Tony Winners John Kander and Bill T. Jones Honored with National Medal of Arts

Celebrated Broadway composer John Kander and Tony-winning choreographer Bill T. Jones are among the recipients of the 2013 Medal of Arts. President Obama will present Kander, Jones and other distinguished recipients with their awards on July 28 in a ceremony at the White House.

Kander collaborated with Fred Ebb on several Broadway shows. Together, the two won Tony Awards for the scores to Kiss of the Spider Woman, Woman of the Year and Cabaret. Additional works include Flora, The Red Menace, Zorba, Chicago, Curtains and most recently, The Scottsboro Boys.

Jones earned Tony Awards for both shows that he has choreographed on Broadway: Spring Awakening and Fela!. He also penned the book and directed the latter.

The National Medal of Arts was created in 1984 to honor artists and patrons of the arts. Recipients are selected by the National Endowment for the Arts, created in 1965. Additional members of the Broadway community who have received this honor include Tony Kushner, Twyla Tharp, Tommy Tune, Al Hirschfeld, Mike Nichols, Barbra Streisand, Gene Kelly, Angela Lansbury, James Earl Jones, Stephen Sondheim, Edward Albee and George Abbott.