The Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders extended their Spirit of Justice award to the arts by honoring a Tony award-winning playwright at a ceremony on Friday.
Tony Kushner, author of the seven-hour long, two-part play, “Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes,” was given the third annual Spirit of Justice award to highlight his commitment to civil rights.
The play, which Kushner wrote and directed in the early 1990s, focuses on three households dealing with issues of sexuality and won several theater awards including two Tony Awards and the New york Critics Circle Award. His plays have been performed at theaters in over 30 different countries.
“Tony is one of our master story-tellers,” said GLAD Board President Gary Buseck, who was on the board that chose Kushner as the award recipient.
The award ceremony was held at the Royal Sonesta Hotel in Boston, and had the dual purpose of raising money for the GLAD cause. The extensive dinner was “a great success,” according to co-chair of the Spirit of Justice Committee Andrew Searle, and helped to raise GLAD’s net proceeds 120 percent over last year’s figures.
“GLAD has strong support in Boston,” said Duncan Donahue, a realtor with Coldwell Banker who attended the award ceremony.
Since its inception in 1978, the primary goal of GLAD has been to end discrimination resulting from sexual orientation, HIV status or gender identity and provide information to the public about homosexual rights, said Gavi Wolfe, the public education director for GLAD. GLAD also aims to “help people advocate for themselves,” he said.