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KYRA SEDGWICK TO
HOST 2013 CULTURE PROJECT GALA FOR OPENING OF NEWLY NAMED
LYNN REDGRAVE THEATER
Vanessa Redgrave and Liam Neeson Chair June 3 Event to
Celebrate New York’s Home For Socially Conscious Theater and
Honor Center For Constitutional Rights
Culture Project is set to hold a commemorative gala and
naming ceremony for its newly christened Lynn Redgrave
Theater (formerly known as 45 Bleecker Street) on Monday
June 3 at Stage 48 in honor of the late Ms. Redgrave.
Vanessa Redgrave, Liam Neeson and Ms. Redgrave’s three
children Annabel Clark, Ben Clark and Pema Clark serve as
Honorary Chairs of the Gala, at which the Center for
Constitutional Rights (CCR) will also be honored for its
dedication to advancing and protecting human rights.
Executive Director of the CCR, Vincent Warren, and CCR
President Emeritus Michael Ratner will accept the award on
behalf of the organization, which has been a long-time
collaborator with Culture Project.
Kyra Sedgwick, Golden Globe® and Emmy Award®-winning star of
stage, screen and television, will host the evening for the
theatre that shines an artistic spotlight on human rights
issues, where both she and Ms. Redgrave performed in the New
York production of
The Exonerated.
“Culture Project plays such a vital role in drawing people’s
attention to issues that often go unchallenged by those
without a voice so this Gala marks quite an emotional return
to the proverbial boards that Lynn and I trod a decade ago,”
Ms. Sedgwick says. “Lynn was a professional inspiration so,
to be opening a theater named for her and reflective of her
wonderful ability to make a difference in people’s lives
through performance, is a touching and
privilege.”
“In celebrating Lynn Redgrave’s legacy of artistic
excellence married with a bold human rights advocacy, we are
delighted to have Kyra hosting this Gala,” says Allan
Buchman, Founder and Artistic Director of Culture Project.
“She broke ground here alongside Lynn in a production that
helped raise awareness of the injustices faced by death row
inmates across America, and returns now to help us affirm
the newly named theater’s commitment to social justice.”
“The Lynn Redgrave Theater stands for everything it’s
namesake held dear: playwriting, education and the joy of
acting infused
with a very clear sense of integrity and fairness,”
Mr. Buchman continued.
"CCR is the ideal ally in our efforts as we challenge
injustice in our quest for a more humane civil society," Mr.
Buchman added. "They are at the forefront of every battle
that defines who we are as a nation whether it is Guantanamo
torture stop and frisk illegal surveillance or government
abuse of power. They have our collective back as a people
they stand out because they stand up for what they stand
for. They have played a crucial role in the development of
our signature Blueprint for accountability series and been
the inspiration behind the choices of many of our plays."
Sisters Lynn and Vanessa performed together at Lynn’s last
Culture Project outing in 2007 with their late brother Corin
Redgrave and his daughter Jemma, in A Question of
Impeachment, a series of evenings exploring the case for the
impeachment of former President Bush and Vice President Dick
Cheney.
In addition to appearing as Sonia “Sunny” Jacobs in the
original run of The Exonerated, Lynn Redgrave’s association
with Culture Project was instrumental in the development of
her third play, Nightingale, for which a number of
developmental public readings of the play were presented at
the theater.
Jillian Crane Kahn and Alfred Kahn are Chairs of the Gala.
In addition to Allan Buchman, the Benefit Committee includes
Ibrahim AlHusseini, Jill Brooke, Steven Donziger & Laura
Miller, Robert Dunn, Jodie Evans, James Grant, Eva & Yoel
Haller, Steve & Ruth Hendel, Lucy Jarvis, Lauren Embrey,
Marc Kaplan, Katherine Keating, Rick Miramontez, Beatrix Ost
& Ludwig Kuttner, Rosemary Pritzker, Michael Ratner,
Cornelia Ravenal & Mikael Sodersten, Nicole Reeber, Bill
Robinson, Melissa Spohler, Sandy Tabatznik, Vince Warren,
Monica Winsor & Joshua Mailman, and Tom Wirtshafter.
# # #
About Culture Project
Culture Project is dedicated to addressing critical human
rights issues by shining an artistic spotlight on injustice.
By fostering innovative collaboration between human rights
organizations and artists, it aims to inspire and impact
public dialogue, encouraging democratic participation in the
most urgent matters of our time. Founded by Allan Buchman in
1996, Culture Project has premiered celebrated shows
including The Exonerated, Sarah Jones' Bridge & Tunnel,
Guantanamo: Honor Bound to Defend Freedom, Lawrence Wright's
My Trip To Al-Qaeda, Tings Dey Happen, the Lucille Lortel
Award-winning world premiere of George Packer's Betrayed,
and Temple University's acclaimed production of In Conflict.
