Over a dozen Broadway theatres will dim their lights February 29 at 7:45 PM for one minute to commemorate the life and work of Tony-winning producer Margo Lion, who died January 24 at the age of 75.
The Committee of Theatre Owners will dim the lights of the Jujamcyn Theatres (the Al Hirschfeld, August Wilson, Eugene O’Neill, St. James, and Walter Kerr Theatres), where Ms. Lion often collaborated and worked, as well as the American Airlines, Bernard Jacobs, Helen Hayes, Neil Simon, New Amsterdam, Lincoln Center, Lyric Theatre, and Samuel J. Friedman.
“Margo was a remarkable producer but an even more remarkable friend, both personally and professionally. Her success on Broadway speaks for itself, but perhaps less known was her passionate political activism which resulted in historic benefit events for both Presidents Clinton and Obama at the New Amsterdam Theatre. She was a big thinker with an even bigger heart. She will be missed,” said Thomas Schumacher, chairman of The Broadway League, in a statement.
“Margo was a pioneer on Broadway and an inspiration to so many young women who dreamed of being producers. Her legacy can be witnessed with the many outstanding Tony Award-nominated and winning women currently working in the industry today not only in New York but around the country. She was a great collaborator, an outstanding leader, and forged a path her own way,” added Charlotte St. Martin, president of the Broadway League. “She moved Broadway to even greater prominence when she served as Co-Chair to President Barack Obama's Arts Policy Committee during the 2008 Presidential Election and was appointed in 2009 as Co-Chair of the President's Committee on the Humanities and the Arts. Among her many accomplishments during this time, was a very special evening at the White House with President Obama and his family in 2010. She helped to make it ’cool’ to go to a Broadway show and Broadway still benefits from that effort.”
On Broadway Ms. Lion’s credits included The Heiress (2012 revival); Catch Me If You Can (2011); Come Fly Away (2010); Radio Golf (2007); The Wedding Singer (2006); Caroline, or Change (2004); Hairspray (2002); The Crucible (2002 revival); Elaine Stritch At Liberty (2002); Triumph of Love (1997); Seven Guitars (1996); Angels in America: Perestroika (1993); Angels in America: Millennium Approaches (1993); Jelly's Last Jam (1992); The Secret Garden (1991); I Hate Hamlet (1991); and 3 Penny Opera (1989 revival).
Read Playbill's obituary for Ms. Lion here.
(Updated February 29, 2020)
