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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, PLEASE

New York, NY (07/05/11) – The American Theatre Wing (Theodore S. Chapin, Chairman, Board of Trustees; Heather Hitchens, Executive Director) has announced that its annual Gala will be held on Monday, September 26 at 6:30 PM at The Plaza Hotel (Fifth Avenue at Central Park South) and will honor Sir Howard Stringer, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President of Sony Corporation and longtime American Theatre Wing Board Member.

It was also announced today that this year’s Gala will include a tribute to Douglas B. Leeds, former President of the American Theatre Wing, who passed away in May 2011.

All proceeds from the evening will benefit the education and outreach programs of the American Theatre Wing, which include SpringboardNYC, the Theatre Intern Group, the National Theatre Company Grants and the Jonathan Larson Grants, and will also support free access for students, aspiring professionals, and the general public to programming on AmericanTheatreWing.org, including “Working in the Theatre,” “Downstage Center,” and “In the Wings.”

Theodore S. Chapin and Marva Smalls, Senior Executive for MTV Networks and Nickelodeon, serve as co-chairs for the evening, which includes cocktails, dinner and performances. For more information, or to purchase tickets, email benefit@americantheatrewing.org or call (212) 765-0606, x302.

BIOS

Sir Howard Stringer has been Chairman and CEO of Sony Corporation since June 2005. He added the responsibility of President in 2009. He is also a Representative Corporate Officer of Sony Corporation. Additionally, Sir Howard serves as Chairman and CEO of Sony Corporation of America, as well as corporate head of Sony Corporation's Entertainment Business Group. He is a member of the Board of Directors of Sony Corporation and of Sony Music Entertainment, and oversees Sony’s other music-related holdings in the U.S. Sir Howard is also Chairman of the Board of Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications, a 50/50 joint venture of Sony Corporation and Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson. Prior to joining Sony in 1997, Sir Howard had a distinguished 30-year career as a journalist, producer and executive at CBS Inc. As President of CBS from 1988 to 1995, he was responsible for all broadcast activities. Sir Howard held numerous positions at CBS News, including President, Executive Producer of the “CBS Evening News” with Dan Rather, and Executive Producer of the “CBS Reports” documentary unit, which won virtually every major honor in broadcasting. He earned nine individual Emmys as a writer, director and producer at CBS News from 1973 to 1983. A native of Cardiff, Wales, Sir Howard received the title of Knight Bachelor in the New Year Honours list of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on December 31, 1999. He holds a B.A. and an M.A. in modern history from Oxford University.

Douglas B. Leeds joined the American Theatre Wing in 1990 and was elected Secretary/Treasurer the following year. In 2003 he became Vice-Chairman and chaired various Wing committees (Benefit, Finance, Grants and By-laws) before serving as the Wing’s President from 2004 – 2008. Doug also represented the Wing as a member of The Tony Administration Committee, Tony Marketing Committee and Tony Management Committee. He produced the Broadway show Street Heat in 1980 and co-produced Sleight of Hand in 1987. Doug was the Founder / CEO of StoreBoard Media, an indoor billboard company that dominates the front entrance of over 15,000 retail stores. Previous to that he was the President/CEO of Thomson-Leeds Company, Inc., a POP advertising firm with clients including American Express, Sony, Ford, and Microsoft. Under his guidance, the company won more awards for creative and effective merchandising then any company in the world. He served on the Boards of the Whitney Museum of American Art, Guild Hall of East Hampton (museum & theatre), Checkerboard Foundation, Worcester Academy and Babson College and was on the Dream Team at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, The Council of The Frick Collection, and the Ronald McDonald Associates board.

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