In Nod to Famed Artist Jan McArt, Carbonell Board Resets Awards Night

In deference to famed stage performer, Broadway actress, theatrical producer and educator Jan McArt, who passed away last year, the 45th annual presentation of the Carbonell Awards for acting excellence has been rescheduled so it will not interfere with one of Ms. McArt’s upcoming productions.  

“The awards ceremony was moved up one week so it wouldn’t conflict with the ‘Celebration of Life’ for the much-loved actress and producer Jan McArt,” said Jeff Kiltie, president of the Carbonell Awards board.

“Widely hailed as the ‘First Lady of Florida’s Musical Theater,’ Jan’s career ranged from opera, Broadway, concerts and TV before she established Jan McArt’s Royal Palm Dinner Theatre and Jan’s Rooftop Cabaret Theatre,” he added.

“Not only was she an early recipient of the Carbonell’s prestigious ‘George Abbott Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Arts,’ Jan received the Carbonell Best Actress Award for her performance in Nightclub Confidential, and her various productions garnered an astounding 278 different Carbonell Award nominations.”

The theatrical honors – presented annually to outstanding theater performers at venues in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties – have been moved to Monday, Nov. 7 at 7:30 p.m. at the Lauderhill Performing Arts Center, 3800 NW 11th Place in Lauderhill, Florida.

Lauderhill Performing Arts Center

More than 20 professional theater companies in the three counties participate in the awards and also celebrate the accomplishments of local artistic leaders by presenting several special honors.

“Jan McArt’s Celebration of Life” will be held at 7 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 14, at the Keith C. and Elaine Johnson Wold Performing Arts Center on the campus of Lynn University in Boca Raton, where Jan was director of Theatre Arts Program Development. She also produced Libby Dodson’s Live at Lynn Theatre Season, the Live at Lynn American Songbook series and the Mabel Mercer Foundation’s Cabaret at Lincoln Center Comes to Live at Lynn series, Elaine’s annual musical treat. 

Also, for many years, Jan produced a series of New Play Readings at Lynn which helped launch the careers of several fledgling playwrights and drew well-known performers from throughout the tri-county region to the Wold Center stage.

For more information about the McArt event, email tickets@lynn.edu or call 561-237-9000.  

“My mom was so proud of her Carbonell Awards and nominations,” said Jan McArt’s daughter, Deborah Lahr Lawlor. “I am beyond grateful for the generosity of spirit that move the Carbonell Board of Directors to reschedule their awards date. We look forward to celebrating my mother’s incredible journey together with her theatre family.”

Jan McArt, famed stage performer, Broadway actress, theater operator and educator who passed away in early 2021

“The Carbonell Awards ceremony on Nov. 7 at the Lauderhill Performing Arts Center will be our first live, in-person event since April 2019,” said Kiltie, noting how the COVID pandemic has interfered with the much-anticipated annual presentation for the past few years.

“Everybody’s favorite ‘Theatre Prom’ is back—and we’re looking forward to a truly joyous celebration at our new and larger location so that more friends, fans, family members and theater lovers can join us,” Kiltie added.

At the Nov. 7 awards ceremony, the Carbonells will present nominated musical theater performances from the recently completed season as well as a preview snippet of live performances from current or upcoming productions.

Several hundred actors, musicians, performers, writers, directors, technicians, producers, reviewers, designers, specialty artists, and diehard theater fans are expected to attend the entertainment-packed event that is South Florida’s version of Broadway’s Tony Awards. 

Fantel Music, the South Florida producer of both live and virtual music and theater presentations, has been hired to produce the Carbonell Awards ceremony this November, just as they did for the virtual event in 2020.

In addition to honors given in competitive category, this year’s ceremony will include a variety of special awards including The George Abbott Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Arts, honoring an individual (or team) for contributing significantly to the artistic and cultural development of the region. The new Vinnette Carroll Award honoring an individual, theater or organization for significant achievement in advancing the cause of diversity, equality and inclusion in South Florida theater, will also be presented.

The 2022 Jack Zink Scholarship winners, event sponsorship information and how to purchase tickets to the Carbonell Awards Ceremony 2022 will be announced shortly.

The list of this season’s Carbonell nominations and special award recipients will be announced at the conclusion of this season’s evaluation period in late September.