The Eugene O’Neill Theater Center honored its founder George C. White with the 21st Monte Cristo Award at a gala last night at Gotham Hall in New York City. In a very special moment of the evening, Michael Douglas, a former student of O’Neill and former recipient of the Monte Cristo Prize, presented his honor to Mr. White. Mr. Douglas also announced that he was donating $1 million to the O’Neill and challenged the public and supporters to match the donation in support of the O’Neill’s operations.

The Monte Cristo Prize is awarded annually to a distinguished person in recognition of a distinguished career exemplifying Eugene O’Neill’s “pioneering spirit, unrelenting artistic commitment, and excellence” and advancing American theater.

“I’m so happy to be here tonight with all of you in honor of the incredible George White and the O’Neill Theater Group,” said Michael Douglas. “George and Betsy have touched many lives and I consider myself lucky enough to be one of them. I’m so grateful for everything I’ve learned, the joy I’ve experienced and the interactions I’ve experienced. have had with so many people through this wonderful feeling of being together, and it gives me pleasure to know and hear how this experience is still repeated every day for so many others. welcome playwrights, actors, musicians, puppeteers and students from all over the world to Waterford to experience the magic of this place like me.”

About the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center:

The launch pad for American theatre, the O’Neill is the nation’s preeminent organization dedicated to developing new works and new voices for American theatre. Founded in 1964 and named for Eugene O’Neill, a four-time Pulitzer Prize winner and the only American playwright to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, the O’Neill has hosted more than 1,000 new works for the stage and thousands of other emerging artists. Dozens of projects developed at the O’Neill have been produced entirely in theaters around the world. O’Neill programs include the National Conference of Playwrights, National Musical Theater Conference, National Institute of Critics, National puppet conference, Cabaret & Performance Conferenceand National Theater Institute – which offers six credit-based undergraduate training programs. In addition, O’Neill owns and operates the Cottage Monte Cristo like a museum open to the public. The O’Neill is a recipient of two Tony Awards and the National Medal of Arts. www.theoneill.org.