Actor Joel Grey and composer John Kander will each receive the 2023 Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre, the Tony Awards Administration Committee announced today
“We are immensely thrilled to honor two legends in their own rights,” said Charlotte St. Martin, President of The Broadway League. “John Kander has composed the soundtrack to all of our lives – meeting us in every decade – creating unforgettable scores for Cabaret, Chicago, Kiss of the Spider Woman, and his current Broadway hit New York, New York.”
Heather Hitchens, President and CEO of the American Theatre Wing, said of Grey, “As a legendary actor and director, Joel Grey has made an everlasting impact, from Cabaret, to Goodtime Charley, The Normal Heart and his acclaimed Yiddish production of Fiddler on the Roof. Mr. Grey and Mr. Kander are true giants of the theatre, and we are honored to say Wilkommen as the recipients of the 2023 Lifetime Achievement Awards.”
Grey, who memorably co-starred in both the stage and film version of the Kander & Ebb musical Cabaret, also appeared in Neil Simon’s first comedy hit Come Blow Your Horn (1961) as well as other Broadway productions including Stop the World I Want to Get Off, Half a Sixpence, George M!, Goodtime Charley, The Grand Tour, Chicago, Wicked, Anything Goes, and Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard. His other dramatic work has included roles in Marco Polo Sings a Solo, Give Me Your Answer, Do!, New York City Opera’s Silverlake (directed by Hal Prince) and Larry Kramer’s seminal The Normal Heart in its original run at the Public Theatre.
Kander is most known for his longtime collaboration with writer and lyricist Fred Ebb (who died in 2004). Together they wrote some of greatest and most popular musicals in modern Broadway history, including Cabaret, Zorba, The Happy Time, 70 Girls 70, Chicago, The Act, Woman of the Year, The Rink, Kiss of the Spider Woman, Steel Pier, Curtains, The Scottsboro Boys and The Visit. The current New York, New York includes many of the duo’s songs, as well as later numbers by Kander and lyricist Lin-Manuel Miranda.
The 76th Annual Tony Awards will air live on Sunday, June 11, from the United Palace in Washington Heights, New York City from 8-11 PM ET/5-8 PM PT on CBS, and streaming live and on demand on Paramount+.
