Wallach, Jackson, and Hwang to Host Lark Benefit

My New York, a program of plays by young authors and songs that celebrate New York, will be presented as a benefit for the Lark Play Development Center (formerly the Lark Theatre Company) on Monday, March 29 at 7pm at the Lucille Lortel Theatre (121 Christopher Street). Additionally, the Lark will offer two complimentary performances of My New York for students on Tuesday, March 23 and Thursday, March 25.

Acclaimed actors Anne Jackson and Eli Wallach and playwright David Henry Hwang will host My New York. The event will feature the talents of such Broadway and television stars as Kerry Butler, Ray DeMattis, Arthur French, Jennifer Gambatese, Kathryn Grody, Daniel Jenkins, Marc Kudisch, Christy Carlson Romano, Barbara Walsh, and Frederick Weller.

The event will include performances of winning plays from this year’s Lark Youth Playwriting Contest. The winners are: Waiting Four by 16-year-old Josh Cohen, directed by Linnet Taylor, mentored by Saviana Stanescu; Lori’s Bad Day by 17-year-old Farah Hussain, directed by Giovanna Sardelli, mentored by Michael Bradford; and Five More Minutes by 18-year-old Mickey Pearlstein-Gluck, directed by Steven Williford, mentored by Andrea Thome. At the March 29 event, Cohen, Hussain, and Pearlstein-Gluck will be presented with the Lark’s 2004 Youth Playwriting Awards.

General admission tickets for My New York are $75 for adults, $35 for children under 16. Premium benefit tickets, including admission to an after-show party with the cast members at Vittorio Restaurant (308 Bleecker Street), are $100 for children and range in price from $250 to $500 for adults. Special benefit tickets, at $150 for adults and $75 for children under 16, include coffee and dessert after show.

Tickets may be reserved by calling the Lark Play Development Center at 212-246-2609, ext. 24.