Tony Award-Winning Producer Larry Hirschhorn To Give Ithaca College Commencement Address

Four-time Tony Award-winning Broadway producer Larry Hirschhorn will deliver the main address at Ithaca College's 128th Commencement ceremony on Sunday, May 21.

Graduating senior Francesca Infante-Meehan will speak on behalf of the Class of 2023. The college will also recognize civil rights activist and award-winning filmmaker Loki Mulholland with an honorary degree at the ceremony, which is scheduled for 10 a.m. in Glazer Arena of the Athletics and Events Center.

"We look forward to celebrating the Class of 2023 and honoring our distinguished guests," said Ithaca College President La Jerne Terry Cornish. "As our graduates prepare to begin this next exciting chapter in their lives, I am sure that they will draw inspiration and encouragement from the experiences of our speakers."

Larry Hirschhorn
Larry Hirschhorn earned his BFA degree in acting from Ithaca College in 1980 and began his professional career on stage but switched to producing after getting his master's degree from New York University in educational theatre. He was the founder/artistic director of Melting Pot Theatre Company, which first brought "Miss Evers' Boys," "Woody Sez," and "Cobb" to New York City. He has since gone on to produce some of the most awarded plays and musicals on Broadway, Off-Broadway, on national tours, and in London.

Among Hirschhorn's credits are "Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike," with Sigourney Weaver and David Hyde Pierce; "The Elephant Man," with Bradley Cooper; "The Addams Family," with Nathan Lane and Bebe Neuwirth; and "Driving Miss Daisy," with James Earl Jones and Vanessa Redgrave.

Currently he is on the producing teams of "Hadestown," which won the 2019 Tony Award for Best Musical; and the revival of "The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window," starring Oscar Isaac and Rachel Brosnahan. His two productions currently in development include musical stage versions of the films "Benny & Joon" and "The Flamingo Kid." Additionally, he is the producer of the animated short film "A Cow in the Sky," featuring rap artist Aminé, which will have its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival in June.

Hirschhorn has stayed actively involved with Ithaca College's theatre program throughout his career. He co-chaired the fundraising drive for the 2009 renovation of Dillingham Center for the Performing Arts, where he also established a theatre library; regularly participates in field studies week in New York City, which sees IC students travel to the Big Apple to meet with theatre alumni; and endowed an annual scholarship for theatre majors.

He was honored by the Ithaca College Alumni Association in 2016 with the Professional Achievement Award, which recognizes alumni who have achieved national, regional, or local distinction in their professions; who acknowledge the importance of their Ithaca College education in reaching their career goals; and who have demonstrated long-standing loyalty to the college.

For more information on the 2023 Ithaca College Commencement, visit Ithaca.edu/commencement.

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