Playwrights Horizons' 50th Anniversary
Celebrating the Impact of Playwrights Horizons and a Toast to the Future
Playwrights Horizons celebrated its 50th anniversary! We are incredibly proud of our history of developing new works and producing nearly 400 groundbreaking plays and musicals by a vast range of American writers — but this celebration wasn't only about looking back. We looked forward, as we always have, to the horizon and to what’s next: the reopening of our theater under our new artistic director; fresh, exciting partnerships; and a continuation of our digital programs even as we resume producing live theater in our home on West 42nd Street.
The celebratory evening revisited some of Playwrights Horizons’ acclaimed recent works. Carla R. Stewart performed “Lifted" from Tori Sampson’s If Pretty Hurts Ugly Must be a Muhfucka, a Critic’s Pick in The New York Times that dubbed the song a “gospel-inflected barnburner [that's] reason enough to see the show." Broadway's Mykal Kilgore performed "Memory Song" from Michael R. Jackson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning A Strange Loop, and Tony Award-winner Ali Stroker (Oklahoma!)—who received her Equity card through a Playwrights Horizons reading—also performed a number from the show that got her her Equity card. Additionally, Heather Christian performed the song "Recessional" from PRIME, her “exquisite” (Vulture) Soundstage musical, which Indiewire named the “best podcast episode of the year so far” in July 2020.
Viewers also saw 50th birthday video messages from artists with deep ties to and memories from Playwrights, including Cassie Beck, Quincy Tyler Bernstine, Reed Birney, Aya Cash, Kirsten Childs, Milo Cramer, Sarah DeLappe, Larissa FastHorse, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Peter Friedman, Dave Harris, Lucas Hnath, Michael R. Jackson, Sylvia Khoury, Taylor Mac, Matt Maher, John-Andrew Morrison, Kelli O’Hara, Annie Parisse, Pedro Pascal, Max Posner, Tori Sampson, Rhea Seehorn, Lois Smith, Paul Sparks, Jeremy Strong, and more.
Contact Maddie Milligan in our Development office at MMilligan@phnyc.org with any questions about the event or your support.
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