Broadway Stars to Perform at Origin Theatre Company Gala

Origin Theatre Company — a New York City-based company devoted to presenting American premieres of new works by contemporary European playwrights — will hold its annual gala, hosted by Mutual of America, on June 18 at 320 Park Ave.

Ushering in the theater's 13th season, the evening will honor New York business leader Ronan Downs, who helped transform the Financial District’s historic Stone Street into one of the city’s most distinctive food and entertainment destinations. Downs' collection of bars and restaurants includes Route 66 Smokehouse, the Bavaria Bierhaus, the Dubliner, and Beckett’s Bar and Grill.

The roster of performances will include Broadway's Matt Doyle (The Book of Mormon), Christine Dwyer (Wicked), and Kevin Santos (In the Heights).

Lesley Nicol (Downton Abbey‘s Mrs. Patmore), author Malachy McCourt, Irish International rugby star Gordon D’Arcy, and Irish middleweight boxing champion Andy Lee will also participate in the company's celebrity auction.

At the event artistic director George C. Heslin will announce plans to establish a presence for Origin on Theater Row, near Times Square. "We plan on producing here every year," he said. The company’s launch of this model will be the encore of its critically acclaimed production of The International, a drama by Tim Ruddy about the collateral effects of ethnic conflict. The show is being brought back in partnership with the new Urbanite Theatre of Sarasota, Florida.