The Primary Stages Gala is the largest fundraiser of our season, and its income provides critical support for our free educational programs benefiting over 1,000 teens and teachers annually.

Individual tickets start at $500 and tables start at $3,000.

We are thrilled to present the Einhorn Mentorship Award to Thom Sesma. The Einhorn Mentorship Award is awarded each year to someone in the Primary Stages community who has been a true mentor and inspiration to those who work with them. Past recipients include Carl Andress, Charles Busch, Judy Gold, Adam Gwon, Kate Hamill, Marla Persky, Kimberly Senior, Jeanine Tesori, and Sharon Washington. A beloved stage veteran, Thom most recently appeared in Broadway’s Dead Outlaw, for which he won the 2024 Outer Critics Circle Award for Featured Performer in a Musical. Thom joined the Primary Stages Einhorn School of Performing Arts (ESPA) acting faculty in 2019, and during the COVID-19 lockdown developed a special online curriculum for actors to help them continue to work and create despite the social distance. Thom continues to serve as a coach and mentor for young actors to this day.

We are also honored to present the Andrew Leynse Commitment to New Plays Award to Mickey Rolfe. Created in memory of Primary Stages’ late Artistic Director Andrew Leynse, this award is given annually to a member of the Primary Stages community who has been a dedicated champion of new plays and new playwrights. The inaugural award was given in 2023 to theater agent Beth Blickers, and last year was given to The Laurents/Hatcher Foundation. Mickey is the Founding Patron of Primary Stages’ Liff Lab, a new play development program named for his mentor, legendary theater agent Samuel “Biff” Liff, that provides an exceptional early- to mid-career playwright with a 29-hour developmental workshop of an unproduced new work. A long-time advocate for the theater, Mickey dedicated most of his 40-year career to representing Broadway’s top designers, with Rolfe Company clients winning a total of 22 Tony Awards. 

GALA BENEFIT COMMITTEE:
Mary Borba, Jamie deRoy, Lynne Halliday, Marla Persky, Carol Roaman, Mary Susnjara