Antoinette Perry - Legacy

Legacy

Perry helped found, and was chairwoman of the board and secretary of, the American Theatre Wing, which operated the Stage Door Canteens during World War II, providing entertainment to servicemen in several American cities. After her death, her friends and colleagues took action to memorialize her contribution to the high standards of American theatre. Brock Pemberton suggested that the American Theatre Wing create a series of awards to be given in her honor. Since 1947, the Antoinette Perry Awards have been given annually for distinguished achievement in theatre, and are one of the theatre world's most coveted honors. They are universally known by their nickname, the Tony Awards.

In 2011 Perry was featured as an historical figure when The Neo-Futurists devised a show about the longest-running failure in Broadway history, J. Frank Davis' The Ladder. The Neo-Futurist show was called Chalk & Saltwater: The Ladder Project. Chalk and Saltwater explored the individuals involved in the failed show (this included Edgar B. Davis, the play's backer and "angel", Brock and Murdock Pemberton, J. Frank Davis, and of course Antoinette) and their lives before and after The Ladder's 789-performance run. Perry was a member of the original cast of The Ladder, but left the production prior to its close.