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Michael Jorgensen
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, PLEASE
PERFORMERS ANNOUNCED FOR THE
TCG GALA
HONORING
TONY KUSHNER, RICK MIRAMONTEZ, AND MARTHA R. INGRAM

ALI STROKER, PATRICK PAGE, EVA NOBLEZADA, AND BETH MALONE
SET TO PERFORM

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2019
EDISON BALLROOM

New York, NY (January 28, 2019) – Theatre Communications Group (TCG) is thrilled to announce that its 2019 Gala will be directed by Michael Mayer and feature performances from Oklahoma!’s Ali Stroker, Hadestown’s Patrick Page and Eva Noblezada, and Angels in America’s Beth Malone. TCG’s 2019 Gala will honor Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Tony Kushner; Broadway press agent, and President of DKC/O&M, Rick Miramontez; and arts philanthropist, and Chairman Emerita of Ingram Industries, Inc., Martha R. Ingram. The Gala will be held on Monday, February 4, 2019 at New York’s famed Edison Ballroom (240 West 47th Street).

TCG’s Executive Director and CEO Teresa Eyring said, “As theatre people, we know how to party with purpose! The joyful energy of these performers will help us celebrate our honorees, while supporting TCG’s extensive programs to strengthen and promote our theatre field nationwide.”

The co-chairs for the TCG Gala include: Jacob G. Padrón, Jordan Roth and Richie Jackson, Thomas Schumacher and Matthew White, and Liesl Tommy. In addition to the honorees, TCG will celebrate its long-standing commitment to advancing leaders of color in the field and the many programs that support these efforts. Proceeds from the Gala benefit TCG’s wide-ranging programs to strengthen and promote the multi-generational theatre field, while making a better world because of theatre.

Past honorees at the TCG annual gala—now in its seventh year— include actor Brian Dennehy, director Kenny Leon, playwright Lynn Nottage, actress and playwright Danai Gurira, theatrical producers Stephen C. Byrd and Alia Jones-Harvey, set designer Ming Cho Lee, lighting designer Jules Fisher, the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, The Vilcek Foundation, producers Ruth and Stephen Hendel, Judith O. Rubin, and the creators of War Paint (Scott Frankel, Michael Greif, Michael Korie, and Doug Wright).

For ticket and sponsorship information to this year’s TCG, please contact gala@tcg.org or (212) 609-5931, or go to www.tcg.org/events/gala.aspx.

BIOGRAPHIES

Ali Stroker made history as the first actress in a wheelchair to appear on Broadway when she originated the role of ‘Anna’ in Deaf West’s acclaimed 2015 revival of Spring Awakening. She continues her extraordinary career starring as ‘Ado Annie’ in this spring’s production of Oklahoma! at Broadway’s Circle in the Square Theatre under the direction of Daniel Fish. Stroker starred in 12 episodes of the talent competition, “The Glee Project.” She placed second and won a guest role on Fox’s “Glee.” She then recurred in the Kyra Sedgwick ABC series, “Ten Days in the Valley.” She also guest starred on Fox’s “Lethal Weapon” and CBS’ “Instinct.” Stroker earned a Barrymore Award nomination for starring as Olive Ostrovsky in The Twenty-Fifth Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. In addition to her work on and off-Broadway, she’s soloed at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, New York’s Town Hall, and Lincoln Center for Performing Arts and Carnegie Hall. A humanitarian and advocate, Stroker has been a co-chair of Women Who Care, which supports United Cerebral Palsy of New York City. She’s a founding member of Be More Heroic, an anti-bullying campaign which toured the country connecting with thousands of students each year. Her devotion to educating and inspiring others brought Stroker to South Africa with ARTS InsideOut, where she held theater workshops and classes for women and children affected by HIV and AIDS. Stroker’s exceptional ability to improve the lives of others through the arts, disabled or not, is captured in her motto: “Turning Your Limitations Into Your Opportunities.”

