Bernadette Peters to be Honored at Drama League's Centennial Gala This Year

The Drama League, embarking on a landmark year of celebration commemorating its 100 years of service to the American theater, will honor Golden Globe and three-time Tony Award winner and musical theater icon Bernadette Peters as their Centennial Honoree. The Drama League Centennial Gala is set for Monday evening, November 2, 2015 at The Plaza (768 Fifth Avenue) in New York City.

This once-in-a-century black-tie gala will include a fully-staged musical tribute drawn from Ms. Peters' career in theater, television, music and film. Featuring acclaimed performers from Broadway, the West End, and Hollywood, funds raised by The Drama League Centennial Gala Honoring Bernadette Peters will support The Drama League's educational initiatives for promising young artists, including the award-winning Directors Project. VIP and Ballroom seats are now available, with a limited number of seats open to the General Public. For more information, please call (212) 244-9494, or visit the website at www.dramaleague.org.

"Since 1916, The Drama League has been honored to celebrate the career achievements of the great women of Broadway, including Helen Hayes, Katherine Cornell, Jessica Tandy, Ethel Merman, Barbara Cook, Liza Minnelli, Chita Rivera, and many others," noted Drama League Executive Director Gabriel Shanks. "To kick off our second century in this tradition, we could think of no one more perfect than Bernadette, who exemplifies the absolute best of what American musical theater can be. What a pleasure it is to gather her friends, co-stars and colleagues for an unforgettable night celebrating her many triumphs."

National Life Group is the proud Centennial Season Sponsor of The Drama League, and will host a VIP pre-event Champagne Toast for Ms. Peters at The Plaza.

The Drama League Centennial Gala Sponsors include Delta Air Lines, the Official Airline of The Drama League; M.A.C. Cosmetics, the Official Makeup Partner of The Drama League; Starbright Floral Design, the Official Florist of The Drama League; and The Plaza.

The Centennial Gala Chairpersons are Anna May Feige and Stan Ponte, with Vice-Chairs Rebecca A. Gillan, Mary Jain, Julie and Rich Meister, Kari Nettles, Joseph and Lauren Pizza, Elaine C. and W. Weldon Wilson, and Nadine Wong. The Centennial Gala Committee includes Leslie Feldman, John Gore/Key Brand Entertainment, Amy Eller, Ellen Fox, Kathy Henderson, Jano Herbosch, Paula Kaminsky Davis, and Ellie and James Johnson.

The Drama League Centennial Gala helps to raise funds to support the educational training programs of The Drama League Directors Project. The award-winning initiative, which began in 1982 and whose alumni now number over 300, has been instrumental in launching the careers of Tony Award winners Sam Gold (Fun Home), Diane Paulus (Finding Neverland), Pam MacKinnon (China Doll), Michael Mayer (Hedwig and the Angry Inch), and John Rando (On The Town); Tony Award nominees Mark Brokaw (Cinderella), Moritz von Steulpnagel (Hand to God) and Alex Timbers (Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson); West Hyler (the upcoming Broadway production Cirque du Soleil: Paramour); and OBIE and Emmy Award winners Rachel Chavkin, Lear deBessonet, R.J. Cutler, and Anne Kaufmann, to name a few. 'Drama League Directors' have been honored with Tony, Emmy, Grammy, Obie, Peabody, Drama Desk, GLAAD, Drama League, New York Drama Critics Circle, Outer Critics, Evening Standard, Lucille Lortel, Bessie, Princess Grace, Garland, Drama-Logue, Barrymore, Helen Hayes, Elliot Norton, and Joseph Jefferson Awards, and have directed films and plays that received Academy Award nominations and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

The Drama League of New York, since 1916, has been at the forefront of the American Theatre community, providing talent, audiences, and prosperous support. It is one of the nation's oldest continuously-operating, not-for-profit arts advocacy and education organizations. Through its programs, initiatives and events, The Drama League serves over 3,000 artists and 15,000 audience members each season with over 150 events and programs. More information can be found at www.dramaleague.org.

National Life Group, the Centennial Season Sponsor of The Drama League, doesn't make widgets or cars or computers. We make promises. Our goal, since the chartering of National Life Insurance Company in 1848, has been to work together to create a better financial future for each and every customer through innovative financial solutions and then to deliver on those commitments 10, 20, or 50 years down the road. This commitment is evident in our values which are Do good. Be good. Make good. National Life Group is a trade name of National Life Insurance Company, Montpelier, VT, Life Insurance Company of the Southwest (LSW), Addison, TX and their affiliates. Each company of National Life Group is solely responsible for its own financial condition and contractual obligations. LSW is not an authorized insurer in New York and does not conduct insurance business in New York.

Throughout her illustrious career, Tony Award-winning actress Bernadette Peters has dazzled audiences and critics with her performances on stage and television, in concert, and on recordings.

Ms. Peters currently stars in Amazon Prime's hit series, Mozart in the Jungle. Her recent stage credits include City Center's Encores! production, A BED A CHAIR: A New York Love Affair featuring music by Stephen Sondheim and orchestrations by Wynton Marsalis. Prior to that she starred on Broadway in the Stephen Sondheim / James Goldman critically-acclaimed production of Follies, following a successful run at the Kennedy Center. She also starred opposite Elaine Stritch in the Stephen Sondheim / Hugh Wheeler Tony Award-winning masterpiece, A Little Night Music.

