FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: May 5, 2004
Contact: Christa Skiles
Public Relations Director
513-345-2242, ext. 232

CINCINNATI PLAYHOUSE IN THE PARK RECEIVES
2004 REGIONAL THEATRE TONY AWARD

(CINCINNATI) – It was announced today that the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park will receive the 2004 Regional Theatre Tony Award. One of the most coveted awards in the entertainment industry, the Regional Theatre Tony Award honors a non-profit professional regional theatre company that has displayed a continuous level of artistic achievement contributing to the growth of theatre nationally. The American Theatre Wing has given the award annually since 1976 and bases its decision on a recommendation by the American Theatre Critics Association. The Playhouse will receive the award as part of the nationally televised 58th annual Tony Award broadcast on June 6.

“This is such an extraordinary honor, not only for the Playhouse, but for the entire Greater Cincinnati arts community,” says Playhouse Producing Artistic Director Edward Stern. “This recognition not only celebrates the work that we do on our stages but also brings national attention to the rich cultural history of this city and, more importantly, to the amazing support that its residents have shown year in and year out for their artistic institutions. We are thrilled beyond words.”

“We are so proud to accept this award on behalf of all of the dedicated members of our board, our loyal subscriber family, our exceptional staff and the many talented artists who have contributed to the Playhouse’s success over its 44-year history,” says Playhouse Executive Director Buzz Ward. “It is the unified support of all of these people that has led to our receiving this prestigious award.”

Founded in 1960, the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park is one the nation’s first regional theatres, nationally known for its artistic excellence, commitment to new works, extensive education and outreach programming and as an artistic home for some of America’s best actors,
directors, designers and theatre professionals. Annually, the Playhouse attracts more than 200,000 people to its two theatres — the 626-seat Robert S. Marx and the 225-seat Thompson Shelterhouse — and maintains a loyal subscription base of more than 19,000, one of the largest for a theatre of its size in the country.

The Tony Award comes on the brink of the theatre’s 45th anniversary season and caps a 2003-2004 season that has included three world premiere plays, Playhouse productions produced in London (Coyote on a Fence) and Vienna (The Syringa Tree) and earned the Playhouse’s world premiere production of The Love Song of J. Robert Oppenheimer a citation as runner-up for the 2004 American Theatre Critics/Steinberg New Play Award. In addition, the Playhouse’s commitment to developing work for tomorrow’s theatre audiences saw the commission of two world premiere plays for young people which have toured to schools in a four state area as part of an education and outreach program that reaches more than 80,000 young people each year.

As the recipient of the Regional Theatre Tony Award, the Playhouse officially joins the company of some of the nation’s finest regional theatres. Past recipients have included Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, The Goodman Theatre and Steppenwolf Theater Company in Chicago, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Denver Center Theatre Company, Arena Stage in Washington, D.C., and Yale Repertory Theatre in New Haven, Connecticut.

Since 1992, the Playhouse has been under the leadership of Producing Artistic Director Edward Stern and Executive Director Buzz Ward, who oversee a full-time staff of 75. They, together with a board of 54 trustees, nearly 1,000 volunteers and more than 19,000 season subscribers remain committed to a tradition of excellence which now carries the Playhouse into its fifth decade.

Delta Connection COMAIR is the Playhouse’s official airline.

The Playhouse is supported, in part, by the generosity of the tens of thousands of individuals and businesses that give to the Fine Arts Fund.

The Ohio Arts Council helps fund the Playhouse with state tax dollars to encourage economic growth, educational excellence and cultural enrichment for all Ohioans.

The Playhouse also receives funding from the City of Cincinnati.

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