Administered by Randall's widow, Heather Randall, the fund has spread its financial support among several theatre companies in recent years as arts institutions face budget cuts and dwindling private and corporate sponsorship. Previously, the $100,000 Randall grant was awarded annually to one non-profit theatre company that focused on classic or classic-inspired work.

For 2010 Heather Randall has also made a special grant through the National Actors Theatre Foundation, which she also administers, to Free Man of Color, which will debut at the Vivian Beaumont Theatre Oct. 21 toward a Nov. 18 Broadway opening.

"A Free Man of Color is one of the most exhilarating, sexy new plays in years," Randall said in a statement. "We are honored to be working with the immense talents of Mr. Guare and Mr. Wolfe. Free Man is the kind of play that comes along once in a decade and it deserves the kind of production that Lincoln Center Theater can deliver. We are especially thrilled that over 20 actors from the New York community will be employed for this production."

Honored for their artistic excellence and progressive programming are Playwrights Horizons, The Wooster Group, St. Ann’s Warehouse and PS 122; experimental companies New Georges and Pig Iron Ensemble; as well as Bronx theatre company Pregones Theatre and the Classical Theatre of Harlem. Each of the companies will receive a general operational support grants ranging $5,000-$10,000.

Companies outside of New York to receive operational funding include the Tony Award-winning regional companies the McCarter Theatre Center and the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center. Heather Randall, Tony Randall's widow, created the fund when Randall passed away in 2004. The National Actors Theatre, which Tony Randall founded in 1991, presented over 20 productions of classical works on Broadway and Off-Broadway.

For further information on the Tony Randall Theatrical Fund, visit TonyRandallTheatricalFund.