The Theater Hall of Fame Inc. has announced that Leslie Uggams is among the 2021 nominees to be inducted during the organization’s 50th Anniversary ceremony on November 15 at the Gershwin Theatre in NYC. Other inductees include playwright Lynn Nottage, actor-playwright Anna Deavere Smith, composer Alan Menken, set designer Bob Crowley, and, posthumously, director Gerald Freedman.
The Theater Hall of Fame was founded in 1971 by James M. Nederlander, Earl Blackwell, and Gerard Oestreicher. The be eligible for nomination, the theatre professional must have at least 25 years in the Broadway theatre, five major productions, or be a leader of Off-Broadway or a regional theatre pioneer.
Leslie Uggams made her Broadway debut in Hallelujah, Baby! for which she won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical. She went on to star in Her First Roman, Blues in the Night, Jerry’s Girls, Anything Goes, King Hedley II, Thoroughly Modern Millie, and On Golden Pond with James Earl Jones. She was set to open in Blue at the Apollo Theatre in the Spring of 2020 when the pandemic shut Broadway down.
The 250 voters for The Theater Hall of Fame include past inductees and members of the American Theater Critics Association. Terry Hodge Taylor produces the annual invitation-only event.