Broadway Theaters to Dim Lights in Memory of Phyllis Newman

The Broadway community will commemorate the late performer, lyricist, and women's healthcare advocate Phyllis Newman by dimming the lights of the American Airlines, Broadhurst, Helen Hayes, Lunt-Fontanne, Lyric, New Amsterdam, Samuel J. Friedman, St. James, and Vivian Beaumont Theatres in New York for one minute on September 27 at exactly 7:45pm. Newman died on September 15 at the age of 86.

"Broadway has lost a force of nature who was as much a leading lady offstage as on," said Thomas Schumacher, chairman of the Broadway League, in a statement. "Beyond her indelible mark as an actor, it's impossible to overstate the extraordinary good that Phyllis Newman did over 30 years for our community through The Actors Fund and The Phyllis Newman Women's Initiative."

On Broadway, Newman's credits included Broadway Bound (1986), Awake and Sing! (1984), The Madwoman of Central Park West (1979), Subways Are for Sleeping (1961), Bells Are Ringing (1956), and Wish You Were Here (1952), among many others. Winner of the 1962 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her performance in Subways Are for Sleeping, she was also the very first recipient of the Isabelle Stevenson Tony Award in 2009, an honor that recognizes volunteerism by theater professionals.

A dedicated advocate and fundraiser for women's health, Newman founded the Phyllis Newman Women's Health Initiative, a program of the Actors Fund of America.