In 2012, Bernadette was honored with her third Tony Award, The Isabelle Stevenson Special Award that acknowledges an individual from the theatre community who has made a substantial contribution of volunteered time and effort on behalf of one or more humanitarian, social service or charitable organizations. Prior to that Peters added author and songwriter to her roster of achievements with her debut children's book, Broadway Barks, aptly named after the organization she co-founded with good friend, Mary Tyler Moore. The organization's annual star-studded animal adoption event takes place in Shubert Alley in the heart of NYC's theater district, and benefits over 20 animal shelters in and around the New York City area. The book package includes a CD recording of an original song written and sung by the author. Her second children's book, Stella is a Star features yet another of her original songs. This summer, Peters published her third children's book, Stella and Charlie: Friends Forever that also benefits the organization.

In 2003, she received her seventh Tony Award nomination for her electrifying portrayal of Momma Rose in Sam Mendes' record-breaking Broadway revival of Gypsy, and her brilliant performance was captured on the Grammy award-winning Gypsy cast recording. "Bernadette Peters is a revelation!" Ben Brantley of The New York Times declared of her star turn in the show. Peters' Angel Records CD, Sondheim, Etc., Etc.: Bernadette Peters Live at Carnegie Hall (The Rest of It), features never-before-released highlights from her historic 1996 highly anticipated solo debut at Carnegie Hall. The concert was a benefit for Gay Men's Health Crisis. This performance was repeated in Bernadette Peters in Concert, her London solo debut at Royal Festival Hall, which later was telecast on PBS and is available on DVD.

Peters made her Broadway debut in 1967 in Johnny No-Trump, and in 1968 starred with Joel Grey in the musical George M!, earning a Theatre World Award for her memorable portrayal of Josie Cohan. That same year, she received a Drama Desk Award for her performance in the smash hit off-Broadway musical Dames at Sea, and quickly became one of the most sought-after stars in musical theatre.

Peters received the Tony Award and Drama Desk Award for her acclaimed performance in Andrew Lloyd Webber's hit musical Song and Dance. In June 1999, Peters earned her second Tony Award, her third Drama Desk Award, and an Outer Critics Circle Award for her portrayal of Annie Oakley in the Tony -winning Broadway revival of Annie Get Your Gun. Peters also received Tony nominations for her work in the musical The Goodbye Girl; Stephen Sondheim's Pulitzer Prize-winning musical Sunday in the Park With George; the Jerry Herman/Gower Champion ode to the movies, Mack and Mabel; and the Leonard Bernstein/Comden and Green musical On The Town. In addition to these honors, Peters earned a Drama Desk nomination for her memorable portrayal of the Witch in Stephen Sondheim's Into the Woods. She received the 2013 Distinguished Achievement in Musical Theatre Award from The Drama League.

Ms. Peters boasts an impressive list of television credits, including her recent appearances on NBC-TV's SMASH. She has also appeared in the Lifetime movie Living Proof opposite Harry Connick, Jr.; the two-hour 2008 season premiere of the ABC-TV series Grey's Anatomy; and a recurring role on the popular TV hit, Ugly Betty. She has appeared in PBS' Evening at Pops, The Kennedy Center Honors, The Carol Burnett Show and an Emmy-nominated performance on The Muppet Show. She appeared in Sondheim: A Celebration at Carnegie Hall and played a diva-on-the-verge-of-a-nervous-breakdown in Terrence McNally's The Last Mile, both for PBS' Great Performances series. Other credits include PBS's Hey Mr. Producer!: the Musical World of Cameron Mackintosh and Quincy Jones: the First 50 Years.

Peters received Emmy nominations for her performances in FOX's hit series Ally McBeal and the Showtime movie Bobbie's Girl. She portrayed the wicked stepmother in Cinderella with Brandy and Whitney Houston, and starred in The Odyssey with Armand Assante, Fall From Grace with Kevin Spacey, and The Last Best Year with Mary Tyler Moore.

A performer of amazing versatility, Peters has lit up the silver screen in 17 films throughout her distinguished career. She received a Golden Globe Award for her memorable performance in Pennies From Heaven. Her film credits include The Jerk with Steve Martin, The Longest Yard with Burt Reynolds, Silent Movie with Mel Brooks, Annie with Carol Burnett, Pink Cadillac with Clint Eastwood, Slaves of New York with Mercedes Ruehl, Woody Allen's Alice with Mia Farrow, Impromptu with Hugh Grant and Mandy Patinkin, and It Runs in the Family, starring opposite Kirk and Michael Douglas.

In addition to numerous Grammy Award-winning Broadway cast albums including Gypsy and Annie Get Your Gun, Peters has recorded six solo albums: Sondheim, Etc., Etc.: Bernadette Peters Live at Carnegie Hall (The Rest of It); Bernadette Peters Loves Rodgers & Hammerstein (Grammy Nomination); Sondheim Etc.: Bernadette Peters Live At Carnegie Hall (Grammy Nomination); I'll Be Your Baby Tonight (Grammy Nomination); Bernadette Peters; and Now Playing. Bernadette devotes her time and talents to numerous events that benefit Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, in addition to Broadway Barks. She resides in New York City and Los Angeles with her rescue dogs, Charlie and Rosalia.