Actress Mary Testa, a performer in LaChiusa projects Marie Christine and See What I Wanna See, will host the benefit evening, dubbed Boys Night Out, to feature a chat with the writer, plus male theatre stars singing songs from LaChiusa's catalog. The 7 PM event is on the Mainstage of Playwrights Horizons on West 42nd Street.

The evening will include the New York City premiere of songs from LaChiusa's new musicals Giant and Queen of the Mist. The performers will include Malcolm Gets (Tony & Drama Desk nominee of Amour; Merrily We Roll Along; A New Brain; Hello Again); Marc Kudisch (Tony Award nominee of 9 to 5; See What I Wanna See; Assassins); Steven Pasquale (reasons to be pretty, The Light in the Piazza); Andrew Samonsky (South Pacific, LaChiusa's Queen of the Mist); and Bobby Steggert (Tony Award nominee of Ragtime; The Grand Manner; Yank!) and more to be announced.

Tickets are $125 (includes premium, reserved seats and post-show wine and cheese reception with the artists) and $55 general admission (does not include reception). Playwrights Horizons is at 416 W. 42nd Street (between 9th & 10th Ave.)

LaChiusa's most recent work includes the book, music and lyrics to Queen of the Mist (being developed by Transport Group); music and lyrics to Giant (book by Sybille Pearson); Los Otros (book by Ellen Fitzhugh); and the score for Maria Aitken's production of As You Like It at the Shakespeare Theatre, Washington, DC. As a composer, lyricist and librettist, his other works include Bernarda Alba, See What I Wanna See, The Highest Yellow, Little Fish, Hello Again, First Lady Suite and Break/Agnes/Eulogy for Mister Hamm. LaChiusa was represented on Broadway during the 1999-2000 season by The Wild Party and Marie Christine, receiving nominations for Best Score and Best Book (with George C. Wolfe on The Wild Party) for each show and he received a Tony nomination for Best Book (Graciela Daniele and Jim Lewis) for Chronicle of a Death Foretold. His operas include Send (who are you? I love you), which premiered at the Houston Grand Opera, and Lovers and Friends (Chautauqua Variations) which premiered at the Lyric Opera of Chicago where he was the Freeman Composer-in-Residence. LaChiusa is an Obie Award winner (Hello Again and First Lady Suite) and the recipient of the Gilman-Gonzalez-Falla Musical Theatre Award. He has provided scores for the children's television show on Nick Jr, "The Wonder Pets," for which he received two Emmy Awards. He is currently on the faculty of New York University.

For more information, visit transportgroup.org.