Primary Stages 2010 Gala

Honoring

Samuel ‘Biff’ Liff

November 1, 2010

 
On November 1, 2010 Primary Stages friends and artists joined together at the Edison Ballroom and honored the legendary producer, agent, and stage manager, Samuel “Biff” Liff. Mr. Liff’s career began on Broadway as a stage manager for hits like Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, By the Beautiful Sea and My Fair Lady. Through the 1960’s and 70’s, he championed a number of musicals and straight plays, including Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, Forty Carats, and Private Lives.  Liff served as Senior Vice President and Head of the Theater Division of William Morris, representing Broadway icons Julie Andrews, Jerry Herman, Angela Lansbury, Chita Rivera, and many more.  

Throughout the evening we were dazzled with performances by Alison Fraser, Marni Nixon, Jill O’Hara, and Tony Roberts. We heard moving tributes by Broadway Producer & General Manager, Manny Azenberg; Primary Stages Board Member, Actor, Director & Lifelong Friend, Marvin Einhorn; and Five-Time Tony Award Winner, Angela Lansbury. A longtime friend and supporter of Primary Stages, we were thrilled to honor such a monumental figure to the NYC theater community as Mr. Liff.

Thank you to everyone who has contributed to Primary Stages 2010 Gala:

Hello Dolly Sponsor

Casey Childs

The Durst Organization
Jane Harmon

Barry R. Fierstein
Ted Snowdon & Duffy Violante

Celebrity Reading of
 Godfather IV

By Tom Fontana

Benefiting Primary Stages and the Writers Guild of America East

May 2, 2010

Written by Tom Fontana 
(Emmy Award-winning writer of "St. Elsewhere", "Homicide", "OZ" and most recently "The Philanthropist")
Featuring Chris Meloni ("Law & Order: SVU", "OZ")
Dean Winters ("Life on Mars", "30 Rock", "Rescue Me", "OZ");
and Lee Tergesen ("Generation Kill", "OZ", "Desperate Housewives")
and a special appearance by Tom Fontana
Directed by Linda Laundra
 

Three actors from “Oz” sit in a diner, talking about their careers and the works of various screen immortals. When one of the trio (Chris Meloni) attacks the plausibility of the Jack Woltz scene in “The Godfather,” the other two (Lee Tergesen, Dean Winters) decide to “re-enact” the scene by sneaking a horse’s head into Meloni’s bed. Unexpected complications arise.

GALA CELEBRATES PRIMARY STAGES 25 YEARS

 November 9, 2009

                            
Primary Stages family of artists and friends gathered at the Grand Hyatt’s Manhattan Ballroom on Monday, November 9th for a rousing evening honoring our 25 years of producing new work for the stage, supporting playwrights and theater artists through Artistic Development Programs, and engaging thousands of high school students through free programming.

The evening was hosted by playwright/actor Charles Busch (You Should Be So Lucky at Primary Stages, The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife) and actress/singer Julie Halston (You Should Be So Lucky, Chasing Manet).
 

Leading Ladies who have helped Primary Stages achieve this milestone anniversary participated in the evening. Guests enjoyed performances by Penny Fuller (Southern Comforts, Dividing the Estate), Isabel Keating (A Lifetime Burning), and Michele Ragusa (Adrift in Macao).   59E59 Theaters founder Elysabeth Kleinhans and actresses Judith Ivey, Marian Seldes and Liz Wilson recounted stories from Primary Stages past that reminded us all of how much we have accomplished and the many, many individuals who have come together to make it all happen!

 PRIMARY STAGES 2008 GALA

Honoring

PATTI LuPONE & THE BARUCH-ROUTH-FRANKEL-VIERTEL GROUP

2008 Gala - Elliot Fox, Patti LuPone, Andrew Leynse - Alan & Barbara Marks, Sarah Murray, James Murray

2008 Gala - Tom Viertel, Richard Frankel, Laura Benanti, Steven Baruch, Marc Routh - Annie Einhorn, Mark Podell, Marvin Einhorn, Helen Lee Henderson