Television, theater and film star David Hyde Pierce will receive this year’s PlayMakers Distinguished Achievement Award on Feb. 12 at the 23rd annual PlayMakers Ball at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
The ball, held at the historic Carolina Inn, is the annual fundraising gala for PlayMakers Repertory Company, the professional theatre in residence in UNC’s College of Arts and Sciences. It is one of the largest such events in the state. Proceeds from the event support PlayMakers’ artistic and educational programming.
A black-tie affair with a Valentine’s Day theme, the ball features the award ceremony followed by dining and dancing to the music of the Bill Bolen Orchestra.
Pierce is best known for portraying Dr. Niles Crane on the television sitcom “Frasier,” for which he earned four Emmy Awards and American Comedy, Television Critics, Viewers for Quality Television and Screen Actors Guild Awards. Pierce was nominated for Emmy Awards a record 11 consecutive years for the role.
He made his Broadway debut in Christopher Durang’s “Beyond Therapy” (1982) and returned to Broadway in 1989 in Wendy Wasserstein’s “The Heidi Chronicles.” In 2005, Pierce originated the role of Sir Robin in “Monty Python’s Spamalot” and was nominated for a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical for his performance.
In 2007, he won the Tony Award and received another Drama Desk Award nomination for his role as Lt. Frank Cioffi in the musical comedy, “Curtains.” He most recently performed in the London and Broadway productions of “La Bete.”
Pierce’s film credits include “Bright Lights, Big City,” “Crossing Delancey,” “Little Man Tate,” “Sleepless in Seattle,” “Wolf,” “Nixon,” “Isn’t She Great,” “Down With Love,” “A Bug’s Life,” “Osmosis Jones,” and Sundance Film Festival selection “The Perfect Host,” to be released this year
Pierce joins a distinguished group of honorees, including actors Eva Marie Saint, Faye Dunaway, Hume Cronyn, Louise Fletcher and Billy Crudup, as well as New York Times critic Frank Rich, costume designer William Ivey Long, director Gene Saks, and Broadway composer/lyricist Richard Adler.
Ball guests will savor a gourmet menu created by Executive Chef Jim Reale in rooms specially decorated by area designers including Nicole Baxter, NBaxter Design, Durham; Kathy Buck, Purple Puddle, Chapel Hill; McKay Coble, PlayMakers Repertory Company, Chapel Hill; Mark Day, Mark Day Company, Catering and Event Management, Chapel Hill; and JW Walton, The Catering Company, Chapel Hill.
For tickets to the ball, contact Lenore Field at (919) 452-8417 or lenore.field@gmail.com. Organizations interested in contributing to the ball should contact Stacy Payne at (919) 962-4846 or shpayne@email.unc.edu.
Table sponsorships are available for $5,000; each table seats ten people. Single tickets are $500 each. For income tax purposes, donors may deduct a portion of their contributions to the PlayMakers Ball.
For more information about PlayMakers, visit https://playmakersrep.org.
PlayMakers contact: Connie Mahan, (919) 428-1744, cmahan@email.unc.edu.