Harriet Harris, Estelle Parsons, Molly Ringwald and More to Take Part in Primary Stages' 2016 Gala Honoring Horton Foote

Primary Stages announced today that the Primary Stages 2016 Gala will celebrate the Horton Foote Centennial on Monday, October 17, 2016 at 6:30 pm. The event, which will be held at 583 Park Avenue, will be chaired by CharLes Davis, HAllie Foote, David Richenthal and Michael Wilson.

The evening will feature performances and tributes by Elizabeth Ashley, Harriet Harris, Jayne Houdyshell, Estelle Parsons (pictured, left) and Molly Ringwald. Honorary co-chairs for the event include Matthew Broderick, Robert and Luciana Duvall, James Earl Jones and Cicely Tyson.

Horton Foote had his first play, Texas Town, produced Off-Broadway in 1941. Since then he has had plays produced on Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway, at many regional theatres and internationally. His plays, Dividing the Estate and The Day Emily Married had their New York Premieres at Primary Stages. Other plays include The Last of the Thorntons, The Young Man From Atlanta, The Chase, The Traveling Lady, The Trip to Bountiful, Night Seasons, Tomorrow, The Habitation of Dragons, The Orphans' Home Cycle, Roots in a Parched Ground, Convicts, Lily Dale, The Widow Claire, Courtship, Laura Dennis, Vernon Early, The Roads to Home, and The Carpetbagger's Children. He received Academy Awards for his screenplay adaptation of To Kill A Mockingbird and his original screenplay, Tender Mercies. His screenplay of The Trip to Bountiful was nominated for an Academy Award. He received the Pulitzer Prize for his play,The Young Man From Atlanta, the Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Achievement Off-Broadway and the Outer Critics Circle Special Achievement Award for the Signature Series of his plays. In 1996 he was elected to the Theatre Hall of Fame. In 1998 he was elected to membership in the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and at the same time received from the Academy the Gold Medal of Drama for the entire body of his work. In 2000 he received the PEN/Laura Pels Foundation Award for Drama, New York State Governor's Arts Award and in December of that year he was given the National Medal of Arts Award by President Clinton. In 2006 his play, The Trip to Bountiful, won the Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Revival and he was given the Drama Desk Lifetime Achievement Award for his body of work. In 2009 - 2010, his epic masterwork, The Orphans' Home Cycle was co-produced by Hartford Stage Company and Signature Theatre Company and received the New York Drama Critics Circle Award, Drama Desk Award, The Outer Critics Circle Award and the Lucille Lortel Award. His memoirs, Farewell and Beginnings, are published by Scribners.

Over the history of the organization, Primary Stages has collaborated often with Horton Foote, welcoming New York audiences to visit Foote's small town Texas families. From the New York premiere of The Day Emily Married to the Tony Award nominated transfer of Dividing the Estate, Primary Stages has served as a creative home for the playwright and his family, also producing the plays of Daisy Foote and featuring performances from his daughter HAllie Foote and his son-in-law Devon Abner. In celebration of the Centennial, Primary Stages will be revisiting Horton Foote's The Roads to Home, directed by Foote's longtime director, Michael Wilson and featuring performances from actors who have previously worked with Foote.

Tickets, starting at $750, and tables, starting at $10,000, can be purchased at www.primarystages.org or by calling 212.840.9705 x214. The Gala Benefit Committee includes Sue Breger (Co-Chair), Arlene L. Goldman (Co-Chair), Jamie deRoy, Marlene H. Freeman, Jonathan C. Herzog, Elisabeth Lernerand Carol Roaman.

Primary Stages will open their 2016/17 season with a new production of Horton Foote's THE ROADS TO HOME, directed by Michael Wilson (The Trip to Bountiful). Previews begin on September 14, with opening night set for October 5 at The Cherry Lane Theatre.The season will continue with the New York premiere of FADE, written by Tanya Saracho (Mala Hierba) and directed by Jerry Ruiz (Basilica).FADE begins performances in January 2017 and will run through March 2017. The season will conclude with the New York Premiere of DANIEL'S HUSBAND, presented by Primary Stages & Ted Snowdon. Written by Michael McKeever (Moscow) and directed by Joe Brancato (Miracle on South Division Street), DANIEL'S HUSBAND will run from March-April 2017. Additional casting & creative team for both productions will be announced at a later date.

Primary Stagesis an Off-Broadway not-for-profit theater company dedicated to inspiring, supporting, and sharing the art of playwriting. We operate on the strongly held belief that the future of American theater relies on nurturing playwrights and giving them the artistic support needed to create new work. Since our founding in 1984, we have produced more than 125 new plays, including Donald Margulies' The Model Apartment (1995 premiere and 2013 revival); David Ives' Lives of the Saints and All in the Timing (original 1993 production and 2013 revival); Billy Porter's While I Yet Live; Kate Fodor's Rx; Charles Busch's The Tribute Artist and Olive and the Bitter Herbs; A.R. Gurney's Black Tie; Horton Foote's Harrison, TX andDividing the Estate (Two 2009 Tony Award® nominations); Theresa Rebeck's Poor Behavior; Deborah Zoe Laufer's Informed Consent; Terrence McNally's Dedication or the Stuff of Dreams and The Stendhal Syndrome; Danai Gurira and Nikkole Salter's In the Continuum (which went on to tour the U.S., Africa, and Scotland); and Conor McPherson's St. Nicholas (which marked the playwright's U.S. debut). Our productions and artists have received critical acclaim, including Tony, Obie, Lortel, AUDELCO, Outer Critics' Circle, Drama League, and Drama Desk awards and nominations. Primary Stages supports playwrights and develops new works through commissions, workshops, readings, and our education and training programs: The Dorothy Strelsin New American Writers Group, the Marvin and Anne Einhorn School of Performing Arts (ESPA), the Fordham/Primary Stages MFA in Playwriting, and the newly launched Primary Stages Off-Broadway Oral History Project. Through these programs, Primary Stages advocates for our artists, helping them make important-and often transformative- connections within the theater community.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride

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