By Kenneth Jones
09 Nov 2009

Julie Halston and Charles Busch
photo by Aubrey Reuben

Charles Busch and Julie Halston host Primary Stages 25th Anniversary Gala Benefit Nov. 9 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel on East 42nd Street in Manhattan.

Expected to perform at the benefit for the Off-Broadway not-for-profit are Penny Fuller, Isabel Keating, and Michelle Ragusa, who will joined by Judith Ivey, Elysabeth Kleinhans, Marian Seldes and Elizabeth Wilson.

Primary Stages artistic director Andrew Leynse stated, "This year's gala is a night to celebrate Primary Stages and our 25 years of commitment to the theatre. We are honored to have this distinguished list of leading ladies help us usher in the next 25 years."

Past gala honorees have included Patti LuPone and The Baruch-Routh-Frankel-Viertel Group (2008), Daryl Roth and Jack O’Brien (2007), Julie Harris (2006), Susan Stroman (2005), Horton Foote and Primary Stages Founder and Executive Producer Casey Childs (2004), Harvey Fierstein (2003), A.R. Gurney (2001), John Guare (2000), Betty Comden and Adolph Green (1998), Stephen Sondheim (1997), Wendy Wasserstein (1996) and Terrence McNally (1995).

The celebration begins at 6:30 PM with cocktails and Silent Auction followed by dinner and entertainment.

Ticket and table prices range from $500–$10,000. For additional information, tickets and sponsorships contact Sue Breger at (212) 840-9705 or sue@primarystages.org.

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Primary Stages (Casey Childs, executive producer; Andrew Leynse, artistic director; Elliot Fox, managing director) concludes its 25th anniversary season with the New York premiere of Happy Now? by Lucinda Coxon (Jan. 26, 2010-March 10, 2010) with direction by Liz Dimond.

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Primary Stages was founded in 1984 as a non-profit theatre company with the mission of producing new plays and nurturing the development of playwrights. In our 24 seasons we have produced over 100 world and New York premieres of plays by such playwrights as Brooke Berman, Lee Blessing, Charles Busch, Constance Congdon, A.R. Gurney, Michael Hollinger, Willy Holtzman, David Ives, Julia Jordan, Romulus Linney, Michele Lowe, Donald Margulies, Melissa Manchester, Terrence McNally, Connor McPherson, John Henry Redwood, Lanie Robertson, John Patrick Shanley and Mac Wellman.

To learn more about Primary Stages visit www.primarystages.org.