McCarter Theatre Center has announced that George C. Wolfe, one of the most acclaimed directors in the American theater, has been awarded the inaugural Sallie Goodman Prize.
As the Prize's first recipient,
George C. Wolfe will be awarded $20,000 and will come to McCarter in conjunction with a specific project of his choosing, which will mark his McCarter Theatre debut. Mr. Wolfe was selected by a panel of judges that included Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright
Edward Albee, distinguished theater producer
Roger S. Berlind, McCarter Artistic Director
Emily Mann and McCarter Producing Director
Mara Isaacs.
The Sallie Goodman Prize is a one-of-a-kind prize in the American theater to reward distinguished artists choosing to create in the not-for-profit theater. The Prize is designed to attract the world's finest directors, performers, choreographers, and writers in the work of McCarter Theatre in Princeton, New Jersey. This inaugural prize will also launch
Emily Mann's 20th Anniversary season as McCarter's Artistic Director.
The Prize was established by Sallie's husband, Jerry Goodman, who wished to help remember his wife as an active member of the theater community and friend to McCarter Theatre, and to honor her memory with a meaningful gift to the arts world.
In accepting the Sallie Goodman Prize, George Wolfe said, "McCarter Theater is an astonishing organization, known not only for the daring and important work it presents, but for the nurturing, stimulating and safe environment it offers its artists. I am honored to receive the Sallie Goodman Prize and I look forward to working with McCarter's Artistic Staff and getting to know the theater's audiences."
"Since George Wolfe stepped down from his leadership role at the Public to pursue other career options, we have missed his regular presence on the American Stage. I am thrilled that the Sallie Goodman Prize will serve as the catalyst for bringing him back with a major work of his choosing," said McCarter Theatre Artistic Director
Emily Mann.
George C. Wolfe's directing credits for the theater include Caroline or Change (Evening Standard and Oliver Awards for Best Musical), Jelly's Last Jam (Drama Desk and Outer Critics Award), Angels in America: Millennium Approaches (Tony and Drama Desk Award), and Angels in America: Perestroika (Drama Desk Award), Bring in ‘Da Noise, Bring in ‘Da Funk (Tony and Drama League Awards), Topdog/Underdog (Obie Award), Twilight: Los Angeles 1992 (Drama Desk Award),
Elaine Stritch At Liberty (Tony Award - Unique Theatrical Event), The Wild Party, and Mother Courage and her Children with
Meryl Streep. Wolfe also directed the film Nights in Rodanthe, with
Richard Gere and
Diane Lane, and the HBO film version of
Ruben Santiago-Hudson's Lackawanna Blues. His writing credits include the award-winning The Colored Museum, which he also directed for PBS; and he was the book writer for Jelly's Last Jam and The Wild Party. In addition, Mr. Wolfe adapted and directed Spunk (Obie Award) and created Harlem Song for the
Apollo Theatre. He was declared a Living Landmark by the New York City Landmark Conservancy, and from 1993-2005 served as Producer for The Public Theater/New York Shakespeare Festival.
Sallie B. Goodman was a presence in the McCarter community for forty years until her death in 2007. She graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London in 1950, and her arrival in New York coincided with the 'golden age' of American television. She worked with actors ranging from
Jack Lemmon to
Cliff Robertson, and directors from
Sidney Lumet to
Arthur Penn. Among the many segments she did were those on The U S Steel Hour, The
Dick Powell Show, Kraft Theater, Ben Casey, Medic, and The Fugitive. On Broadway, she appeared in The Second Threshold and played Wendy, grown-up, in the 1954 Broadway musical Peter Pan with
Mary Martin. In 1958 she starred in her own series, a Western set in the Montana Territory, Buckskin'. She had a featured role in the 1961 film, 'The Children's Hour', with
Audrey Hepburn and
Shirley MacLaine, which won 5 Academy Awards. She also appeared in the film, Storm Center, with
Bette Davis. She married George (Jerry) Goodman in 1961, and when the couple moved to Princeton in 1965, she directed student productions at Theatre Intime on the Princeton University Campus. She taught theater and acting for 20 years at Rider University in Lawrenceville, NJ.
Under the leadership of Artistic Director
Emily Mann and Managing Director Timothy J. Shields, McCarter Theatre Center is recognized as one of the nation's premier theater companies and performing arts centers. Renowned for major contributions to the theatrical canon, recent McCarter premieres have included
Tarell Alvin McCraney's The Brother/Sister Plays,
Edward Albee's Me, Myself & I (commissioned and premiered in 2008),
Christopher Durang's Miss Witherspoon,
Emily Mann's Having Our Say (3 Tony nominations), and
Athol Fugard's Valley Song. As a world-class performing arts presenter, McCarter offers audiences diverse programs of music, dance, and special events featuring artists of national and international repute from a wide variety of disciplines and styles. McCarter is supported in part by over 3,000 individuals, corporations and foundations. The 2009-2010 will mark
Emily Mann's 20th Anniversary as Artistic Director.
Photo Credit: Walter McBride/Retna Ltd.
