CHICAGO: The Sarah Siddons Society will present its 2023 award to Tony winner Stephanie J. Block, whose numerous Broadway credits include The Cher Show, Falsettos, Wicked, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Anything Goes, 9 to 5: The Musical, and The Pirate Queen at the society’s annual benefit on Nov. 20 at the Arts Club of Chicago. The Society’s annual award is presented to an individual who has achieved outstanding artistic achievement in theatre.
Following a reception, the evening’s program will include musical selections from some of Block’s most memorable shows performed by acclaimed Chicago theatre artists Marya Grandy, Heidi Kettenring, Rob Lindley, and Bethany Thomas, under the music direction of Chuck Larkin. The program, hosted by NBC 5 Chicago’s LeeAnn Trotter, will also feature the induction of the Sarah Siddons Society 2023 Scholarship Recipients.
Said Sarah Siddons Society president Martin Balogh in a statement, “The Society is honored to give Chicago’s oldest and most prestigious theatre award to Stephanie J. Block. This multitalented performer has brought her incredible talent to our city in four separate Broadway shows, beginning in 2005 with Wicked and this season with Into the Woods.”
Block won the 2019 Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical, as well as winning the Drama Desk Award and Outer Critics Award, for her lead role in The Cher Show. Block was nominated for a Tony for her role in Lincoln Center Theatre’s 2016 revival of Falsettos, and previously for her work in the Roundabout Theater’s production of The Mystery of Edwin Drood. Block is best known for her portrayal as Elphaba in the Broadway company of Wicked, as well as originating the role in the first national tour, for which she won numerous awards, including the prestigious Helen Hayes Award. Block also performs regularly with symphony orchestras and appears on the Stages Podcast alongside Marylee Fairbanks.
Since its inception, the mission of the Sarah Siddons Society has been to fund scholarships to promising theatre arts students at top Chicago area universities including the Theater Department, Columbia College; the Theatre School at DePaul University; Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University; and Northwestern University School of Communications.
