The yearly event will be held June 15. Further details will be announced at a later date. The luncheons also salute the winners of the Marian Seldes-Garson Kanin Fellowships. The fellowships are $1,000 grants given to emerging theatre artists who "demonstrate great potential to succeed in the American theatre." Last year's recipients included Dania Gurira and Nikkole Salter, the writers and stars of In the Continuum, and Carolyn Cantor, the artistic director of the Edge Theatre.
Perhaps best known her for work as TV sleuth Jessica Fletcher on "Murder, She Wrote," Angela Lansbury is one of the most celebrated stars of the Broadway stage. She received Tony Awards for her performances in Sweeney Todd, Gypsy, Dear World and Mame, and she also appeared on The Great White Way in Hotel Paradiso, A Taste of Honey, Anyone Can Whistle, The King and I and A Little Family Business. Her numerous film credits include "Gaslight," "The Picture of Dorian Gray" and "The Manchurian Candidate," all of which brought the actress Academy Award nominations. Lansbury is slated to return to Broadway later this season in Terrence McNally's Deuce opposite fellow Tony winner Marian Seldes.
Seldes was married to the late Garson Kanin from 1990 until his death in 1999. Kanin was an award-winning director, writer, performer and producer.