Theatre Museum Awards To Be Presented at Hudson Theatre

The Theatre Museum’s 2006 Awards for Excellence will be presented at a ceremony slated for Monday, October 16 at the Hudson Theatre in the Millennium Broadway Hotel (45 West 44th Street).

This year’s honorees for theatre history preservation are Fred Papert, president and founder of the 42nd Street Development Corporation, for his role in restoring 42nd Street theatres; and the Manhattan Theatre Club, executive producer Barry Grove and artistic director Lynne Meadow, for restoring the Biltmore Theater. The honorees for theatre arts education are Lundeana M. Thomas, Ph.D., for developing the African American Theatre Program at the University of Louisville; and The Drama League Directors Project for a unique program that nurtures new directors.

Still in the planning stages, The Theatre Museum is New York’s first and only chartered, non-profit museum dedicated to the history of theater. The vision for the museum includes a permanent, world-class exhibition space featuring interactive exhibits showcasing the past, present, and future of theatre here and abroad.

Proceeds from the October 16 awards ceremony will support the planning, development, and implementation of such Theatre Museum projects as “The Social Life of Colonial America” (working title) at Federal Hall in Manhattan this fall; “Times Square Theatres: A New Century / A New Style,” to be presented in collaboration with the Municipal Arts Society in winter 2007; “Showboat Round the Bend!”, to be presented in collaboration with the Waterfront Museum in Red Hook, Brooklyn in summer 2007; “Starboard to Stardust,” date and location to be announced; and Photographic Histories from Broadway Archives, an initiative in which 35,000 photos from InTheatre magazine are being catalogued for upcoming exhibits.

The awards ceremony will begin at 6pm; it will include cocktails, a dinner buffet, and performances by Broadway artists yet to be announced. Individual tickets are priced at $250, with patron and benefactor packages available at $4,000 and $7,000. For further information or to purchase tickets, phone 212-764-4112, ext. 203.