Union Square Free Night of Theater Celebration, October 15-

TCG’s fifth annual Free Night of Theater will have its NYC launch with a day-long celebration in Union Square on October 15 from 12:00PM until 6:00PM. Topping last year’s event in scope, scale and vision, this Union Square Free Night of Theater Celebration will have booths, art installations, and performances – both scheduled and spontaneous – as well as guest speakers including theatre artists and local politicians. The park will be transformed into a theatrical street fair with a performance stage and roving artists - under a canopy of colorful vibrant umbrellas. Programming for all ages will take place throughout the day and surprises are guaranteed. This event allows NYC theatre artists to come together as a community and share their gifts with the general public. 

A fanfare will welcome guests as the event is introduced by Mayor Bloomberg (his schedule permitting) and TCG’s executive director, Teresa Eyring. Throughout the day, there will be magic in the air as New York’s best theatre artists from Broadway to Independent perform for free while make-up artists transform faces, celebrity artists share personal stories from the sublime to the ridiculous, and children’s theater is performed for kids and parents. Toward the end of the day, a Fashion Show (pulled from the 75,000 pieces of Theatre Development Fund's The Costume Collection) will delight and amaze. Names of participating theatre artists will be released as the event draws closer. 

The Free Night of Theater program was introduced as a three-city pilot program in 2005 to raise the general awareness of America's not-for-profit theatres and attract new and non-traditional audiences. This year the national program is making more than 75,000 tickets available to 700 theatres in over 120 cities in more than 25 states. A complete list of the participating cities and theatres is available at www.freenightoftheater.net. Free Night NYC is offering more than 5,000 free tickets to nearly 100 theaters across New York City. Online Tickets can be reserved on October 1, 2009. 

Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national organization for not-for-profit Theatre. Its Free Night New York partners are the Arts & Business Council of New York, the Alliance of Resident Theatres/New York, the National Alliance for Musical Theatre, the League of Independent Theater, The New York State Council on the Arts, and Theatre Development Fund. Support for Free Night of Theater comes from the National Endowment for the Arts and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council.