Women's Project Honors On Parsons, Hwong, Reed, Sobbott 3/2

Estelle Parsons, the legendary actress and star of Broadway's August: Osage County; Lucia Hwong Gordon, instrumentalist and composer; Susan K. Reed, editor-in-chief of O, The Oprah Magazine; and Susan Sobbott, President of American Express OPEN, will be declared Women of Achievement by Women's Project, America's oldest and largest stage company dedicated to producing theater created by women, at ceremonies Monday evening, March 2, in the grand ballroom of the Pierre Hotel, 2 East 61st Street at 5th Avenue.

Presenters at this year's Women of Achievement ceremonies, the 24th annual presentation honoring the remarkable accomplishments of women in a variety of disciplines, are Arthur Penn, who directed Ms. Parson's in her Oscar-winning role as Blanche in Bonnie and Clyde; B.D. Wong, the Tony award winning actor and star of Law and Order: SVU; Serene Jones, President of Union Theological Seminary; and Nell Merlino, President of Count Me In for
Women's Economic Independence.

This year's master of ceremonies is WABC-TV's Diana Williams.

Founded in 1978 by Julia Miles, and now under the leadership of Producing Artistic Director Julie Crosby, Women's Project provides a stage for women playwrights and directors, who even today receive fewer than 20% of professional production opportunities nationwide.

During Women's Project's 31 years, countless artists have
launched their careers at Women's Project, including Anne Bogart, Eve Ensler, Lynn Nottage, Maria Irene Fornes, Suzan-Lori Parks, and Anna Deavere Smith. In addition, hundreds of talented actors have graced the Women's
Project stage, including Sarah Jessica Parker, Academy Award winner Mary McDonnell, Jimmy Smits, Academy Award-winner Linda Hunt and Emmy-award winner John Spencer.

This year's remarkable shows produced by Women's Project
<www.womensproject.org> include Catherine Trieschmann's Crooked directed by Liz Diamond, Saviana Stanescu's Aliens with Extraordinary Skills directed by Tea Alagic, and Virginia Woolf's Freshwater directed by Anne Bogart.

Past recipients of Women's Project's Women of Achievement award <www.womensproject.org/gala.htm> include Toni Morrison, Beverly Sills, Diane Sawyer, Gloria Steinem, Donna Karan, Susan Sarandon, Barbara Walters, Rosie
O'Donnell, Katie Couric, Lauren Bacall, Dr. Maya Angelou, Dame Judy Dench, Joan Didion, Eveyln Lauder, Whoopi Goldberg, Twyla Tharp, Bobbi Brown, Susan Lucci, Eve Ensler and Kerry Washington. In 1999, the late Gerald Schoenfeld of the Shubert Organization became the first and only male recipient of the award.