Nov. 15: Leslie Uggams, Alan Menken, Bob Crowley, Anna Deavere Smith, Victor Garber and Gerald Freedman Will Be Inducted Into the Theater Hall of Fame; Joel Grey to Host Ceremony
Joel Grey. Photo by Lia Chang
Anna Deavere Smith. Photo by Lia Chang
Leslie Uggams, 2019 NBTF Sidney Poitier Lifelong Achievement Award Winner. Photo by Lia Chang
Joel Grey will host the 50th annual Theater Hall of Fame for Lifetime Achievement in the American Theater induction ceremony honoring the new cohort — actor-playwright Anna Deavere Smith, composer Alan Menkin, set designer Bob Crowley, actor Leslie Uggams, director Gerald Freedman (1927-2020), and actor Victor Garber – on Monday, November 15 at 7:30pm at The Gershwin in New York. The previously reported 2021 inductee Lynn Nottage is unable to attend and will be inducted in the 2022 ceremony. Victor Garber has been added to the 2021 cohort.
Presenters for the evening will include Brian Stokes Mitchell, Alfred Uhry, Daryl Roth, Jack O’Brien, John Benjamin Hickey, and Stephen Schwartz.
The 2019 inductees included Tony Award-winning actors André De Shields and Donna McKechnie, actor and the late Tony Award-winning choreographer Ann Reinking, Goodspeed Musicals Founder Michael Price, Tony Award-nominated playwright Emily Mann, Tony Award-winning lighting designer Natasha Katz, theatre critic Michael Feingold, and posthumously, Tony Award-winning playwright Thomas Meehan.
Theater Hall of Fame Class of 2019- Michael Price, Natasha Katz, Carolyn Capstick Meehan, André De Shields, Donna McKechnie, Emily Mann, Michael Feingold and Ann Reinking at the New York Friars Club in New York on November 18, 2019. Photo: Lia Chang
The Theater Hall of Fame, on Broadway at the Gershwin Theatre, was founded in 1970 by Earl Blackwell, James M. Nederlander, Gerard Oestreicher and L. Arnold Weissberger to honor Lifetime Achievement in the American Theater. The mission is to preserve past theater history, honor the present theater professionals, and encourage emerging artists of the American Theater. To be eligible for induction, the theater professional must have given 25 years distinguished service to the American Theater and, at least, five major production credits on Broadway. The annual ballot is voted upon by over 275 members of the Theater Hall of Fame and American drama critics. There are 10 categories and over 50 nominees from which to vote. The final eight nominees receiving the most votes are ratified for the annual induction.
American Theater Hall Of Fame Awards held on November 18, 2019 at the Gershwin Theatre in New York City. Photo by Lia Chang
American Theater Hall Of Fame Awards held on November 18, 2019 at the Gershwin Theatre in New York City. Photo by Lia Chang
American Theater Hall Of Fame Awards held on November 18, 2019 at the Gershwin Theatre in New York City. Photo by Lia Chang
American Theater Hall Of Fame Awards held on November 18, 2019 at the Gershwin Theatre in New York City. Photo by Lia Chang
André De Shields attends the American Theater Hall Of Fame Awards held on November 18, 2019 at the Gershwin Theatre in New York City. Photo by Lia Chang
André De Shields attends the American Theater Hall Of Fame Awards held on November 18, 2019 at the Gershwin Theatre in New York City. Photo by Lia Chang
Bebe Neuwirth, André De Shields and John Doyle attend the American Theater Hall Of Fame Awards held on November 18, 2019 at the Gershwin Theatre in New York City. Photo by Lia Chang
Emily Mann, Mara Isaacs, a guest and Pam MacKinnon attend the American Theater Hall Of Fame Awards held on November 18, 2019 at the Gershwin Theatre in New York City. Photo by Lia Chang
Emily Mann and Mara Isaacs attend the American Theater Hall Of Fame Awards held on November 18, 2019 at the Gershwin Theatre in New York City. Photo by Lia Chang
André De Shields and Mara Isaacs attend the American Theater Hall Of Fame Awards held on November 18, 2019 at the Gershwin Theatre in New York City. Photo by Lia Chang
André De Shields and Joel Grey attend the American Theater Hall Of Fame Awards held on November 18, 2019 at the Gershwin Theatre in New York City. Photo by Lia Chang
André De Shields, Judith Ivey, Mara Isaacs and Emily Mann attend the American Theater Hall Of Fame Awards held on November 18, 2019 at the Gershwin Theatre in New York City. Photo by Lia Chang
André De Shields and Lynn Ahrens attend the American Theater Hall Of Fame Awards held on November 18, 2019 at the Gershwin Theatre in New York City. Photo by Lia Chang
Trevor Hardwick, Stephen Flaherty attend the American Theater Hall Of Fame Awards dinner held on November 18, 2019 at the New York Friars Club in New York on November 18, 2019. Photo by Lia Chang
Stephen Flaherty, André De Shields, Lynn Ahrens attend the American Theater Hall Of Fame Awards dinner held on November 18, 2019 at the New York Friars Club in New York on November 18, 2019. Photo by Lia Chang
Lynn Ahrens and Donna McKechnie attend the American Theater Hall Of Fame Awards dinner held on November 18, 2019 at the New York Friars Club in New York on November 18, 2019. Photo by Lia Chang
Lynn Ahrens and Carolyn Capstick Meehan attend the American Theater Hall Of Fame Awards dinner held on November 18, 2019 in the Grand Ballroom of the Women’s National Republican Club in New York. Photo by Lia Chang
Emily Mann and Lynn Ahrens attend the American Theater Hall Of Fame Awards dinner held on November 18, 2019 at the New York Friars Club in New York on November 18, 2019. Photo by Lia Chang
Lynn Ahrens, Trevor Hardwick, Stephen Flaherty attend the American Theater Hall Of Fame Awards dinner held on November 18, 2019 at the New York Friars Club in New York on November 18, 2019.
Ann Reinking and Michael Price attend the American Theater Hall Of Fame Awards dinner held on November 18, 2019 at the New York Friars Club in New York on November 18, 2019. Photo by Lia Chang
Michael Feingold and Ann Reinking attend the American Theater Hall Of Fame Awards dinner held on November 18, 2019 at the New York Friars Club in New York on November 18, 2019. Photo by Lia Chang
Michael Feingold and Ann Reinking attend the American Theater Hall Of Fame Awards dinner held on November 18, 2019 at the New York Friars Club in New York on November 18, 2019. Photo by Lia Chang
Michael Price, Natasha Katz, Carolyn Capstick Meehan attend the American Theater Hall Of Fame Awards dinner held on November 18, 2019 at the New York Friars Club in New York on November 18, 2019. Photo by Lia Chang
André De Shields and Lia Chang the American Theater Hall Of Fame Awards dinner held on November 18, 2019 in the Grand Ballroom at the New York Friars Club in New York on November 18, 2019.
André De Shields and Lia Chang attend the American Theater Hall Of Fame Awards dinner held on November 18, 2019 at the New York Friars Club in New York on November 18, 2019.
The Theater Hall of Fame is a non-profit organization and U.S. registered trademark. It is the only nationally recognized Hall of Fame honoring Lifetime Achievement in the American theater. It is funded by individual contributions, private foundations as well as event ticket and journal sales. Mr. Terry Hodge Taylor is Executive Producer.
Lia Chang
Lia Chang is an actor, a multi-media content producer and co-founder of Bev’s Girl Films, making films that foster inclusion and diversity on both sides of the camera. Bev’s Girl Films’ debut short film, Hide and Seek was a top ten film in the Asian American Film Lab’s 2015 72 Hour Shootout Filmmaking Competition, and she received a Best Actress nomination. BGF collaborates with and produces multi-media content for artists, actors, designers, theatrical productions, composers, musicians and corporations. Lia has appeared in the films Wolf, New Jack City, A Kiss Before Dying, King of New York, Big Trouble in Little China, The Last Dragon, Taxman. She stars in and served as Executive Producer for the short independent films Hide and Seek, Balancing Act, Rom-Com Gone Wrong, Belongingness and When the World was Young (2021 DisOrient Film Audience Choice Award for Best Short Narrative). She is also the Executive Producer for The Cactus, The Language Lesson, The Writer and Cream and 2 Shugahs.
Backstage Pass with Lia Chang 