Lois Smith to Be Honored at Ensemble Studio Theatre Benefit
(© David Gordon)
The Ensemble Studio Theatre will honor two of its most distinguished members, the acclaimed actress Lois Smith and two-time Board chair G.H. “Denny” Denniston, Jr with its 2012 Distinguished Member Award at a “Fun-Raiser” benefit celebration Monday evening, May 14, at 6:45pm at SIR Stage 37, 508 West 37th Street.
The evening will begin with a cocktail reception, followed by dinner. At 8:45pm, EST will celebrate its honorees during the “Lois and Denny Hour.” Inspired by The Johnny Carson Show, the show will be hosted by Peter Maloney, with his sidekick Tyrone played by Steve Boyer, the EST-V house band composed of EST member musicians, with special guests in attendance including Kathryn Erbe, Dominic Chianese, Jerry Zaks, Mary Stuart Masterson, Jeremy Davidson, John Guare, the cast of Amy Herzog’s After the Revolution, Jon Robin Baitz, David Rasche, Carolyn Cantor and others (list in formation/subject to change).
Smith’s first role on Broadway was as Melvyn Douglas’s teenage daughter in Time Out for Ginger. She was nominated for a Tony for her performances in The Grapes Of Wrath and Buried Child. In 2005 – 2006, the actress played Carrie Watts in Horton Foote’s The Trip To Bountiful at Signature Theatre, for which she received five awards: an Obie, Lucille Lortel, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle and the Kingsley-Evans Award. Most recently she was seen in After the Revolution by Amy Herzog and Tony Kushner’s The Illusion.
Denniston joined the board of The Ensemble Studio Theatre and six months later became its chairman for the next ten years. While he continued on the Board and to provide financial counsel, he became treasurer in 2004 and was again elected chairman in 2007, serving through this year.
