Laura Benanti to Perform at Arena Stage Gala Honoring Eleanor Holmes Norton and Deborah F. Rutter

Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater revealed the honorees of its Annual Gala. Gala Co-chairs Susan E. Carter and R. Lucia Riddle will honor Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton and Former President of The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Deborah F. Rutter as the respective recipients of this year’s Beth Newburger Schwartz and American Voice Awards. The one-night-only celebration will be held on Monday, April 28, 2025. 
 
“We are thrilled to chair the Arena Stage Gala to help support the theater’s world-class productions and community outreach,” shared Carter and Riddle. “We look forward to welcoming guests to a joyful evening of great food, stellar performances, and conviviality.”
 
Named for its first recipient, the Beth Newburger Schwartz Award celebrates a female leader who betters the community in which she lives and works, through her own unique strengths and talents.
 
Norton has represented and championed the residents of the District of Columbia since 1991. Before joining Congress, she served as the first female chair of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission as appointed by President Jimmy Carter. Her work to secure Federal buildings, her service as chair of the House Subcommittee on Highways and Transit, and as a member of the Committees on Oversight and Reform Transportation and Infrastructure have brought significant economic development to the District. As a prominent national figure, feminist, civil rights leader, tenured law professor, and board member to three Fortune 500 companies, she has been recognized as one of America’s most influential women and one of Washington's most powerful.
 
Past receipts of the Beth Newburger Schwartz Award include Arlene Kogod, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser, Nina Totenberg, Ambassador Melanne Verveer, Arena Stage Artistic Director Emerita Molly Smith, and the Honorable Marcia L. Fudge.
 
Established in 2005, the American Voice Award recognizes leaders for their extraordinary support and advocacy of American arts and arts education.
 
As the first woman to lead The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Rutter oversaw programming across all genres, as well as a global network of education initiatives. In 2019, she opened REACH, the first expansion of the Center’s campus designed to bring audiences into the artistic process, setting the stage for dynamic growth. She expanded the Kennedy Center’s programming to fully represent the diversity of art in America and introduced social impact and wellness programs across communities. Before her tenure at the Kennedy Center, Rutter held executive leadership roles with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association, the Seattle Symphony, the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Rutter sits on the board of Vital Voices, is a member of the board of directors of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and served as co-chair of its Commission on the Arts.
 
Past American Voice Award recipients include Representative Judy Chu (D-CA), Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), the late Representative John Lewis (D-GA), Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), and Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, among others.
 
The evening will feature a cocktail reception, a seated dinner, an unforgettable musical performance from Tony Award winner Laura Benanti (Gypsy), and the presentation of awards on Arena Stage’s in-the-round Fichandler Stage with Felicia Curry as Master of Ceremonies.