Cause Célèbre, a new theatre company, premiered on Sunday, December 9, 2007 at The Players and was a great success. Created by Food For Thought’s Founding Artistic Director, Susan Charlotte, Cause Célèbre is devoted to fostering an enhanced understanding of psychological, physical and social issues. Each month a play(s) related to a particular cause will be presented by our finest actors. Proceeds will go to a foundation connected to the cause. The Board of Directors includes an illustrious group of women of the theatre: Marian Seldes, Joan Copeland and June Springer. Writer Ellen Violett is a strong supporter. The first program was devoted to Nick Springer, who contracted “Meningococcal Meningitis” when he was 14. Now a college student and U.S. Paralympic Athlete, Nick attended the first show which focused on parent/child relationships. This program included Marian Seldes in Tennessee Williams’ “Steps Must Be Gentle,” Joan Copeland in Arthur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman” (an excerpt), “On Thin Ice,” a new play by Susan Charlotte directed by Antony Marsellis and Mel Brooks’ “Fathers and Sons” with Bob Dishy and Judy Graubart. KT Sullivan sang. Cause Célèbre has several purposes: 1—To connect theatre with different causes 2—To provide visibility for different causes 3—To educate the public 4—To offer proceeds from the ticket sales of each show to a foundation connected to the specific cause of that month We are very excited about this unique tax exempt, not-for-profit company and its far-reaching possibilities. In order to ensure its success we ask for your help. You can buy tickets and/or offer a donation. “When you have only two pennies left in the world, buy a loaf of bread with one, and a lily with the other.” (Chinese Proverb) For reservations: 646-366-9340
	ABOUT CAUSE CÉLÈBRE
	Board of Directors SUSAN CHARLOTTE is an award-winning playwright who is the recipient of the prestigious Joseph Kesselring Award. A prolific writer, her plays have enjoyed productions throughout New York for over twenty years. Her film credits include: A Broken Sole, which was released theatrically in 2007, starring Danny Aiello and Judith Light and directed by Antony Marsellis; Come On which premiered at the East Hampton Film Festival; and Love Divided By (based on her play) which has an original score by Philip Glass and was chosen to open MoMA's Titus II theatre. Her TV credits (network and cable) include: CBS' "The Comedy Zone" which starred Patty Duke and Paul Reiser and daytime series “Loving” and "Guiding Light." Fascinated by the creative impulse she wrote two acclaimed books, "Creativity” and "Creativity In Film." She further explored this impulse in her work as a professor at Columbia University (where she received her MFA), NYU and in such non-traditional places as Riker's Island. It was this same impulse that drove her to create a school for writers, Prism Playhouse; the renowned theatre Food For Thought (winner of the NAC's Gold Medal in Drama); and the not-for-profit theatre Cause Célèbre. She is currently working on a feature film and a play on which she collaborated with Broadway icon Peter Stone. She is a member of the Dramatists Guild and the WGA. JOAN COPELAND made her Broadway debut in Sidney Kingsley's Detective Story. Among other Broadway appearances, she was Vera in Pal Joey (Drama Desk Award), Rose Baum in Arthur Miller's The American Clock (Drama Desk Award), played opposite Danny Kaye in Richard Rodgers' Two by Two. After appearing in Los Angeles in Wendy Wasserstein's Isn't It Romantic? She played the same role in New York. She toured the U.S. as Kate in Neil Simon's Brighton Beach Memoirs (L.A. Critics Award, Drama League Award). Her first musical was a revival of Noel Coward's Conversation Piece directed by the Master himself. Other films include Her Alibi, Merchant Ivory's Roseland, A Little Sex, Peacemaker and more. Off- Broadway she was in Richard Greenberg's The American Plan (Obie), and Ronald Harwood's Another Time. Her TV appearances include "Cagney and Lacey," "ER," "Chicago Hope" and "Law & Order." Most recently, this season, she appeared Off-Broadway in the musical play The Fishkin Touch. Daytime viewers of TV know her as a loving and/or unloving wife, and/or a caring and/or domineering mother. MARIAN SELDES recently appeared at Primary Stages in Terrence McNally’s Dedication, or the Stuff of Dreams. Her many Broadway credits include 45 Seconds From Broadway, Deathtrap (Tony nomination), The Merchant, Equus, Father's Day (Tony nomination, Drama Desk Award), Before You Go, A Delicate Balance (Tony Award), Tiny Alice, The Milk Train Doesn't Stop Here Anymore, A Gift of Time, The Wall, The Chalk Garden, Ondine, The High Ground, The Tower Beyond Tragedy, That Lady, Crime and Punishment, Medea. For Lincoln Center Theater, she has appeared in Dinner at Eight, Ring Round the Moon (Tony nominations) and Ivanov. Off-Broadway: Diff’rent, The Ginger Man (Obie), Isadora Duncan (Obie), Painting Churches (Outer Critics Circle Award), Richard II, Richard III, Mercy Street, Dear Liar, A Bright Room Called Day, Three Tall Women, The Torch-Bearers, The Butterfly Collection, The Play About the Baby, Helen, Play Yourself and Beckett/Albee. Williamstown Theatre Festival: The Royal Family, The Matchmaker, The Skin of our Teeth and the premiere of Dedication. She received the Obie Award for Sustained Achievement and was inducted into the Theatre Hall of Fame in 1996. She is the author of The Bright Lights: A Theatre Life and Time Together, a novel. JUNE SPRINGER Bio Coming Soon! Resident Directors CHRISTOPHER HART He began his theatrical career here in New York as a producer, Off-Broadway, before being part of the team that produced the Tony nominated Song and Dance, by Andrew Lloyd Weber, starring Bernadette Peters, and the Tony nominated Blood Knot, by Athol Fugard. He moved to California to produce the TV series based on his father Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman's classic comedy You Can’t Take It With You, starring Harry Morgan. While in LA he was artist director of The Malibu Stage Company, and his productions were nominated and won numerous awards, including Ovations, Robbies, Dramalogues, and LA Drama Critics Circle awards. He directed regionally including The Geffen Playhouse in LA, and several theaters in Chicago. For television he directed for the HBO series, “Tales From the Crypt.” He is one of the producers of the Tony-Award winning revival of Hair and the upcoming Dame Edna/Michael Feinstein extravaganza, All About Me. ANTONY MARSELLIS continues to move between the worlds of theatre, film and television. He has directed numerous plays around the city and country including Harold Pinter’s Night School, Samuel Beckett’s Krapp’s Last Tape, and Happy Days as well as the stage version of his critically-acclaimed film, Men of Manhattan and most recently, Tom Fontana’s This Is On Me with Marian Seldes, Frances Sternhagen and Carolyn McCormick. He has had the privilege of collaborating on stage and screen with the finest of New York’s acting community including: Peter Bogdonovich, Tyne Daly, Bob Dishy, Christine Ebersole, Judd Hirsch, Judith Light, Tony Roberts, John Shea, Elaine Stritch, and Kathleen Turner. This July, he is looking forward to reuniting with Danny Aiello, this time in the play version of his film The Shoemaker. The play and the screenplay were written by Susan Charlotte.