Helen Marie Guditis
Helen Marie Guditis was an Arts Advocate, founder, and President of The Theatre Museum in NYC. The Museum functioned as a museum-at-large in partnership with other cultural organizations to present exhibitions in New York and throughout the country. The Theatre Museum bestowed The Theatre Museum Awards in Excellence annually in a New York City ceremony.
Background
Helen Marie Guditis was the founder of The Theatre Museum. She was born in Chicago, Illinois, to Albert and Helen Guditis; she graduated from Marquette University, The American Academy of Dramatic Arts, and received a Master of Fine Arts from Northwestern University. After directing and appearing in several plays in Chicago, she moved to New York City in 1973 to begin a successful career in Broadway and off-Broadway productions.
Education
Helen Marie Guditis graduated from Marquette University, The American Academy of Dramatic Arts, and received a Master of Fine Arts from Northwestern University.
Career
Helen Marie Guditis used her English, theater, and directing background and education to pursue acting and directing jobs off-Broadway. She made several documentary films and moved into non-profit arts management.
In 1995, Guditis founded the "Broadway Theatre Institute"; the name was changed to "The Theatre Museum" in 2005. The Museum successfully functioned with partnerships and associations in greater New York and throughout the country. The Theatre Museum has provided exhibitions and educational and public programs to unite scholars, architects, historians, and actors to chronicle The National Theatre of the United States.
Achievements
Founded the non-profit called "The Broadway Theatre Institute" in 1995. In 2005, the name was changed to "The Theatre Museum." The Theatre Museum was New York State's first and only chartered, non-profit museum dedicated to the history of theatre. It was a museum-at-large -- presenting exhibitions in collaboration with other cultural institutions. The Museum's programs included community outreach, such as teaching children how to write, direct, and stage live theatre, and the annual Theatre Museum Awards for Excellence Ceremony. Its primary mission is to preserve, protect, and perpetuate the legacy of theatre through innovative programming. After almost 30 years in existence, The Theatre Museum ceased operations in 2024.
References
Theatre Museum Founder Helen Marie Guditis Passes Away Helen Marie Guditis, Founder and President of The Theatre Museum, died of cancer in her sleep. She bravely fought for four years but succumbed to the disease on December 3, 2012. She was with family members, who said she sang Broadway show tunes until her last breath. Stewart F. Lane, chairman of The Theatre Museum, called Helen's dedication to theater inspiring and stated, 'The theater community will deeply miss Helen.' 2012
Photos: Theatre Museum Awards 2006 Tina Maddigan, Jay Johnson, and more performed at The Theatre Museum's 2006 Awards for Excellence, which were presented at the Millennium Broadway Hotel's Hudson Theatre on October 16th 2006
Photos: Theatre Museum Awards in Excellence 2007 The 2007 Theatre Museum Awards for Excellence, hosted by Jim Dale, were held Monday, October 29, 2007, from 6 PM-9 PM at The National Arts Club. The Theatre Museum Awards honored Ellen Burstyn, Carmen de Lavallade, Arts Horizons, and Ben Brantley. 2007
Photos: 2008 Theatre Museum Awards Broadway's Boy George Euan Morton hosted the 2008 Theatre Museum Awards for Excellence on Tuesday, October 21, 2009, at New York City's famed Players Club in Manhattan. Chairman of the Board of Trustees Stewart F. Lane and President Helen Marie Guditis opened the evening with a welcome to the honorees, presenters, and guests at this fifth anniversary of The Theatre Museum. 2008
VIDEO: 2010 Theatre Museum Award Highlights On May 17, 2010, Versatile Broadway performer John Bolton, Tony award-winning actor Jim Dale, renowned musical conductor Aaron Gandy and Tony Walton, Jennifer Evans, Kevin Cahoon, Jessica Grove, Noah Racey and Annika Boras partook in The Theatre Museum's 2010 Awards Ceremony. The Awards Gala, which took place at the New York Players Club, was directed by Tony Walton. Aaron Gandy served as Musical Director. 2010
