Theatre for a New Audience Set to Celebrate Director Arin Arbus

Theatre for a New Audience's Spring Gala Celebrating Shakespeare's 454th Birthday will be held tomorrow night, May 15, at Capitale on the Lower East Side, and will honor director Arin Arbus with the Samuel H. Scripps Award for Extraordinary Artistic Achievement. The award will be presented by Tony and Emmy Award-winning playwright Terrence McNally.

In 2004, Arbus was invited by artistic director Jeffrey Horowitz to be an administrative assistant and directing intern, and four years later became associate artistic director. In 2009, Arbus made her off-Broadway debut, directing a production of Othello for TFANA. Since then, she has staged 10 productions of Shakespeare's plays and contemporary classics at TFANA, including last season's The Skin of Our Teeth by Thornton Wilder, for which she won an OBIE Award.

Arts patron Henry Christensen III (1945-2017) will also be posthumously awarded the theater's Life in Art Award, which honors an individual, foundation, or corporation for their impact on the arts as a philanthropic leader. Sarah Benson, artistic director of Soho Rep., will present the award.

Maechi Aharanwa and Andy Grotelueschen will serve as the evening's masters of ceremonies.