Looking for Ways to Support New Theater?
The O’Neill Offers NINE

Waterford CT, February 3, 2003 – Theater lovers have a chance to see the scintillating Broadway revival of NINE, starring Antonio Banderas, and support the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, which presented NINE as a staged reading in its nascent period. The O’Neill is offering a limited number of house seats to the 3 p.m. matinee on Sunday, March 30. Donors join members of the production for a pre-show luncheon at Le Rivage, then enjoy this groundbreaking musical from the best seats in the house.

NINE, by Arthur Kopit and Maury Yeston with adaptation from the Italian by Mario Fratti, was developed and presented as a staged reading at the O’Neill Music Theater Conference in 1979. Following OMTC, it premiered on Broadway in 1982 and won 5 Tony Awards including Best Musical. The Roundabout Theatre Company’s revival of NINE features a star-studded cast; appearing with Antonio Banderas as Guido Contini are Laura Benanti as Claudia, Jane Krakowski as Carla, Mary Stuart Masterson as Luisa and Chita Rivera as Liliane La Fleur.

Describing the opportunity, Howard Sherman, executive director of the O’Neill, said, “NINE is an important page in The O’Neill’s history and we are thrilled to offer our donors one of Broadway’s hottest tickets.”

NINE is based upon Federico Fellini’s film 8 ‡, which revolves around director Guido Contini, a man similar to Fellini with similar problems. Contini is contracted to write and direct a film, but is unable to come up with a suitable plot. After recent box office failures, he finds himself drifting towards a nervous breakdown, examining his past flawed relationships with the many women who have come through his life and the struggle to act his mature age of 40 as opposed to nine.

Tickets are $250 per person for the show and the reception, with coach transportation to and from The O’Neill provided for southeastern Connecticut patrons; the price includes a $100 tax-deductible gift to the O’Neill Theater Center. Seating is limited, tickets may be reserved with a major credit card by calling The O’Neill’s development office at (860) 443-5378 ext. 213.

The Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, founded in 1964 and based in Waterford CT, is dedicated to the advancement of new work for the theater and creates and operates programs which complement that goal. These include the Puppetry Conference, Playwrights Conference, Critics Institute, Music Theater Conference and the National Theater Institute, a college-accredited training program for theater artists.