Actor-director Mario Van Peebles will serve as master of ceremonies. Paterson will receive the CTH Community Citizenship Award, De Shields will receive the Award for Sustained Excellence in the Theatre, and Pierce will receive the Award for Distinguished Performance in the Theatre. The event will include a cocktail party, entertainment, dinner and an auction.
Since its founding in 1999, the Classical Theatre of Harlem has presented 29 productions, including numerous works by Shakespeare, August Wilson's Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, Euripidies' Trojan Women, Derek Walcott's Dream on Monkey Mountain, Melvin Van Peebles' Ain't Supposed to Die a Natural Death, Anton Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard and Jean Genet's seminal political drama The Blacks: A Clown Show, which received four 2003 Obie Awards.
De Shields recently appeared as the title character in CTH's production of King Lear. Nominated for a Tony Award for his performance in the Broadway production of The Full Monty, Andre De Shields re-created his role as Noah "Horse" T. Simmons for the London production. He received another Tony nomination for his performance in Play On! and also starred on Broadway in The Wiz, Ain't Misbehavin' and Haarlem Nocturne.
Pierce plays Det. William "Bunk" Moreland on "The Wire" and has appeared in films such as "Malcolm X," "Ray," "Waiting to Exhale," "It Could Happen to You" and "I Think I Love My Wife." His Broadway credits include The Boys of Winter and Serious Money.
Paterson is a long-time New York state senator who was elected Lieutenant Governor in 2006. He was elected Senate minority leader in 2002, becoming the highest-ranking black elected official in the history of New York state. Low Memorial Library at Columbia University is at 116th Street and Broadway. The event begins at 6 PM with cocktails. Tickets are $250 per person. To order, call (212) 868-4444.
