Gingold Theatrical Group to Host 2023 Golden Shamrock Gala Honoring Dr. Wilma Bulkin Siegel, Dr. Brian R. Saltzman, and Ethan E. Litwin

Gingold Theatrical Group's 2023 Golden Shamrock Gala will be held on Sunday October 29 at 6pm at Robert Restaurant (2 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10019) atop the Museum of Arts & Design. The evening will honor humanitarian activists Dr. Wilma Bulkin Siegel, M.D.; Dr. Brian R. Saltzman, M.D.; and Ethan E. Litwin, all tireless supporters of human rights and the arts in New York, with the Golden Shamrock Award.

The 2023 Gala will transport attendees to a 1930s deco nightclub featuring a live dance orchestra and musical performers. Guests are asked to dress in their best black and white deco finery. Costumes optional! The 2023 Gala will support GTG's upcoming production of Shaw's Arms and the Man, which will enjoy a limited run at Theatre Row from October 17 through November 18, 2023.

Held each year in honor of Shaw's Irish heritage, GTG's Golden Shamrock Gala is a festive and fabulous celebration of all that GTG does. Featuring a sparkling cocktail hour and a spectacular dinner, a silent auction with items that will include rare collectibles, Broadway tickets, spa vouchers, fine wines, extremely rare Shaviana and more, with a musical program by some of New York's finest performers, the Golden Shamrock Gala is an event not to be missed!

GTG's Golden Shamrock Award is given annually to celebrate artistic and cultural contributions to society, as inspired by Shaw's fiercely activist humanitarianism. Previous recipients of the Golden Shamrock Award include Charles Busch, Tyne Daly, Judith Ivey, Kenneth Lonergan, Kate Mulgrew, Brian Murray, Robert Osborne, Martha Plimpton, Stephen Schwartz, Pamela Singleton, and Tom Viola.

“This year we have three wonderfully compelling honorees,” said GTG Artistic Director David Staller. “Wilma and Brian were in the first wave of medical research and treatment for HIV and helped pave the way for a more robust public awareness of the disease. Ethan E. Litwin, long a member of the GTG Board of Directors, is partner at Constantine Cannon LLP where he specializes in antitrust litigation, and currently represents the Writers Guild of America.”

Dr. Wilma Bulkin Siegel, M.D. has had a distinguished career as a prominent oncologist in New York City. In her career she was a pioneer, establishing one of the first hospices in the state of New York and one of the first to accept AIDS patients. In the capacity of Medical Director of that hospice, she was asked to give her expertise on AIDS to the Presidential Commission in Washington. Following her retirement, she combined medicine with her other childhood career target, painting, by attending The National Academy of Design. She has become an award-winning artist recognized nationally for her series of people living with AIDS, Survivors of AIDS, The Changing Faces of AIDS (Seniors), Breast Cancer Survivors, The Homeless, and the Elderly, Holocaust Survivors and Liberators; 2nd, 3rd and 4th Generation of the Holocaust; Veterans Series, Muslim Women in America Series, Children of the Modern Family Series, and her latest works Behind the Mask: Covid 19 and Love in Times of C-19.

Dr. Brian R. Saltzman, M.D. is an accomplished internist and infectious disease specialist with a career spanning over forty years. After studying at New York University's Grossman School of Medicine, he contributed to trailblazing studies in HIV treatment and AIDS research beginning in the early 1980s. Dr. Saltzman conducted crucial early research on the transmission of the disease and survival differences among patients while working at the Montefiore Medical Center, one of the first comprehensive AIDS centers in the United States. Dr. Saltzman continues to practice in Manhattan today, now affiliated with Mount Sinai Beth Israel Hospital. In addition to his medical practice, he co-owns Robert Restaurant, serves as generous patron to a variety of performing arts organizations, and collects art, a collection begun by gifts received from his East Village AIDS patients. In addition to his medical accolades, Dr. Saltzman was honored by the Visual AIDS Vanguard Awards in 2014 for his exceptional contributions to the ongoing response to HIV/AIDS through art, culture, and service.

Ethan E. Litwin has been a member of the Gingold Board since 2011, served as its Chairman for five years, and is the author of the A Gertus History of Music blog. Professionally, Ethan is a partner at Constantine|Cannon, a New York-based law firm specializing in antitrust law. Over the last 25 years, Ethan has litigated many of the largest antitrust cases in history, including Generic Pharmaceuticals, LIBOR, Air Cargo, LCD, CRT, and DRAM, among others. He also recently successfully represented the Writers Guild of America in its litigation against the “Big Three” talent agencies, securing settlements that rewrote the economics of how writers are compensated in Hollywood. Ethan has been named as a leading antitrust lawyer by Chambers USA, Legal 500, Global Competition Review, The Practicing Law Company, Ethisphere, and SuperLawyers. He was recently named by Lawdragon as one of the Top 500 Litigators in the United States. Ethan is a graduate of Georgetown Law Center and received his undergraduate degree from Duke University. He is a proud member of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity.

