Irene Gandy, Fred Gallo, Beverly Jenkins and New Federal Theatre to Receive 2020 Tony Honors

The Tony Awards Administration Committee has announced that they will present the 2020 Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theatre to Broadway press agent Irene Gandy, Fred Gallo, president of PRG Scenic Technologies, stage manager Beverly Jenkins and New Federal Theatre.

“We are thrilled to recognize these deserving individuals and organizations with Tony Honors this year,” American Theatre Wing President Heather Hitchens and Broadway League President Charlotte St. Martin said in a joint statement. “We could not think of a more deserving group of honorees, and we are proud to recognize their many achievements!”

Gandy has been the only Black female member of the Association of Theatrical Press Agents and Managers for over 50 years. Working with producer Jeffrey Richards for over three decades, she is a Tony-winning Broadway producer for The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess and was a producer for Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill, starring Audra McDonald. In 2008, she became the first female press agent to be immortalized with a Sardi’s caricature. A fashionista known for her furs, she launched a signature collection featured in Vogue in 2015 and will debut a Lady Irene Fur line in 2022. Gandy’s recent productions include The Great Society, American Son, China Doll, Fiddler on the Roof and You Can't Take It With You. She has worked on over 100 Broadway shows including August: Osage County, Glengarry Glen Ross, Radio Golf, Bubbling Brown Sugar, Smokey Joe’s Cafe, Lena Horne: The Lady and her Music and The Wiz. In addition to her work in theater, she was Associate Director of Special Markets for CBS Records, working with artists such as Earth, Wind and Fire, The Jacksons and more. She currently serves on the boards of City College for the Arts, Harlem Week and New Heritage Theater.

After receiving his Bachelor of Science degree in Architectural Engineering, Gallo started working at Feller Scenery, then one of the leading shops in the industry. He worked as a Local One stagehand and production carpenter on many Broadway shows. Later, he co-founded Scenic Technologies leading to the formation of PRG. Since then, PRG has become one of the world’s leading suppliers of scenery and automation for theatrical productions. He has been associated with such productions as Beatlemania, Frankenstein, Pygmalion, The Phantom of the Opera, Miss Saigon, The Who’s Tommy, Beauty and the Beast, The Producers, Wicked, Sweet Charity, Les Misérables, Shrek, Promises, Promises, Beautiful, Come From Away, King Kong and more. He has also been the technical director for shows including Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, King Kong as well as the world tour of The Phantom of the Opera. He holds patents for theatrical equipment he designed and frequently serves as a consultant on the engineering of theatrical rigging systems for theaters worldwide. Over the last 12 years, he has designed the renovation of over 135 theaters to enable them to present large and technically sophisticated productions. He was the recipient of the Backstage Legends and Masters Award in 2014.

Jenkins has been a professional stage manager for over 30 years. She is currently the production stage manager for the Tony-winning musical Hadestown. A graduate of Howard University, Jenkins got her start on Broadway as the production assistant on Five Guys Named Moe and eventually became the assistant stage manager. She has since managed many Broadway shows, including A Bronx Tale: The Musical, Fully Committed, Amazing Grace, Living On Love, Holler If Ya Hear Me, Machinal, Godspell, Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, In the Heights, Shrek: The Musical, Avenue Q, Aida, Sweet Charity, Oklahoma!, The Lion King, Bring In Da Noise/Bring In Da Funk, Miss Saigon and more. Jenkins has served as executive director of the Black Rock Coalition and has taught at several universities including NYU Tisch School of the Arts and Shenandoah Conservatory at Shenandoah University and has been a lecturer at the Yale School of Drama. Jenkins is on the board of trustees of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS and co-founder of Broadway & Beyond: Access for Stage Managers of Color.

New Federal Theatre’s mission is to integrate artists of color and women into the mainstream of American theater by training artists for the profession, and by presenting plays by writers of color and women to integrated, multicultural audiences. Founded by Woodie King Jr. in 1970, the theater is an outgrowth of a program called Mobilization for Youth. This neighborhood-based professional theater was originally funded by the Henry Street Settlement along with a small grant from the New York State Council on the Arts. The theater’s first season was launched in the basement of St. Augustine’s Church on Henry Street. Many productions brought NFT to national prominence, including J.E. Franklin's Black Girl, Ed Bullins' The Taking of Miss Janie and Ntozake Shange's For Colored Girls Who Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf. Many performers benefited from early successes on NFT’s stage, including the late Chadwick Boseman, Debbie Allen, Morgan Freeman, Phylicia Rashad, Denzel Washington, LaTanya Richardson Jackson, Samuel L. Jackson, Issa Rae and many more.

The Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theatre were established in 1990 and are awarded annually to institutions, individuals and/or organizations that have demonstrated extraordinary achievement in theater, but are not eligible in any of the established Tony Award categories.

As previously reported, the Tony Awards will host a multi-platform celebration on September 26, starting with the presentation of the American Theatre Wing’s 74th Annual Tony Awards LIVE at 7PM ET, exclusively on Paramount+, followed by The Tony Awards Present: Broadway’s Back! on CBS and available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+ and the CBS app.