Carbonell Awards Reschedules Annual Ceremony in Honor of Jan McArt

Jeff Kiltie, board president of the Carbonell Awards, South Florida's Theatre & Arts Honors, today announced that the 45th annual awards ceremony has been rescheduled to Monday, November 7 at 7:30 pm at the Lauderhill Performing Arts Center at 3800 NW 11th Place, Lauderhill, FL 33311.

"The awards ceremony was moved up one week so it wouldn't conflict with the Celebration of Life for the much-loved actress and producer Jan McArt, who passed away early last year," says Kiltie. "Widely hailed as the 'First Lady of Florida's Musical Theater,' Jan's career ranged from opera, Broadway, concerts and TV before she established Jan McArt's Royal Palm Dinner Theatre and Jan's Rooftop Cabaret Theatre. Not only was she an early recipient of the Carbonell's prestigious George Abbott Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Arts, Jan received the Carbonell Best Actress Award for her performance in Nightclub Confidential, and her various productions garnered an astounding 278 different Carbonell Award nominations."

"My mom was so proud of her Carbonell Awards and nominations," said Jan McArt's daughter Deborah Lahr Lawlor. "I am beyond grateful for the generosity of spirit that moved the Carbonell Board of Directors to reschedule their awards date. We look forward to celebrating my mother's incredible journey together with her theatre family."

Jan McArt's Celebration of Life will be held at 7 pm on Monday, November 14, at the Keith C. and Elaine Johnson Wold Performing Arts Center at Lynn University, where she was Director of Theatre Arts Program Development and produced Libby Dodson's Live at Lynn Theatre Season, the Live at Lynn American Songbook series, the Mabel Mercer Foundation's Cabaret at Lincoln Center Comes to Live at Lynn series, Elaine's Annual Musical Treat, and Jan McArt's New Play Readings. For more information, email tickets@lynn.edu or call 561.237.9000.

"The Carbonell Awards ceremony on November 7 at the Lauderhill Performing Arts Center will be our first live, in-person event since April 2019," says Kiltie. "Everybody's favorite 'Theatre Prom' is back-and we're looking forward to a truly joyous celebration at our new and larger location so that more friends, fans, family members, and theater lovers can join us."

Several hundred actors, musicians, performers, writers, directors, technicians, producers, reviewers, designers, specialty artists, and diehard theater fans are expected to attend the glittery, entertainment-packed event that is South Florida's version of Broadway's Tony Awards. Fantel Music, the acclaimed South Florida producer of both live and virtual music and theater presentations, has been hired to produce the Carbonell Awards Ceremony this November, just as they did the virtual event in 2020.

At this year's entertainment-packed Carbonell Ceremony, awards will be presented in 20 competitive categories. A variety of Special Awards including The George Abbott Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Arts honoring an individual (or team) who has contributed significantly to the artistic and cultural development of the region, and the new Vinnette Carroll Award honoring an individual, theater or organization for significant achievement in advancing the cause of diversity, equality, and inclusion in South Florida theater, will also be presented.

At the awards ceremony on November 7, the Carbonells will present nominated musical theater performances from the recently completed theater season, as well as a preview snippet of live performances from current or upcoming productions.

The 2022 Jack Zink Scholarship winners, event sponsorship information, and how to purchase tickets to the Carbonell Awards Ceremony 2022 will be announced soon. The list of this season's Carbonell nominations and special award recipients will be announced at the conclusion of this season's evaluation period at the end of September.

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