Tony Award winner Christopher Ashley will receive the Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation’s (SDCF) 2025 “Mr. Abbott” Award. Ashley will be celebrated at SDCF’s annual “Mr. Abbott” Award gala, set to take place on March 31 at City Winery in New York City.
The event will feature performances from a trio of Tony nominees, all of whom appeared on the Main Stem in Ashley-helmed productions: Jenn Colella, who appeared in “Come From Away,” Montego Glover, an alum of “Memphis,” and Raúl Esparza, who performed in “Leap of Faith” and “The Rocky Horror Show.” Tony-winning playwright Doug Wright will serve as scribe for the evening, which will feature direction by Tony nominee Leigh Silverman and music direction by Ian Eisendrath.
Ashley has served as artistic director of San Diego’s La Jolla Playhouse since 2007. During his tenure, La Jolla shepherded several productions that landed on Broadway, including the new musical “Redwood” and the 2024 Best Musical Tony Award winner “The Outsiders.” Ashley won the 2017 Best Direction of a Musical Tony for “Come From Away”; he received previous nods for helming the aforementioned “Memphis” and “Rocky Horror.” Ashley’s additional directing credits include “Xanadu,” “All Shook Up,” “Smell of the Kill” and “Voices in the Dark.” As previously announced, Ashley will join Roundabout Theatre Company in 2026 as the nonprofit’s new artistic director.
Proceeds from the evening will benefit the programs of SDCF, the philanthropic wing of Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC), the union which represents professional directors and choreographers working in theater throughout the United States. The “Mr. Abbott” Award, which honors the contributions of one of SDC’s members, is named for George Abbott, the Tony-winning director, writer and performer whose Broadway career spanned eight decades.
Tony winner Brian Stokes Mitchell and Colella serve as honorary co-chairs of the award committee, alongside committee members Justin Emeka, Sue Frost, Wright and Kumiko Yoshii. Lead sponsors for the 2025 “Mr. Abbott” Award include Debby Buchholz, the John Gore Organization (parent organization of Broadway News), Junkyard Dog Productions, the Shubert Organization and SDC.
Additional information about the gala can be found here.
