Steve Martin Will Be Honored at Drama League's 'MUSICAL CELEBRATION OF BROADWAY' Gala

The Drama League has announced that Steve Martin has been named as the 2017 Honoree for the organization's 34th Annual Benefit Gala: A Musical Celebration of Broadway.

The black-tie evening honoring Martin - whose prolific body of work has earned him an Academy Award, five Grammy awards, an Emmy, the Mark Twain Award, and the Kennedy Center Honors - will take place on Monday, November 6, 2017, beginning at 6:30 p.m. in New York City at the The Plaza (768 Fifth Avenue).

"The Drama League is delighted to be honoring Steve Martin and the unique perspectives and voice that he brings to the American theater," says Stelian-Shanks. "As our organization moves forward with its second century of nurturing the development of emerging theater artists, it is fitting that we honor someone whose work embodies the vast and thrilling possibilities that theater offers - throughout his career Steve has consistently challenged, redefined, and enriched artistic communities across the country and he continues to transcend the lines between genre and media. We are excited for this opportunity to gather the theater community together to celebrate Steve, particularly in anticipation of the Broadway premiere of his new play coming up this fall."

Celebrating MR. Martin's career in theater, music, film and television, including this season's Broadway production of his new play Meteor Shower, the gala will feature a one-night-only musical tribute in MR. Martin's honor, with performances by stars of both stage and screen.

Past performers at The Drama League's Benefit Gala have included Liza Minnelli, Neil Patrick Harris, Stephen Colbert, Harry Connick, Jr., Audra McDonald, Patti LuPone, Kristin Chenoweth, Angela Lansbury, Tony Bennett, Nick Jonas, and casts of Broadway's hottest musicals. The cast and creative team for the 2017 Benefit Gala will be announced in the coming weeks.

For information about tickets, which include VIP and Ballroom Tables and individual seats, call (212) 244-9494, Ext. 101 or visit www.dramaleague.org.

The Gala Chair is Joseph Pizza; the Vice Chairs are Anna May Feige, Kathy Henderson, and Stan Ponte; and the Gala Committee includes Bonnie Comley, Leslie Feldman,Janet Kagan, and The Lee Shull Foundation for the Arts. The Drama League Benefit Gala Sponsors are Delta Air Lines, the Official Air Line of The Drama League and M.A.C. Cosmetics, the Official Make-up Partner of The Drama League.

The Drama League Benefit Gala raises funds to support the organization's programming and educational initiatives, including The Drama League Directors Project. This award-winning initiative, which began in 1984 and whose alumni now number over 300, has been instrumental in launching the careers of many acclaimed theater directors including TonyAward winners Rebecca Taichman (Time and The Conways), Christopher Ashley (Come From Away), Sam Gold (Fun Home), Diane Paulus (Waitress), Pam MacKinnon (The Parisian Woman), Michael Mayer (Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Burn This), and John Rando (Getting' The Band Back Together); Tony Award nominees Mark Brokaw (Heisenberg), Rachel Chavkin (Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812), Moritz von Steulpnagel (Present Laughter) and Alex Timbers (Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson); as well as OBIE and Emmy Award winners Lear deBessonet, R.J. Cutler, Anne Kaufmann (Marvin's Room), and Lila Neugebauer (The Wolves), to name a few. 'Drama League Directors' have been honored with Tony, Emmy, Grammy, Obie, Peabody, Drama Desk, GLAAD, Drama League, New York Drama Critics Circle, Outer Critics, Evening Standard, Lucille Lortel, Bessie, Princess Grace, Garland, Drama-Logue, Barrymore, Helen Hayes, Elliot Norton, and Joseph Jefferson Awards, and have directed films and plays that received Academy Award nominations and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

The Drama League of New York, since 1916, has been at the forefront of the American theater community, with initiatives to promote artistic development and audience engagement. It is one of the nation's oldest continuously-operating, not-for-profit arts advocacy and education organizations. Through its programming, The Drama League serves over 3,000 artists and 15,000 audience members each season with over 150 events and programs. More information can be found at www.dramaleague.org.

For additional information about The Drama League and upcoming events, call (212) 244-9494, or e-mail info@dramaleague.org, or visit the website at www.dramaleague.org.

Steve Martin is one of the most well-known and pervasive talents in entertainment and one of the most diversified performers in the industry today, a successful author, playwright, producer, actor, screenwriter, and comedian for more than three decades. His work has earned him an Academy Award, five Grammy Awards (two for comedy, three for music), the Mark Twain Award, and the Kennedy Center Honors. Martin's films are widely popular successes, such as The Jerk (1979, also screenplay); Planes, Trains, & Automobiles (1987); Roxanne (1987, also screenplay); Parenthood (1989); L.A. Story (1991, also screenplay); Father of the Bride (1991); and Bowfinger (1999, also screenplay). As an author, Martin's work includes the plays Picasso at the Lapin Agile and The Underpants; the best-selling novella, Shopgirl; and his memoir, Born Standing Up. Steve Martin is also an accomplished Grammy Award-winning, boundary-pushing bluegrass banjoist and composer. In 2013, Martin released his third full-length album, Love Has Come For You, a unique collaboration with songwriter Edie Brickell. Love Has Come For You won a Grammy for "Best American Roots Song" for the title track and inspired their musical Bright Star, which opened on Broadway in March 2016 and received five Tony Award nominations and seven Drama Desk Award nominations, winning for Outstanding Music. Bright Staralso won Outstanding New Broadway Musical and Outstanding New Score at the Outer Critics Circle Awards. Martin and Brickell's second album together, So Familiar, was released on Rounder Records and featured 12 new songs that brought the duo's musical collaboration into fresh creative territory. Steve Martin and The Steep Canyon Rangers will release their newest collaboration The Long-Awaited Album on Rounder Records on September 22, 2017.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride