Each year, the Tony Awards Administration Committee presents a Tony Award to a regional theatre on the recommendation of the American Theatre Critics Association.
Last June the Tony Awards Administration Committee announced that starting with the 2013-14 theatrical season, New York-based theatre companies will be eligible to receive the Regional Theatre Award. Read Playbill.com's coverage, including reactions from industry leaders here.
"Signature Theatre is an integral part of the theater landscape. By dedicating each season to a single playwright, Signature Theatre offers audiences an unmatched explorative experience with the writer's message across multiple bodies of work. We are honored to present them with the 2014 Regional Theatre Award," said Charlotte St. Martin, executive director of The Broadway League, and Heather Hitchens, executive director of the American Theatre Wing, in a joint statement.
Signature Theatre, according to press notes, exists to "honor and celebrate the playwright." Founded in 1991 by James Houghton, Signature makes "an extended commitment to a playwright’s body of work, and during this journey, the writer is engaged in every aspect of the creative process. By championing in-depth explorations of a playwright’s body of work, Signature delivers an intimate and immersive journey into the playwright’s singular vision."
Signature serves its mission through its permanent home at The Pershing Square Signature Center, a three-theatre facility on West 42nd Street. Signature has presented entire seasons of the work of Edward Albee, Lee Blessing, Horton Foote, Maria Irene Fornes, Athol Fugard, John Guare, David Henry Hwang, Bill Irwin, Adrienne Kennedy, Tony Kushner, Romulus Linney, Charles Mee, Arthur Miller, Sam Shepard, Paula Vogel, August Wilson, Lanford Wilson, and a season celebrating the historic Negro Ensemble Company. Signature's current Residency Five playwrights include Annie Baker, Martha Clarke, Will Eno, Katori Hall, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, Kenneth Lonergan and Regina Taylor.
Signature, its productions and its resident writers have been recognized with the Pulitzer Prize, Lucille Lortel Awards, Obie Awards, Drama Desk Awards and AUDELCO Awards, among others.
The 2014 Tony Awards, which are presented by The Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing, will be broadcast live from Radio City Music Hall on the CBS television network June 8. For more information visit www.TonyAwards.com.
