John Lithgow & The Rudin Family Honored Tonight at New 42nd Street's 2015 Gala

The New 42nd Street's annual Gala will be held tonight, January 12 at The New Victory Theater, to honor Tony, Emmy, and Golden Globe Award-winner John Lithgow with the New Victory Arts Award for his work in "bringing kids to the arts and the arts to kids." The New 42nd Street will also honor The Rudin Family with the inaugural Marian Heiskell Award for their role in shaping the future of New York City. Glenn Close will serve as Gala honorary chair.

"John is a dear friend of The New Victory. He honored us when he performed his productions of A Lithgow Paloozical! and The Sunny Side of the Street on our stage, and he honors us again tonight by accepting the New Victory Arts Award for inspiring imagination in kids through his books, music and performances," says Cora Cahan, President of The New 42nd Street.

The New 42nd Street Gala provides critical support to New Victory Education programs. This year alone, 35,000 school kids from over 160 schools throughout the city will see a broad spectrum of international productions for just $2 per ticket, and the New Victory Usher Corps, the 2014 National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award winner, will provide 20,000 hours of paid employment, mentoring and job training for 50 NYC youth.

"Through these education programs, kids see world-class performances, learn new skills and explore new cultures. More than any other theater in the city, The New Victory represents a cultural home for young New Yorkers," says Kate Peck, a Board Member of The New 42nd Street. Ms. Peck, along with her husband Brad, co-chair the event with Isabel Rose, Philip J. Smith & Robert E. Wankel (The Shubert Organization), Diane & Marc Spilker, and Susan Stroman. Ambassador Theatre Group, Louis Vuitton and Thomson Reuters are the Gala Corporate Sponsors.

The festivities will begin at 7 p.m. with cocktails and a strolling supper in the elegant foyers of The Lyric Theatre, followed by a celebratory musical performance next door at The New Victory Theater with special appearances by Norbert Leo Butz, Joshua Henry, Marin Mazzie, Kelli O'Hara, David Hyde Pierce, Martha Plimpton, and Sherie Rene Scott. Special remarks will be given by Carl Weisbrod and Jack O'Brien. For more information, or to purchase tickets, contact Bari Lasky at BLasky@New42.org or 646-223-3085.

John Lithgow, the acclaimed stage, film and television actor and this year's New Victory Arts Award recipient, is currently appearing on Broadway for the 22nd time in A Delicate Balance. He has received six Tony Award nominations, including two wins for his performances in The Changing Room and Sweet Smell of Success. Appearing in more than 40 films, Mr. Lithgow received back-to-back Academy Award nominations for his performances in The World According to Garp and Terms of Endearment. He has also received 11 Emmy nominations and won five times - thrice for his portrayal of Dick Solomon on the NBC series "3rd Rock From the Sun" and once for playing The Trinity Killer on "Dexter." Most recently, Mr. Lithgow was seen on the big screen in Christopher Nolan's Interstellar, The Homesman directed by Tommy Lee Jones and Love Is Strange, for which he has received a Film Independent Spirit Award Best Actor Nomination. Mr. Lithgow is the author of nine New York Times bestselling children's picture books including The Remarkable Farkle McBride, Marsupial Sue, Micawber, I'm a Manatee, I Got Two Dogs, and most recently, Never Play Music Right Next to the Zoo. He has recorded several albums of music and spoken word for children and been nominated for four Grammy Awards. John has sung kids' concerts since his first child was born in 1972; performing with solo guitar, with an anarchic jazz septet called The Sunnyside Strutters, and with a dozen major U.S. orchestras. He also collaborated with choreographer Christopher Wheeldon on Carnival of the Animals, a whimsical ballet geared to children, for the New York City Ballet. He continues to use his solo performances for kids to advocate for literacy and arts education for children.

Presented to a person or organization whose concern for the well-being of children is matched by their belief that the arts and arts education stimulate imagination and creativity, the New Victory Arts Award was first presented to Tony Award-winning stage and screen actor and new vaudevillian Bill Irwin, who also serves on the New 42nd Street Board. Past New Victory Arts Awards have also been given to Cheryl Henson, President of the Jim Henson Foundation, the Australia Council for the Arts and entertainment leader Michael D. Eisner.

Inspired by the spirit of New 42nd Street Founding Board Chairman, the Marian Heiskell Award celebrates extraordinary individuals whose leadership and foresight help shape the future of NYC. With one of the largest and most respected privately owned real estate portfolios in the city, the Rudin Family's extensive holdings are matched only by their work in philanthropic and civic affairs. Through prolific contributions of time, talent and financial resources, the family has fortified hundreds of New York's artists, cultural organizations and not-for-profit groups. They continue to find new ways to enhance life in the city for those who live here and those who visit - whether for a marathon, a tennis championship or simply as tourists - as they continue to leverage their properties as catalysts for economic development and neighborhood revitalization. Consistently demonstrating the creativity and far-sightedness that will ensure New York will always be a vibrant, continually relevant and sustainable city, the Rudins have made New York a kinder, greener, safer, healthier and smarter city.