Angela Lansbury Honored Tonight at American Theatre Wing's Annual Gala

The American Theatre Wing holds its annual gala tonight, September 15 at The Plaza Hotel (Fifth Avenue at Central Park South), honoring Dame Angela Lansbury, who has served as Honorary Chairman of the American Theatre Wing Board of Trustees since 2010. CeCe Black, Anki Leeds, Marva Smalls, and Sir Howard Stringer will serve as Gala co-chairs.

"Angela Lansbury's contributions to the American Theatre are incalculable and her advocacy on behalf of the Wing unmatched," said Heather Hitchens, Executive Director of the American Theatre Wing. "We are incredibly honored to pay tribute to all that she has done to elevate the art form that we care so deeply about."

All proceeds from the evening will benefit the theatre education and artist development programs of the American Theatre Wing, which include SpringboardNYC, the Theatre Intern Group, the National Theatre Company Grants and the Jonathan Larson® Grants, and will also support free access for students, aspiring professionals, and the general public to programming on AmericanTheatreWing.org, including the long running show "Working in the Theatre."

The evening includes cocktails, dinner and performances. For more information, or to purchase tickets or a table, contact Jeremiah Hernandez by calling (212) 765-0606.

Dame Angela Lansbury has enjoyed an extraordinary career spanning more than seventy years, first as a star of motion pictures, and as an award-winning stage actor in New York and London. Most recently on Broadway, she appeared as Mrs. Sue-Ellen Gamadge in Gore Vidal's The Best Man, and as Madame Armfeldt in Stephen Sondheim's A Little Night Music (Tony Award® nomination). For her energetic portrayal of Madame Arcati in the 2009 revival of Noël Coward's Blithe Spirit, she won her fifth Tony Award®, as well as Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards. She received her four other Tonys for her triumphant leading-actress turns in the musicals Mame in 1966, Dear World in 1968, the Gypsy revival in 1974, and Sweeney Todd in 1979.

From 1984 to 1996, she made television history starring as Jessica Fletcher on "Murder, She Wrote," the longest-running detective drama series in TV history, winning four of her six Golden Globe Awards. In November 2013, Angela received an Honorary Oscar "for her extravagant achievements in cinematic industry of her career of 75 years." She also received the Kennedy Center Honors in 2000. In 1994, Queen Elizabeth named her a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, and promoted to Dame Commander in 2014. Married in 1949, she and husband Peter Shaw worked together until his death in 2003. She has three children and three grandchildren.

The American Theatre Wing (William Ivey Long, Chair, Board of Trustees; Heather Hitchens, Executive Director) is dedicated to advancing artistic excellence and nurturing theatre's next generation: on stage, behind the scenes, and in the audience.

For nearly a century, the Wing has pursued this mission with programs that span the nation to invest in the growth and evolution of American Theatre.Traditionally, the Wing has encouraged members of the theatre community to share their off-stage time and talent directly with the theatre audience at large--whether it was singing for the troops in the Stage Door Canteen of the 1940's, or sharing their stories on a podcast today.

As the founders of The Tony Awards®, the American Theatre Wing has developed the foremost national platform for the recognition of theatrical achievement on Broadway. Yet the Wing's reach extends beyond Broadway and beyond New York. The Wing develops the next generation of theatre professionals through the SpringboardNYC and Theatre Intern Group programs, incubates innovative theatre across the country through the National Theatre Company Grants, fosters the song of American theatre through the Jonathan Larson Grants, and illuminates the creative process through the "Working in the Theatre" program and media archive.

Visitors to americantheatrewing.org can get inspired and gain insight into the artistic process through the Wing's extensive media collection, and learn more about its programming for students, aspiring and working professionals, and audiences.