The Sarah Siddons Society is pleased to present its 2026 Award to actress and director Victoria Clark, who recently starred in Kimberly Akimbo as Kimberly on Broadway, for which she won the 2023 Tony Award for Leading Actress in a Musical, as well as a Grammy nomination. Clark also originated the role of Margaret Johnson in The Light in the Piazza both at Chicago's Goodman Theatre and on Broadway, which earned her the 2005 Tony Award for Leading Actress in a Musical. Additional Tony nominations include Sister Act, Gigi and Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella. Most recently, she appeared in the critically acclaimed off-Broadway world premiere of Joshua Owen's play Human Things.
The Society's annual Award is presented to an individual who has achieved outstanding artistic achievement in theatre. Ms. Clark will be honored at the Society's 2026 Benefit on Monday, November 9, 2026 at The Arts Club of Chicago, 201 E. Ontario St. in Chicago. (6 pm reception, 7 pm program).
Following a reception, the evening's program will include musical selections from Ms. Clark's most memorable shows performed by some of Chicago's most acclaimed theatre artists including Marta Bady, Lillian Castillo, Marya Grandy and Heidi Kettenring under the co-direction of Christopher Chase Carter and Christopher Pazdernik, with music direction by Linda Madonia. The evening, hosted by longtime Chicago radio personality Patti Vasquez, will also feature the induction of the Sarah Siddons Society 2026 Scholarship Recipients.
Single tickets and a variety of sponsorship opportunities are currently available here. All proceeds benefit the Sarah Siddons Society Scholarship Program, dedicated to funding scholarships for promising theater arts students at top Chicago area universities.
While in town to accept her award, Victoria Clark will lead a presentation for Chicago-area university theatre arts students at the Chicago College of the Performing Arts at Roosevelt University.
Sarah Siddons Society President Martin Balogh comments, "We are excited to honor Victoria Clark, the luminous, dynamic and highly respected Broadway actress. In addition to her extraordinary accomplishments as a performer, Victoria's work as a director, writer and teacher has established her as a highly regarded, versatile and truly well-rounded theatrical artist. Her remarkable breadth of talent and dedication to the theatre make her an especially deserving honoree."
More about Victoria Clark
In addition to appearing in fourteen Broadway shows, Victoria Clark's many film and television credits include The Gilded Age, Elsbeth, Almost Family, The Blacklist, Homeland, 911-Nashville, Pose, The Happening, Cradle Will Rock, Hallmark's One Royal Holiday, among others. Clark has had the honor of performing at Carnegie Hall several times, singing Ma Joad in the opera The Grapes of Wrath by Ricky Ian Gordon, and Katisha in the Master Voices production of Gilbert and Sullivan's The Mikado, directed and conducted by Ted Sperling.
Clark is also a director (Love Life for New York City Center's Encores! series) and avid educator, serving as Artist in Residence at both Duke University and Pace University. She is a frequent guest lecturer and Master Class Teacher at her alma mater Yale University. She is currently back at work re-writing her one-woman show for the 245th time and will hopefully get it up sometime in the next 2-3 decades.
Clark is the proud mama of green energy consultant and innovator Thomas Guest and resides in New York City with her husband Tom and their two Golden Retrievers Ollie (Zen Master) and Gracie (Naughty Princess). IG: victoriajclark
About Sarah Siddons Society
Since its inception, the mission of the Society has been to fund scholarships to promising theater arts students at top Chicago area universities including; The Theater Department, Columbia College; The Theatre School at DePaul University; Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University, Northwestern University School of Communications and the School of Theatre and Dance at Northern Illinois University. For additional information, visit sarahsiddonssociety.org.
