Intiman Theatre to Host 'A Bash for Bart' with Laurence Ballard and Kelli O'Hara

Intiman Theatre is honored to announce a special event celebrating its outgoing Artistic Director, Bartlett Sher, after ten years of leadership. On January 30, 2010, Intiman will host "A Bash for Bart" featuring remarks by Laurence Ballard and a special tribute concert performed by Kelli O'Hara, star of Sher's Tony Award-winning production of South Pacific and Intiman's Broadway success, The Light in the Piazza.

Prices for the fundraiser vary based on level of support. Founding donors to Intiman's new Bartlett Sher Artistic Fund who make a gift of $2,500 per couple ($1,250 per individual) will receive two VIP seats to the program, a pre-event reception, and two seats to a VIP post-show dinner hosted and designed by Tom Douglas, the Seattle chef and restaurateur.

For $150 per ticket, patrons will receive one ticket to the program and the pre-event cocktail reception.

To RSVP or for more information, patrons should call 206.204.3293.

Sher's decade of leadership at Intiman is one of the most remarkable tenures in the American theatre. He has directed 16 Intiman productions, including four world premieres, and established Intiman as one of the pre-eminent theatres in the country. Beyond Intiman, he has directed four productions for Lincoln Center Theater, where he currently serves as Resident Director, earning four Tony nominations and winning one for South Pacific. Among his opera credits, he now has two productions in the repertoire of the Metropolitan Opera, Les Contes d'Hoffmann and IL Barbiere di Siviglia.

Laurence Ballard, an actor and director who is now a Professor of Performing Arts at Savannah College of Art and Design, returns to Seattle to host the evening and pay tribute to Sher and his work. Their Intiman collaborations include nine productions: The Dying Gaul, The Servant of Two Masters, Titus Andronicus, Arms and the Man, Nora, Homebody/Kabul, Singing Forest, Our Town and The Skin of Our Teeth.

Kelli O'Hara made her Intiman debut in the world premiere of The Light in the Piazza as Franca; she played Clara Johnson in the Broadway production, and worked with Sher most recently when she played Nellie Forbush in South Pacific, for which she earned her third Tony nomination.

"A Bash for Bart" is supported by an Honorary Committee of artists and civic leaders, including Eve & Chap Alvord, Kim A. Anderson, David Armstrong, Laurence Ballard, Kurt Beattie, André Bishop, Peter Boal, Donald Byrd, Victoria Clark, Ida S. Cole, Susan Coliton, Jackie Cross & Tom Douglas, Adam Guettel, Linda Hartzell, Betty & Richard C. Hedreen, Jeffrey Horowitz, Speight Jenkins, Jim Kelly, Catharine E. Killien, Michael Killoren, Marc. R. Kittner, John Lahr, Susan J. Leavitt, Craig Lucas, Peter Miller, Benjamin Moore, Kelli O'Hara, Laura Penn, Susan Ward Potts, Constanza Romero, Pam & Paul Schell, Tom Skerritt, Delphine & Charles Stevens, Sergei P. Tschernisch, James F. Tune, Moya Vazquez, Huong T. Vu, Maggie Walker, Judith A. Whetzel, Kate Whoriskey, David B. Wiley and Leslie Williams.

"A Bash for Bart" is sponsored in part by The Boeing Company and Tom Douglas.

Seasonal support for Intiman Theatre is provided by ArtsFund; Intiman Theatre Foundation; Kreielsheimer Remainder Foundation; The Leading National Theatres Program, a joint initiative of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation; The Shubert Foundation; and Washington State Arts Commission.

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