Photo Flash: Bay Street Theatre Welcomes Scott Schwartz as New Artistic Director

Bay Street Theatre has announced that Scott Schwartz, a leading voice of the next generation of American theater, has joined Bay Street as its new Artistic Director. A special welcome party was hosted last evening by Bonnie Comley and Stewart Lane at a private club in New York City to celebrate his arrival and to introduce him to Bay Street Theatre patrons and members of the Broadway community of actors, directors and producers. Scroll down for photos from the event!

The evening's entertainment included two self-composed numbers by Tony nominee Jeff Blumenkrantz who both sang and played the piano. He is one of the two actors in Murder for Two, directed by Scott Schwartz at Second Stage Uptown over the summer and which is now moving to New World Stages beginning October 23. Flowers for the evening were provided by Bridgehampton Florist.

Others in attendance included Scott Schwartz; Bonnie Comley and Stewart Lane, Broadway producers; Bill Gaden, CFO Imagen (Rodgers & Hammerstein), Dr. Bruce Horten; Dr. Sarah Schlesinger, Professor at the Rockefeller University and Elie Hirschfeld, Tony winning Broadway producer and real estate developer; Elisa Stein, widow of Joseph Stein, who helped bring Enter Laughing to Bay Street in 2011. She attended with her daughter, playwright and author Jenny Lyn Bader. Marcia Milgrom Dodge, who directed and choreographed Bay Street's production of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum in August, attended with her husband Anthony. Other Broadway producers in attendance included Barbara Whitman and Jayson Raitt, as well as patrons Ada Samuelsson, Jim Peck, and Bruce Sloan.

The Bay Street Board of Trustees came out to welcome Scott Schwartz as well. This included Ana R. Daniel, Chair; Adrianne Cohen, Robert Florio, Lance Gotko, Gary Hygom, Producer, Tracy Mitchell, Executive Director, Ken Searles, and Pia Zankel.

The evening began with cocktails and hors d'oeuvres followed by a short welcome speech by Executive Director, Tracy Mitchell who thanked the Board of Trustees as well as Diana Aceti, Director of Development, Producer, Gary Hygom, and Associate Director, Lorien Reese before introducing Schwartz. "The list of Scott's accomplishments is endless", said Mitchell, waving a 3 page bio while playfully chiding Schwartz for not having delivered her prior request for a select list of credits. Schwartz went on to deliver an inspiring tribute along with a vision for the future of Bay Street that riveted the over 50 Patrons and VIP's who attended. The performance by Jeff Blumenkrantz followed to thunderous applause.

Bay Street Theatre also announced a special Holiday Theatre event to benefit its educational programs on Thursday, November 21, 2013 in New York City. Patrons are invited to see Murder for Two, directed by Scott Schwartz, at New World Stages. The performance begins at 8 pm and $125 tickets include a Q & A with Scott Schwartz and cast members. Please contact Diana Aceti at Diana@baystreet.org, 631.725.0818, for reservations.

More on Scott Schwartz: Schwartz's tenure at Bay Street will inaugurate a new vision for the theater beginning with the 2014 season, to ensure an exciting and sustainable future for our cultural community. Schwartz is an internationally acclaimed artist whose work has been seen on and off Broadway, across the United States, in Great Britain, and Asia. Over the past twenty years, he has built a reputation for pursuing and embracing a wide range of works for the stage, from new plays to classics to musicals and opera.

A graduate of Harvard University and a member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, Schwartz directed the longest running one-woman show in Broadway history, Golda's Balcony, William Gibson's one woman play about Golda Meir, starring Tovah Feldshuh (Lucille Lortel Award: Best Actress, Best Solo Performance, Drama Desk Awards). He also directed the hit off-Broadway musical Bat Boy: The Musicalat the Union Square Theatre (2001 Drama Desk Award Nomination: Outstanding Director of a Musical, 2001 Outer Critics Circle Award, and Lucille Lortel Award: Best Off-Broadway Musical), Jonathan Larson's tick, tick... Boom! at the Jane Street Theatre (2002 Drama Desk Award Nomination: Outstanding Director of a Musical), Kafka's The Castle at Manhattan Ensemble Theatre (2002 Outer Critics Circle Nomination, Outstanding Director of a Play), Rooms: A Rock Romance at New World Stages and most recently Murder for Two at Second Stage Uptown. He directed Séance on a Wet Afternoon starring Lauren Flanigan at New York City Opera, as well as its world premiere at Opera Santa Barbara for which he won a Santa Barbara Indy Award as Best Director. He is an Associate Artist at the Alley Theatre in Houston, and his work has been seen at major regional theaters across the country, including ACT, ALLIANCE THEATRE, Berkshire Theatre Festival, Dallas Theatre Center, Denver Center Theatre Company, Goodspeed Opera House, La Jolla Playhouse, The Old Globe, Papermill Playhouse, Philadelphia Theatre Company and Westport Country Playhouse among others.

For more information about Bay Street Theatre, log on to www.baystreet.org or call the Box Office at 631-725-9500, or Administrative/Development office at 631-725-0818.

Photo Credit: Barry Gordin

Stewart Lane (Host), Scott Schwartz and Bonnie Comley (Host)

Daniel Marsili and Bruce T. Sloane

Jerry Cohen, Stewart Lane and Elie Hirschfeld

Paul Cadell, Bill Gaden and Ana R. Daniel

Jimmy Zankel, Scott Schwartz and Pia Zankel

Dr. Bruce Horton and Tracy Mitchell

Alyssa Renzi, Loren Reese, Diana Aceti, Tracy Mitchell and Bonnie Comley

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