The Cherry Lane Theatre, founded in 1924, will celebrate its 75th anniversary with an evening of performances by theatre alumni. Aimed at helping to raise funds for Cherry Lane Alternative's Mentor Project 2000, the monies will help partner world renowned playwrights with emerging writers.
A limited number of seats are available to the general public for the Cherry Lane 75th Anniversary gala on March 13. Although high-end $250 tickets have sold out, there are a limited number of $100 tickets available to the public.
Theatre sources also report that Oscar-winner Olympia Dukakis is unable to attend the event and has just dropped out of the roster.
On March 13, the Cherry Lane Theatre will also honor playwrights Charles Fuller, A.R. Gurney, Craig Lucas, Alfred Uhry, Wendy Wasserstein and Michael Weller.
"There will be a 6:30-7:30 PM cocktail reception," a production source told Playbill On-Line, "followed by performances in a variety of scenes and monologues and songs by theatre alumni." Directed by Eduardo Machado, the Cherry Lane alumni will be performing scenes and/or musical numbers from their respective shows, or simply sharing memories. They will include Lewis Black, Maxwell Caulfield, Tyne Daly, Semina De Laurentis, Kim Hunter, Heather Macrae, Richard Maltby and David Shire, Rue McClanahan, Don Scardino, Mark Setlock and Barbara Walsh and others. Judith Ivey will serve as Mistress of Ceremonies.
The Cherry Lane Alternative is a not-for profit organization founded in 1998. The Alternative is dedicated to the development of the American theatre artist through a variety of programs, including the two-year-old Mentor Project.
The $250 tickets for seats in Cherry Lane's main space have sold out, but $100 tickets for the adjoining Cherry Lane Alternative space, where the performances will be simulcast, are now available to the general public. A reception with the artists and honorees will follow. The Cherry Lane theatre is located at 39 Commerce Street. For more information or reservations, please call (212) 989-2159.
-- By Murdoch McBride
