The Broadway League and American Theatre Wing have announced two more special awards to be given at the Tony ceremonies on September 26. In addition to the previously announced prizes for the Broadway Advocacy Coalition, David Byrne’s American Utopia, and Freestyle Love Supreme, the 2020 special honorees will include director-choreographer Graciela Daniele and actress-activist Julie Halston. The awards ceremony will begin at 7:00 p.m. ET exclusively on Paramount+, followed by The Tony Awards Present: Broadway’s Back! on CBS-TV.
A 10-time Tony nominee, Graciela Daniele will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award for her body of work. ATW President Heather Hitchens and League President Charlotte St. Martin said in a statement, “Her impact on the Broadway community and on our culture as a whole has been immeasurable.” Daniele’s Broadway credits include the original productions of the musicals Ragtime, Once on This Island, and Drood, as well as revivals of Annie Get Your Gun and The Pirates of Penzance. Her next musical is Paradise Square, opening on Broadway this winter. Below is the original company of Ragtime, for which Daniele received her last Tony nomination, at the 1998 Tonys.
Julie Halston, last seen on Broadway in the musical Tootsie, will receive the Isabelle Stevenson Award for her efforts on behalf of the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation. In 2008, Halston’s husband was diagnosed with the lung disease, for which there is no known cure. In 2010, the couple founded Broadway Belts for PFF, to help those afflicted with the disease and to spread awareness. ATW President Heather Hitchens and League President Charlotte St. Martin said in a statement, “Julie is an inspirational talent both on and off the stage. Her unwavering commitment to our Broadway community and to the PF community is unparalleled. Below is Halston leading the song “I Like What She’s Doing” from the original cast recording of Tootsie.