Signature Theatre of Arlington Wins 2009 Regional Theatre Award. A Tony Award® !

The Tony Awards® administrative committee has announced the honorees for the four non-competitive categories which will be presented at the 2009 Tony Awards on June 7^th. The 2009 Tony Awards are presented by The Broadway League and The American Theatre Wing.

The 2009 Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre will be presented to Tony Award winning composer and lyricist, Jerry Herman. Mr. Herman composed the scores for such Broadway musicals as Hello, Dolly!, Mame and La Cage aux Folles. He is a five-time Tony Award nominee and two time Tony Award winner, for La Cage aux Folles and Hello, Dolly!

The 2009 Regional Theatre Award will be awarded to the Signature Theatre of Arlington, Virginia. Each year, the Tony Awards present a Tony Award to a regional theatre on the recommendation of the American Theatre Critics Association. The Award is accompanied by a gift of $25,000 from VISA, USA, a proud sponsor of the Tony Awards for the past decade. For 20 years, Signature Theatre has broadened and brightened the region's cultural landscape with its bold productions of challenging new and established works.

The recipient of the newly created Isabelle Stevenson Award is Tony Award winning actress Phyllis Newman. The Isabelle Stevenson Award recognizes an individual from the theatre community who has made a substantial contribution of volunteered time and effort on behalf of one or more humanitarian, social service or charitable organizations, regardless of whether such organizations relate to the theatre. In 1995, Ms. Newman founded The Phyllis Newman Women’s Health Initiative of The Actor’s Fund of America. For the last 12 years she has raised more than $3.5 million dollars that has helped to serve 2,500 women in the entertainment industry.

Shirley Herz will receive the Tony Honor for Excellence in the Theatre. For more than 50 years, Ms. Herz has been a press agent to both on and Off-Broadway working behind-the-scenes to publicize more than 200 shows and help make both the shows and their stars house-hold names. Established in 1990, The Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theatre are awarded annually to institutions, individuals and/or organizations that have demonstrated extraordinary achievement in theatre, but are not eligible in any of the established Tony Award categories.

The Tony Award Nominations will be announced on Tuesday, May 5^th. A complete list of the 2008-2009 Tony Award Nominees will be available at www.tonyawards.com on May 5^th.