The Monte Cristo Award is given to a prominent theater artist in recognition of a distinguished career exemplifying Eugene O’Neill’s “pioneering spirit, unceasing artistic commitment, and excellence.”  Past recipients of the Award include James Earl Jones, Harold Prince, Kevin Spacey, and Wendy Wasserstein.

The Honorary Committee, co-chaired by Danny DeVito, Steven Soderbergh, and Barbara Walters , includes: Alec Baldwin, Annette Bening, Glenn Close, Pat Daily, Mr. & Mrs. Leo A. Daly III, Matt Damon,  Jamie deRoy, Kirk & Anne Douglas, Robert Downey, Jr., Jennifer Garner, Jim Gianopulos, Bill Irwin, Cecelia Joyce & Seward Johnson, Marie-Josee & Henry Kravis, Doug Mercer, Ron Meyer, Lorne & Alice Michaels, Bette Midler, Rob & Michele Reiner, Tom Rothman, Joel Schumacher, Gerald Schwartz, Ridley Scott, Kathleen Turner, Jann Wenner, and Brian Williams; O’Neill Chairman Thomas Viertel; O’Neill Founder George C. White; and O’Neill Trustees Ruth & Stephen Hendel, Harold Prince, Sara Mercer, and Betsy White.  Program details will be announced shortly.

Sponsorship opportunities and program ads are available for the event. For more information about the 12th Annual Monte Cristo Award dinner, please contact Suzanne Hendrix at 860-443-5378 x217 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

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Founded in 1964, The Eugene O’Neill Theater Center honors the work of Eugene O’Neill, four-time Pulitzer Prize Winner and America’s only playwright to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, and is the recipient of two Tony Awards, in 2010 for Regional Theatre, and in 1979 for Theatrical Excellence.

The O’Neill is the country’s preeminent organization dedicated to the development of new works and new voices for American theater.  It has been home to more than 1,000 new works for the stage and to more than 2,500 emerging artists. Scores of projects developed at the O’Neill have gone on to full production at other theaters around the world, including Broadway, Off-Broadway, and major regional theaters.

O’Neill programs include the National Playwrights Conference, National Music Theater Conference, National Critics Institute, National Puppetry Conference, Cabaret & Performance Conference, and National Theater Institute which conducts semester-long intensive theater training and includes Theatermakers, a six-week summer program; academic credits are awarded for all NTI programs.

The O’Neill owns and operates the Monte Cristo Cottage as a museum open to the public. Childhood summer home of Eugene O’Neill, the Cottage is a National Historic Landmark.