Culture Project also produced "Breaking the Silence, Beating
the Drum", a groundbreaking concert at the United Nations to
commemorate the abolition of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade.
In 2012, Culture Project celebrated its return to the
theaters at 45 Bleecker Street. Since then, productions have
included James X, directed by Gabriel Byrne, the revival of
Rinde Eckert’s acclaimed And God Created Great Whales,
Shaheed: The Dream and Death of Benazir Bhutto, along with
the 10th anniversary remount of The Exonerated.
www.cultureproject.org
About Lynn Redgrave
Lynn Redgrave was born in London into a family of actors and
enjoyed a remarkable career on stage, screen, and beyond
spanning four decades. She was nominated for 3 Tony Awards,
2 Oscars, 2 Emmys, a Grammy and most recently was the
recipient of a 2008 New York Emmy. Film highlights include
Georgy Girl (Oscar nomination, Golden Globe, New York Film
Critics awards), Gods and Monsters (1999 Golden Globe,
Independent Spirit Award, Oscar nomination), Shine (BAFTA
and SAG nominations), and Kinsey. She was a founding member
of The Royal National Theatre and was the author of four
plays, Shakespeare For My Father (which examines her
relationship with Sir Michael Redgrave), The Mandrake Root
(loosely based on her mother, the actress Rachel Kempson),
and Nightingale (a fictional meditation on the life of her
maternal grandmother, Beatrice Kempson, Los Angeles Drama
Critics Circle Award for Best Solo Performance), which
enjoyed its New York premiere at Manhattan Theatre Club in
2009. She performed her last work, Rachel and Juliet, at
Tucson, Arizona's Invisible Theatre and Washington, D.C.'s
Folger Theatre. She also appeared Off Broadway in MCC
Theater's Grace, under the direction of Joseph Hardy. She
wrote the text for Journal, A Mother and Daughter's Recovery
From Breast Cancer, featuring photographs by her daughter,
Annabel Clark, currently in its third printing from Umbrage
Editions. Recent film credits include The Jane Austen Book
Club and the final Merchant / Ivory production, The White
Countess, acting alongside sister Vanessa and her niece, the
late Natasha Richardson. Recent television credits include
ABC's "Desperate Housewives," "Law & Order: Criminal Intent"
and with America Ferrera in "Ugly Betty." She can be heard
as the voice of Nanny in the animated film series of Me,
Eloise and in the animated feature My Dog Tulip, which was
an official selection of the 2009 Toronto International Film
Festival. She was a prolific "voice on tape" and her last
audio book release was Roald Dahl's The Witches, for which
she received a Grammy nomination. Ms. Redgrave was inducted
into the Theater Hall in January, 2009. Lynn Redgrave (67)
passed away peacefully on Sunday, May 2, 2010 at her home in
Connecticut.
About Kyra Sedgwick
Kyra Sedgwick has conquered success on stage, screen and
television. She has received multiple Golden Globe
nominations (2007 win for “The Closer”), Emmy nominations
(2010 win for “The Closer”), SAG nominations as well as two
Independent Spirit Award nominations, a Theater Award, Los
Angeles Drama Desk Critics Circle Award and a Dramalogue
Award. Over her seven season tenure, Sedgwick’s role as
“Deputy Police Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson,” on TNT's first
original series "The Closer," garnered her a Golden Globe
Award in 2007 for "Best Dramatic actress" - television, four
Emmy nominations and a win for “Outstanding Lead Actress in
a Drama Series” in 2010, seven SAG nominations, and a 2009
People Choice Award for "Favorite TV Diva". The series
concluded its seventh and final season on TNT August 13th,
2012. Her film credits include the upcoming Rays of Light,
The Possession, Man on a Ledge, Gamer, The Game Plan,
Loverboy, The Woodsman, Phenomenon, Born on the Fouth of
July and Heart and Souls. Additional television credits
include work on award-nominated Showtime and HBO series. Her
theatre credits include Culture Project's New York
production of The Exonerated, a triumphant run of Nicholas
Hytner's Twelfth Night at Lincoln Center, Ah Wilderness! for
which she won the Theater Award, and David Mamet's Oleanna,
which garnered her a Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award
and a Drama League Award.
About the Center For Constitutional Rights
The Center for Constitutional Rights is dedicated to
advancing and protecting the rights guaranteed by the United
States Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights. Founded in 1966 by attorneys who represented civil
rights movements in the South, CCR is a non-profit legal and
educational organization committed to the creative use of
law as a positive force for social change.
To purchase tickets, please contact:
Tiffany Jones | Culture Project | (212) 925-1806 |
tiffany@cultureproject.org
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