Norm Lewis, Kelli O'Hara, Sierra Boggess, Santino Fontana & More to Appear at 29TH OSCAR HAMMERSTEIN AWARD GALA

The York Theatre Company has announced the roster of performers for a concert celebration at the 29th Oscar Hammerstein Award Gala, which will honor musical theater legends Richard Maltby, Jr. & David Shire (Baby, Big, Starting Here, Starting Now, Closer Than Ever) with the 2021 Oscar Hammerstein Award for Lifetime Achievement in Musical Theater and Elisa Loti Stein with The York Theatre Company Founders' Award at the 29th Oscar Hammerstein Award Gala on Monday evening, November 1, 2021 at The Edison Ballroom (240 West 47th Street).

The 29th Oscar Hammerstein Award Gala concert celebration will feature live entertainment with special guest appearances by Loni Ackerman, George Lee Andrews, Sierra Boggess, Christian Borle, Kerry Butler, Liz Callaway, Margery Cohen, Jenn Colella, Josh Dela Cruz, George Dvorsky, Santino Fontana, Montego Glover, Adam Gopnik, Sydney James Harcourt, Eddie Korbich, Norm Lewis, Charlotte Maltby, Sally Mayes, Janet Metz, Christiane Noll, Kelli O'Hara, Sal Viviano, and John Weidman, with video appearances by Stephen Sondheim and Barbra Streisand, and more! (Cast subject to change.)

A cocktail reception at 6:00pm and an elegant seated dinner at 7:00pm is followed by a concert and award ceremony at 8:00 p.m. Guests with VIP tickets will have the opportunity to take photos with the honorees and enjoy other perks during the evening. Michael Unger (Artistic Director of Skylight Music Theatre in Milwaukee, and The York's former Associate Artistic Director) will direct the evening's celebration. York regular Deniz Cordell (York's Lolita, My Love) is the music director. For additional information, pricing and reservations, please visit https://yorktheatre.org/support/oscar-hammerstein or contact Director of Development Alana Graber at agraber@yorktheatre.org.

"This celebration of two favorite people-- of mine and The York's-was put on hold several times over the past year and a half," said James Morgan, Producing Artistic Director. "We're so excited that we can schedule it now in the beautiful venue for many of our OH Galas, The Edison Ballroom. We're delighted to share this spectacular evening with everyone and to witness this incredible line-up of performers as they honor one of the longest collaborations in musical theater history. That we are also honoring another wonderful friend, Elisa Loti Stein, with the York Theatre Founders' Award puts the icing on the cake. (All three honorees are members of The York's Honorary Board.) We hope you will join us!"

The 2021 Oscar Hammerstein Award Gala Committee include Riki Kane Larimer (Co-Chair), Joan Ross Sorkin (Co-Chair), Laurence Holzman, Jim Kierstead, W. David McCoy, James Morgan, Charlotte Rosenblatt, and Stuart Wilk. The 2021 Oscar Hammerstein Award Gala Producers include Merrie Davis, Jamie deRoy, Deborah Friedman, The Marta Heflin Foundation, Willette Klausner, Riki Kane Larimer, W. David McCoy, Carolyn Capstick Meehan, Joan T. Mischo, Jacqueline Parker, Charlotte Rosenblatt, Joan Ross Sorkin, Betty Cooper Wallerstein, and Claudia Zahn.

The Oscar Hammerstein Award is named in honor of the legendary lyricist and librettist who helped shape American musical theatre through his collaborations with a number of different composers and writers. His contributions to such landmark musicals as Show Boat, Oklahoma!, South Pacific, and Carousel are a legacy for all time. The award was created in 1988 by Janet Hayes Walker, Founding Artistic Director of The York Theatre Company, and is presented with the endorsement of the Hammerstein family and the Rodgers and Hammerstein Organization. Its purpose is to recognize significant lifetime achievement in musical theater and is presented at a gala evening held for The York Theatre Company.

Past recipients of the Oscar Hammerstein Award include Stephen Sondheim, Betty Comden & Adolph Green, Harold Prince, Cy Coleman, Charles Strouse, Arthur Laurents, Jerry Herman, Stephen Schwartz, Peter Stone, David Merrick, John Kander & Fred Ebb, Terrence McNally, Cameron Mackintosh, Carol Channing, Tony Walton, Joseph Stein, George S. Irving, Jerry Bock & Sheldon Harnick, Thomas Meehan, Barbara Cook, Paul Gemignani, Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, Angela Lansbury, Joel Grey, Tom Jones & Harvey Schmidt, Susan Stroman and most recently André De Shields.