TV celebrity Stephen Colbert will host the 25th anniversary gala of the the Obie-winning theatre ensemble the Elevator Repair Service. The May 22 New York event will feature performances by celebrity guests: composer-comedian Steve Martin, actor Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Broadway star Debra Monk, plus a kickline of actors whose performances have been highlights of the company’s many productions.
Under the direction of founding Artistic Director John Collins, the Obie-winning, ensemble-based company is responsible for Gatz (2006), Arguendo (2013), and Total Fictional Lie (1998), among many more innovative productions.
Gala guests will also feature longtime ERS supporters, including Greta Gerwig (20th Century Women), Peter Sarsgaard (The Killing), Maura Tierney (The Affair), Lili Taylor (Six Feet Under); plus former U.S. senator Bob Kerrey; and Sirius/XM radio personality Vin Scelsa. Details of the evening’s program were still being worked out.
The special performance will feature ERS veterans who made their marks in every era of the company’s history, including Obie-winning actors Scott Shepherd (Bridge of Spies) and April Matthis (On the Levee); playwright Rinne Groff (Saved); book authors James Hannaham (2016 PEN/Faulkner Award winner for Delicious Foods) and Kate Scelsa (Fans of the Impossible Life); and many other ERS regulars, including actors Susie Sokol, Vin Knight, Pete Simpson, and Ben Williams.
A live fundraising auction will be followed by remarks from Oskar Eustis, artistic director of another Off-Broadway company, The Public Theater, which has been a frequent artistic collaborator with ERS. Eustis has previously said of ERS, “Their profound, unpretentious attention to whatever they choose to theatricalize ends up revealing beauties of the most profound order.”
The gala will be held at the Tribeca Rooftop, 2 Desbrosses Street in Manhattan. Individual tickets for the event start at $500. Tables for 10 start at $5,000. Tickets can be ordered at Elevator.org/gala, or by calling (212) 254-3137.
Gala guest Monk was also a special guest performer on Playbill’s first Broadway on the High Seas cruise. Playbill’s inaugural river cruise along the Rhône River in May 2017 is sold out, but cabins are available for the Rhine River cruise in August 2017, featuring Seth Rudetsky, Andréa Burns, Faith Prince, Terrence Mann, Charlotte d’Amboise, and Santino Fontana. Playbill Travel is now also booking Broadway on the Danube River for November 2017, with celebrity guests to be announced. Visit PlaybillTravel.com for booking and information.
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