Trinity Rep Names 26th Annual Pell Award Honorees  

Tina Fey and Kelli O’Hara to receive Lifetime Achievement in the Arts 

Trinity Repertory Company announces the local and national honorees of the 2025 Pell Awards Gala. Emmy Award-winning comedian, writer, and actress Tina Fey and Tony Award-winning actress and singer and Emmy and Grammy Award nominee Kelli O’Hara will each receive the Pell Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Arts. Mixed Magic Theatre co-founder and executive director Bernadet V. Pitts-Wiley will receive the Rhode Island Pell Award for Excellence in the Arts. This year’s recipient of the Pell Award for Leadership in the Arts is Lorén M. Spears, the executive director of Tomaquag Museum, Rhode Island’s only Indigenous arts, culture, and history museum.  

“Senator Claiborne Pell was a great champion for the American people,” The Laura H. Harris Artistic Director Curt Columbus said. “Now more than ever, we need leaders like Claiborne Pell. The honorees for this year's Pell Awards Gala exemplify the spirit of our legendary senator, in their contributions to the arts and their communities.” 

The 26th Pell Awards Gala will be held on Tuesday, June 10, 2025, in Providence, Rhode Island at The Lindemann Performing Arts Center on Brown University’s campus. The event co-chairs are Sally Lapides and Joan Sorensen. 

The event will begin at 6:00 pm with a VIP cocktail reception. All guests can arrive beginning at 7:00 pm and will enjoy a seated dinner and awards ceremony at 7:30 pm. Attendees will mingle with artists, business, political, and social leaders; savor food by Russell Morin Catering & Events; and experience unforgettable moments as the theater honors individuals committed to bettering the world through art, education, and activism.

Tickets, sponsorships, and event program tribute ads are on sale at trinityrep.com/pell or by phone at (401) 453- 9237. All proceeds from the Pell Awards Gala support Trinity Rep’s artistic, educational, and community engagement programs. 

About the Pell Awards  
Established in 1997 to honor the legacy of U.S. Senator Claiborne Pell (D-RI), The Pell Awards recognize excellence in artistry and advocacy, both regional and national. Throughout his life, Senator Pell worked to support the arts: He was the principal sponsor of landmark legislation that established the National Endowments for the Arts and Humanities in 1965 and chaired the Senate Education and Arts subcommittee. He also took a lead role in eliminating barriers to higher education with his legislation creating the Basic Educational Opportunity Grants, which Congress named “Pell Grants” in 1980.  

Past recipients of the Pell Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Arts include Jane Alexander, Kate Burton, Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen, Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis, Viola Davis, Olympia Dukakis, Laurie and Oskar Eustis, Adrian Hall, The Indigo Girls (Amy Ray and Emily Saliers), Richard and Sharon Jenkins, Jessica Lange, Mary McDonnell, Arthur Miller, Liza Minnelli, Toni Morrison, Robert Redford, Chita Rivera, Jason Robards, Maurice Sendak, Beverly Sills, Stephen Sondheim, and Octavia Spencer. 

Past recipients of the Rhode Island Pell Award for Excellence in the Arts include John Benson, Howard BenTré, Dan Butterworth, Len Cabral, Charlene Carpenzano, John Chan, Bob Colonna, Robert Coover, Umberto “Bert” Crenca, Richard Cumming, Ruth Frisch Dealy, Bob Dilworth, Tony Estrella, Barnaby Evans, Richard Fleischner, Peter Geisser, Malcolm Grear, Michael Harper, Bunny Harvey, Dorothy Jungels & the Everett Dance Theatre, George Kent, Eugene Lee, David Macaulay, Salvatore Mancini, Marta V. Martínez, Dave McKenna, Barbara Meek, Denny Moers, Morris Nathanson, Timothy Philbrick, Ricardo Pitts-Wiley, Duke Robillard, Thomas Sgouros, Sr., Consuelo Sherba, Gretchen Dow Simpson, Maria Spacagna, Judith Lynn Stillman, Valerie Tutson, Chris Van Allsburg, Paula Vogel, Keith and Rosmarie Waldrop, William Warner, Rose Weaver, Steven Weinberg, and Toots Zynsky. 

Past recipients of the Pell Award for Outstanding Leadership in the Arts include Jeannine Chartier, Joseph A. Chazan M.D., Trudy Coxe, Mihailo “Misha” Djuric, Michael Gennaro, Roger Mandle, Senator Claiborne Pell, the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts, J.L. “Lynn” Singleton, Rosanne Somerson, Charles M. “Chuck” Royce, and George Wein. 

About Trinity Repertory Company
Rhode Island’s Tony Award-winning theater, Trinity Rep has created unparalleled professional theater for and with its community since its founding in 1963. Trinity Rep strives to facilitate human connection and has been a driving force behind the creativity that fuels and defines the region for more than 50 years.  

Trinity Rep is committed to reinventing the public square and inspiring dialogue by creating emotionally stimulating live productions that range from classical to contemporary and innovative education programs for all ages and abilities. Its annual production of A Christmas Carol has brought families together for more than four decades and made memories for nearly two million audience members.  

Trinity Rep’s 2024-25 Season runs through June 2025, and includes productions of POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive, Ms. Holmes & Ms. Watson – Apt. 2B, A Christmas Carol, Someone Will Remember Us, La Tempestad – The Tempest, and Blues for an Alabama Sky. For more information, visit Trinity Rep’s website at www.trinityrep.com.