The Shubert Organization will darken the marquee lights of Broadway’s Broadhurst Theatre to honor the legacy of Tony Award winner Linda Lavin. The lights of the venue, where Lavin originated the role of Kate Jerome in “Broadway Bound” in 1986, will go dark for exactly one minute at 6:45 p.m. on March 11. Lavin passed away on Dec. 29, 2024 at the age of 87.
Lavin won the 1987 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for her performance in the aforementioned Neil Simon play. In a career that spanned over six decades, Lavin garnered five additional nominations for her leading turns in 2000’s “The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife,” 2010’s “Collected Stories” and 2012’s “The Lyons,” as well as for featured turns in 1969’s “The Last of the Red Hot Lovers” and the 1997 revival of “The Diary of Anne Frank.”
Following her graduation from the College of William and Mary, Lavin performed with the Compass Players, an improvisational troupe, in the late 1950s. Soon after, Lavin made her Main Stem debut as an ensemblist in 1962’s “A Family Affair.” Lavin originated the role of Sydney in 1966’s “It’s a Bird…It’s a Plane…It’s Superman,” performed in the 1966 national tour of “On a Clear Day You Can See Forever” and later reunited with Paul Sills, co-founder of the aforementioned Compass Players, to appear in 1970’s “Paul Sills’ Story Theatre.” Additional Broadway credits include turns in 2002’s “Hollywood Arms” and 2016’s “Our Mother’s Brief Affair,” as well as replacing in 1993’s “Sisters Rosensweig.” Lavin remains the only performer to replace in the role of Rose across the Main Stem’s six productions of “Gypsy,” having done so in the 1989 revival.
Lavin’s Off-Broadway résumé is just as robust. She won a Theatre World Award for 1965’s “Wet Paint,” introduced the song “The Boy From…” (with which she would forever be associated) in 1966’s “The Mad Show” and garnered a 2008 Drama Desk Award for “The New Century.” Her final New York City stage appearance was in 2022’s “You Will Get Sick,” which earned her a Distinguished Performance nomination from the Drama League.
On television, Lavin is known for her Golden Globe Award-winning and Emmy Award-nominated turn as the titular character in the sitcom “Alice.” She will appear on the upcoming Hulu series “Mid-Century Modern.”
Lavin was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 2010.
