O'Neill Theater Center Chairman Tom Viertel to Step Down

Tom Viertel, who has been a member of the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center board for nearly three decades and its Chairman since 2000, will step down from his role at the end of the O'Neill's 2024 season in August. He will also be the recipient of this year's Monte Cristo Award, in recognition of his numerous contributions to the O'Neill and his many years of service to the field, to be presented at a gala event on November 18, 2024 in New York City.

“When George White asked me to succeed him as Chair of the O'Neill 24 years ago he changed my life. Taking over from a founder is always difficult, and we've certainly had our share of challenges. But over time the O'Neill has prospered; we've been able to expand its programs, create new ones and expand our gorgeous campus. The artists we've attracted to our campus are among the most important in American theater. We've survived the pandemic and continue to move forward under a new and vital administration. Chairing the O'Neill for all these years has been an honor and a truly unforgettable joy” said Viertel, who will remain a member of the board as a Chairman Emeritus after he passes the baton to his yet-to-be-named successor.

“I cannot fully express my gratitude for Tom's invaluable counsel, constant guidance, and dedication to the O'Neill”, said Tiffani Gavin, the O'Neill's Executive Director, who joined the organization amidst the pandemic in 2020. “Having joined the O'Neill when I did, at a time of great upheaval for the American Theater as a whole, Tom has been the steady hand at the tiller as we navigated these rocky waters together. We would not be here today without his leadership.”

Tom first came to the O'Neill in 1993 when his brother, Jack Viertel, was participating in the National Music Theater Conference with his musical Time and Again. Tom joined the board a year later, and is only the second person to serve as Chairman in the O'Neill's 60-year history, having succeeded the seminal new work development organization's founder, George C. White, upon his own retirement after 37 years at the helm.

The ensuing decades under Viertel's stewardship ushered in a renaissance of sorts for the O'Neill, with programs being added and/or expanded, such as the Theatermakers Summer

Intensive, a 6-week offshoot of the year round National Theater Institute; the revival of the immensely popular Cabaret & Performance Conference; and the expansion of the O'Neill's campus to include additional housing and amenities for students and artists alike.

This period also saw a number of acclaimed works pass through the O'Neill, including Avenue Q, by Robert Lopez, Jeff Marx, and Jeff Whitty; Gem of the Ocean - the last of 6 plays that August Wilson developed at the O'Neill; Lynn Nottage's Ruined, which she worked on while in Residency in 2005; Lin-Manuel Miranda's In the Heights; Violet, by Jeanine Tesori; and Slave Play, by Jeremy O. Harris, as well as numerous other works by writers such as Dominique Morrisseau, Samuel D. Hunter, Hansol Jung, Mike Lew, Celine Song, and Quiara Alegria Huedes, among many others.

During Viertel's tenure the O'Neill was also the recipient of not one but two major national awards: the Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theater (its second), and the Presidential Medal of the Arts, awarded by then President Barack Obama, in 2016.

Added Gavin, “Tom has given so much of his time, talent, and expertise to further the American Theater as a whole, and I can think of no better way to thank him for his decades of service to the O'Neill and the field than by presenting him with the Monte Cristo Award. He certainly deserves it.”

About the Monte Cristo Award:

The Monte Cristo Award is presented to a prominent individual each year in recognition of a distinguished career exemplifying Eugene O'Neill's “pioneering spirit, unceasing artistic commitment, and excellence,” and furthering the American theater.

Past recipients of the Award include actors Judith Light, Meryl Streep, Michael Douglas, Nathan Lane, Christopher Plummer, James Earl Jones, Jason Robards, Jr., Zoe Caldwell, Brian Dennehy, & Karl Malden; playwrights August Wilson, Wendy Wasserstein, Edward Albee, John Logan, Neil Simon, and Lynn Nottage; directors Harold Prince & George C. Wolfe; and Arthur & Barbara Gelb, O'Neill Founder George C. White, and multi-hyphenate Lin-Manuel Miranda.

The 2024 event honoring Viertel will take place at the Edison Ballroom on Monday, November 18, 2024.