Colman Domingo and More to be Honored at New York Theatre Workshop 2026 Gala

New York Theatre Workshop's 2026 Gala will honor Academy Award nominee Colman Domingo, Tony Award-winning producer Mara Isaacs, and NAACP Image Award nominee Nicole Ari Parker. The Gala will be held on Monday March 2 at 6PM at Gotham Hall.

"Colman, Mara and Nicole each embody my favorite combination: rigor and love,” said NYTW Artistic Director Patricia McGregor. “These extraordinary multi-hyphenates are not only groundbreakers, they are also community builders. We cannot wait to honor these dear friends of NYTW with an evening of audacious elegance and joyous celebration."

“At a time of real challenge for the arts, NYTW is profoundly thankful for collaborators like Colman, Mara, and Nicole,” added NYTW Managing Director Maya Choldin. “Their generosity, partnership, and extraordinary talent remind us of the power of artists supporting one another and lifting the whole theatre community together.”

Colman Domingo

is an actor, writer, director, and producer. He has been nominated for two Academy Awards, as well as BAFTA, Tony, Critics Choice, and Independent Spirit Awards, among others, and recently received an Emmy nomination for his work in Netflix’s “The Four Seasons.” Previously, he won an Emmy for his acclaimed performance on HBO’s “Euphoria,” with season three premiering in spring 2026. He will next be seen in Steven Spielberg’s Disclosure Day, Antoine Fuqua’s Michael, and season two of "The Four Seasons.” On film, Domingo starred in and executive produced Sing Sing (dir. Greg Kwedar), earning Academy Award, Golden Globe, Critics Choice, and SAG nominations, and portrayed civil rights leader Bayard Rustin in Netflix and Higher Ground’s Rustin, for which he received Oscar, Golden Globe, BAFTA, and SAG nominations. His additional film credits include The Color Purple, Zola, If Beale Street Could Talk, Selma, and Candyman. With his husband Raúl Domingo, he produces under the banner Edith Productions, whose work includes the Pulitzer Prize–winning, Tony-nominated Fat Ham. A celebrated theater artist, he has originated roles on Broadway and the West End and is the author of several widely produced plays. He has been on the cover of TIME Magazine as a “Closer,” recognized for his work advancing racial equity, and was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world. In May 2025, he served as co-chair of the Met Gala, which raised a record $31 million for the Costume Institute.

Mara Isaacs

is a Tony and Grammy Award-winning creative producer, developing and producing new plays, musicals and multi-disciplinary work across the globe. Mara generates opportunity through the organizations and programs she creates: Octopus Theatricals, to produce an expansive body of work—from experimental to commercial; Octoverse Media, an independent record label and multi-media platform; Producer Hub, providing professional resources and community to producers and artists in the independent sector; and Arts Impact Collaborative, to tell compelling stories documenting the essential role the arts play in communities throughout the US. Selected highlights from over 200 productions: Hadestown (Broadway, West End, North American Tour; Best Musical Tony and Grammy); Gypsy with Audra McDonald (Broadway); Goddess (Public Theater, Berkeley Rep); (…Iphigenia), a new opera by Wayne Shorter and Esperanza Spalding (premiere and US tour); I Feel Myself to be Part of Something (documentary film anthology) and many more. Mara is currently an Entrepreneur in Residence with Yale’s Cultural Innovations Lab. She serves on the boards of Producer Hub, the Dramatists Legal Defense Fund, Almasi Arts Alliance and the Broadway League, and as a member of the American Theatre Wing Advisory Board. 

Nicole Ari Parker

is a seven-time NAACP Image Award® nominated actor, producer, and entrepreneur who most recently starred in the HBO Max series “And Just Like That,” the wildly successful reboot of the iconic comedy “Sex and The City.” She is best known as Teri Joseph on Showtime’s original series “Soul Food.” On the big screen, she starred opposite Denzel Washington in Remember the Titans, alongside Forest Whitaker in How It Ends, and in Brown Sugar with her husband Boris Kodjoe. Parker made her Broadway debut as Blanche DuBois in Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire opposite Blair Underwood. Parker starred in the Off-Broadway World Premiere of Nathan Alan Davis’ The Refuge Plays, earning Lucille Lortel and Drama League nominations. Parker and her husband founded the Kodjoe Family Foundation, a charitable organization to raise awareness for global health and wellness initiatives in multicultural communities. The Kodjoe Family Foundation helped launch the Center for Spina Bifida Prevention at Emory University. They founded Full Circle Africa which is changing the narrative on Africa through cultural and business convenings. They also launched their Love All Scholarships for elite young tennis players of color and will soon launch a new partnership to advance financial literacy for parents and teens.  

The evening’s program will be hosted by Tony Award winner J. Harrison Ghee (Saturday Church, Some Like It Hot) and directed by Kevin Cahoon (Shucked) and feature musical direction by Rick Hip-Flores (Bad Cinderella). The evening will be scripted by Thaddeus McCants (Julia). Patrick Tully will serve as auctioneer.