This Tuesday, May 18, at 7:30 pm, Theatre Communications Group (TCG) – the New York-based national organization for theater, founded in 1961, and now with more than 7,000 individual members and 700 member theaters and affiliate organizations – is holding its 60th Anniversary Gala: Our Stories, followed by an after-party to continue the celebration. The big event, hosted by drag superstar Shequida, will feature songs from Lauren Yee’s Off-Broadway hit Cambodian Rock Band, performed by original NYC cast members Francis Jue, Abraham Kim, Jane Lui, Joe Ngo, Courtney Reed, and Moses Villarama, along with a performance from The Market Theatre Laboratory in Johannesburg, South Africa.
The 2021 gala will honor director, artistic director, writer, and educator Ricardo Khan (Tony Award-winning co-founder of the Crossroads Theatre Company and Board President of TCG from 1995 to 1998) and the Performing Arts Alliance (PAA) – a national policy advocate, leadership forum, and learning network for America’s non-profit performing arts organizations, artists, and allies. On behalf of the PAA, Dr. Michelle Ramos (the organization’s Board Chair, Vision Keeper of Alternate ROOTS, and a licensed attorney with a PhD in Cultural Psychology), will offer remarks.
TCG Executive Director Teresa Eyring said, “We’re thrilled to welcome the artists of Cambodian Rock Band and The Market Theatre Laboratory to TCG’s Gala. Together, they represent the vitality and interconnectedness of our global theatre movement, which is also embodied by our honorees. Ricardo Khan and Crossroads Theatre Company have fostered a long and meaningful relationship with The Market Theatre, and the Performing Arts Alliance continues to advocate at the federal level for policies that support international exchange. We hope theatre people from around the world will join us to celebrate.”
A donations-based event, the annual gala, now in its ninth year, will support TCG’s work in leading the theater industry towards a just and thriving ecology. Recent honorees include award-winning playwright and librettist David Henry Hwang (M. Butterfly), Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Tony Kushner (Angels in America), and Broadway press agent and DKC/O&M President Rick Miramontez. The celebration will take place between the two parts of TCG’s Virtual Conference: Our Theatre Ecology, this year’s online version of the annual TCG National Conference – one of the largest nationwide gatherings of theater people. In addition to publishing American Theatre magazine, TCG is also North America’s largest independent trade publisher of dramatic literature, with eighteen Pulitzer Prizes for Drama on the TCG booklist
TCG’s 60th Anniversary Gala: Our Stories streams on Tuesday, May 18, at 7:30 pm. The event is free, but donations are welcome. To reserve tickets, go online.
