EXCLUSIVE: TheaterMania and OvationTix Cofounder Darren Sussman to Be Honored
(© David Gordon)
La MaMa will celebrate its 56th anniversary season with a gala event on October 26 at The Ellen Stewart Theater. This year's annual gala will honor TheatreMania and OvationTix cofounder Darren Sussman "for his visionary and innovative work on behalf of small and mid-size performing arts organizations."
The evening will feature special guests, including honorary chair Harvey Fierstein; President, Arts and Culture of AudienceView, Gretchen Shugart; and actor and comedian Mike Carlsen (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt), with performances from Grammy Award-winning musician Casey Benjamin; Grammy, Emmy, Tony Award winner and Academy Award-nominated composer and lyricist Marc Shaiman; Courtney Bassett performing from the Tony Award-nominated Natasha, Pierre and The Great Comet of 1812; and an opening performance from Brooklyn United, a drum corps featuring young performers ages 8-18. The evening will also feature a special tribute to the late American playwright Sam Shepard. Tony Award winner Scott Wittman directs.
Begun by the late Ellen Stewart, La MaMa is now in its 56th season of presenting work from around the globe. This season, La MaMa will present over 50 productions of works from six continents. Mia Yoo is the company’s artistic director.
Darren Sussman conceived and, along with producer Joe Corcoran, cofounded TheaterMania.com in early 1999. While working with several theater productions to market and sell tickets on the internet he identified the need for a consumer destination site for theater information and tickets, and assembled a team of experienced theater journalists, programmers, and marketing professionals to launch the site.
