USTA to Offer 'Deuce' Evening, with McEnroe, Etc.

The USTA Tennis & Education Foundation, the philanthropic and charitable entity of the USTA, announced today that it will offer tennis fans and Broadway lovers a memorable theater experience at its inaugural USTA Tennis & Education Foundation Theater Benefit.

On May 15, less than two weeks after the highly-anticipated opening of Terrence McNally's new tennis-themed show Deuce, the Foundation will host a special evening at the theater. The night begins with a pre-show dinner at the Marriott Marquis with such tennis luminaries as Patrick McEnroe and Pam Shriver. From there, guests will watch the show from Orchestra seating. Following the show, after theater-goers file out, the Foundation guests will remain to participate in a Q&A with the show's star, the incomparable Angela Lansbury.

Deuce, according to press materials, "tells the story of the reunion of two retired women tennis players (Lansbury and Broadway veteran Marian Seldes) who once made up a championship doubles team. When they meet again at the US Open, the women—now at the end of their lives—find themselves trying to make sense of the professional partnership that brought them to the top of the sports world in their youth. Lansbury, who recently turned 81, last performed on Broadway more than 20 years ago. She is a four-time Tony Award winner, having taken home trophies for her turns in the musicals Mame, Dear World, Gypsy and Sweeney Todd. Other notable Broadway credits include the musicals Anyone Can Whistle and The King and I and the plays A Taste of Honey and Hotel Paradiso, in which she made her Broadway debut in 1957."

"We look forward to treating our supporters to a special night at the theater that they won't soon forget," said Martin-Eliezer, Executive Director of the USTA Tennis & Education Foundation. "We are grateful to Ms. Lansbury and the producers of the show for offering this wonderful experience to help support the Foundation and our mission."

Established in 1994, the USTA Tennis & Education Foundation promotes – through tennis – educational excellence, good citizenship and self-improvement to at-risk and other special needs youth. The Foundation awards hundreds of scholarships to American youth, and supports new initiatives that reach out to inner-city youth. It also supports community tennis programs that link tennis with education to provide positive role models, academic assistance, and life skills for the prevention of substance abuse, violence and school-dropouts.

Proceeds from the ticket sales, a portion of which are tax deductible, support community tennis programs across the country that successfully combine tennis and education. Tickets are available by calling 914-696-7223. The Music Box Theater is located at 239 W. 45th Street in New York City. The show begins at 8:00 pm. The pre-show dinner commences at 5:45 pm. Tickets for the dinner and show are $500 ($300 is tax deductible). Limited tickets are still available.

The USTA is the national governing body for the sport of tennis in the U.S. and the leader in promoting and developing the growth of tennis at every level -- from local communities to the highest level of the professional game. It owns and operates the US Open, the largest annually attended sporting event in the world, and launched the US Open Series linking 10 summer tournaments to the US Open. A not-for-profit organization with 690,000 members, it invests 100% of its proceeds in growing the game. In addition, it owns the 94 Pro Circuit events throughout the U.S., and selects the teams for the Davis Cup, Fed Cup, Olympic and Paralympic Games. For more information on the USTA, log on to www.usta.com.