New York : The Public Theater’s 2006 Summer Gala will bring the Public’s 50th Anniversary Season to a close by honoring Kevin Kline and Meryl Streep, two prominent actors who have made significant artistic contributions to The Public Theater over the last four decades.
Kevin Kline
The Gala will take place on Wednesday, June 28th at the Delacorte on the opening night of Macbeth , the first production this summer of Shakespeare in the Park.
Oskar Eustis, the artistic director of The Public Theater said in a statement, "Kevin Kline and Meryl Streep are the greatest stage actors of their generation and are indelibly linked to the history of The Public Theater. In honoring them we celebrate their achievements of the past and welcome them back to a central role in The Public Theater’s future."
The Public’s annual Gala features an outdoor buffet dinner in Central Park, followed by a performance at the Delacorte Theater and a post-show cast party at Belvedere Castle overlooking Turtle Pond and the Delacorte. Last summer’s gala was attended by more than 650 people – including the Mayor and top government officials, CEOs and business leaders of Fortune 500 and other major corporations, established leaders of the social community, young trendsetters and a wide range of celebrities – and grossed $1.6 million for the institution.
Kevin Kline made his debut at The Public Theater in the 1970 Wars of the Roses cycle at the Delacorte Theater, a presentation of Shakespeare’s King Henry VI Parts 1 and 2 and Richard III . He returned to the Delacorte in 1980 with the musical hit Pirates of Penzance , which went on to success on Broadway and on film. Other notable performances at The Public include the title roles in Shakespeare’s Henry V, Richard III , and two turns as Hamlet - once in 1986 and again in 1990 where he also served as director. Offstage, he joined the artistic staff of The Public Theater, first as an Associate Producer in 1993, then becoming an Artistic Associate in 1996. In 1990, Kevin joined The Public’s Board of Trustees.
Meryl Streep will perform this coming summer as Mother Courage in the second production of Shakespeare in the Park: a new translation by Tony Kushner of Bertolt Brecht’s Mother Courage and Her Children with original music by Jeanine Tesori andTrelawny of the ‘Wells’ , part of the theater’s uptown season at the Vivian Beaumont Theater. She would go on to be featured in nearly a dozen productions, including Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew at the Delacorte Theater, the television broadcast of the musical Alice at the Palace , and Andrei Serban’s landmark staging of Chekov’s The Cherry Orchard with Irene Worth. In 2001 she appeared with Kevin Kline in the critically acclaimed production of The Seagull directed by Mike Nichols at the Delacorte Theater. Additional Public Theater credits include: Henry V, Measure for Measure, Taken in Marriage, Alice in Concert . Recently she performed in The Public Sings: A 50th Anniversary Celebration at City Center.
Macbeth will begin previews at the Delacorte theater on June 13th and run through July 9th. The production stars Liev Schreiber and Jennifer Ehle.
For more information visit www.publictheater.org .
Your Talkback on this Story