Artistic Director Todd Haimes and Executive Director Julia Levy surround Norma Langworthy as the new sign for the Langworthy Lounge is unveiled.

Next time you visit the American Airlines Theatre, you may notice a change. Step into the elevator and take a look at the buttons. You can still travel all the way from the Lower Lobby to the Penthouse Lobby. But look just a little higher, to the sixth floor, and something is different. Press the button and it still takes you to Roundabout’s patron’s lounge, but there’s a new name in town.

Welcome to the Langworthy Lounge!

On December 11, 2005, Roundabout officially celebrated the unveiling of the Langworthy Lounge, named in honor of one of the theatre’s most generous and longtime benefactors, Norma Langworthy. An energetic theatre producer, a dancer who counts Gene Kelly among her partners, and the wife of a playwright and scenic designer, Norma has theatre in her blood. Part of the Roundabout family since the early 1990s, Norma has become one of the theatre’s most beloved patrons.

Now, as Roundabout settles into the job of running three permanent theatres on and off Broadway, Norma recognized the theatre’s need for ongoing financial stability. Her gift to help secure Roundabout’s future is one of the most generous individual donations in the theatre’s history. But how do you say thank you to the woman who has everything? Enter the Langworthy Lounge.

For Roundabout, naming the Langworthy Lounge was the perfect way to recognize one of its most devoted supporters. Says Artistic Director Todd Haimes, "This lounge means so much to us, and we are thrilled to name it in Norma’s honor. Norma embodies everything that we want this space to be: gracious, filled with the spirit and excitement of theatre, and a ton of fun. We say that we are naming the Langworthy Lounge in her honor, but we are the ones honored by having Norma’s name on the room."

Norma Langworthy and her son Keith show off a poster filled with opening night memories and Roundabout stars.

The Langworthy name might sound familiar, perhaps from the elevator ride up to this elegant private lounge. That’s because there is a plaque in one of the cabs noting it was donated by Norma during Roundabout’s renovation and restoration of the American Airlines Theatre in 2000. Back then, Norma joked that she got a kick out of naming the elevator because it brought her right to the bar. Now, Todd Haimes and the rest of the Roundabout staff are delighted to note, it brings her right to her bar.

Which brings us to the party in December when the new name was unveiled. Surrounded by a packed house of family and friends, Norma was toasted and cheered in her very own room at the top of the theatre. It was a wonderful celebration for one of Roundabout’s true stars.

So next time you are in the theatre and see signs for the Langworthy Lounge, know that it is a heartfelt gift from one of Roundabout’s closest friends. And raise a toast to Norma!

The Langworthy Lounge is open to members of the Chairman’s Circle.
For information on joining this special group of supporters, please call
Julia Lazarus, Director of Individual Giving, at 212.719.9393.

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