ALLIANCE THEATRE HOSTS WELCOME HOME CELEBRATION AFTER RECEIVING THE 2007 REGIONAL THEATRE TONY AWARD®

ATLANTA, June 7, 2007 – Atlanta's Alliance Theatre will receive the 2007 Regional Theatre Tony Award for outstanding achievement Sunday, June 10 as part of the nationally televised 61st Annual Tony Awards®. The Alliance will welcome the arrival of the award to Atlanta with a grand celebration Wednesday, June 13, 10 a.m. at the Woodruff Arts Center (corner of 15th and Peachtree Street). Managing Director Thomas Pechar and Artistic Director Susan V. Booth will lead the festivities, arriving at the Woodruff Arts Center's South entrance in a custom Rolls Royce. Alliance staff members will pass the Tony Medallion from one to another down a long line until the award reaches its new home in the lobby of the Alliance Stage. All members of the Atlanta community are invited to attend. The Regional Theatre Tony Award, instituted in 1976, is American theatre's most coveted honor. It recognizes a professional, non-profit regional theatre that has established a consistent level of artistic excellence contributing to the growth of theatre nationally. 'This is a recognition of more that one institution,' said Booth when asked about the significance of this announcement for Atlanta and the Southeast. 'The Alliance is situated in the midst of a thriving cultural community and could not do our work otherwise. We are a national theatre with a local address.' The Tony, named in honor of Antoinette Perry, is bestowed annually on professionals for distinguished achievement in theatre. It is awarded by the League of American Theatres and American Theatre Wing based upon a recommendation by the American Theatre Critics Association. The Alliance is only the second theatre in the Southeast to earn the Regional Tony, the other theatre being the Actors Theatre of Louisville (1980). 'There's a terrific sense of field-sanctioned imprimatur when an organization gets recognized this way. It's the theatre's version of a Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval,' Booth states. 'The award is an incredible honor not just for the members of the Alliance staff, but also for the patrons who attend the theatre, the donors who support the theatre and the city of Atlanta as a whole.' Booth indicates that this honor bestowed upon the Alliance is due to the efforts of every actor, craftsman, patron, donor and subscriber who has ever been involved with the theatre. It is a result of the sum of the theatre's programming, history and the community engagement it generates. 'The accolade spans the programming and products and people associated with the theatre during the past 39 years and reflects the superb work of hundreds of artists and staff.' Now in its 38th season, Atlanta's nationally acclaimed Alliance Theatre, recipient of the 2007 Regional Theatre Tony Award®, is the leading professional resident theatre of the Southeast, creating the powerful experience of shared theatre for diverse people on two stages for youth and adult audiences. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Susan V. Booth and Managing Director Thomas Pechar, the Alliance Theatre employs more than 200 professional artists, technicians and staff to ensure the highest artistic standards are maintained. Known for its national role in creating significant theatrical works, the Alliance launched three Tony Award-winning hits to Broadway: Alice Walker's The Color Purple, Elton John and Tim Rice's Aida and Alfred Uhry's The Last Night of Ballyhoo. And, in a rare event for a regional theatre, it originated the national tour of the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. The theatre has premiered many other works including adaptations of Carson McCullers' The Heart is a Lonely Hunter and Pearl Cleage's Blues for an Alabama Sky. In 2005, the Alliance Theatre furthered its commitment to new work with the initiation of the Kendeda Graduate Playwriting Competition, a national program introducing student playwrights to professional networks while producing the world premiere of the winning student's work. The Alliance Theatre also offers extensive education and outreach programs such as the Institute for Educators and the Collision Project for high school students. The Alliance continuously brings Atlanta the finest talent and finest art—proving once again that the Alliance is where great theatre lives. 404.733.4650 or www.alliancetheatre.org . The Alliance Theatre is a division of the Woodruff Arts Center in Atlanta, Georgia, which also includes the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, High Museum of Art, Young Audiences and the 14th Street Playhouse.