Two Northwestern alumni named 2017 Actors of the Year

EVANSTON - Kate Baldwin ’97 of ­Maplewood, New Jersey, and Kate Shindle ’99 of Astoria, New York, will be honored by the Sarah Siddons Society at its 2017 Actor of the Year Celebration, “The Two Kates,” at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 18 at the Hilton Orrington Hotel in Evanston. Vince Gerasole ’84, a reporter for CBS Chicago, is the gala’s master of ceremonies, and special guests include award presenter David Bell, the Donald G. Robertson Director of Music Theatre at Northwestern. The program includes performances by Devin DeSantis ’05, rising senior Lucy Godinez, Baldwin and Shindle. Matt Deitchman ’12, is the gala’s music director. ­Dominic Missimi, professor emeritus of theater, is ­the Siddons Society’s artistic director. Baldwin is a 2017 Tony Award nominee for “Hello, Dolly!” and recently played Anna in Lyric Opera of Chicago’s “The King and I.” Shindle stars in the national tour of “Fun Home.” She is also president of the Actor’s Equity Association.

 The Sarah Siddons Society, founded in 1952, has given the award to some of America’s most brilliant actors of stage and screen. Among the many recipients are Helen Hayes, Bette Davis, Lauren Bacall, Angela Lansbury, Julie Andrews, Bernadette Peters, Patti LuPone, Chita Rivera, Audra Mc Donald and many more luminaries from the theater.