Purchase College to Honor Technical Theatre Legend Bonnie L. Becker

	Bonnie L. Becker

Purchase College, State University of New York's Broadway Technical Theatre History Project will present the Twelfth Backstage Legends and Masters Award to Bonnie L. Becker on Monday, April 27, 2026 at 7pm at The Performing Arts Center, Recital Hall Theatre, located at 735 Anderson Hill Road, Purchase, New York. This free event is open to the public and will be recorded for future viewing.

Bonnie joins previous Backstage Legends and Masters honorees Artie Siccardi (2012), Arnold Abramson (2013), Fred Gallo (2014), Gene O'Donovan (2015), Pete Feller, Sr. (2016), Joseph B. Forbes (2017), Alyce Gilbert (2018), David Rosenberg (2019), William M. (Bill) Mensching (2023), Bill Gorlin (2024), and Michael Wyatt (2025).

For over 30 years, Becker has been working on Broadway as a stage manager. The list of Broadway productions Bonnie has worked on include BOOP! The Musical; Bad Cinderella; Legally Blonde; On the Town; Billy Elliot: The Musical; School of Rock - The Musical; Bombay Dreams; Thoroughly Modern Millie; and The Scarlet Pimpernel, among many others.

"Bonnie has taken a number of very large and complicated Broadway productions from the rehearsal room to the stage and demonstrated time and again that she has what it takes to make this possible," says Dan Hanessian, associate professor at Purchase, who launched the Broadway Technical Theatre History Project in 2011. "Stage managers are often the unsung heroes working tirelessly behind the scenes in our industry without the level of recognition and thanks they deserve. Bonnie is a perfect example of the kind of person this award was created for and we are very excited that she will receive it in April," Hanessian concludes.

Currently the director of the Broadway Technical Theatre History Project and an associate professor in the Conservatory of Theatre Arts at Purchase College, Hanessian has been training up-and-coming technical directors and production managers in the design/technology program for over 30 years.

"Backstage Legends and Masters," which was founded by Hanessian, is an annual public presentation spotlighting individuals who have been central to the realization of Broadway productions for many years, but are not typically provided recognition through the Tony or Drama Desk awards. Each year, an individual is selected by a panel of distinguished professionals who represent a variety of Broadway production specialties.

"The goal of the Broadway Technical Theatre History Project is to create a living history of the shops and technical personnel who have played a role in the realization of Broadway productions," Hanessian explains.

This information will be available to the public in a centralized database. The project will also include a visual history and timeline of the shops. For more information, contact Hanessian at dan.hanessian@purchase.edu or (914) 251-6854.