New York, NY (October 13, 2026) – The York Theatre (Joseph Hayward, Producing Artistic Director, Wendy Hall, Managing Director, Stephanie Prugh, Director of New Works and Development) are pleased to welcome Brian d’Arcy James, Celia Keenan-Bolger, Arian Moayed, James Naughton, Patrick Wilson, and more to celebrate Kelli O’Hara and Charles Wright at the 34th Annual Oscar Hammerstein Award Gala on Monday, November 16, 2026, at 6:00 p.m. at The Edison Ballroom (240 West 47th Street, NYC). Tickets start at $1,000 and are available at www.yorktheatre.org/gala
This year’s Gala will honor nine-time Tony Award nominee and Tony winner Kelli O’Hara with the Oscar Hammerstein Award for Lifetime Achievement in Musical Theater, and Theater Historian and Drama Desk co-president Charles Wright with The York Theatre Founders’ Award, named after The York founder Janet Hayes Walker for individuals who have made a significant impact on the sustainability of the arts.
Since its inception in 1988, the Oscar Hammerstein Award Gala has been a highlight of the New York theater season, celebrating legendary figures in musical theater and supporting The York Theatre’s mission of developing new musicals and preserving notable works from the past. Past honorees have included Harold Prince, Stephen Sondheim, Angela Lansbury, Patti LuPone, and André De Shields.
Gala tickets include pre-show cocktails, a seated dinner, and a star-studded evening of entertainment. For additional information, please visit www.yorktheatre.org or call The York Theatre Box Office at (862) 235-0938.
Gala Committee: Jim Kierstead and Riki Kane Larimer serve as co-chairs, joined by Ted Chapin, Doug Cohen, Jamie DeRoy, Laurence Holzman, Jessica McRoberts, Joan Mischo, Charlotte Rosenblatt, Joan Ross Sorkin, and Claudia Zahn.
KELLI O’HARA has been nominated for nine Tony Awards, winning for The King and I. She is also an Emmy, SAG, Olivier, and 2-time Grammy-nominated artist who made history as the first to crossover from Broadway to Opera with her Metropolitan Opera Debut in 2015. Her solo concerts take her across the world. Selected film/TV credits include: The Beauty, Sheriff Country, The Gilded Age, The Accidental Wolf, and Martin Scorsese’s The Key to Reserva. Most recently, she earned Tony, Drama League, and Outer Critics Circle Award nominations for her performance in the Broadway revival of Fallen Angels. Up next, she will return in Season 4 of The Gilded Age and Season 2 of Sheriff’s Country.
CHARLES WRIGHT: Over 28 years, former A&E Television executive Charles Wright has written 107 program notes for the York Theatre Company's Musicals in Mufti. During the pandemic, he was co-host of Show (and Tell!!), an online retrospective of York productions.
As a young lawyer at a New York firm, Charles represented George Abbott in a lengthy arbitration (the sole formal legal dispute of the distinguished playwright-director's eight-decade career). Mr. Abbott encouraged him to write about theater history and, since then, Charles has contributed articles and reviews to a variety of publications.
Charles is co-president of the Drama Desk. He's currently finishing You Wonder How These Things Begin, an account of the York's first 50 years.
THE YORK THEATRE, “Where Musicals Come to Life,” is the only theatre in New York City—and one of very few in the world—dedicated to developing and fully producing new musicals and preserving notable shows from the past. For over five decades, York’s intimate, imaginative approach to producing both original and classic musicals has earned critical acclaim and recognition from artists and audiences alike. Since 1997, The York has focused on new musicals in its Mainstage Series—most of them world, American, or New York premieres—by some of the field’s most esteemed creators and has also helped launch the careers of many talented new writers. Over 47 cast recordings from York Theatre productions are now available, including its acclaimed revival of CLOSER THAN EVER (2013 Off-Broadway Alliance Award for Best Revival). Commercial transfers of such York premieres as THE MUSICAL OF MUSICALS (THE MUSICAL!), SOUVENIR (Tony Award Nomination for actress Judy Kaye), and JOLSON & COMPANY, and revivals of PACIFIC OVERTURES and SWEENEY TODD (four Tony Nominations including Best Revival) have all showcased the importance of The York and its programs.
The York has received an Emmy Nomination, a special Drama Desk Award for “Developing and Producing New Musicals,” and a special Outer Critics Circle Award for “50 Years of Producing New and Classic Musicals.” Most recently, Stephanie Jae Park received a Lortel Nomination for her performance in The York’s Monte Cristo. The York is currently producing at The Theatre at St. Jean’s at 76th Street and Lexington Avenue.
www.yorktheatre.org | www.facebook.com/yorktheatrecompany
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