Woodie King, Jr.’s New Federal Theatre held a press event at Trump Place on Monday, April 25 in conjunction with its 40th anniversary Gala, which will take place on Sunday, May 22 at the Edison Ballroom.
As previously reported, the Gala will feature special awards for 13 individuals that changed the cultural life of our nation: Sidney Poitier, Ntozake Shange, Ruby Dee, Alicia Keys, Mayor David Dinkins, Imhotep Gary Byrd, George Faison, Amiri Baraka, Rev. Malcolm Boyd, Elizabeth McCann, Carla Pinza, Terrie Williams, and Sylvia Sprinkle Hamlin.
Several of the honorees were in attendance at the press event, along with King and the Gala’s co-host, Lynn Whitfield.
“The New Federal Theatre is such an absolutely fantastic institution to be part of,” said John Morning, one of the event’s chairmen. “40 years of presenting stellar break-through productions under this giant [King]…Thank you very much for making theater come alive.”
“We’re still breathing and everything,” Dee interjected, to laughs from the crowd.
McCann recalled going to see Dee as Mary Tyrone in an all-black production of Eugene O’Neill’s Long Day’s Journey into Night. “I can never see that play again,” McCann said. “You were Mary Tyrone.”
For gala tickets and information, call 212-838-2660, ext. 14.
