Photo credit: Dave Krysl
The 2020 “Mr. Abbott” Award Gala Has Been Postponed
To protect the health and safety of our artists and supporters, we have decided to postpone the “Mr. Abbott” Award Gala honoring Joe Mantello, scheduled for March 30th, 2020.
We will reschedule the event as soon as we can to give Joe Mantello the celebration he so richly deserves. We can’t wait, and we hope we’ll see you there.
Please reach out to Dani Barlow at dbarlow@sdcfoundation.org with any questions.
Click here to make a donation to the 2020 “Mr. Abbott” Award Gala.
Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation (SDCF), the not-for-profit foundation of Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC), today announced that acclaimed Director Joe Mantello will be honored with the “Mr. Abbott” Award, given to a Broadway Director or Choreographer for a lifetime of outstanding contributions. The Award will be presented at the Foundation’s annual gala event, to be hosted by Mario Cantone, on March 30, 2020 at Current in New York City. Chairing the “Mr. Abbott” Award Committee are AT&T’s Warner Media Chairman of Entertainment Robert Greenblatt; Screenwriter, Director, and Producer Ryan Murphy; Broadway Producer Scott Rudin; and SDC Executive Board Members Mark Brokaw, Rachel Chavkin, and Anne Kauffman. Proceeds from the gala benefit the programs of SDCF.
“Joe’s valuable artistry, wide range, and unceasing desire to achieve the very best in his work, and to bring out the best in his collaborators, all richly recommend him for this great honor,” stated SDCF President Sheldon Epps. “These wonderful qualities well represent both the Union and the Foundation and make it not just fitting but indeed necessary to designate him for this prestigious award. It is truly our great honor to honor Joe in this way, and to place him at the center of our annual celebration of our craft, our Membership, and our field.”
The “Mr. Abbott” Award, presented by SDCF on behalf of directors and choreographers to one of their peers, is named in honor of the late renowned director George Abbott. Joy Abbott, the widow of George Abbott, is delighted with this year’s selection of Joe Mantello. “I’m a fan of Joe’s work and see the amazing impact he has made on Broadway. Joe is a theatre artist in the mold of Mr. Abbott, who had so many talents, directing and writing, among others. I know George would be pleased, as am I, that Joe is being honored with the ‘Mr. Abbott’ Award.”
Past recipients represent the best of the profession and include Michael Bennett, Arvin Brown, Vinnette Carroll, Graciela Daniele, Gordon Davidson, Agnes de Mille, Zelda Fichandler, Cy Feuer, Bob Fosse, Peter Gennaro, Garson Kanin, James Lapine, Kenny Leon, Gillian Lynne, Kathleen & Rob Marshall, Marshall W. Mason, Lynne Meadow, Jerry Mitchell, Mike Nichols, Trevor Nunn, Jack O’Brien, Harold Prince, Lloyd Richards, Donald Saddler, Gene Saks, Andrei Serban, Susan Stroman, Daniel Sullivan, Julie Taymor, Tommy Tune, George C. Wolfe, Jerry Zaks, and last year’s recipient of the first-ever Special “Mr. Abbott” Award, Victoria Traube.
About Joe Mantello
A two-time Tony®-winning director and Tony®- and Emmy®-nominated actor, Joe Mantello’s outstanding theatre career has significantly influenced the theatrical community both nationally and internationally.
His Broadway musical directorial debut Wicked, starring Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth, recently celebrated 15 years on Broadway and is the sixth-longest running show on Broadway. The original production won three Tony® Awards, six Drama Desk® Awards, and its original cast album received a Grammy® Award. Wicked has been seen by over 55 million people worldwide and has been performed in over 100 cities in 16 countries.
Joe began his theatre career as an actor and has received Tony® nominations for his performances in Angels in America and The Normal Heart. He began transitioning from acting to directing, earning his first Tony® nomination for best direction for Love! Valour! Compassion! In 1995. Joe has since earned five more Tony® nominations for best direction and has won two, for the play Take Me Out and the musical Assassins. His Broadway directing credits also include Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune, Glengarry Glen Ross (Tony® nomination), Pal Joey, 9 to 5, The Last Ship, An Act of God, The Humans, (Tony® nomination), Blackbird, Three Tall Women (Tony® nomination), The Boys in the Band, and Hillary and Clinton. Joe’s film credits include directing the film adaptation of Love! Valour! Compassion!
He is the recipient of Outer Critics Circle, Drama Desk, Lucille Lortel, Helen Hayes, Clarence Derwent, Obie, and Joe A. Callaway Awards and was inducted into the Theater Hall of Fame in 2018. Joe is currently directing the film adaption of his Broadway production of Mart Crowley’s The Boys in the Band for Netflix and will direct the upcoming Broadway revival of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? starring Laurie Metcalf and Eddie Izzard.
Click here for the full press release!
The “Mr. Abbott” Award Gala 2020
Host Committee
PLATINUM SPONSORS
Robert Greenblatt
Joe Machota and Creative Artists Agency
Ryan Murphy
WarnerMedia
GOLD SPONSORS
Amy Davidson
John Gore
Linda Hartzell and Sheldon Epps
Jujamcyn Theaters
Dan Knechtges, Leigh Silverman, and the SDC Executive Board Daryl Roth
Ronald H. Shechtman and Pryor Cashman LLP
The Shubert Organization, Inc.
Temple University
Victoria Traube
University of Rochester