Photo Flash: Christine Ebersole, Sydney Lucas And More Attend The 2018 Samuel French Awards

The world's leading theatrical publishing and licensing company, Samuel French, honored writing team Lucy Simon & Marsha Norman), Doug Wright, and Antoinette Nwandu at the third annual Samuel French Awards. A special acknowledgement also went to Heidi Ettinger, originating producer and Tony Award-winning set designer of The Secret Garden. Created to recognize the great work and unparalleled passion of theatre artists, as well as applaud their significant contributions to the industry, the Samuel French Awards were presented in a private ceremony on Monday, October 29, 2018.

This year's event included performances by Christine Ebersole (War Paint, Grey Gardens), Sierra Boggess (School of Rock, The Phantom of the Opera) and Amber Iman (Shuffle Along..., Hamilton national tour), accompanied by Rob Berman (Encores!, The Secret Garden).

"In our nearly 190 years, Samuel French has maintained the tradition of celebrating artists and their work," said Nathan Collins, President of Samuel French. "We are proud to continue the Samuel French Awards for a third year by featuring a passionate slate of playwrights, composers, lyricists and advocates. Their work, both onstage and off, has certainly impacted and changed lives across the country and we are delighted to recognize their talents and roles in our community."

In addition to physical awards presented to all recipients, honorees of the Award for Sustained Excellence in American Theatre and the Award for Impact & Activism each select a theater or program to which Samuel French makes a donation on their behalf. The Secret Garden team has selected director Jenn Thompson and Goodspeed Musicals, and Wright has chosen the Dramatists Guild Legal Defense Fund. Previous Samuel French Award honorees include Ken Ludwig, Dominique Morisseau, Chris Miller & Nathan Tysen, Sarah Ruhl, Keith Josef Adkins, and Michael Kooman & Christopher Dimond.

Photo Credit: Ahron R. Foster