Lincoln Center Theater Dedicates 2025–2026 LCT3 Season To Longtime Board Member Leonard Tow
Season to include The Comedy Series, Night Side Songs, A Woman Among Women, and The Reading Series.
By: A.A. Cristi Sep. 25, 2025
Lincoln Center Theater has announced that the 2025–2026 LCT3 season will be dedicated to longtime board member Leonard Tow, whose leadership, generosity, and vision helped shape the institution. Tow joined the board in 2001 and served for nearly 25 years, ultimately holding the title of Vice Chair Emeritus. He passed away peacefully at the age of 97 on August 10, 2025.
Tow was both a committed board member and a passionate theatregoer, attending nearly every show produced at Lincoln Center Theater. He was a strong advocate for new plays and emerging playwrights, and through his philanthropy and broad involvement across fields outside the arts, he brought valuable perspective to the theater’s mission.
LCT Board Chair Kewsong Lee said, “Len was a committed theater-lover, deeply generous supporter, and smart advocate for the new work that was developed at Lincoln Center Theater, particularly under the LCT3 umbrella. We believe Len had the best attendance record for any of the shows at LCT. This dedication is a celebration of his life and his love for our theater. We salute and honor Len, his family, and all those at The Tow Foundation who carry Len and Claire’s work forward. Our home is their home.”
Artistic Director Lear deBessonet added: “How incredibly fortunate we are to have had our friend Len Tow in our orbit. His lifelong passion for the theater led him to become one of the greatest champions of our art and artists. I had the great honor of knowing Len personally for over a decade, and I will forever be grateful for the support and kindness he showed me time and again. He truly understood an artist’s process, which made him an invaluable partner in helping make visions come to life. Len believed that making theater was an act of service, and his influence can be seen in generations of artists and audiences. We will miss him so very much.”
Tow’s philanthropy was instrumental in opening The Claire Tow Theater in 2012, named in honor of his late wife Claire Tow, herself a devoted supporter of the arts.
LCT3 Artistic Director and Producer Maria Manuela Goyanes remarked, “One cannot overestimate the sheer impact Len Tow has had on the landscape of the American Theater, and especially on LCT. He understood that great theatre needs to take many shapes and sizes to flourish, including the 112-seat intimate jewel that is the Claire Tow Theater. His belief in opportunities for new artists and new audiences guides us every day.”
2025–2026 LCT3 Season
The Claire Tow Theater’s upcoming season will feature The Comedy Series, showcasing a roster of comedians in residence beginning October 29 with Emmy-winning comedian and actor Vir Das. The lineup also includes Night Side Songs by The Lazours, directed by Lortel and Obie Award winner Taibi Magar; A Woman Among Women by Julia May Jonas, directed by Sarah Cameron Hughes in partnership with The Bushwick Starr and New Georges; and The Reading Series, which will highlight the voices of playwrights new to LCT through public readings presented throughout the year. Additional artists and dates for The Comedy Series and The Reading Series will be announced at a later time.
The Claire Tow Theater and LCT3 programming focus on emerging artists, with the goal of building long-term relationships that extend across all Lincoln Center Theater stages in the future.
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