Ted Chapin to Become Chairman of the Board of the ATW

The American Theater Wing has elected Ted Chapin to be Chairman of the Board of Directors.

Chapin is president and executive director of the Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization, which manages rights to the Rodgers & Hammerstein estate.  Chapin has been an ATW board member since 1996, previously serving as secretary and VP. He also is a member of the Tony Administration Committee.

According to Variety, Chapin will take over the dual responsibilities of chairman Sondra Gilman and president Doug Leeds, both of whom are stepping down after completing their terms.

ATW also announced the appointment of four new board members: actress Kate Burton; James Higgins, chief administrative officer of New Vernon Capital Group; Omnicom Group exec VP Bruce Redditt; and Pfizer senior VP-chief communications officer Sally Susman. Current board exec director Howard Sherman has been reupped through June 2001.

Dedicated to celebrating excellence and supporting education in the theatre, The American Theatre Wing has been an integral and influential part of the theatrical community for the better part of seven decades. Adapting its activities for each successive theatrical generation, ATW focuses today on programs and activities which help students, audiences and members of the theatrical community itself to learn more about what makes theatre tick from the people who make it so vital.

Best known for its creation and operation of The Antoinette Perry "Tony" Awards, in partnership with The Broadway League, ATW has created a national platform for the recognition of theatrical achievement on Broadway. Yet ATW's reach extends beyond Broadway and beyond New York, with educational and media work that offers the very best in theatre to people around the world.