Dee Hoty Featured At Cleveland Play House Annual Gala 6/6

The Cleveland Play House is excited to announce that Dee Hoty, a three-time Tony Award nominated actress, will be the featured entertainer at their Annual Gala on Saturday, June 6, 2009. Born and raised in Lakewood, Ohio, Hoty began her professional career at The Cleveland Play House as a member of the repertory company (1975 and 1976). The evening begins at 6:30pm and will include complimentary valet parking, a cocktail hour with hors d'oeuvres, dinner, silent and live auction, entertainment and dancing.

Hoty earned Tony AwardÒ nominations for her starring roles in Footloose, The Best Little Whorehouse Goes Public, and The Will Rogers Follies. She recently starred on Broadway in Mamma Mia! and continued on the national tour in eight major U.S. cities. She can be heard on the original recordings of City of Angels, The Will Rogers Follies, The Best Little Whorehouse Goes Public, and Footloose, and on the 2CD set of Stephen Sondheim's Follies from the Papermill Playhouse production. She is also featured on the video/DVD of My Favorite Broadway: The Leading Ladies. Other Broadway shows include City of Angels, Me and My Girl, Big River, The Five O'Clock Girl and Shakespeare's Cabaret. A favorite of Tommy Tune's, Hoty starred opposite him in the recent U.S. tour of Doctor Dolittle. She also appeared with Stacy Keach in the first national tour of Barnum. Her New York nightclub and cabaret appearances include the Russian Tea Room, Rainbow and Stars and the Metropolitan Room with Larry Gatlin.

This year's Annual Gala celebrates The Cleveland Play House and its links to Broadway, and takes place on Saturday, June 6, 2009. Event co-chairs: Mebby Brown and Maura Kehoe. Individual tickets are $250 per person with tables available up to $10,000. Individual tickets for a late-night party, details to be announced later, are $75. Proceeds benefit the artistic and educational programming of The Cleveland Play House. For tickets and information, call 216-795-7000 x226.

Founded in 1915, The Cleveland Play House is the first permanently established professional theatre in the United States. More than 12 million people have attended over 1,300 productions at The Play House - including more than 130 American and/or World Premieres. Today, under the leadership of Artistic Director Michael Bloom and Managing Director Kevin Moore, The Cleveland Play House is an artist-driven theatre that serves the Greater Cleveland community by holding true to its mission: To produce plays of the highest professional standards that inspire, stimulate, and entertain our diverse audiences, and to conduct training and educational programs that enhance the quality of life for those we serve and help to insure the future of theatre.

The Cleveland Play House is funded through the generosity of Cuyahoga County residents through Cuyahoga Arts and Culture and The Ohio Arts Council helps to fund The Cleveland Play House with state tax dollars to encourage economic growth, educational excellence and cultural enrichment for all Ohioans.