Actors and honorary chairs of the New York Stage and Film, Kathy Bates, Chris Cooper, Lisa Kudrow Kyra Sedgwick, Kevin Bacon, Frances Sternhagen, Meryl Streep and Jon Tenney will be honoring actor David Strathairn and Frances D. Ferguson, the president of Vassar College, at their winter gala on January 16, 2006. Many thanks to Andrea for the info. Read more here.

According to this source, scheduled for the upcoming festival are a special presentation of Garrison Keillor’s “A Prairie Home Companion” and a screening of the Robert Altman feature film based on Keillor’s radio program, as well as a performance of Jim Henson’s “Puppet Improv.” The festival is running from March 8-12, 2006 in Aspen, Colorado. More info can be found on their Official Website.

According to the New York Times, the Public Theater is singing, dancing and raising money for its 50th anniversary celebration. On Jan. 30 at City Center, the theater will feature an evening of artists performing selections from signature Public Theater musicals. Imagine songs from “Hair;” “A Chorus Line;” “Bring In da Noise, Bring In da Funk;” “The Wild Party;” “Caroline, or Change;” “Ghetto Superstar (The Man That I Am),” among others. They’re calling it “The Public Sings,” and the lineup of stars scheduled to appear includes Savion Glover, Eartha Kitt, Tonya Pinkins, Rosie Perez, Natalie Portman, Billy Porter, Meryl Streep and Zack Braff. Tickets will go on sale Friday. All proceeds benefit the theater.

According to AP, “A Prairie Home Companion” will be released next summer by Picturehouse Films after being bought for North American distribution when it was screened for buyers in New York. Picturehouse president Bob Berney said the film was hilarious and said that he saw potential for wide commercial success. “I was blown away. It was through the roof,” he said in a telephone interview. The Altman film, based on Garrison Keillor’s long-running radio program, was shot in St. Paul with a cast including Meryl Streep, Lindsay Lohan, Tommy Lee Jones, Woody Harrelson, Lily Tomlin and Kevin Kline. The working title was “The Last Broadcast,” but Berney, aiming to capitalize on the name recognition of the 31-year-old radio program, recommended that the title revert to “A Prairie Home Companion.”

Meryl Streep will present Valentino with the Superstar Award at the Fashion Group International’s Night of Stars next Thursday night. Meanwhile Sandra Bullock will receive the Humanitarian award, and Star Honorees will include Ralph Rucci, Olivier Theyskens (presented by Bee Schaffer), and Pat McGrath (presented by Andre Leon Talley). Alberta Ferretti and Donald Trump will be also honored.

Glenn Close, Paul Newman, Mike Nichols, Diane Sawyer, Meryl Streep and Robin Williams are going to join Christopher Reeve’s “A Magical Evening” on November 17, 2005 in New York City to honor Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones with the “Christopher Reeve Spirit of Courage Award”. Learn more about this event in this press release or visit Christopher Reeve’s Official Website.

Meryl Streep, a board member of The Center for Health and The Global Environment, will be honoring Former Vice President Al Gore as the 2005 Global Environmental Citizen at the Carriage House Center in New York City on October 21, 2005. The event will feature remarks by Streep and Gore as well as a gala dinner featuring sustainable cuisine prepared by award-winning master chefs Peter Hoffman, Michel Nischan, and Nora Pouillon. For more information, please visit the Center’s official website.

Meryl’s upcoming comedy “Prime” will be the opening film of the 2005 San Diego Film Festival on September 21, 2005 at 07.00 PM | Pacific Gaslamp 15 Theater. More information can be found on the festival’s official website.

Live From Lincoln Center, the Emmy-Award winning PBS series, is presenting a special nationwide broadcast of jazz September 17 as a benefit for hurricane relief. The Higher Ground Hurricane Relief Benefit Concert, live from Lincoln Center’s Rose Theater, will feature Wynton Marsalis, Terence Blanchard, Cyrus Chestnut, Peter Cincotti, Bill Cosby, Elvis Costello, Robert De Niro, Paquito D’Rivera, Jon Hendricks, Diana Krall, Abbey Lincoln, Bette Midler, Dianne Reeves, Marcus Roberts, Paul Simon, Meryl Streep, James Taylor, McCoy Tyner, Cassandra Wilson, Buckwheat Zydeco, and many others. Read the full article here

Those who weren’t able to see “Theater of the New Ear” (yet), can listen to the show on SIRIUS Satellite Radio. There are several airdates, all listed on their Official Website, also with the offer of a free trial, which allows you to listen to the show.