FROM: Manhattan Theatre Club
Press Contact: Rubenstein Communications, Inc.
Andy Shearer (212) 843-8061

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MANHATTAN THEATRE CLUB
RECEIVES A MAJOR GRANT FROM
BANK OF AMERICA
TO LAUNCH NEW
PLAYWRIGHT COMMISSIONING PROGRAM

MULTI-YEAR PROGRAM WILL SUPPORT BOTH NEW AND ESTABLISHED PLAYWRIGHTS

New York, NY (8 May 2008) -- Manhattan Theatre Club ( Lynne Meadow , Artistic Director; Barry Grove , Executive Producer; Daniel Sullivan, Acting Artistic Director 2007-2008) has announced that Bank of America has granted them $225,000 to support a new playwright commissioning program. The three-year program will support two commissions per year – one for an established playwright and one for an up-and-coming playwright. Commissions will be issued each June beginning this year. This program will be overseen by Lynne Meadow and MTC’s new Director of Artistic Development Jerry Patch.

“We are so grateful to Bank of America for this generous gift,” says Peter J. Solomon, Chairman of MTC’s Board of Directors. “Both Bank of America and MTC have a common goal – to invest their energy and resources in the future. This grant allows MTC to do that.”

“Our sincere thanks to Bank of America in helping us achieve our mission,” said Artistic Director Lynne Meadow and Executive Producer Barry Grove in a joint statement. “MTC has a long tradition of bringing new voices to the American theatre. With these Bank of America commissions, we will be able to continue to support contemporary playwrights by providing the resources needed to create new work – work that will be nurtured and developed and hopefully be presented on one of our three stages.”

“As a leading national sponsor of arts and culture, Bank of America believes in the power of the arts to create and sustain vibrant and economically healthy communities,” said Rena DeSisto, global arts & culture executive for Bank of America. “We are thrilled to partner with Manhattan Theatre Club on this innovative program to help provide opportunity for artistic talent and vision to flourish.”

First drafts of all commissioned plays will be given an in-house reading at MTC’s Creative Center , to be followed by feedback sessions between Artistic Development staff and the playwright. All final scripts will be evaluated for potential production at either MTC’s Broadway house, the Biltmore Theatre, or on one of their Off-Broadway stages at City Center .

ABOUT MANHATTAN THEATRE CLUB

Under the leadership of Artistic Director Lynne Meadow and Executive Producer Barry Grove , MTC has become one of the country’s most prominent and prestigious theatre companies. MTC productions have earned numerous awards, including 16 Tony Awards and five Pulitzer Prizes, an accomplishment unparalleled by a New York theatrical institution. Renowned MTC productions include LoveMusik; Blackbird; Translations; Shining City ; Rabbit Hole; Doubt; Kimberly Akimbo; Proof; The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife; Love! Valour! Compassion!; Sylvia; Four Dogs and a Bone; Putting It Together; Lips Together, Teeth Apart; Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune; Crimes of the Heart; and Ain’t Misbehavin’.

In 2003, MTC reopened Broadway’s landmark, long-neglected Biltmore Theatre, following a two-year, $35 million capital campaign. In addition to the Biltmore, MTC operates two theatres at New York City Center , its Off-Broadway home since 1984.

During Meadow’s sabbatical this season, Daniel Sullivan,a close associate of MTC and director of several Manhattan Theatre Club productions (Rabbit Hole, Brooklyn Boy, Sight Unseen, Proof, Psychopathia Sexualis), is serving as Acting Artistic Director. Sullivan consulted with Meadow and MTC's artistic staff on the 2007-2008 season, and Meadow will consult on the 2008-2009 season. She will return for the 2008-2009 season.

BANK OF AMERICA AND THE ARTS

Bank of America is a leading supporter of arts and culture in the United States .  Through a wide variety of programs, Bank of America works to strengthen artistic institutions and provide greater access to treasured works of art for both its customers and those who might not otherwise experience them.  Each year, the Bank of America Charitable Foundation provides millions of dollars in grants to a wide range of arts organizations, supporting education and access programs and enabling institutions to expand their scope, and underwrites national and local performances, arts programs, and exhibitions.  Through its unique loaned exhibition program, the bank offers its art collection to museums throughout the country, free of charge, so they may expand their offerings for the benefit of their communities.