Tom Fontana, Paul Fontana & Margot Harley to be Honored at The Acting Company's Gala

The Acting Company (Margot Harley, Co-Founder and Producer), America's best known touring repertory theater, will honor Emmy Award-winner Tom Fontana, educator and student mentor Paul Fontana, and Acting Company Co-founder and Producer Margot Harley at a Gala Benefit evening on Monday, November 9th atCapitale (130 Bowery - between Broome & Grand Sts). Both of the gentlemen will each be presented with the Warburg Humanitarian Award for their outstanding philanthropic endeavors on behalf of children, education and the arts, while Ms. Harley will be saluted for her 43 years of leadership and achievement as she steps down as Producer of The Acting Company.

Among the three hundred attendees who will be on hand for the evening include Julianna Margulies, Edie Falco, Clive Davis, Scott Ellis, John Doman, Jack O'Brien, Stephen DeRosa and Acting Company Board Members Patti LuPone,Kevin Kline, Harriet Harris and Dana Ivey. The Acting Company Alumna Angela Pierce and Goldman Sachs Managing Director Tim Saunders serve as Gala Chairs for the evening. Vince Giordano and The Nighthawks will provide entertainment for the evening.

The evening will begin at 6:30pm with a cocktail reception and silent auction, followed by dinner, dancing and the award presentations at 7:30pm. Proceeds from the evening will support classical theater and arts education for underserved audiences and students in New York and across the country. For more information and to purchase tickets for the evening, please email: gcornez@theactingcompany.org or call (917) 885-9472.

About the Award Recipients

Tom Fontana is a multi-Emmy, Peabody and Humanitas Award-winner for television writing and producing ("Oz," "Borgia,""Homicide: Life on the Street," "St. Elsewhere"). He co-founded "Stockings With Care," which provides Christmas gifts to children living in homeless shelters, and is a tireless worker for the Writers Guild, WGAE Foundation, NYC Police Museum, DEAL, The Williamstown Theatre Festival and The Acting Company.

Paul Fontana is an educator to students from underserved communities. Currently on staff at All Hallows High School in the South Bronx, he teaches and mentors his students while introducing them to the theater through the Theatre Development Fund's "Open Doors" program. He also serves as The Acting Company's pro-bono Education Director.

Previous Warburg Humanitarian Award recipients include Harry Belafonte for his commitment to civil rights, Lincoln Center's Martin Segal; Hon. Tom Kean for health and education; Bill Zabel for human rights; Phyllis Newman for the Women's Health Initiative; Broadway Care/Equity Fights AIDS Executive Director Tom Viola, Barbara Fleischman for her work in the arts and literacy and the Daphne Foundation's Abigail Disney.

Margot Harley co-founded The Acting Company, recipient of the 2003 Tony Award for Excellence in Theatre, with John Houseman in 1972. In her extraordinary 43 year career, she oversaw 139 classic and new works in national tours attended by over four million people. Ms. Harley is an indomitable champion of developing young classical actors and building a diverse national audience for the theater. Her final production, Desire, based on Tennessee Williams short stories adapted by John Guare, Beth Henley, Rebecca Gilman, Elizabeth Egloff, David Grimm and Marcus Gardley, enjoyed its world premiere this September at 59E59 Theatres under the direction of Michael Wilson (The Trip to Bountiful).

The Acting Company is America's best-known touring repertory theater having performed in 48 states and 10 foreign countries. Kevin Kline, Patti LuPone, Rainn Wilson, Jeffrey Wright, Jesse L. Martin, Frances Conroy, Keith David, Hamish Linklater, Harriet Harris and David Ogden Stiers are but a few who began their careers on tour with The Acting Company.

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