Roundabout Will Honor John Lithgow at 2019 Gala

Roundabout Theatre Company has announced that its annual 2019 Gala will celebrate two-time Tony and six-time Emmy Award winner John Lithgow with The Jason Robards Award for Excellence in Theatre on Monday, February 25, 2019.

Last season, John Lithgow delighted Roundabout audiences with his critically acclaimed play John Lithgow: Stories By Heart. John made his Broadway debut and earned his first Tony Award in the 1973 production of The Changing Room and since then, has performed continuously on stages across the globe. A six-time Emmy Award winner, Lithgow is best known for his television roles in "3rd Rock from the Sun," "Dexter" and "The Crown."

The Jason Robards Award for Excellence in Theatre is named after the late Jason Robards for his longstanding relationship with Roundabout and memorable body of stage work. It is given to those who have made an indelible impact on both Roundabout and the theatre world.

Roundabout Theatre Company's 2019 Gala will begin at 7:00PM with the Robards Award presentation along with dinner and a live auction, followed by a special musical performance.

Co-Chairs, artists and the creative team will be announced shortly.

John Lithgow's roots are in the theater. In 1973, he won a Tony Award three weeks after his Broadway debut, in David Storey's "The Changing Room." Since then he has appeared on Broadway over twenty times, earning five more Tony nominations, another Tony, four Drama Desk Awards, and induction into the Theatre Hall of Fame.

His other Broadway performances have included major roles in "My Fat Friend," "Trelawney of the 'Wells,'" "Comedians," "Anna Christie," "Bedroom Farce," "Beyond Therapy," "M. Butterfly," "The Front Page," "Retreat from Moscow," "All My Sons," "The Columnist," and the musicals "Sweet Smell of Success" (his second Tony), and "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels." More recently he has appeared in the title role of King Lear for The Public's Shakespeare in the Park, in Edward Albee's "A Delicate Balance," and in his own "Stories by Heart" at the Roundabout.

A familiar face in England, he has played Malvolio in "Twelfth Night" for the Royal Shakespeare Company and the title role in Arthur Wing Pinero's "The Magistrate" at The National Theatre. In the early 1980's, Lithgow began to make a major mark in film. At that time, he was nominated for Oscars in back-to-back years, for "The World According to Garp" and "Terms of Endearment."

In the years before and after, he has appeared in over fifty films. Notable among them have been "Twilight Zone: The Movie," "Footloose," "Buckaroo Banzai," "Cliffhanger," "Shrek," "Rise of the Planet of the Apes," "This is 40," "Interstellar," "Love is Strange," "Beatriz at Dinner," "Daddy's Home 2," and "Pitch Perfect 3." For his work on television, Lithgow has won six Emmys (out of 12 nominations), 3 SAG Awards, and two Golden Globes, notably for "3rd Rock from the Sun," "Dexter," and the role of Winston Churchill on "The Crown." When 3rd Rock" went off the air in 2001, he was given a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Since 1998 Lithgow has written nine New York Times best-selling picture books for children, most recently "Never Play Music Right Next to the Zoo." He has performed concerts for children with a dozen American orchestras and has released three kids' albums, "Singin' in the Bathtub," "Farkle & Friends," and the Grammy-nominated "The Sunny Side of the Street." Lithgow has been honored with the New Victory Theater Arts Award for his work "bringing kids to the arts and the arts to the kids." In 2011, HarperCollins published Lithgow's acclaimed memoir, "Drama: An Actor's Education," presenting his life and career up to the age of 35.

John Lithgow was born in Rochester, New York, but grew up in Ohio and Massachusetts. He graduated from high school in Princeton, New Jersey, attended Harvard College, and studied at the London Academy of Music & Dramatic Art on a Fulbright Grant. Lithgow has been honored with the Fulbright Lifetime Achievement Medal, induction into The American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Harvard. On that last occasion, he became the first actor to ever deliver Harvard's Commencement Address. Lithgow has three grown children, two grandchildren, and lives in Los Angeles and New York. He has been married for over thirty years to Mary Yeager, a Professor of Economic and Business History at UCLA.

Gala Tickets range from $2,500 - $10,000 and include seating for the dinner and performance, and an invitation to the private cocktail party with Roundabout artists starting at $3,500. Gala Tables start at $25,000 and include an invitation to the private cocktail party and a table of ten for dinner and the performance.

To purchase tickets or a table to Roundabout's 2019 Gala, contact: Natalie Rohr, 212-719-9393 x369 or natalier@roundabouttheatre.org

For more information: www.roudabouttheatre.org/gala

All proceeds from the 2019 Gala benefit Roundabout Theatre Company's many programs including Education at Roundabout. There will also be an online auction in the two weeks leading up to the 2019 Gala.

Photo Credit: Linda Lenzi