Sandy Duncan To Receive 'Sarah Siddons Society Award' at 70th Anniversary Benefit

The Sarah Siddons Society, celebrating its 70th anniversary year, will present its 2022 Award to three-time Tony Award nominee Sandy Duncan. The annual Award is presented to an individual who has achieved outstanding artistic achievement in theatre. Ms. Duncan will be honored at the Society's 2022 benefit on Monday, November 14 at 6 pm at The Watts Theatre at DePaul University, 2350 N. Racine Ave. in Chicago.

Following a reception, the evening's program will include musical selections from Ms. Duncan's most memorable shows (The King and I, The Boyfriend, The Canterbury Tales and, of course, Peter Pan) performed by some of Chicago's most talented theater stars under the music direction of Nick Sula. The program, hosted by NBC 5 Chicago's LeeAnn Trotter, also features a special video celebrating the Society's 70th anniversary and the induction of the Sarah Siddons Society 2022 Scholarship Recipients.

Single tickets and a variety of sponsorship opportunities are currently available here. All proceeds benefit the Sarah Siddons Society Scholarship Program, dedicated to funding scholarships for promising theater arts students at top Chicago area universities.

Sarah Siddons Society President Martin Balogh comments, "The Sarah Siddons Society, which is celebrating our 70th Anniversary this year, is very pleased to present our 2022 Award to Sandy Duncan. It's our honor to present Chicago's oldest and most prestigious theater award to someone whose incredibly varied theater presence is so deserving of this recognition."

The event is produced by Board Member and long-time Chicago event producer Denise McGowan Tracy.

About Sandy Duncan

Sandy Duncan was born and raised in Texas and made her theatrical debut in a summer production of The King and I in Dallas at the age of 12. After attending a year of college, she decided to move to New York and pursue a career in entertainment. Her New York stage career began at the New York City Center, where she appeared as Louise in Agnes DeMille's production of Carousel followed by The Music Man, Finian's Rainbow, The Sound of Music and Life With Father. She then went onto Off-Broadway productions, including Ceremony of Innocence, which earned her the Theater World Award & the first rock musical Your Own Thing. She finally got her big break in the Broadway musical Canterbury Tales, for which she received her first Tony Award nomination as Best Supporting Actress in a musical. Her second Tony Award nomination was for her starring role in the production of The Boyfriend, for which she received the New York Drama Desk Award and the Outer Critics Circle Award.

Ms. Duncan made her mark in television in her own comedy series, Funny Face, for which she earned an Emmy Award nomination. She received her second Emmy nomination for her performance in the critically acclaimed mini-series Roots, where she ranged from 20 to 70 years old. She made her Los Angeles stage debut in the Mark Taper Forum production of Vanities, for which she received an L.A. Drama Critics nomination.

She had two television specials of her own, Sandy in Disneyland and The Sandy Duncan Special. She also starred as Pinocchio with Danny Kaye, and has distinction of being the very first guest on the Muppet Show.

Ms. Duncan returned to Broadway in 1980 as Peter Pan. Her performance earned her a third Tony nomination as Best Actress in a musical. She went on to star at New York's Radio City Music Hall in Five, Six, Seven, Eight... Dance! with her husband, Don Correia. The Correis starred in Tommy Tune's Tony Award-winning musical My One And Only. Ms. Duncan, along with Tommy Tune, took that show on a national and international tour. Most recently, on Broadway, Ms. Duncan performed the lead role of Roxie in the hit musical Chicago.

Ms. Duncan made a return to television starring in The Hogan Family and the made-for-television movie, My Boyfriend's Back, and Miracle on I-880. In addition, she has guest starred on Law and Order, and recently completed work on the new Eric Shaeffer film Never Again.

Ms. Duncan's voice has played a part in the original My Little Pony, The Fox and The Hound, Rock-A-Doodle and Swan Lake.

Ms. Duncan has also tackled the home video market, as the mother in the original three Barney & The Backyard Gang films to her own exercise video, The Five Minute Workout.

Sandy also co-starred in the stage plays Love Letters, South Pacific, I Do! I Do, The Glass Menagerie, Driving Ms. Daisy and Gypsy. The Berkshire Theater Festival premiered the play Free Fall, which she both wrote and starred in. Ms. Duncan did a very successful National Tour of The King & I, playing the role of Anna and the highly acclaimed production of a new play entitled A Body Of Water at the famous Old Globe Theater in San Diego.

Ms. Duncan created a night club evening for Las Vegas. She and her husband performed that show for three years. Following Vegas, Sandy developed a new act Together with her husband Don Correia and Guy Stroman. They performed with symphony orchestras throughout North America. They were featured guest stars on the annual Boston Pops July 4th TV Special on A&E Network. The other orchestras they have performed with include the symphonies in Phoenix, Detroit, Dallas, Sarasota, Grand Rapids, Oklahoma Sinfonia, Portland, North Carolina, Baltimore, Columbus Ohio, Salt Lake City and the list goes on.

About Sarah Siddons Society

Since its inception, the mission of the Society has been to fund scholarships to promising theater arts students at top Chicago area universities including; The Theater Department, Columbia College; The Theatre School at DePaul University; Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University and Northwestern University School of Communications. For additional information, visit sarahsiddonssociety.org.

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