Uptown theater company will honor Manny Ramirez as their UPstanding Person of the Year.
Manny Ramirez is the owner of the Dichter Pharmacy and Soda Shoppe, a longtime fixture in Inwood in Manhattan. (Photo: Yana Paskova | NY Times)
UP Theater Company announced that its annual fundraiser Onward and UPward! will take place Monday, March 6, 2017 from 6:30 – 9:00 pm at Fort Washington Collegiate Church, 729 W 181st St, New York, NY.
The event will include beer, wine, and appetizers along with raffle prizes, performances by members of UP Theater Company, and will honor longtime Inwood pharmacist and arts supporter, Manny Ramirez as UPstanding Person of the Year.
Manny Ramirez has combined the world of pharmaceutical health with that of community activism and established himself as a positive force in the community. He grew up in Inwood and started working at Dichter’s when he was 13 doing deliveries for 25 cents an hour. He left after he finished pharmacy school, then came back in 2007 to buy the business after the death of George Liebmann, the owner and his mentor. When, in 2012, the store burned to the ground; Manny, with help from friends in the neighborhood, reopened in the present location. In addition to being one of the last independent pharmacies in the area, Dichter’s has become a community center with many local groups using the basement space – without charge – including UP Theater, Inwood Toy Swap, Preschool on the Planet, The Dichter Pharmacy Poetry Society, the Girl Scouts and many, many others.
Get Your Tickets: http://onwardupward2017up.bpt.me/
Related: Onward And UPward – The Recap
UP Artistic Director James Bosley notes “Low-key yet indispensable, Manny Ramirez is the poster boy for what Inwood is about – small-town Americana at the tip of Manhattan. His basement space is booked daily with community groups of every type, his walls are adorned with paintings and photos by Uptown Artists, and his lunch counter is our village cafe where we share news, opinions, and poems. And his grilled cheese is a New York classic. It is with extreme gratitude and respect that we recognize and honor him as our UPstanding Person of 2017.”
All proceeds will benefit UP’s ongoing mission to produce and develop new work in Northern Manhattan, including the upcoming production of Lost/Not Found by Inwood playwright Kirby Fields. Tickets to Onward & UPward range from $40 – $5,000 and may be purchased at http://onwardupward2017up.bpt.me.
The mission of UP Theater Company is to bring serious, professional theater to Northern Manhattan. Founded in 2010, UP Theater Company develops and produces new and challenging works of drama and comedy, relevant to its Uptown neighborhood. UP will not be afraid to be gritty, rambunctious, and irreverent. UP will be for and by the community, taking advantage of the many theater artists who live among us while envisioning a theater that will be a destination for theatergoers from all across the area, attracted by work of quality and passion.
Get Your Tickets: http://onwardupward2017up.bpt.me/
Related: Onward And UPward – The Recap
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