Complete with klieg lights, a red carpet, and glittering stars, Philadelphia Theatre Company hosts a black-tie Gala Opening Ceremony of its new home, Philadelphia Theatre Company's Suzanne Roberts Theatre at Broad and Lombard Streets on Monday, October 22 beginning at 6:00PM. Playwright Terrence McNally will be joined by Broadway luminaries Mario Cantone, John Ellison Conlee, Andre de Shields, Edie Falco, John Glover, Nathan Lane, Donna Murphy, Steven Pasquale, Doris Roberts, Marian Seldes, and Richard Thomas, as well as playwright Edward Albee and director Jack O'Brien, in celebrating the opening of the theater in a program titled An Evening With Terrence McNally and Friends, directed by Sheryl Kaller, who directed Philadelphia Theatre Company's world premiere production of Adrift in Macao.

The Inaugural Celebration Co-chairs are Rhonda and David Cohen and Leslie Anne Miller and Richard Worley. The Gala Committee Co-chairs are Michael Coleman, Carol Saline and Paul Rathblott.

"We are so thrilled that some of Broadway's finest performers - several of whom have worked at Philadelphia Theatre Company in the past - will be joining us to herald both our new home as well as our long collaboration with Tony Award-winning playwright Terrence McNally, one of our most beloved and produced playwrights," said Philadelphia Theatre Company's Producing Artistic Director Sara Garonzik.

"This evening has been long anticipated," continued E. Gerald Riesenbach, President of the Board of Directors. "We have spent many years searching for the perfect site, raising the necessary funds and finally watching the building rise to reality. PTC's Suzanne Roberts Theatre is the culmination of the generosity of our loyal patrons and the hard work of our dedicated staff."

Philadelphia Theatre Company's Suzanne Roberts Theatre, designed by the award-winning architectural firm of KieranTimberlake Associates LLP, is an intimate, yet state-of-the-art venue for the Company's premiere productions of American theater by many of the nation's leading playwrights. The urbane and elegant lobbies are illuminated by a three-story glass façade that overlooks the Avenue of the Arts, and the stunning Mainstage boats curved walls, custom fabrics, and an intricate leather-tiled proscenium arch. PTC's new permanent home will allow it to expand the depth and breadth of its artistic endeavors and its renowned education and community programs and be a new venue resource for other arts, education, public and private organizations.

Philadelphia Theatre Company opens its inaugural season in its Suzanne Roberts Theatre with the new Stephen Sondheim musical celebration, Being Alive, running October 24 - December 2, 2007. Conceived and directed by award-winning musical theater performer Billy Porter, Being Alive is a groundbreaking musical fusion which blends four decades of Stephen Sondheim's inventive music and lyrics with the passion and style of jazz, blues, soul, R&B, hip-hop and gospel. Director/conceiver Billy Porter brings it all to vibrant life with a little help from Shakespeare in a joyous salute to the human condition that features such songs as "Send in the Clowns," "Pretty Women," "Children Will Listen," and "Being Alive." The season continues with the Philadelphia premieres of David Henry Hwang's M. Butterfly (January 18-February 17) and Wendy Wasserstein's Third (March 21-April 20) and the world premiere of The Happiness Lecture, a PTC commission conceived and performed by Bill Irwin with an ensemble cast (May 16-June 15).

The Comcast Family is the Premiere Sponsor of the Inaugural Year Celebrations; Citibank, Ernst & Young LLP, Independence Blue Cross and PNC are the Title Sponsors of the Open House; CBS 3 is the Media Partner of the 07/08 season; and US Airways is PTC's Official Airline. Additional support is provided by Lincoln Property Trust and PriceWaterhouse Coopers LLP.

Philadelphia Theatre Company is Philadelphia's only non-profit professional theater dedicated exclusively to producing world and regional premieres of works by contemporary American playwrights. Under the leadership of Producing Artistic Director, Sara Garonzik, Philadelphia Theatre Company has had ever-increasing national impact having produced 34 world premieres of new American plays and musicals in its 31 seasons. Since 1995, Philadelphia Theatre Company has received 122 nominations and 34 awards from Philadelphia's Barrymore Awards.

For further information please call 215-985-1400 or visit www.philadelphiatheatrecompany.org.