Congratulations to playwright, director, screenwriter and novelist Garson Kanin, who will take home the 1997 "Mr. Abbott" Award for Lifetime Achievement, Nov. 3. The 84-year-old writer, now married to actress Marian Seldes, penned & directed Born Yesterday (1946) and the book for Do Re Me (1960), as well as directing such shows as The Diary Of Anne Frank) (1955) and Funny Girl (1964).

Named for playwright/director George Abbott, The Mr. Abbott Awards will be held at NY's Copacabana Club on West 57th St. (Kanin, by the way, served as an assistant to the late Abbott on four Broadway shows, including Room Service.) Lee Roy Reams will direct the event, which is co-chaired by Kitty Carlisle Hart and producer Manny Kladitis.

Also to be honored Nov. 3 are Chase Manhattan Bank and composer/lyricist Jerry Herman, both recipients of the SDC's President's Award for Outstanding Contribution To The Theatre. Chase is being recognized for its "philanthropy to theatres and theatre-related organizations;" Herman has scored such shows as La Cage Aux Folles and The Grand Tour.

According to associate director James Graves, the Stage Directors & Choreographers Foundation was formed as a branch of the Society of Stage Directors & Choreographers but is now a separate, though connected, organization with its own board of directors. The organization was formed to foster, promote and develop "the craft and creativity of directors and choreographers."

Previous Mr. Abbott winners have included Harold Prince, Mike Nichols and Abbott himself. For tickets ($500) to the Nov. 3 SDC benefit, call (212) 302-5359. --By David Lefkowitz