Patrick Page’s Broadway credits include Valentina in Casa Valentina, Rufus Buckley in A Time to Kill, The Adult Men in Spring Awakening, De Guiche in Cyrano De Bergerac, The Green Goblin/Norman Osborn in Spider-Man, Turn Off the Dark, Henry VIII in A Man for All Seasons, The Grinch in How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Decius Brutus in Julius Caesar, Scar in The Lion King, Lumiere in Beauty and the Beast, and multiple roles in The Kentucky Cycle. Other New York credits include Cymbeline in Cymbeline for the New York Shakespeare Festival in Central Park, Max in The Sound of Music at Carnegie Hall, Jacob Marley in A Christmas Carol at Madison Square Garden, The Cardinal in The Duchess of Malfi at Red Bull Theater, Aumerle in Richard II directed by Steven Berkoff at The Public Theatre, and the title role in Rex at the York Theatre. Mr. Page has also worked internationally, garnering rave reviews as Hades in Hadestown at the Olivier Theater in London. Patrick is an Associate Artist of The Old Globe Theater where his roles include Cyrano in Cyrano De Bergerac (Craig Noel Award), Malvolio in Twelfth Night, Jeffrey Cordova in Dancing in the Dark (Craig Noel Award), Pogo Poole in The Pleasure of His Company and Michael in I Do! I Do!. He is an Affiliated Artist with The Shakespeare Theater Company in DC, where roles include Coriolanus in Coriolanus (Emery Battis Award), Macbeth in Macbeth, and Iago in Othello (Helen Hayes Award). Patrick’s other regional credits span twenty-five years, beginning with six years as leading actor for The Utah Shakespeare Festival. Since then he has played major roles at The Oregon Shakespeare Festival, La Jolla Playhouse, The Papermill Playhouse, Seattle Repertory Theatre, Long Wharf Theater, Pioneer Theater Company, Arizona Theatre Company, ACT, Indiana Repertory Theatre, Missouri Repertory Theatre, and Cincinnati Playhouse, among many others. He has played many of Shakespeare’s leading roles including Hamlet, Henry V, Macbeth, Iago, Coriolanus, Cymbeline, Mercutio, Benedick, Oberon, Richard III, Autolycus, Jaques, Talbot, Marc Antony, Brutus, Richard II, and many more. Mr. Page served as Director of Development and Artistic Associate for The Utah Shakespearean Festival and is a Founding Associate Artist of Shakespeare Sedona. Mr. Page is the recipient of Helen Hayes Award, The William Shakespeare Award for Classical Theater, The Emery Battis Award, The Princess Grace Award in Theatre, The Princess Grace Statue for Sustained Achievement, The Matador Award for Classical Acting, The Joseph Jefferson Award, and the Utah Governor’s Medal for the Arts. Patrick’s television credits include “The Good Wife,” “Elementary,” “Flesh and Bone,” “Law and Order SVU,” and many others. Patrick is married to actress and former “Trading Spaces” host Paige Davis. They live in Manhattan.

Eva Maria Noblezada was one of five finalists for the National High School Musical Theatre Awards, also known as the Jimmy Awards. Her performance of the song “With You” from Ghost during the awards ceremony was noted by casting director Tara Rubin. Rubin was so moved by Eva’s talent that she set up an audition with Cameron Mackintosh, who was preparing his 2014 London revival of Miss Saigon. Several callbacks later with Mackintosh and the creative team, Eva was chosen to star as Kim, making her professional and West End debut in the show. For her performance as Kim, Ms. Noblezada garnered unanimous critical acclaim and received the Whatsonstage Award for Best Actress in A Musical. She performed “I’d Give My Life for You” at the 2015 Laurence Olivier Awards ceremony, and went on to assume the role of Eponine in Les Miserables at London’s Queen’s Theatre. On May 2, 2016, Noblezada made her Carnegie Hall debut, celebrating Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg, performing “The Movie in My Mind” with Lea Salonga and the New York Pops. Noblezada reprised her performance as Kim in the first Broadway revival of Miss Saigon, which opened at the Broadway Theatre on March 23, 2017 for a limited run through January 14, 2018. For her performance, Noblezada was nominated for the 2017 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical. She is currently involved in the 2019 adaption of Hadestown, the Musical in London.

Beth Malone originated the role of (Big) Alison in the musical Fun Home, from workshops, to the 2013 Off-Broadway production at the Public Theater to the 2015 Broadway production at the Circle in the Square Theatre. Critic Steven Suskin called her performance “the glue that holds the show together,” and for it she received a Tony Award nomination for Best Actress in a Musical. Malone made her Broadway debut in Ring of Fire in 2006 and most recently played the Angel in the Broadway revival of Tony Kushner’s Angels in America at the Neil Simon Theatre. She appeared Off-Broadway in the musical Bingo: A Winning New Musical and in The Marvelous Wonderettes. Additionally, Malone played the title role in Annie Get Your Gun in the Music Circus at the Wells Fargo Pavilion, Sacramento, California, and again at the San Diego Musical Theatre, and went on to play the title role in The Unsinkable Molly Brown in The Denver Center Theatre Company and The MUNY productions. Malone is a strong advocate for the LGBTQ community and continually shows her support by performing at over 50 benefits a year for LGBTQ groups and nonprofits. In addition to showing her pride for the queer community, she is also involved in organizations, such as the Aqua Foundation, that advocate for all women and their equality. Malone’s advocacy expanded and evolved as a result of Fun Home’s success. She provided inspiration, pride and support on and off stage, taking the time to converse with young girls and boys who struggled with embracing their own identities. Malone has created a one-woman cabaret show titled Beth Malone: So Far. The show tells her life story, “from her offbeat childhood in small-town Colorado, to her not-quite-normal entrance into acting, to her left-of-center adult life.” She has toured with the show in several locations, including Aspen, Colorado, at the Wheeler Opera House, and in New York City, at the Davenport Theatre.

