The Eugene O'Neill Theater Center will present its annual Monte Cristo Award to legendary Broadway producer and director Harold Prince, in recognition of his monumental achievements and contributions to the American and international theater community. The award will be presented to Mr. Prince at a gala dinner held in his honor at Bridgewaters - South Street Seaport in New York City on Monday, April 5 at 6:30pm.
Honorary Committee Members include: Committee Co-Chairs
Angela Lansbury,
Stephen Sondheim,
Thomas Viertel &
Pat Daily ; Committee Members
Kate Baldwin,
Pat Birch,
Jerry Bock,
Carol Burnett,
Len Cariou,
John Cullum,
Ellen Fitzhugh,
Joel Grey,
Sheldon Harnick,
Shuler Hensley,
John Kander, Tim Kashani,
Judy Kaye,
Linda Lavin,
John McMartin &
Charlotte Moore,
Terrence McNally,
James Nederlander, Sr.,
Richard Nelson,
Mandy Patinkin,
Tony Ponturo,
Jordan Roth,
Kevin Spacey,
Elaine Stritch,
Susan Stroman,
Jonathan Tunick,
Alfred Uhry; O'Neill Trustees
Michael Douglas &
Catherine Zeta-Jones,
Stephen Hendel &
Ruth Hendel, Heather Henson; and O'Neill Founders George
C. White & Betsy White.
Harold Prince has had tremendous success as a director, producer and artistic director on Broadway over the past 50 years. He has been an integral part of over 60 productions including; The Pajama Game, Damn Yankees, West Side Story, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, She Loves Me, Fiddler on the Roof, Cabaret, Candide, Sweeney Todd, Evita, The Phantom of the Opera, Kiss of the Spider Woman and Show Boat. Mr. Prince has received an unprecedented 21 Tony Awards, 6 Drama Desk Awards, the National Medal for Arts; he was also a Kennedy Center Honoree. In addition to his work in theater, Prince has served as a trustee for the New York Public Library and on the National council of the Arts of the NEA.
The Monte Cristo Award is given in recognition of a distinguished career exemplifying
Eugene O'Neill's standard of excellence and pioneering spirit. Past recipients of the Award include
Kevin Spacey,
Neil Simon,
Jason Robards, Jr.,
Edward Albee,
August Wilson,
Zoe Caldwell,
Brian Dennehy,
Karl Malden, Arthur & Barbara Gelb and
Wendy Wasserstein.
O'Neill Executive Director Preston Whiteway remarked "
Hal Prince is an incredibly worthy recipient, not only is he a legend - the force behind many of the most iconic and important productions on the world stage in the last 60 years, but he has long been inspired by America's first major playwright,
Eugene O'Neill. In fact, one of his first New York productions was an O'Neill play, Great God Brown, and he certainly has carried Eugene's ‘pioneering spirit' throughout his amazing career."
An announcement on the evening's program will be made shortly.
For table and ticket reservations or more information about the O'Neill's Monte Cristo Award dinner, please contact Brett Elliott at the O'Neill: 860-443-5378 x288 or belliott@theoneill.org.
The O'Neill, founded in 1964 in honor of
Eugene O'Neill, four-time Pulitzer Prize Winner and America's only playwright to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, is the country's preeminent organization dedicated to the development of new works and new voices for the American theater. The O'Neill has been home to more than 1,000 new works for the stage and 2,500 emerging artists. Scores of projects developed at the O'Neill have gone on to full production at other theaters around the world, including Broadway, Off-Broadway and major regional theaters.
O'Neill programs include the National Playwrights Conference, National Music Theater Conference, National Critics Institute, National Puppetry Conference, the Cabaret & Performance Conference, and National Theater Institute, which conducts semester-long, fully accredited intensive theater training programs and Theatermakers, a six-week accredited summer program.
In addition, the O'Neill owns and operates Monte Cristo Cottage as a museum open to the public. Childhood summer home of
Eugene O'Neill, the Cottage is a National Historic Landmark.
The
Eugene O'Neill Theater Center has received a special Tony Award, the National Opera Award, the Jujamcyn Award for Theatre Excellence and the Arts and Business Council Encore Award. For more information, visit the O'Neill website,
www.theoneill.org or email theaterlives@theoneill.org.
