By Robert Simonson
19 Oct 2004
Actors Len Cariou, Gregory Hines, Ian McKellen, Brian Murray and Estelle Parsons, playwright A.R. Gurney, designer Santo Loquasto and producer Elizabeth Ireland McCann will be inducted into The Theater Hall of Fame on Jan. 24, 2005.
Cariou was the original Sweeney Todd in the Sondheim musical by the same name. His other Broadway credits include A Little Night Music, The Speed of Darkness and Proof. He won a Tony Award for Sweeney Todd.
Hines, who died in 2003, starred in the Broadway musicals Sophisticated Ladies, Eubie! and Jelly's Last Jam, for which he won a Tony.
The English McKellen has starred in the Broadway productions of Amadeus, Wild Honey and The Dance of Death. He received a Tony Award for the first.
Murray's many credits include The Crucible, The Little Foxes, A Little Family Business, Racing Demon, Uncle Vanya, Noises Off and The Circle.
Parsons recently starred in the Broadway revival of Morning's at Seven. Other shows include Seven Descents of Myrtyle, Miss Reardon Drinks a Little and the one-person play Miss Margarida's Way.
McCann, a producer of three decades' standing, has backed such works as Dracula, The Elephant Man, The Goat, Dance of Death, Copenhagen, 'night, Mother, Good, The Dresser, Crimes of the Heart and Mass Appeal. Seven of her productions have netted a Best Play or Best Revival Tony Award.
Gurney is the author of dozens of plays, including The Dining Room, Later Life, Labor Day, The Cocktail Party, Love Letters, The Perfect Party and Mrs. Farnsworth.
Loquasto's countless credits include Grand Hotel, Ragtime, Fosse, Tale of the Allergist's Wife, Cafe Crown, Bent, That Championship Season and Long Day's Journey Into Night. He won Tonys for both his set and costume design for Grand Hotel and for his costume design for the 1977 Broadway revival of The Cherry Orchard.
