Neil Simon to Receive NYC’s Handel Medallion on November 10

Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Neil Simon will receive the Handel Medallion, New York City’s highest award for achievement in the arts, at a special ceremony at the Apollo Theater on Monday, November 10.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg will be on hand for the ceremony, which will also honor numerous other organizations and individuals, including the Alliance of Resident Theatres, choreographer Arthur Aviles, and composer Galt MacDermot.

Vanessa Williams will host the event, which will feature live performances and special appearances by Statler & Waldorf of The Muppets, Matthew Broderick, Christine Baranski, Robert Klein, Tony Roberts, and the Broadway cast of Hair.

Simon has written more than 40 plays, including Barefoot in the Park, The Odd Couple, Chapter Two, Lost in Yonkers. His acclaimed “Eugene trilogy,” which consists of Brighton Beach Memoirs, Biloxi Blues, and Broadway Bound, is scheduled to be revived on Broadway in 2009. Additionally, he crafted the libretti for such musicals as Sweet Charity, Promises, Promises, and They’re Playing Our Song.