New York, NY - On Wednesday, October 21, 2009, the Princess Grace Foundation–USA hosted the Princess Grace Awards Gala at Cipriani 42^nd Street in New York City and presented 22 Princess Grace Awards, 10 Honoraria, seven Special Project Grants, two Works in Progress Residencies at the Baryshnikov Arts Center and two Statue Awards.  Every year, the Princess Grace Foundation-USA (PGF-USA) proudly awards these grants at its annual Awards Gala to support its mission of providing crucial support to emerging artists in America.  This year, Tony® and Emmy® Award winning actor Mandy Patinkin received the coveted Prince Rainier III Award for his outstanding contribution to the arts.  It was presented to him by Tony® and Emmy® Award winning actress Elaine Stritch.  The Gala took place in the presence of HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco.

The Princess Grace Foundation-USA is a not-for-profit, publicly-supported foundation headquartered in New York City founded more than 25 years ago by Prince Rainier III of Monaco in honor of his wife, Princess Grace [Kelly].  The Foundation's mission, that mirrors Princess Grace's in Her lifetime, is to support emerging artists in theater, dance and film through the awarding of scholarships, apprenticeships and fellowships. Since its inception, the Foundation has bestowed more 650 awards totaling more than $7 million in grants.  

This year the Princess Grace Foundation-USA awarded more than $750,000 to Award recipients. 

Chairing the Gala were Tommy and Dee Hilfiger.  In 2007, Mr. Hilfiger celebrated Grace Kelly’s life in a book called "Grace Kelly: A Life in Pictures" (Pavilion Books, 2007).  It was released to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Princess Grace's death and featured a series of 200 never-before-seen public and private images of the princess.

The evening’s emcee was the lovely Maggie Rodriguez, anchor for The Early Show, who also presented the Princess Grace Awards for Film.  The Theater Awards were presented by actress Martha Plimpton, the dance awards were presented by Chet Walker (creator and co-choreographer of award-winning FOSSE).  Adam Rapp, novelist, filmmaker, and an Obie Award-winning playwright and director and a 2006 Statue Award winner, presented the Statue Awards.

Notable guests at the Gala included: HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco, Toby Boshak (Executive Director, PGF-USA), Celia and Silas Chou, Maguy Maccario-Doyle (Consul General of the Principality of Monaco), Frederic Fekkai and Shirin von Wulffen, Marie-Claire and Robert Gladstone (Madison Equities), Mariska Hargitay and Peter Hermann, Tommy and Dee Hilfiger, Ara and Rachel Hovnanian (Trustee, PGF-USA), Hon. John F. Lehman (Board Chairman, PGF-USA) and Barbara Lehman, Robert O. Marx (Vice-Chairman, PGF-USA), Alex McCord and Simon Van Kempen (Real Housewives of New York City), Yves Piaget, Martha Plimpton, Maggie Rodriquez (anchor, The Early Show; Gala Emcee), Laura and Harry Slatkin, Elaine Stritch (30 Rock), Dr. Jon Turk (Trustee, PGF-USA) and Carolyn Gussof, Chet Walker (choreographer/director – Fosse, Sweet Charity), Lynn Wyatt (Board of Trustees, PGF-USA).

Mandy Patinkin’s accomplished artistic career spans many years and artistic genres including theater, film, concert performance and albums.  He was honored and presented the coveted Prince Rainier III Award for his outstanding contribution to the arts and a clip reel of some of his most well-known works was shown.  Mr. Patinkin recently celebrated the 20^th Anniversary of performing his critically acclaimed solo concerts Dress Casual, Celebrating Sondheim and Mamaloshen.  In his 1980 Broadway debut, Mandy won a Tony® Award for his role as Che in Andrew Lloyd Webber's Evita and was nominated in 1984 for his starring role as George in the Pulitzer Prize-winning musical, Sunday in the Park with George and again in 2000 for The Wild Party. 
 