Tickets for the GTG Golden Shamrock Gala begin at $350 for a single ticket, $600 for a pair, and $5000 for a table of 10 (which includes a cornucopia of perks). Tickets can be purchased at tinyurl.com/GALA203 or by contacting the Gingold office at 212-355-7823 or info@gingoldgroup.org. 

Performances of GTG's upcoming production of George Bernard Shaw's Arms and the Man begin later this month in Theater Two at Theatre Row (410 W 42nd St, New York, NY 10036). Previews begin October 17, with opening night set for October 26, for a run through November 18, 2023. Tickets are available at tinyurl.com/ARMS2023.

Arms and the Man by Bernard Shaw is one of Shaw's most enduringly popular comedies. The plot follows a hunted soldier who, seeking refuge in a young lady's boudoir, starts in motion a series of highly engaging and unlikely comedic events. His unusual philosophies about life in general open up a world of thought she'd never previously entertained–certainly not with her dashing war-hero fiancée who also arrives unexpectedly. This early work of Shaw's is a sparkling examination of romance, sex, love, negotiated relationships, political maneuverings, war, and hope. Directed by David Staller, the cast of Arms and the Man will feature Shanel Bailey (The Book of Mormon), Delphi Borich (“WeCrashed”), Ben Davis (New York New York), Keshav Moodliar (The Ulysses Project), Thomas Jay Ryan (Uncle Vanya), Evan Zes (The Kite Runner), Tony Award winner Karen Ziemba (Prince of Broadway). Understudies for this production are Mazvita Chanakira (Gap Year), René Thornton Jr (The Tempest), and Matthew Zimmerman (A Midsummer Night's Dream).

ABOUT GINGOLD THEATRICAL GROUP

Gingold Theatrical Group, now in its 18th year, creates theater that supports human rights, freedom of speech, and individual liberty using the work of George Bernard Shaw as our guide. All of GTG's programs are inspired by Shaw's humanitarian values. Through full productions, staged readings, new play development, and inner-city educational programs, GTG brings Shavian precepts to audiences and artists across New York, encouraging individuals to breathe Shaw's humanist ideals into their contributions for the future. Shaw created plays to inspire peaceful discussion and activism and that is what GTG aims to accomplish. GTG's past productions include Man and Superman (2012), You Never Can Tell (2013), Major Barbara (2014), Widowers' Houses (2016), Heartbreak House (2018), and Caesar & Cleopatra (2019).  

Founded in 2006 by David Staller, GTG has carved a permanent niche for the work of George Bernard Shaw within the social and cultural life of New York City, and, through the Project Shaw reading series, made history in 2009 as the first company ever to present performances of every one of Shaw's 65 plays (including full-length works, one-acts and sketches). GTG brings together performers, critics, students, academics and the general public with the opportunity to explore and perform theatrical work inspired by the humanitarian and activist values that Shaw championed. All comedies, these plays boldly exhibit the insight, wit, passion and all-encompassing socio-political focus that distinguished Shaw as one of the most inventive and incisive writers of all time.

Through performances, symposiums, new play development, and outreach, as well as through our discussion groups and partnerships with schools including SUNY Stony Brook, Regis, the De La Salle Academy, and The Broome Street Academy, GTG has helped spark a renewed interest in Shaw across the country, and a bold interest in theater as activism. Young people are particularly inspired by Shaw's invocation to challenge the strictures society imposes, to embrace the power of the individual, to make bold personal choices and to take responsibility for these choices. GTG's new play development lab, Speakers' Corner, created to support playwrights inspired by Shaw's ideals, is now in its second cycle. Through monthly prompts and feedback, writers develop work inspired by or in response to a specific Shaw text. Plays developed through Speakers' Corner will be nurtured in workshops and readings with the expectation that GTG will publish or produce them. GTG encourages all people to rejoice in the possibilities of the future. All of GTG's programming is designed to inspire lively discussion and peaceful activism with issues related to human rights, the freedom of speech, and individual liberty. This was the purpose behind all of Shaw's work and why GTG chose him as the guide toward helping create a more tolerant and inclusive world through the exploration of the Arts.

FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT:

www.gingoldgroup.org

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