Vanessa Williams Honored at Signature Theatre Sondheim Gala
Michael Urie emceed a star-packed night at The Anthem, as a storm and a looming flight added urgency to the celebration.
As Vanessa Williams, radiant as ever in sparkling gold, rose to accept her award as Signature Theatre’s 2026 Sondheim Award honoree, a question came up at our table: “Do you think they’ll hold the plane for her?”
The audience at Monday’s black-tie Sondheim Award Gala, held for the fourth year at the Anthem on the Wharf, had already been informed Miss Williams had a plane to catch — and soon. Currently starring as the ruthless Miranda Priestley in the West End production of the new musical The Devil Wears Prada, Williams needed to make that British Airways flight from Dulles to London in order to go on with the show the following night.
A room full of theater folk understood the assignment. Miss Williams was gonna make that show. And, although maybe not for me or anyone else at our table, but for Vanessa Williams, British Airways might show a little grace.
Outside, Mother Nature was showing her fury, with a massive storm bringing flooding rains and fearsome winds to the region, adding to the sense of urgency that permeated the evening. It might also have added a surge of electricity to the evening’s performances.
Signature lined up a murderers’ row of singers, and they came out slaying from the start, with D.C. theater fave Awa Sal Secka offering a fizzy “On the Other Side of the Tracks,” accompanied by Signature Cabaret director Mark G. Meadows on piano.
“We heard this was your first audition song,” Secka told Williams from the stage, also sharing how the honoree’s remarkable career had inspired her.
Next, another D.C. diva, Nova Y. Payton, likewise expressed her admiration for Williams before channeling that energy into a spectacular take on “Stormy Weather,” a song Williams performed in the Broadway revue After Midnight.
That garnered Payton the first standing ovation of the evening, but not nearly the last. Solea Pfeiffer, who most recently starred as Satine in Moulin Rouge on Broadway, also brought the house down with a stunning “Stay with Me,” from Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s Into the Woods.
In 2002, Lapine and Sondheim hand-picked Williams to play the Witch in the first Broadway revival of the Tony-winning musical. Lapine, who had been scheduled to speak at the gala but was unable to attend, instead sent a letter read onstage by the evening’s emcee Michael Urie, Williams’ dear friend and Ugly Betty co-star.
Recalling, in hilarious terms, how Williams had slyly won over a frosty co-star in the Woods revival, Lapine’s letter went on to say: “Vanessa is a great company leader. She treats everyone with generosity and respect, not just the rest of the cast but the crew as well, and everyone involved in the production.”
Urie echoed the sentiment, recounting how Williams’ support on Ugly Betty had made the difference in elevating his role as sycophantic assistant Marc to her ruthless Wilhelmina Slater from a one-episode part to a major recurring character.
The actor, currently co-starring on Shrinking and carving out his own prolific, acclaimed path in theater, kept the program moving as we celebrated Williams’ Emmy-, Grammy-, Tony-, and SAG-nominated career, with an emphasis on her impactful roles onstage in Kiss of the Spider Woman and Into the Woods, among many others (more than we were aware of, to be honest).
She also appeared in the Broadway revue Sondheim on Sondheim, duetting with the great Norm Lewis, who was on hand to serenade his friend, soloing their Sondheim duet “So Many People.” Joined by Signature music director Jon Kalbfleisch, Lewis also brought the crowd to its feet with a tender but powerful “Being Alive,” from Company.
While that had me wishing upon a star that maybe someday we’ll see Williams as Company‘s Joanne, singing “The Ladies Who Lunch,” the evening’s final listed performer emerged, that Oscar-winning dynamo, Ariana DeBose.
Following her fiery rendition of “Kiss of the Spider Woman” with “No One Is Alone,” another favorite from Into the Woods, DeBose summed up a running theme of the evening for the ladies who performed, saying, “When I was looking for examples of what I could be when I grew up, I had Vanessa. And I’m so very grateful, and I know everyone in this room is just grateful, for how you have walked your path.”
From beauty queen to R&B and pop star, to diva of the stage, cinema, and TV, Williams has entertained with quality for decades, and looked fabulous doing it. She still looks fabulous, and appeared truly honored accepting her award.
“I guess it’s that time, when you’re in the business for over 40 years, and you start getting the walk down memory lane,” she said with a smile. “I’m going to turn 63 on Wednesday, and life has gone so quickly. And then when you get a chance to reflect, you realize what a journey it’s been — and more years to come!”
In fact, due to popular demand, The Devil Wears Prada producers just announced the show’s West End run has been extended an entire year, although Williams is slated to stick with the show only through mid-October.
Showing no signs of slowing down, the “Save the Best for Last” singer treated the Anthem audience to a surprise performance to close out the gala. The occasion lent special emotional resonance to her song “The Sweetest Days,” from her third album, and to the final song of the evening, Sondheim, of course, “Children Will Listen” from Into the Woods.
Then with that, Urie escorted Williams offstage, and she was, no doubt, whisked with all due haste to catch that flight to London. We can confirm she made it back in time for her show.
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