The Eugene O'Neill Theater Center gives you that shot at its "Under The Stars" gala benefit Sept. 17 which will feature entertainment from 2005 Cabaret Conference performers Suzzanne Douglas, Penny Fuller and Ruth Williamson as well as former O'Neill alumni Jeff Marx and Robert Lopez, who created Broadway's Avenue Q.

Proceeds from the event — which will take place in the sunken garden on the grounds of the O'Neill Theater Center in Waterford, Connecticut — will support the company's year-round activities.

The evening begins at 6 PM with cocktails and a silent auction in the garden followed by seated dinner and entertainment.

The silent auction items include the aforementioned prizes (tickets to opening night of Broadway's new Sweeney Todd and the upcoming Nathan Lane-Matthew Broderick return in The Odd Couple and dinner with actor Brian Dennehy) as well as a dinner for two with Pulitzer Prize Winner John Patrick Shanley, Pulitzer Prize Winner Paula Vogel and Playwrights Conference Artistic Director Wendy C. Goldberg, tickets to other Broadway and regional theatre productions, a portrait by John Madere, a weekend getaway at a privately-owned lighthouse in Noank, tickets to UCONN Women's basketball games, cases of wine and "wet landscapes" painted by noted local artists during the evening.

The Eugene O'Neill Theater Center was founded in 1964 and based in Waterford, CT. Programs at the Center include the Puppetry Conference, Playwrights Conference, Critics Institute, Music Theater Conference and the National Theater Institute. The Monte Cristo Cottage, O'Neill's childhood home, is also owned and operated by the group. Tickets to "Under The Stars" are priced at $150 and can be reserved by calling Brooke McCarthy (weekdays from 9 AM-5PM) at (860) 443-5378, extension 217. For more information, visit the website at www.theoneill.org.