Tammy Grimes & David Amram to be Honored at Theater for the New City's LOVE N' COURAGE Benefit

The two-time Tony Award-winning actress Tammy Grimes (PRIVATE LIVES, THE UNSINKABLE MOLLY BROWN) and composer David Amram (scores for the films SPLENDOR IN THE GRASS and THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE) will be honored at Theater for the New City's 12th annual LOVE 'N COURAGE evening on Monday, March 2 at 6 p.m. The National Arts Club (15 Gramercy Park South), it has been announced by Crystal Field, TNC's Executive Director (and an actress who appeared in SPLENDOR IN THE GRASS). Ms. Grimes will be awarded Theater for the New City's LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD.

An annual event that benefits TNC's Emerging Playwrights Program, this year's LOVE 'N COURAGE event will be hosted by Phoebe Legere and Matt Morillo and will feature performances by Ms. Grimes, Mr. Amram, Charles Busch, Vinie Burrows, Judy Gorman, Yip Harburg Foundation's Rainbow Troupe, Luba Mason, Human Kinetics Movement Arts, and The Love Show, along with select excerpts from plays by Andrea Fulton, Georges Bizet, Daniel Catan and Seymour Barab.

Co-chair Betsy Von Furstenberg describes LOVE N' COURAGE as "a valentine for the young writers who make Theater for the New City one of the most important theaters in this country." Ms. Von Furstenberg's co-chair Lissa Moira.

Tammy Grimes has a long and distinguished career in stage, film and television, dating back to her debut in 1959 in THE LITTLEST REVUE. She triumphed on Broadway in 1960 in the musical THE UNSINKABLE MOLLY BROWN, earning the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. In 1960 she won the Tony for Best Actress in a Play as Amanda in a revival of Noel Coward's PRIVATE LIVES. She starred in 42nd STREET in 1980, followed by ORPHEUS DESCENDING and WIT & WISDOM. Her numerous film appearances include PLAY IT AS IT LAYS, SOMEBODY KILLED HER HUSBAND and THE RUNNER STUMBLES.

David Amram has composed more than 100 orchestral and chamber music works including the film scores for THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE and SPLENDOR IN THE GRASS. He wrote the groundbreaking Holocaust opera THE FINAL INGREDIENT and the score for the landmark 1959 documentary PULL MY DAISY narrated by Jack Kerouac. Recent orchestral works include GIANTS OF THE NIGHT, commissioned and premiered by flutist Sir James Galway; VARIATIONS ON A SONG BY WOODY GUTHRIE, and A CONCERTO FOR PIANO AND ORCHESTRA, written for and premiered by pianist John Mankamatsu. He was the "composer in residence for public events" duirng the 2008 Democratic National Convention.

Theater for the New City is a long-running bastion for new theatrical works. While talented emerging playwrights often find themselves competing for funding with more established writers, TNC's mission is to offer 'love and encouragement' to these struggling artsts with its Emerging Playwrights Program. Theater for the New City is a Pulitzer Prize-winning community cultural center known for its high artsitic standards and community service. One of NY's most prolific theatrical organizations, TNC producers 30-40 premieres of American plays each year, at least 10 of which are by emerging and young playwrights. Many influential theater artists of the last quarter century have found TNC's Resident Theater Program instrumental in their careers, among them Sam Shepard, Moises Kaufman, Richard Foreman, Charles Busch, Maria Irene Fornes, Miguel Pinero and Academy Award winners Tim Robbins and Adrien Brody.

"Emerging playwrights are writers of great promise who have yet to fulfill their artistic goals, but whose visions are high," explains Crystal Field, Theatre for the New City's

Executive Artistic Director. The Emerging Playwrights Program takes in fledgling and untried writers, offering a nurturing environment where new authors can flourish, and often realize their first fully-produced work at TNC. Ms. Field notes that "love and courage are what a playwright needs to thrive in this field, and love and encourage is what Theater for the New City does!"

LOVE 'N COURAGE begins at 6 pm with cocktails, followed by seated dinner at 6:45 and performances at 8. Tickets are $150 and can be purchased by calling 212 254 1109 or online at www.theaterforthenewcity.net

Photo credit: Carolyn Contino/BEImages.

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