The Orchard Project's 'Taste of Something New' Gala to Honor Playwright Robert Schenkkan

This year's star-studded Orchard Project Gala, A TASTE OF SOMETHING NEW, a star-studded celebration of the best of the new - from new food to new work - is set for May 1 at the Diamond Horseshoe in midtown Manhattan.

RESTAURANTS FEATURED INCLUDE:

- Named "Best Chef in New York City" by the James Beard Foundation, Chef Jonathan Waxman is chef and owner of Barbuto in Manhattan's West Village and Jams in 1 Hotel Central Park as well as owning other renowned restaurants across the country. He was a judge on Bravo's Recipe for Deception and has appeared on two seasons of Top Chef Masters where he earned the nickname 'Obi Wan Kenobi'.

- Barano is South Williamsburg's wood fired seasonal Italian restaurant by Chef Albert Di Meglio, adapting old world cooking techniques to modern tastes using their open kitchen's wood-burning oven and open-fire grill.

- Gooey Butter Cake is still a St. Louie staple and hard to come by just about anyplace else. Gooey&Co brings this cake to the New York marketplace for the very first time.

- High Street on Hudson is an all-day restaurant and bakery located in the heart of Manhattan's West Village. In its first year, the restaurant has been named Food & Wine's 2016 Restaurant of the Year, received two stars from the NY Times, and made Michelin's 2017 Bib Gourmand list.

- Voted as the #1 street vendor in NYC and one of the 12 Best falafels in NYC, King of Falafel has been featured in many media outlets from NYC to Japan. Everything is made from scratch, using the best ingredients and flavor combinations to share new interpretations of Palestinian and Middle Eastern cuisine.

- Mokbar gained popularity by emphasizing Korean Soul Food, offering an array of traditional dishes and specialty Korean Cocktails, including award winning house-made Kimchi's and Handmade Dumplings.

- Mr Bing's mission is to introduce America to traditional Northern Chinese street crepes ('jianbing'). For those already familiar with 'jianbing', we aim to install a vibrant sense of nostalgia for the Chinese street culture they remember.

- From roasted beet dip and lentil-pistachio spread to zucchini fritters and chicKen Shawarma made with organic chicken thighs marinated in buttermilk, Max and Eli Sussman based Samesa's offerings on their love of hole-in-the-wall falafel joints, halal trucks and Middle Eastern restaurants from Detroit to New York.

This past June, we celebrated our 10th year of The Orchard Project - our annual month-long summer intensive - which has supported over 200 productions and companies to date. In just ten years, The Orchard Project has become *the* place where performers and creators from around the world come to create their next show. Notable productions and companies to take part in The Orchard Project include: the Broadway musical Amelie, Robert Schenkkan's All the Way (2014 TONY Award for Best Play and now an HBO Film), The Object Lesson (currently running at New York Theatre Workshop), last year's sold out A Foreign Body at the Le Parker Meridien, and recent shows at BAM Next Wave, The Royal Court in London, The Public Theater, LAByrinth Theatre Company, Tectonic Theater Project, The Atlantic Theater Company, Pig Iron, The Rude Mechs, American Repertory Theater, and many others.

The event, raising funds to expand Orchard Project's programming, will also honor acclaimed playwright, screenwriter, and Exchange Board Member Robert Schenkkan.

Robert Schenkkan is a Pulitzer Prize-, Tony-, and WGA Award-winner, a three-time Emmy nominated writer. As the author of 15 plays that include All the Way, The Great Society and The Kentucky Cycle (Pulitzer prize, Tony and Drama Desk nominations), and a musical, The Twelve, and screenwriter of films including Hacksaw Ridge (six Oscar nominations) and The Quiet American, Robert's work has taken epic political moments and made them personal, and taken personal stories and elevated them to the epic. His prolific body of work is only matched by his advocacy for other artists and the continued evolution of the dramatic form, serving as a model for us all.

For more information, visit www.exchangenyc.org.

IF YOU GO:

A TASTE OF SOMETHING NEW

Honoring Robert Schenkkan for Outstanding Contribution to the Theater

Benefiting The Orchard Project

May 1, 2017

At The Diamond Horseshoe
235 West 46th Street, NY, NY

Hosted by Martha Graham Cracker
Featuring new work by Julian Fleisher, Lance Horne, Nathan Tysen and Daniel Messe

HONORARY COMMITTEE: Kurt Andersen, Alan Cumming, Kristoffer Diaz, Bridget Everett, Julian Fleisher, John Glover, Daniel Goldstein, Lance Horne, Richard Kind, Bebe Neuwirth, Sam Pinkleton, Theresa Rebeck, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Nathan Tysen, Daphne Rubin Vega

VIP Cocktail Reception at 6:30PM
Tasting Menu Dinner, Entertainment and More at 8PM
Open bar throughout, after-party to follow

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