En Garde Arts to Honor Emily Mann at 2024 Annual Benefit

En Garde Arts will honor esteemed multi-award-winning director and playwright Emily Mann at its 2024 Annual Benefit, which is taking place at the Leonard Nimoy Thalia Theatre at Symphony Space on Monday, December 9, 2024. At the event, esteemed dramaturg and author Gail Merrifield Papp will present Mann with the 2024 En Garde Arts Change Agent Award in recognition of her decades long contributions to the theatre.

An all-star lineup of theatre luminaries will come together to celebrate Mann’s theatrical legacy with a staged reading of Mann’s new play, CODE RED. Participants include Deborah Hedwall (Showtime’s Homeland), two-time Tony winner Judith Ivey (Women Talking), Oscar, Emmy, and Golden Globe winner Christine Lahti (Broadway’s God of Carnage, The Heidi Chronicles, Paramount+’s Evil), Tony winner Kecia Lewis (Hell's Kitchen), and Colleen Werthmann (The Daily Show, The Civilians, Elevator Repair Service).

Emily Mann’s CODE RED illuminates day-to-day life in an environment perpetually alert—the American public school system. Five women in rural upstate New York navigate teaching, parenthood, and friendship while trying to grapple with their greatest fear. When unfathomable situations make for breakroom banter, the question becomes—how do normal people do their jobs when nothing is normal anymore? This is not a drill. CODE RED.

Following its production of The Wind and the Rain: A story of Sunny’s Bar, En Garde Arts’s 2024 Annual Benefit supports six productions in various stages of development. The event also benefits over 50 writers, composers, directors, and performers through the company’s one-of-a-kind residency program Uncommon Voices, which delves into topics top-of-mind for artists predominantly from underrepresented communities.

There are two ticket prices. VIP tickets are $300 and guests are invited to a pre-show celebration beginning at 6:30 pm with a champagne toast to Emily, along with hors d'oeuvres, wine, the award ceremony, and a reading of CODE RED. For $225, patrons can secure access to the award ceremony and reading of CODE RED, which begins at 8pm.

To post a comment, you must register and login.