Jerry Herman, Bill T. Jones, Paul McCartney, Oprah Winfrey, Merle Haggard to Receive Kennedy Center Honors

Jerry Herman, Bill T. Jones, Paul McCartney, Oprah Winfrey, and Merle Haggard have been named the recipients of the 2010 Kennedy Center Honors, and will be celebrated at a gala on Sunday, December 5. The gala will subsequently be broadcast on CBS on December 28. The hosts and performers will be announced at a later date.

The Kennedy Center Honors medallions will be presented on Saturday, December 4 at a State Department dinner hosted by Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton. President and Mrs. Obama will attend the December 5 gala.

Herman is the composer and lyricist of numerous Broadway musicals, and won Tony Awards for his music and lyrics to La Cage Aux Folles and Hello Dolly!, with an additional 2009 Tony for Lifetime Achievement.

Jones received the 2010 Tony Award for his choreography for Fela!, which he also directed, and an additional Tony for his choreography for Spring Awakening. He is also a pioneer in the world of modern dance.

McCartney is one of the founding members of the Beatles and one of the world’s most successful singer-songwriters; Winfrey produced the Broadway production of The Color Purple on Broadway and is well known as a television host and actress; and Haggard is an award-winning country singer and songwriter.

For more information, visit www.kennedy-center.org.