Michael Mayer won his first Tony Award in 2017 for his direction of the musical adaptation of Spring Awakening. The show also won the award for Best Musical. He was nominated for the 2002 Tony for his direction of Thoroughly Modern Millie, which he went on to direct on London’s West End. Mayer also won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director of a Musical for both Spring Awakening and Thoroughly Modern Millie. Mayer directed and wrote the book for the musical American Idiot, directed and re-conceived the 2011 revival of On a Clear Day You Can See Forever starring Harry Connick Jr, and directed the first Broadway production of Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Other Broadway credits include Triumph of Love, starring Betty Buckley, Susan Egan and F. Murray Abraham, with music by Jeffrey Stock and lyrics by Susan Birkenhead; The Lion in Winter; the 1999 revival of You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown; and Side Man (Drama Desk Award). He directed the 1998 Tony Award-winning revival of Arthur Miller’s A View from the Bridge starring Anthony LaPaglia and Brittany Murphy, for which he was nominated for a Tony and won the Drama Desk Award. Mayer’s off-Broadway directing credits include The Credeaux Canvas, John C. Russell’s Stupid Kids, Peter Hedges’ Baby Anger, Theresa Rebeck’s View of the Dome, and the New York premiere of Janusz Głowacki’s Antigone in New York. He made his Metropolitan Opera debut in 2012 with Rigoletto, where he reset the scene from 16^th-century Mantua to 1960s Las Vegas. He was the director of the premiere of Nico Muhly’s Marnie for the English National Opera in 2017, which was later performed at the Metropolitan Opera in 2018. He also directed a new production of Verdi’s La Traviata for the Metropolitan Opera in December 2018. In addition to his theater credits, Mayer has also directed for film and television. His credits include A Home at the End of the World, starring Colin Farrell and Robin Wright Penn; Flicka; the pilot of NBC’s TV series “Smash”; episodes of Amazon’s “Alpha House” starring John Goodman; and a film adaptation of The Seagull, starring Annette Bening, Corey Stoll, Saoirse Ronan.

ABOUT THEATRE COMMUNICATIONS GROUP

TCG is dedicated to creating a more equitable and diverse theatre landscape by supporting the professional development of early-career leaders of color in the arts. These programs are changing the face of the theatre field by nurturing and supporting an intergenerational network of leaders of color at various stages in their careers, and by providing a professional development curriculum to deepen Equity, Diversity and Inclusion analysis and leadership tools to enhance the careers of participants. Participants in these programs receive a wide-range of benefits and opportunities, which may include which include professional development workshops; special topic webinars; participation in convenings such as the TCG National Conference, Fall Forum and Audience (R)Evolution mini-convenings; access to a national network of peers and veteran leaders in the field; one-on-one career counseling with TCG staff; job search training; and a variety of networking opportunities. TCG programs dedicated to this effort have included: Leadership U[niversity], New Generations, SPARK, Rising Leaders of Color (RLC), and Young Leaders of Color Program (YLC).

For over 55 years, Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national organization for U.S. theatre, has existed to strengthen, nurture, and promote the professional not-for-profit theatre. TCG’s constituency has grown from a handful of groundbreaking theatres to over 700 Member Theatres and affiliate organizations and more than 12,000 individuals nationwide. TCG offers its members networking and knowledge-building opportunities through conferences, events, research, and communications; awards grants, approximately $2 million per year, to theatre companies and individual artists; advocates on the federal level; and through the Global Theater Initiative, TCG’s partnership with the Laboratory for Global Performance and Politics, serves as the U.S. Center of the International Theatre Institute. TCG is North America’s largest independent publisher of dramatic literature, with 16 Pulitzer Prizes for Best Play on the TCG booklist. It also publishes the award-winning American Theatre magazine and ARTSEARCH®, the essential source for a career in the arts. In all of its endeavors, TCG seeks to increase the organizational efficiency of its Member Theatres, cultivate and celebrate the artistic talent and achievements of the field, and promote a larger public understanding of, and appreciation for, the theatre. www.tcg.org.

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