Robert and Joan Rechnitz, founders of the Two River Theater Company, were honored at the theater’s April 18 anniversary gala.
Photo courtesy Lynne Ward
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April 28, 2009
An Academy Award winner and Tony nominee was among the 200 well-wishers who came to the Two River Theater Company gala on April 18 to pay tribute to its founders, Robert and Joan Rechnitz.
The 15th-anniversary event was held at the Red Bank theater; proceeds will support the theater’s performances and education programs.
“The 15 years have gone by extremely fast,” Joan Rechnitz, who also serves as the theater’s associate producer, told NJ Jewish News before the gala. “But in reality, these years have encompassed a great deal of hard work.”
And the years of hard work have paid off, said Robert Rechnitz, who serves as executive producer.
“The theater is thriving,” he told NJJN. “There has been steady progress, but we know there is always more to be done. It’s a never-ending process.”
Actor-director Philip Seymour Hoffman, a major supporter of regional theater, attended the gala and praised the Rechnitzes’ contributions to “the community of theater.”
Hoffman, who lives in New York City and won a Best Actor Oscar in 2006 for his performance in the title role in Capote, is co-artistic director of the city’s LAByrinth Theater Company. The actor also has earned two Tony nominations for his work on the Broadway stage.
TRTC, which is presenting nine productions in 2009, has become a valuable part of the community, Robert Rechnitz said.
“Increasingly, this theater has become more and more important in people’s lives, and they have begun to think of it as ‘theirs,’” he said. “It’s a warm and inviting place to be, in which the public can really share in the experience. It’s a result of years of training, thought, and reflection. But that’s what theater is all about.”
Theater space also is used for corporate presentations, business gatherings, and charitable and fund-raising events, including several conducted by the Jewish Federation of Monmouth County. The Rechnitzes are long-time federation supporters.
Actor-director Philip Seymour Hoffman was a guest at the TRTC gala in honor of founders Joan and Robert Rechnitz.
Photo courtesy Nikki Nelson
The couple’s interest in theater dates back to their student days. Robert , a Colorado native, received a bachelor’s degree in theater from Northwestern University, where he performed in many college productions. He earned a graduate degree in American literature from Columbia University and a doctorate in literature from the University of Colorado. He taught American literature, drama, and theater courses for 35 years at Monmouth University, where he also directed student productions.
Joan grew up in a New York City suburb and attended many theater productions in Manhattan. She received a bachelor’s degree in fine arts from Monmouth University, but first attended the University of Colorado, where she met her future husband. The couple has three children: Emily, Adam, and Joshua. Adam has served on the TRTC board of directors.
TRTC’s mission statement reflects a commitment to present diverse productions that will interest a diverse community.
“It says we will seek to educate and create a community of partakers who will learn to cherish the experience of theater as an intimate one that is enriched and shared with a community of others,” said Robert. “We want the theater to be a place where people can experience things on cultural and spiritual levels. And if we’ve been successful in this endeavor, it’s a tribute to this theater and all those who work in it.”
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