Photo Coverage: New Dramatists Honor Brian Stokes Mitchell at Spring Gala!
By: Walter McBride May. 15, 2015
New Dramatists, Tony Honor recipient and the nation's premier playwright development laboratory, just honored Tony Award winning actor and Chairman of the Board of The Actors Fund, Brian Stokes Mitchell with their 2015 Distinguished Achievement Award at its 66th Annual Spring Luncheon tribute. The event featured musical performances from some of Mitchell's most memorable shows by Tony Award winner Leslie Uggams (King Hedley II, Hallelujah Baby), Nicolette Robinson (Brooklynite, TV's "The Affair," "Hart of Dixie") and Leslie Odom, Jr. (Hamilton, NBC's "Smash"), and Tony nominated Stephanie D'Abruzzo (Avenue Q, Carnival at City Center Encores!). BroadwayWorld brings you photos from inside the event below!
Each year, New Dramatists salutes an individual who has made an outstanding artistic contribution to the theatre community. Past luncheon honorees have included Susan Stroman, Seth Gelblum, Bernadette Peters, Roger Berlind,Julie Taymor, Horton Foote, Edward Albee, Harvey Fierstein, Chita Rivera, Meryl Streep, Angela Lansbury, Julie Andrews, Glenn Close, Stephen Sondheim, Arthur Miller, Neil Simon, Jerry Herman, Terrence McNally, Barbara Cook, John Kander & Fred Ebb, August Wilson, and Gwen Verdon.
Brian Stokes Mitchell has enjoyed a rich and varied career on Broadway, television and film, along with appearances in the great American concert halls. His musical versatility has kept him in demand by some of the country's finest conductors and orchestras. He has performed selections from Porgy and Bess with Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony at Carnegie Hall; works by Aaron Copland and various contemporary composers at the Hollywood Bowl with the L.A. Philharmonic under the batons of Leonard and John Mauceri; Broadway tunes atCarnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center in Washington DC under the baton of the late Marvin Hamlisch (most recently at the National Symphony Orchestra's 75th season Pops concert debut), and jazz and standards with Maestro John Williams at Disney Hall and with the Boston Pops. He debuted Pulitzer prize-winning composer David Del Tredici's Rip Van Winkle with the National Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Leonard Slatkin. He has been invited to the White House and has performed for Presidents Carter, Clinton and Obama. His Broadway career includes performances in Man of La Mancha (Tony nomination and Helen Hayes Award); Kiss Me, Kate (Tony, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards); Ragtime (Tony nomination); August Wilson's King Hedley II (Tony nomination); Kiss of the Spider Woman; Jelly's Last Jam; David Merrick's Oh, Kay! and Mail, which earned him a Theatre World Award for outstanding Broadway debut; and Lincoln Center Theatre's production of Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown. He is in his 10th term as Chairman of the Board of The Actors Fund.
Photo Credit: Walter McBride
The 66th Annual New Dramatists Luncheon honors Brian Stokes Mitchell at The New York Marriott Marquis on May 14, 2015 in New York City.
Brian Stokes Mitchell and Allyson Tucker
Brian Stokes Mitchell and Allyson Tucker
Lora Lee Gayer
Lora Lee Gayer
Robert Schenkkan and Sarah Schenkkan
Kelli O'Hara, Brian Stokes Mitchell and Allyson Tucker
Karey Kirkpatrick, Wayne Kirkpatrick, John O'Farrell and Kevin McCollum
Brooks Ashmanskas, Karey Kirkpatrick, Wayne Kirkpatrick, Kate Reinders, Brad Oscar, Brian d'Arcy James, Heidi Blickenstaff, John O'Farrell, John Cariani and Kevin McCollum
Brian d'Arcy James and John Cariani
Brian d'Arcy James and John Cariani
Brad Oscar and Brooks Ashmanskas
Kate Reinder and Heidi Blickenstaff
Kate Reinder and Heidi Blickenstaff
Kate Reinders and Heidi Blickenstaff
Lydia Leonard and Matthew Beard
Lydia Leonard and Matthew Beard
Laura Michelle Kelly and Teal Wicks
Laura Michelle Kelly and Teal Wicks
Christopher Wheeldon, Leanne Cope and Robert Fairchild
Stuart Oken, Robert Fairchild, Christopher Wheeldon, Brandon Uranowitz, Leanne Cope, Jill Paice, Max von Essen, Veanne Cox
Stuart Oken, Robert Fairchild, Christopher Wheeldon, Brandon Uranowitz, Leanne Cope, Jill Paice, Max von Essen, Veanne Cox
The cast and creative team of 'On The Town'
Beth Malone,, Judy Kuhn, Sydney Lucas, Roberta Colindrez, Joel Perez, Emily Skeggs and Michael Cerveris
The cast and creative team from 'Fun Home'
Tonya Pinkins and Leslie Uggams
Tonya Pinkins and Leslie Uggams
Leslie Uggams
Tonya Pinkins
Tracee Chimo
Nathaniel Parker
Stephanie D'Abruzzo
Stephanie D'Abruzzo
Lucy Simon
Lucy Simon
Jill Paice
Jill Paice
Brandon Uranowitz
Brandon Uranowitz
Robert Fairchild
Robert Fairchild
Leanne Cope
Leanne Cope
Christopher Wheeldon, Leanne Cope and Robert Fairchild
Christopher Wheeldon
Leslie Odom Jr. and Nicolette Robinson
Leslie Odom Jr. and Nicolette Robinson
Leslie Odom Jr. and Nicolette Robinson
Robert Askins
Robert Askins and Kevin McCollum
Marc Kudisch, Sarah Stiles, Michael Oberhotlzer, Robert Askins and Geneva Carr
Marc Kudisch, Sarah Stiles, Michael Oberhotlzer, Robert Askins and Geneva Carr
Marc Kudisch, Sarah Stiles, Michael Oberhotlzer and Geneva Carr
Robert Askins
Michael Oberhotlzer
Ruthie Ann Miles
Ruthie Ann Miles
The cast of 'Our Town'
Victoria Clark
Victoria Clark
Paul Nolan and Kelli Barrett
Paul Nolan and Kelli Barrett
Paul Nolan and Kelli Barrett
Kelli Barrett
Paul Nolan
Marin Ireland
Marin Ireland
Rob McClure
Rob McClure
Geneva Carr
Judith Light
Judith Light
Judith Light
Andre de Shields
Charles Randolph Wright
Charles Randolph Wright and Andre de Shields
Joel Grey
Sarah Stiles
Sarah Stiles
Sarah Stiles
John Rando
David Hyde Pierce
Barbara Anselmi and David Hyde Pierce
Daphne Rubin-Vega
Daphne Rubin-Vega
The 66th Annual New Dramatists Luncheon
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