
Something good is coming to Tysons, especially if you’re comedy legend and six-time Emmy winner Carol Burnett.
The multi-hyphenate star will receive the Sondheim Award from Signature Theatre at a glitzy gala that the Arlington theatrical company will hold at Capital One Hall (7750 Capital One Tower Road) on May 16.
Burnett was announced as this year’s recipient of the award in January, but Signature Theatre didn’t reveal the venue for the gala until this past Wednesday (April 27).
Burnett will be the 11th person to win the Sondheim Award, which is named after musical theater great Stephen Sondheim, who died in December. Introduced in 2009, the award has previously gone to Dame Angela Lansbury, actor and singer Patti LuPone, and regular Sondheim collaborator James Lapine, among others.
2011 Sondheim Award recipient Bernadette Peters and Broadway actor Santino Fontana will headline the gala with live performances. The ceremony will also feature D.C.-area artists Tracy Lynn Olivera, Nova Y. Payton and Bobby Smith, accompanied by jazz pianist Mark G. Meadows and Signature Theatre Resident Music Director Jon Kalbfleisch.
According to the news release, in addition to honoring Burnett, Signature Theatre will present its J. Watkins Distinguished Service Award to Merrill and Mark Shugoll, a couple who run marketing research firms that support theater companies across the U.S. and founded the local nonprofit ArtsSpeak!
“The award was created in 2018 to honor those leaders who’ve made an extraordinary impact in the greater DC community through their advocacy and passion for the arts and arts education,” Signature said of the service award. “…Merrill and Mark Shugoll have made a huge impact on Signature as well as the arts industry in DC and across the country.”
Single tickets are being offered for the first time in the Sondheim Award’s history, per the press release. They will cost $58 and go on sale at noon on Monday (May 2).
As of press time, the gala hasn’t appeared on Capital One Hall’s website, but the Tysons venue uses Ticketmaster for all of its events.
Proceeds from the awards gala will support Signature’s “artistic, education, and community programs,” the press release says.
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