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<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial><STRONG>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE<BR>August 31,
2009<BR><BR><FONT size=4>Great Lakes Theater Festival Presents</FONT><BR><FONT
size=5>TOM HANKS AT THE HANNA</FONT><BR><FONT size=4><EM>An Evening to Support
the</EM> Re-Imagine a Classic
<EM>Campaign</EM></FONT></STRONG><BR><BR><STRONG>CLEVELAND, OHIO (August 31,
2009)</STRONG> – <STRONG>Great Lakes Theater Festival (GLTF) alumnus, and
two-time Oscar award-winner, Tom Hanks</STRONG> will return to <STRONG>Cleveland
for a one night only event, </STRONG>entitled <STRONG><EM>Tom Hanks at the
Hanna</EM></STRONG>, to support GLTF’s <EM>Re-Imagine a Classic</EM> campaign on
Monday, October 12, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) at the Hanna Theatre,
PlayhouseSquare. Hanks has served as the <STRONG>Honorary Chair</STRONG>
of the Festival’s fundraising efforts to ‘re-imagine’ the Hanna as a new
permanent home and to establish an endowment for the classic theater company
since August of 2008.
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2><FONT face=Arial><STRONG><EM>Tom Hanks at the
Hanna</EM></STRONG> will feature <STRONG>a first-person exploration of
non-fiction film entertainment, led by Tom Hanks</STRONG>, utilizing clips from
his movies as well as from other documentaries. The evening will include an
exclusive preview of Tom’s newest project, <STRONG><EM>The
Pacific</EM></STRONG>, a ten-part miniseries executive-produced by Steven
Spielberg, Tom Hanks, and Gary Goetzman and set in the Pacific theater during
WWII, which will premiere on HBO in 2010. An audience-interactive question
and answer period will conclude the evening’s presentation.</FONT></FONT></DIV>
<P><FONT size=2><FONT face=Arial>“<STRONG>Great Lakes Theater Festival gave me
much more than a start as an actor</STRONG>. In my three seasons at Cleveland's
classical repertory company I learned the discipline demanded by the profession
and the joy of being part of this one-of-a-kind creative art,” <STRONG>said Tom
Hanks</STRONG> in a recent statement.</FONT></FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2><FONT face=Arial>“One of the most exciting things about Tom
Hanks joining our team is the fact that he’s really taking an active role,” said
<STRONG>Charles Fee</STRONG>, GLTF’s Producing Artistic Director.
“<STRONG>This is much more than a celebrity endorsement. This is a
colleague committed to helping his home theater grow</STRONG>. His support
of Great Lakes Theater Festival has never diminished and his interest in
Cleveland as a city has continued to flourish. Beyond that it’s just
incredibly cool!"</FONT></FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2><FONT face=Arial><STRONG>Tickets for <EM>Tom Hanks at the
Hanna</EM> go on sale to the general public on Saturday, September 12th at 11:00
a.m. and range from $75-$250</STRONG>. All proceeds from the event will
assist Great Lakes Theater Festival in achieving its Kresge Foundation Challenge
- enabling the completion of the <EM>Re-Imagine a Classic</EM>
campaign.</FONT></FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2><FONT face=Arial><STRONG>The <EM>Premier V.I.P. Presentation and
Dinner Package</EM> price is $250</STRONG> ($150 is tax deductible) and includes
premier seating for the presentation, commemorative program, post-presentation
dinner with Tom at The Union Club, complimentary valet parking and a special
gift. To make <STRONG>Premier V.I.P. Presentation and Dinner Package
reservations, contact Alicia Hansen at (216)
453-4442</STRONG>.</FONT></FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2><FONT face=Arial><STRONG>The</STRONG> <STRONG><EM>Presentation
Only Ticket</EM> price is $75</STRONG> ($60 is tax deductible) and includes
presentation seating and a commemorative program. <STRONG><EM>Presentation
Only Tickets</EM> may be purchased by phone at (216) 241-6000</STRONG> or online
at <A
