Theater News

Kathleen Chalfant and More Will Be Honored by League of Professional Theatre Women

Four other important contributors to the theater world will also receive awards at the annual gala.

Kathleen Chalfant will receive a lifetime achievement award from the League of Professional Theatre Women.
Kathleen Chalfant will receive a lifetime achievement award from the League of Professional Theatre Women.
(© David Gordon)

The League of Professional Theatre Women will recognize the talents of five outstanding women, Mary-Mitchell Campbell, Kathleen Chalfant, Sandra A. Daley-Sharif, Rachel Dickstein, and Donyale Werle, at their annual Awards Celebration and Big Mingle Reception, on March 16, at the Pershing Square Signature Center. Two-time Tony Award winner Katie Finneran (It's Only a Play) will serve as the auction celebrity chair, with Pat Addiss and Mari Lyn Henry as the cochairs.

Kathleen Chalfant, a Tony nominee and Drama Desk Award-winning actress, will be presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award by playwright and lyricist Sybille Pearson. Set designer Donyale Werle will be presented with the Ruth Morley Design Award by designer Anna Louizos. This year's LPTW Lucille Lortel award will be given to Rachel Dickstein, artistic director of Ripe Time, by playwright and actor Ellen McLaughlin. Theater artist Dael Orlandersmith will present Sandra A. Daley-Sharif, Obie Award winner for 48 Hours in Harlem, with the Josephine Abady Award.

In addition, the Lee Reynolds Award will be presented to Mary-Mitchell Campbell, one of Broadway’s top music directors and orchestrators, for the work she does with Artists Striving to End Poverty (ASTEP). The award, created in memory of producer and League member Lee Reynolds, is given annually to a woman or women active in any aspect of theater whose work "has helped to illuminate the possibilities for social, cultural or political change."

The League of Professional Theatre Women is a not-for-profit organization committed to promoting visibility and increasing opportunities for women in the professional theater.