Mr. Patinkin won a 1995 Emmy® Award for his critically acclaimed performance in the CBS series “Chicago Hope,” and recently starred in the CBS series “Criminal Minds.”  Feature films include The Princess Bride, Yentl, The Music of Chance, Ragtime, Impromptu, The Doctor, Alien Nation, Dick Tracy and Maxie.  His solo albums include Mandy Patinkin, Mandy Patinkin Dress Casual, and on the Nonesuch label - Experiment, Oscar and Steve, Mamaloshen, Mandy Patinkin Sings Sondheim and Kidults.  In October 2007, Mandy debuted his newest concert with dear friend Patti LuPone and they begin touring their show An Evening with Patti LuPone and Mandy Patinkin throughout the US, Australia and New Zealand. 

Past recipients of the Prince Rainier III Award include: Glenn Close (2008), George Lucas (2007), Twyla Tharp (2006), and Mikhail Baryshnikov (2005, inaugural award). 

2009 PRINCESS GRACE STATUE AWARDS WINNERS

Past winners of the Awards who distinguish themselves in their artistic disciplines since receiving their initial Princess Grace Awards are eligible to win the coveted Princess Grace Statue Award. It includes a $25,000 unrestricted cash gift and a special Bronze Statue of Princess Grace created by Dutch artist Kees Verkade.  The 2009 Statue Award winners were Brian Kulick, in his seventh season as Artistic Director of Classic Stage Company and currently on the faculty of Columbia University’s School of the Arts Theatre Program, and Gillian Murphy, Principal Dancer at American Ballet Theatre

2009 PRINCESS GRACE AWARDS WINNERS

Each year, the Foundation presents the Princess Grace Awards to artists who show excellence and promise in the areas of theater, dance, and film.  Students are eligible for scholarships while emerging artists working in companies qualify for apprenticeships and fellowships.  A playwriting fellowship is available for individual artists which includes a residency at New Dramatists in New York City, and the opportunity for representation and publication by Samuel French, Inc.  In addition to these, the Foundation also gives honorable mention grants to applicants through Honoraria.  Jewelry artist Alex Soldier created the award in the shape of a pin for each winner.  The Princess Grace Award this year was a unique work of art created by designer Alex Soldier, a celebrated contemporary artist known for his mastery in fine jewelry and precious miniatures.  For a complete list of award winners names and affiliations contact Manuela Savona at savona@lisalori.com. 

Entertainment for the evening included a performance of diverse dance styles by past Princess Grace Award winners created especially for the Gala and dancing after dinner to DJ Clockwork.  The Awards Gala Presenting Sponsor was Hermès and the Crown Sponsors were American Airlines, Mrs. Lily Safra and Noelle and Dick Wolf.  Scott Mauro of Scott Mauro Entertainment, Inc. produced the Awards Gala for the fifth consecutive year. 

ABOUT THE PRINCESS GRACE FOUNDATION-USA

The Princess Grace Foundation-USA is a not-for-profit, publicly-supported foundation, headquartered in New York City and founded more than 25 years ago by Prince Rainier III of Monaco in honor of his wife, Princess Grace [Kelly].  The Foundation's mission, that mirrors Princess Grace's in Her lifetime, is to support emerging artists in theater, dance and film through the awarding of scholarships, apprenticeships and fellowships. Since the Foundation’s inception, nearly 650 Awards have been given to recipients, totaling more than $7 million. Notable Princess Grace Award recipients of the past include: Anna D. Shapiro, winner of 2008 Tony® Award for Director of current Broadway hit August: Osage County; Stephen Hillenburg, creator of Nickelodeon’s SpongeBob SquarePants; Tony Kushner, Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright; Ethan Stiefel, principal dancer of American Ballet Theatre; Eric Darnell, director of Madagascar 1 & 2; Greg Mottola, director of Adventureland and Superbad and Eric Simonson, Academy Award winning filmmaker.