Leslie Uggams And Liz Callaway Join The Honorary Board Of The York Theatre Company

The York Theatre Company has announced that Broadway leading ladies Leslie Uggams and Liz Callaway have been added to the starry list of the company's Honorary Board of Directors, joining Lynn Ahrens, Gretchen Cryer, André De Shields, Stephen Flaherty, Nancy Ford, John Kander, Robert Kimball, Richard Maltby, Jr., Alan Menken, Austin Pendleton, Susan H. Schulman, Stephen Schwartz, David Shire, Elisa Loti Stein, Eric Stern, Susan Stroman, Betty Cooper Wallerstein, Lillias White, and Maury Yeston.

Jim Morgan, Producing Artistic Director, said: “Every once in a while, we add a new member to our Honorary Board. But we're excited beyond belief to extend membership to TWO Broadway stars, each of whom have wonderful York connections. They join an illustrious group of artists, all of whom are dedicated to our mission of bringing musicals to life. The honor is all ours!”

About the Artists

Leslie Uggams is a Tony and Emmy Award-winning actress, singer, and recording artist whose landmark career began at the age of nine, opening for Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald at the Apollo Theater in Harlem. As a teenager, she went on to break barriers as a series regular on “Sing Along with Mitch” and made her Broadway debut at the age of 24 in the groundbreaking musical Hallelujah, Baby!, earning Theatre World and Tony Awards for her performance. Since then, she has starred on Broadway in Blues in the Night, Her First Roman, Jerry's Girls, Anything Goes, King Hedley II (Tony Award nomination), Thoroughly Modern Millie, and On Golden Pond with James Earl Jones. Perhaps best known for her stirring portrayal of Kizzy in the landmark TV mini-series adaptation of Alex Haley's “Roots” (Critics Choice Award, Emmy, and Golden Globe nominations), Leslie, now in her seventh decade in show business, continues to create memorable roles. Most notably, she can be seen in the Deadpool movies opposite Ryan Reynolds; on television in “New Amsterdam” and “Empire”; in the streaming comic horror series “The Bite”; and in the Sundance Grand Jury Award-winning film Nanny, released on Amazon Prime. 

Liz Callaway, Tony Award nominee, Emmy winner and newly minted Grammy nominee, made her Broadway debut in Stephen Sondheim and George Furth's Merrily We Roll Along. She went on to star in Baby, Miss Saigon, The Look of Love, and The Three Musketeers, as well as for five years as Grizabella in Cats. Off-Broadway appearances include The Spitfire Grill (Drama Desk nomination), Marry Me a Little (at The York), and Brownstone. Regional and international credits include the one-person play Every Brilliant Thing, Dot in Sunday in the Park with George, Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard, and the European premiere of Sondheim on Sondheim at London's Royal Festival Hall. Liz sang the Academy Award-nominated song “Journey to the Past” in the animated feature Anastasia. Other film work includes Jasmine in the two Aladdin sequels, The Swan Princess, and The Rewrite with Hugh Grant. Her extensive concert and symphony career has included appearances in London, Paris, Vietnam, Australia, China, and nearly every major city in the U.S. She performs regularly with her sister Ann Hampton Callaway, as well as composer Stephen Schwartz, and has had the pleasure of singing with Jimmy Webb, Paul Williams, and the legendary Johnny Mathis. The Grammy-nominated To Steve With Love: Liz Callaway Celebrates Sondheim marks her eighth solo recording.