href="blocked::blocked::blocked::http://www.greatlakestheater.org/hanks"><STRONG>www.greatlakestheater.org/hanks</STRONG></A>. </FONT></FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2><FONT face=Arial>A member of Great Lakes Theater Festival’s
(formerly Great Lakes Shakespeare Festival) acting company from 1977-1979, Tom
Hanks performed in nine productions over three summers. Most
notably, Hanks garnered a Cleveland Critic’s Circle Award in 1978 for his
portrayal of Proteus in the Great Lakes Shakespeare Festival production of
William Shakespeare’s The Two Gentleman of Verona. In addition, Hanks
earned membership in the Actors’ Equity Association, the professional actors’
union, while working for the Festival in 1977. Tom returned to Cleveland
in 1991 and 1993 to star in Coming Home and Now Playing Center, two original
performance events to benefit GLTF.</FONT></FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2><FONT face=Arial>Since 1962, Great Lakes Theater Festival has
brought the pleasure, power and relevance of classic theater to the widest
possible audience in Northern Ohio. The first resident company of
PlayhouseSquare, Festival programming reaches 85,000 adults and students
annually.</FONT></FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2><FONT
face=Arial><STRONG>#
#
#</STRONG></FONT></FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2><FONT face=Arial><STRONG><U>Media Contact</U></STRONG><BR>Todd
S. Krispinsky<BR>Marketing and Public Relations Director<BR>(216) 241-5490
x317<BR><A
href="blocked::blocked::mailto:tkrispinsky@greatlakestheater.org">tkrispinsky@greatlakestheater.org</A><BR></FONT></FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2><FONT face=Arial><STRONG><U><BR>Great Lakes Theater
Festival</U></STRONG><BR>The mission of Great Lakes Theater Festival, through
its main stage productions and its education programs, is to bring the pleasure,
power and relevance of classic theater to the widest possible
audience.<BR><BR>Since the company’s inception in 1962, programming has been
rooted in Shakespeare, but the Festival’s commitment to great plays spans the
breadth of all cultures, forms of theater and time periods, and provides for the
occasional mounting of new works that complement the classical
repertoire.<BR><BR>Classic theater holds the capacity to illuminate truth and
enduring values, celebrate and challenge human nature and actions, revel in
eloquent language, preserve the traditions of diverse cultures and generate
communal spirit. From the historic Hanna and Ohio Theatres in PlayhouseSquare
and through community outreach, the Festival seeks to create visceral, immediate
experiences for participants, asserting theater’s historic role as a vehicle for
advancing the common good, and helping people make the most joyful and
meaningful connections between classic plays and their own lives. The Festival
wishes to share such vibrant experiences with people across all age groups,
creeds, racial and ethnic groups and socio-economic backgrounds.<BR><BR>The
Festival is dedicated to the highest standards, to creative problem solving and
to innovation in all areas of its operation, including theater production,
education, outreach, management and governance.<BR></FONT></FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2><FONT face=Arial><STRONG><U><BR>Tom Hanks’ Great Lakes Theater
(Shakespeare) Festival Performance
History</U></STRONG><BR><STRONG>Year
Play
Role
Director</STRONG><BR>1977
Hamlet
Reynaldo
Vincent Dowling<BR>1977 The Taming of the
Shrew Grumio
Daniel Sullivan<BR>1978
Polly
Hacker
Vincent Dowling<BR>1978 The Two Gentlemen of
Verona
Proteus*
Daniel Sullivan<BR>1978 The Wild
Oats
Muz
Daniel Sullivan<BR>1978 King
John
Robert Faulconbridge (son)
Vincent Dowling<BR>1979 Twelfth
Night
Fabian
Daniel Sullivan<BR>1979 Juno and the
Paycock
Jerry
Devine
Vincent Dowling<BR>1979 Do Me a
Favorite
Harold
Vincent Dowling<BR>1991 Coming Home (Benefit
Performance)<BR>1993 Now Playing Center (Benefit
Performance)<BR><BR><EM>* Won Cleveland Critics Circle Award for Best
Actor.</EM></FONT></FONT></P></FONT></DIV>
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