Elaine Stritch Honored During Stella Alder Studio Of Acting’s Annual Stella By Starlight Benefit Gala

Elaine Stritch, George Takei, Stephen Sondheim, and Charles S. Cohen were among the honorees at the Stella Adler Studio of Acting’s Eighth Annual Stella by Starlight Benefit Gala. The event was held at Espace in New York City on Monday, June 10, 2013.

The Stella Adler Studio of Acting is, predictably, an acting school founded in New York City by actress and teacher, Stella Adler. The organization was established in 1949 and today mostly consists of professional acting training, an outreach program that provides free acting classes to low-income inner city teens, and the Harold Clurman Art Series which presents free cultural events to the public. Attendants at the event included Alec Baldwin, James Gandolfini, and Liza Minnelli. The event was a benefit to raise money to fund the Studio’s various programs, such as the Stella Adler Outreach Program.

The evening was a special celebration of Emmy and Tony Award winner Elaine Stritch, who recently announced that she is leaving New York after 71 years as a Broadway, television, and film star. During the festivities she was inducted as an Honorary Chair of the Stella Adler Studio of Acting. Stitch’s good friend and 30 Rock co-star, Alec Baldwin, announced the launch of the Elaine Stritch Scholarship Fund, which will support arts education for low-income students.

Stritch joins a star-studded cast of actors to be honored during the Stella by Starlight Gala, including James Earl Jones, Whoopi Goldberg, Martin Sheen, and Liza Minelli. And, while the organization takes pleasure in honoring deserving actors, the night’s true value stems from the financial support that makes the Studio’s charitable ventures possible.

“Stella by Starlight allows us to pay tribute to great theater makers like Elaine Stritch and Stephen Sondheim, but perhaps more importantly, it helps us to raise funds for programs like the Outreach Division,” said Artistic Director of the Stella Adler Studio of Acting, Tom Oppenheim. “Through the generosity of the extended community, Stella by Starlight makes it possible for young people to receive an education that brings them in touch with their most authentic selves.”

Since 1949, The Stella Adler Studio of Acting has been the premier actor training program in New York City and around the country. The studio has trained thousands of actors and artists, including the likes of Marlon Brando, Robert De Niro, Elaine Stritch, Benicio del Toro, Alvin Ailey and Salma Hayek. The studio encourages its students to be well-versed in not only theater, art, music and literature, but also to be involved in social, humanitarian and community-related issues.

For more information visit www.stellaadler.com.