeld, Chairman of The Shubert Organization, will present Theater Development Fund (TDF) with The Acting Company's John Houseman Award on Monday, November 10 at Cipriani Wall Street, 55 Wall Street at William. Mr. Schoenfeld received the 2007 Joan Warburg Humanitarian Award, which this year will be presented to William D. Zabel, Chairman of Human Rights First, by its President, Michael Posner. The Houseman Award honors a profound commitment to the development of classical actors and an audience for the theater.
The Warburg Award is for outstanding philanthropic endeavor. Founded 36 years ago by Houseman and current Producing Artistic Director, Margot Harley, The Acting Company has won Obie's, Audelcos and a special TONY award as it developed the careers of Patti LuPone, Kevin Kline, Jeffrey Wright, Frances Conroy, Jesse L. Martin, Rainn Wilson and hundreds of others – presenting 131 productions on and off-Broadway and touring all across America. Proceeds of the evening benefit the Company's Literacy Through Theatereducation programs for students in disadvantaged schools. Cocktails and a Silent Auction at 6:30 will be followed by dinner, dancing, entertainment and awards. Debra Monk Mary-Mitchell Campbell, commedia troupe Pastiche and Hank Lane's orchestra will entertain along with Gender Illusionists, Stilt Walkers and Magicians. Acting Company Alums Harriet Harris (Cry-Baby, Old Acquaintance, Thoroughly Modern Millie) and Dakin Matthews (A Man For All Seasons, LCT's Henry IV – actor/adapter) will emcee.
Theatre Development Fund programs over the past 40 years have filled nearly 72 million theater seats, provided subsidies to over 900 plays – including 30 Pulitzer Prize honorees – and returned over 1.5 billion dollars in revenue to thousands of productions. This season alone, they made it possible for a record breaking 2.1 million patrons to attend 650 theatrical, dance and music productions. TDF Executive Director,
Victoria Bailey, will accept the award from Mr. Schoenfeld. Previous recipients of the Houseman Award include Joseph Pall,
Hal Prince,
James Earl Jones,
Marian Seldes,
Julie Harris and Jack O'Brien.
William D. Zabel has had a profound impact on both the theater and human rights issues. As a trustee of the Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust, he has been instrumental in major contributions to dozens of nonprofit theatrical institutions as well as serving on the board of
Lincoln Center Theater and assisting numerous others. His human rights work began as a volunteer for civil rights issues and has continued through his founding of Human Rights First. Mr. Zabel also serves on the boards of NYU, Columbia, The New School, amfAR and several professional organizations. The Warburg Award (named for noted philanthropist
Joan Warburg) has been presented five times previously, to Mr. Schoenfeld,
Harry Belafonte for his work for civil rights and AIDS prevention; to
Martin E. Segal, Chairman Emeritus of Lincoln Center, to the Honorable
Thomas Kean for contributions to arts and education and to
Phyllis Newman for founding The Women's Health Initiative of the Actors' Fund of America.
Underwriting of the event has been contributed by
Anne L. Bernstein (Executive Producer of Broadway: The Golden Age); additional major support has been received from
Jeremy Shamos; both board directors of
The Acting Company. The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust, SONY, Thomson Reuters, U. S. Trust, John K. Castle,
Clive Davis,
Joan M. Warburg and
Earl D. Weiner have also made significant contributions.
John Houseman and
Margot Harley founded
The Acting Company in 1972 with members of the first graduating class of The Juilliard School's Drama Division. Since then several million people in 49 states and 10 foreign countries have been introduced to the theater by the Company, which, in addition to New York, tours to over 50 communities each year, especially to those with little or no access to live performance.
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