Donna Murphy & Edwina Sandys Honored with 2019 Urban Stages Lifetime Achievement Awards

Urban Stages' Board of Directors and founding artistic director Frances Hill will celebrate 35 years of acclaimed Off-Broadway plays/musicals and art programming at The Central Park Boathouse on Monday, May 15 at 6:30 pm.

For over 35 years, Urban Stages has presented stories that needed to be told in a way that is accessible to audiences everywhere, from their mainstage productions to their celebrated Outreach Program that brings plays to New York's outer boroughs. Part of Urban Stages' long history is recognizing and elevating talented women artists. This year Urban Stages' is thrilled to celebrate the Year of Women. What better way than to honor Women in the Arts by recognizing Broadway's Donna Murphy and celebrated artist Edwina Sandys with Urban Stages' 2019 Lifetime Achievement Awards. Murphy is a two-time Tony Award & Emmy Award-winning actress. She was named a living legend of the New York theater by New York Magazine. Sandys was awarded by the United Nations Society Writers & Artists Award for Excellence. The United Nations has installed five monumental sculptures by Sandys at their centers around the world.

The gala fundraiser will note Urban Stages' history of premiering new plays/musicals that go on to bigger venues and/or publications, championing up-and-coming artists who then sustain long careers, and making art and theater available for all through their Outreach Program. Included in Urban Stages' Off-Broadway history are the award-winning musical Langston in Harlem (2010) by Walter Marks (music and book), the Pulitzer-Prize nominated Bulrusher (2007) by Eisa Davis, the recently critically-acclaimed Death of a Driver (2019) by Will Snider, and Comfort Women (2004) by Chungmi Kim; a play subsequently performed hundreds of times in schools, theaters, and organizations in Korea. Away from Urban Stages' MainStage, its Outreach program tours admission-free plays and workshops to all five boroughs of New York City holds extended art residencies in places like senior centers and conduct an annual summer theater camp for young aspiring artists. Annually, Outreach reaches thousands of New Yorkers and nearly 100 neighborhoods, particularly communities with historically limited access to arts and education.

The evening will consist of cocktails, gondola rides in scenic Central Park and entertainment. This year, Christies Auction House will provide an auctioneer for Urban Stages' exclusive live-auction, which features luxury vacations, golf adventure, and hard-to-get theater tickets.

Tickets for Urban Stages' Benefit Gala are available at UrbanStages.org or via phone: 212.421.1380

Photo Credit: Walter McBride / WM Photos