For Immediate Release

Contact: Audra Tanguay, atanguay@hartfordstage.org
860.520.7247, cell 203.910.8419

Hartford Stage Receives NEA Grant to Support Breath & Imagination - The Story of Roland Hayes and Twelfth Night

NEA Grants Total $60,000 to Hartford Stage

Hartford, CT - November, 27, 2012- National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Chairman Rocco Landesman announced today that Hartford Stage is one of 832 non-profit organizations nationwide to receive an NEA Art Works grant. Hartford Stage is recommended for a $35,000 grant to support Breath & Imagination - The Story of Roland Hayes in addition to the recently announced $25,000 grant to support Twelfth Night.

The world premiere of Breath & Imagination - The Story of Roland Hayes, by Daniel Beaty, directed by Darko Tresnjak, will feature Jubilant Sykes, Kecia Lewis-Evans and Tom Frey, and will run January 11 through February 3 at Hartford Stage.

Before Marian Anderson and Paul Robeson, there was Roland Hayes - the first world-renowned African-American classical vocalist.  Born the son of a slave, Roland discovered his voice as a young boy singing spirituals in church.  This world premiere, musical play, Breath & Imagination - The Story of Roland Hayes, chronicles his amazing journey from a plantation in Georgia, to singing before kings and queens in Europe. Breath & Imagination - The Story of Roland Hayes explores the life of an American pioneer through words, movement, spirituals and classical music.

Twelfth Night is part of a Shakespeare for a New Generation, a national program of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest. Twelfth Night, directed by Darko Tresnjak, will run May 18 through June 16 at Hartford Stage. The bard's finest comedy is a paean to the restorative power of love. Viola, the shipwrecked heroine, lands on the shore of Illyria, and disguised as a page, Cesario, searches for her lost brother. Countess Olivia mourns the loss of her own brother. When the lovely Countess meets the handsome young page, desire banishes grief in this intoxicating comedy.

Tickets are available by calling the Hartford Stage box office at 860-527-5151 or by visiting www.hartfordstage.org.

"I'm proud to announce these 832 grants to the American public including Breath & Imagination - The Story of Roland Hayes and Twelfth Night," said Chairman Landesman. "These projects offer extraordinary examples of creativity in our country, including the creation of new work, innovative ways of engaging audiences, and exemplary education programs."

In March 2012, the NEA received 1,509 eligible applications for Art Works requesting more than $74 million in funding. The 832 recommended NEA grants total $22.3 million, span 13 artistic disciplines and fields, and focus primarily on the creation of work and presentation of both new and existing works for the benefit of American audiences. Applications were reviewed by panels of outside experts convened by NEA staff and each project was judged on its artistic excellence and artistic merit.

For a complete listing of projects recommended for Art Works grant support, please visit the NEA website at arts.gov.

Hartford Stage Company

Hartford Stage, since its founding in 1963, has been known for innovative revivals of classics and the development of important new works, including 65 World or American premieres. Recent work includes Quiara Alegria Hudes' Water by the Spoonful, winner of the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Drama; Horton Foote's The Orphans' Home Cycle which had a celebrated run at the Signature Theatre in New York during the 2009-2010 season; a landmark production of Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird; the premieres of Michael Kramer's Divine Rivalry; and Daniel Beaty's Resurrection (later retitled Through the Night, which had a successful run off-Broadway during the 2010-11 season). In 1998 the theatre launched an unprecedented ten-year retrospective of Tennessee Williams, which included the premiere of three plays. Other new work includes the premieres of Eve Ensler's Necessary Targets, Edward Albee's At Home at the Zoo, Matthew Barber's Enchanted April (which transferred to Broadway), Matthew Lombardo's Tea at Five, and many others. The theatre has earned numerous distinguished honors, including a Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre, the Margo Jones Award, OBIE awards, New York Critics Circle and Drama Desk awards. In 2005 Hartford Stage was awarded The Hartford Courant's Tapestry Award recognizing its outstanding work in diversity, and in 2008 it was awarded the Bank of America Neighborhood Builder's Award recognizing its excellence in building community in Greater Hartford. Hartford Stage is currently under the leadership of Artistic Director Darko Tresnjak and Managing Director Michael Stotts.