Five-time Tony Award-winning playwright Tom Stoppard passed away November 29 (read his obituary here). Broadway will honor the late Leopoldstadt scribe with a solo dimming ceremony December 2—where all theatres on Broadway will dim their marquee lights for one minute at 6:45 PM ET. The dimming will align with a similar event for Stoppard in the West End. 

The solo dimming, one of the highest honors for a theatre artist, is coordinated by the Broadway in Memoriam Committee, a group comprised of theatre owners in consultation with industry service organizations. 

The group has also set another dimming ceremony for December 9, to jointly honor recently deceased Broadway notables Matthew Silver, Jerry Adler, Polly Holliday, Lauren B. Stevens, Robert Redford, John Christopher Jones, Patricia Routledge, Ted Hartley, Diane Keaton, June Lockhart, Diane Ladd, Elizabeth Franz, Pauline Collins, Harriet Slaughter, and Stoppard. All theatre marquees will dim simultaneously at 6:45 PM ET in their honor.

Earlier this year, the Broadway in Memoriam Committee announced the establishment of “Broadway in Memoriam,” a quarterly tradition dedicated to honoring the remarkable individuals who have left an indelible mark on Broadway.

Group dimming ceremonies take place four times a year on the second Tuesday of September, December, March, and June. The honor is one of the most prestigious the industry bestows. Formerly coordinated by The Broadway League, ceremonies in recent years have been given for Stephen Sondheim and Chita Rivera, among others. The Committee was formed after controversies arose following the announcement of dimming ceremonies at only some Broadway theatres for Gavin Creel, Hinton Battle, and Adrian Bailey, among others. Online outrage prompted the Broadway League to upgrade Creel, Battle, and Bailey's ceremonies to include all 41 Broadway houses and for the establishment of the Broadway in Memoriam Committee. 

Those wishing to submit an industry member for inclusion in the ceremonies can do so at BroadwayMarqueeInMemoriam.org. Submissions require the individual's name, year of birth and death, a description of their work on Broadway, and a digital photo.

The group memorials do not preclude a more traditional solo affair. The Broadway In Memoriam Committee is still able to honor single individuals with their own ceremony should they be deemed to have had "a profoundly significant and lasting impact on Broadway." The organized event also does not prevent individual theatre owners planning their own tributes at their own theatres.

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