The gala event will take place at The Hudson Theater at the Millennium Broadway. Proceeds will benefit The American Place Theatre's Literature to Life Program.

The evening will provide a dinner-dance with a specially created performance piece written by Jonathan Reynolds (Dinner with Demons) and directed by Ed Sherin (The Great White Hope).

Scheduled to take part in the tribute are American Place Theatre veterans (and some trained by Handman) Alec Baldwin, Eric Bogosian, Doris Roberts, Phyllis Newman, Tony Roberts, Mark Rydell, Dael Orlandersmith, Marian Seldes, Richard Schiff and Sam Shepard.

The gala will begin with a cocktail reception at 6 PM followed by a formal dinner at 6:45 PM. Doors will open at 7:30 PM for the 8 PM show followed by a dessert buffet and dancing to Peter Duchin & his Orchestra with a special performance by Barbara Cook.

The event's title is borrowed from the forthcoming Jeremy Gerard book about Handman and The American Place Theatre. Ed Bullins, Chris Cooper, Michael Douglas, Maria Irene Fornes, Richard Gere, Allison Janney, Woodie King Jr., John Leguizamo, Emily Mann and Denzel Washington serve as alumni chairs for the evening.

The American Place Theatre — co-founded by Handman, Sidney Lanier and Michael Tolan — opened in 1962 on West 46th Street at St. Clement's Church. The Theatre's first full production was Robert Lowell's The Old Glory, a theatre trilogy based on the works of Nathaniel Hawthorne and Herman Melville.

Tickets and packages range from $125-$85,000 for the event at The Hudson Theater, 145 West 44 Street, and are available by calling Kim Hassmiller at Lorelei Enterprises (212) 838-2660, ext. 21. For more information visit www.americanplacetheatre.org.