The Eugene O’Neill Theater Center honored two-time Tony winner Judith Light with the 17th Monte Cristo Award, which is bestowed on a prominent theatre artist whose lifetime of work has had an extraordinary impact on American theatre—in memory of its namesake.
An alumna of the O’Neill, Light first performed at the theater center’s 1977 National Playwrights Conference. A gala dinner was held in her honor May 21 at 583 Park Avenue (New York) followed by a special program hosted by O’Neill Executive Director Preston Whiteway and an award presentation by director and O’Neill alumnus Thomas Kail.
Flip through photos of the night below:
Light’s TV career began with her two-time Emmy Award-winning turn on One Life to Live, followed by the comedy series Who's the Boss, and 15 movies of the week. She played Claire Meade in the Emmy-winning ABC series Ugly Betty and was Emmy-nominated for her performance. Light won back-to-back Tony Awards for Jon Robin Baitz's Other Desert Cities (2012) and Richard Greenberg's The Assembled Parties (2013). She recently starred alongside Al Pacino in the play God Looked Away at the Pasadena Playhouse and can also be seen on the groundbreaking show Transparent, streaming now on Amazon Prime. The actor is also an advocate for HIV/AIDS and LGBTQ causes, supporting such organizations as Point Foundation and Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. She is very active with the D.C.-based peace building organization Friends Committee on National Legislation.
