DANNY BURSTEIN AND RUTHIE ANN MILES TO CO-HOST THE 2026 SDC FOUNDATION “MR. ABBOTT” AWARD TRIBUTE TO DIRECTOR BARTLETT SHER
Press Contact:
Rick Miramontez
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SDCF Contact:
Stephanie Coen
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646-524-2231
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, PLEASE
TONY AWARD WINNERS
DANNY BURSTEIN
AND
RUTHIE ANN MILES
TO CO-HOST THE
2026 SDC FOUNDATION “MR. ABBOTT” AWARD
TRIBUTE TO DIRECTOR
BARTLETT SHER
TRIBUTE SPEAKERS AND PERFORMERS
WILL INCLUDE
ADAM GUETTEL
CELIA KEENAN-BOLGER
AND
STEVEN PASQUALE
SHER’S OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTIONS TO BROADWAY
WILL BE CELEBRATED
AT THE FOUNDATION’S GALA
ON MARCH 23, 2026,
AT GOTHAM HALL
IN NEW YORK
New York, NY (January 29, 2026) – Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation (SDCF), the not-for-profit foundation of Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC), announces that Tony Award-winners Danny Burstein (Marjorie Prime, Gypsy, Moulin Rouge!) and Ruthie Ann Miles (Sweeney Todd, The King and I, “The Americans”) will co-host SDCF’s “Mr. Abbott” Award Gala celebrating Bartlett Sher on Monday, March 23, 2026, at Gotham Hall in New York City.
The event will also include remarks from Tony Award winners Adam Guettel (The Light in the Piazza, Floyd Collins) and Celia Keenan-Bolger (To Kill a Mockingbird, “The Gilded Age”). Steven Pasquale (Here We Are, “Rescue Me”) will perform from The Bridges of Madison County, for which he was nominated for the Tony Award. Additional performers and speakers will be announced at a later date.
The writer for the event is Tony winner J.T. Rogers. Roundabout Theatre Resident Director Miranda Haymon will direct. The producer is two-time Tony nominee and SDCF President Leigh Silverman.
The evening’s festivities will include dinner and open bar along with the tribute performance. For more information on the evening, please visit sdcfoundation.org or call 646.524.2226.
Single tickets are available now at 2026 “Mr. Abbott” Award – Gala Ticket.
Table package options are available at 2026 “Mr. Abbott” Award – Table Packages.
Platinum sponsors for the 2026 “Mr. Abbott” Award are Seattle Friends and Trafalgar Entertainment. Gold sponsors are Ida Cole; Kewsong Lee, Lincoln Center Theater Board Chairman; and Stage Directors and Choreographers Society. Host Committee sponsors are ATG Entertainment, LaTanya Richardson Jackson & Samuel L. Jackson, Jerry Mitchell, Marc Platt Productions, Susan Stroman, Victora Traube, Temple University, and Barbara Whitman Productions.
The “Mr. Abbott” Award, presented by SDCF on behalf of directors and choreographers to one of their peers, is named in honor of the late renowned director George Abbott. Proceeds from the Gala will benefit the programs of SDCF.
Chairing the “Mr. Abbott” Award Committee are Lincoln Center Theater Board Member Ida Cole; Joseph Haj, Artistic Director of the Guthrie Theater; actor and director LaTanya Richardson Jackson; producer Sir Howard Panter; producer Marc Platt; and producer Jeffrey Richards.
ABOUT BARTLETT SHER
Bartlett Sher is a Tony Award winner who has been described by The New York Times as one of America’s “most original and exciting directors.” His work in New York and the West End includes McNeal, Corruption, Lerner & Lowe’s Camelot, Pictures from Home, To Kill a Mockingbird, My Fair Lady, the 2017 Tony-winning Best Play Oslo, Fiddler on the Roof, The King & I, The Bridges of Madison County, Golden Boy, Women on the Verge…, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, South Pacific, Awake and Sing!, and The Light in the Piazza. He was recently named the Executive Producer of Lincoln Center Theater, where he previously served as resident director from 2008-2024. Bart has also directed several operas, including Intimate Apparel (Lincoln Center Theater); Rigoletto (Berlin, Metropolitan Opera); Roméo et Juliette (Metropolitan Opera, Salzburg, Milan, Chicago); Faust (Baden Baden); Two Boys (ENO, Metropolitan Opera); Il Barbiere di Siviglia (Baden Baden, Metropolitan Opera); Otello, Les Contes d’Hoffmann, Le Comte Ory, L’Elisir d’Amore (Metropolitan Opera); and Mourning Becomes Electra (Seattle Opera, City Opera). He directed the world premiere of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay for the Met in their 2025-2026 season. His film Oslo (HBO, 2021) was nominated for two Emmy Awards and won a Critics Choice Award. Recent projects include a revival of Kiss Me, Kate at London’s Barbican Centre, the original musical Millions, and the brand-new Dolly: A True Original Musical in Nashville. His upcoming work includes a stage adaptation of the movie-musical La La Land.
ABOUT STAGE DIRECTORS AND CHOREOGRAPHERS FOUNDATION
Founded in 1965, Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation (SDCF) celebrates, develops, and supports professional stage directors and choreographers throughout every phase of their careers. SDCF works to build a theatrical community that reflects the cultural, racial, and gender diversity of our nation by creating opportunities for artists of all backgrounds to bring their full, authentic selves to their work as creative leaders in the theatre. SDCF’s goals are to provide opportunities to practice the crafts of directing and choreography; to gather and disseminate craft and career information; to promote the profession to emerging talent; to provide opportunities for exchange of knowledge among directors and choreographers; to increase the awareness of the value of directors’ and choreographers’ work; and to convene around issues affecting theatre artists. sdcfoundation.org
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