PHOTO FLASH: Blythe Danner, Katie Finneran, Julie Halston, Sam Waterston, Karen Ziemba et al. at TACT Gala

Sam Waterston was honored at the TACT/The Actor’s Company Theatre spring gala, held at the Edison Ballroom on Monday, May 3. TACT co-artistic director and company member Simon Jones served as master of ceremonies.

James Cunningham served as musical director, and the evening was directed by TACT’s co-artistic director Scott Alan Evans. The company’s third co-artistic director Cynthia Harris, was also in attendance.

Broadway veterans Katie Finneran, Alison Fraser, Julie Halston, Lee Roy Reams, and Karen Ziemba performed, as did TACT company members Francesca Di Mauro, Todd Gearhart, Jack Koenig, Ron McClary, Margaret Nichols ,and Scott Schafer. Among the attendees at the gala were F. Murray Abraham, Blythe Danner, George S. Irving, Stephen Kunken, Judith Light, and David Staller.

Waterston received three Emmy nominations for his work on Law & Order, and won for hosting Lost Civilizations. He received a Best Actor Oscar nomination for The Killing Fields and a Tony Award nomination for Abe Lincoln in Illinois. At the gala, TACT bestowed on him the coveted Order of the TACT Empire (OTE) naming him “Sir Sam.”

TACT is dedicated to presenting neglected or rarely produced plays of literary merit, with a focus on creating theatre from its essence: the text and the actor’s ability to bring it to life.

For more information, visit www.tactnyc.org.