Audra McDonald, Matthew Broderick & More Will Be Inducted into Theatre Hall of Fame

The Theatre Hall of Fame announced today its 2017 class of eight inductees, led by Audra McDonald and including (in alphabetical order) Matthew Broderick, Oskar Eustis, Tina Howe, Arthur Kopit, Marin Mazzie, Daryl Roth and Ernie Schier.

The varied list includes three actors, two producers, two playwrights and a critic-educator.

Leading the list is Audra McDonald, six-time Tony Award-winning star of musicals and dramas, including Tonys in each of the four acting categories. In addition to McDonald, the inductees are, in alphabetical order:

Actor Matthew Broderick, who first appeared on Broadway in 1978 and won Tonys for "Brighton Beach Memoirs" and the revival of "How to Succeed" and a Tony nomination for "The Producers."

Oskar Eustis, artistic director since 2005 of The New York Public Theater and before that artistic director or assistant artistic director of Trinity Rep (Providence), Mark Taper Forum (Los Angeles) and Eureka Theatre (San Francisco).

Playwright Tina Howe, whose works include "Coastal Disturbances," "Painting Churches," "Prides Crossing" and "The Art of Dining."

Playwright Arthur Kopit, best known for "Indians," "Wings" and his 1963 debut, "Oh Dad, Poor Dad," as well as the books for "Nine" and other musicals.

Actor Marin Mazzie, Tony-nominated for "Passion," "Ragtime" and "Kiss Me Kate" and renowned for replacement starring roles in "The King and I," "Man of La Mancha," "Into the Woods," and others.

Producer Daryl Roth, whose credits include some 90 Broadway shows, including Pulitzer Prize-winners "Clybourne Park," "August: Osage County" and "Proof," as well as seven Tony-winners for best new play.

The late Ernie Schier (1918-99), long-time Washington and Philadelphia critic, founder and director for three decades of the National Critics Institute at the O'Neill Theater Center in Waterford, Conn.

The 47th annual induction ceremony will take place Nov. 13 at Broadway's Gershwin Theater, where the names of Hall of Fame members are inscribed on the walls in raised gold letters.

The announcement was made by Terry Hodge Taylor, Executive Producer of the Hall of Fame, which was founded in 1971. Large groups were inducted in the first years, but in recent decades the annual enrollment has been limited to eight, with the occasional team (such as Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty in 2015) counting as one.

Eligibility for election requires a theater career of at least 25 years and at least five major credits, extending on occasion beyond Broadway to Off-Broadway and regional theater.

Inductees are chosen by an electorate made up of members of the Hall of Fame and of the American Theatre Critics Association, the only national organization of professional theater critics, writing for print, broadcast and digital services throughout the country.

Supervising the election is an Executive Committee of Andre Bishop, Jacqueline Z. Davis, Dana Ivey, Estelle Parsons, Christopher Rawson and Terry Hodge Taylor.

For more information about the Hall of Fame and a full list of members, visit www.theaterhalloffame.org.

For accounts of inductions back to 1998, go to www.americantheatrecritics.org/theatre-hall-of-fame/.