Vogel will be present all four days of the Inge Festival, which is produced by the William Inge Center for the Arts at Independence Community College. Previous Distinguished Honorees include Arthur Miller, August Wilson, Neil Simon, Arthur Laurents and Stephen Sondheim. Vogel is the fourth woman to be named Honoree, preceded by Betty Comden (1990), Wendy Wasserstein (1993) and Tina Howe (2005).

Since its founding in 1981, the William Inge Theatre Festival has celebrated the accomplishments of nationally renowned playwrights. The playwrights travel to the small southeastern Kansas town of Independence, the late Inge's hometown.

In addition to evening performances by professionals from Broadway and Hollywood, patrons of the annual Festival enjoy workshops, panel discussions, a scholars conference and social events.

Paul Vogel is the recipient of an Obie Award for Best Play (1992), Pulitzer Prize in Drama (1998), and the Award for Literature from The American Academy of Arts and Letters (2005). Her plays include The Baltimore Waltz, How I Learned to Drive, Desdemona, The Mineola Twins, The Long Christmas Ride Home and Hot 'N' Throbbing, among others.

Tickets for the 29th Annual William Inge Theatre Festival go on sale online March 1, 2010. For further information visit www.ingecenter.org or call (800) 842-6063 ext. 5492.