The New Group will honor Jennifer Tilly, along with Sarita Choudhury, Daphne Rubin-Vega and George Sheanshang, at its 2026 Gala on Monday, April 20, in New York City. The event is set for 6:00 p.m. at the Edison Ballroom and will recognize the four with the Mimi and Michael Mendelson Award for Outstanding Commitment to Theater.
The gala comes as The New Group prepares to move into its new artistic home at the Theater at St. Clement’s, giving the evening a larger purpose than a fundraising night alone. Adrian Alea will direct the event, which will feature performances by Alex Newell, The New York Vocal Collective, Morgan James and Dan Micciche, with presenters including Quiara Alegría Hudes, Isaac Mizrahi, Nicole Ari Parker, Chloë Sevigny and John Turturro.
Jennifer Tilly’s recognition also lands while she is already onstage with the company in The Adding Machine, the Elmer L. Rice play revised by Thomas Bradshaw and directed by Scott Elliott. That production, which also features Choudhury, Michael Cyril Creighton and Rubin-Vega, has been extended through May 17.
Founded in 1995, The New Group has built its work around theater productions and education programs, including a summer conservatory, college access initiatives and a BFA Acting program with LIU Brooklyn. Proceeds from the gala will support those efforts, along with the YTT College Access Program, which provides tuition-free college application and interview preparation for New York City high school students. In 2025, the program enrolled more than 350 students, and all of them were accepted to four-year colleges and universities.
That makes the April 20 gala more than a celebration of names on a program. It is a marker of where The New Group is headed next, with its new home, its current production and its education work all folded into the same night.