Photos: 2011 Theatre Museum Awards May 16, 2011, at New York's legendary National Arts Club. The Theatre Museum paid tribute to legendary Broadway lyricist Sheldon Harnick -- the Museum's 2011 Career Achievement Award recipient. Longtime colleague Hal Prince presented the award; Bonnie Comley received Distinguished Service to The Theatre, presented by Jim Dale. 2011
The Theatre Museum Awards for Excellence 2012 The Theatre Museum Awards for Excellence were held Monday night, April 30, at The Players Club. Helen Guditis, President of The Theatre Museum, five-time Tony winner Stewart F. Lane, Chairman of the Board of The Theatre Museum, and 2011 Honoree for Distinguished Service to the Theatre, Bonnie Comley, hosted a celebration to honor excellence in the theatre. 2012
2013 Theatre Museum Awards for Excellence The 2013 Theatre Museum Awards for Excellence were held Monday night, June 3rd, at The Players Club. Honorees at the evening's ceremony included the Distinguished Service to the Theatre Award given posthumously to Helen Guditis and The Theatre Arts Education Award presented to Emerson College. The evening also included a special tribute to the Palace Theater in honor of its 100th anniversary. The Palace Tribute was a trip back in time to the v 2013
2009 Theatre Museum Awards Versatile Broadway performer John Bolton, Tony award-winning actor Jim Dale, renowned musical conductor Aaron Gandy and Tony Walton, Jennifer Evans, Kevin Cahoon, Jessica Grove, Noah Racey, and Annika Boras partook in The Theatre Museum's 2010 Awards Ceremony last night, May 17, 2010. BroadwayWorld was on hand at The Players Club for the celebration. 2009
Theatre Museum Awards at The Hudson Theatre 2005 Actor David Hyde Pierce and producers Bonnie Comley (Gypsy, Fiddler on the Roof) and Stewart Lane (Thoroughly Modern Millie, Aida) were in attendance for the Theatre Museum Awards at New York City’s Hudson Theatre at the Millennium Hotel on Oct. 10. 2005
THE THEATRE MUSEUM - Home The Theatre Museum website 1995
R.I.P. Helen Guditis – (Travalanche) I was saddened to learn just now that Helen Guditis, director and founder of the Theatre Museum, passed away on Monday, finally succumbing to the cancer that had been wracking her body for the last couple of years. Helen was a lovely person who did me too many kindnesses to count. We first met almost… 2012
Playbill - The Broadway Theater Institute Hosts Musical Mondays Musical Mondays, the showcase of readings of new musicals that were once in the upstairs ballroom at the Century Center for the Performing Arts off Union Square, resurfaces in residence at The Broadway Theater Institute March 12 to offer a musical version of the George S. Kaufman-Edna Ferber classic, Dinner at Eight. Hosted by BTI President Helen Marie Guditis 2002
Northwestern University Alumni News - Helen Marie Guditis Obituary Helen Marie Guditis (GC73), 67, New York City, Dec. 3. A well-connected Broadway insider, Ms. Guditis dedicated her life to theater, humming show tunes until her last breath, according to family members. Ms. Guditis acted in several Broadway and off-Broadway shows, and in 2005, she founded the Broadway Theater Institute, later renamed the Theatre Museum, in New York City. The museum works with partner organizations to host exhibitions and public and educational programs to bring scholars, historians, and actors together to chronicle Broadway musical theater history. The Theatre Museum exhibitions included a look at a century of Broadway theater architecture and a Showboat showcase at the Waterfront Museum in Brooklyn. Other projects explored musical theater in Brooklyn and other boroughs of New York, as well as traveling musical shows in the early 20th century. Born in Chicago and raised in the city’s Lithuanian community, Ms. Guditis directed and acted in several plays as part of Chicago’s Theater on the Lake before moving to New York in the early 1970s to pursue acting. For nearly 15 years, during the late 1980s and 1990s, she taught speech and drama in New York public schools before focusing on theater education and preservation through the museum. Ms. Guditis is survived by her brother, Albert, and a niece and nephew. 2012
BackStage - Helen Guditis on The Theatre Museum BackStage article - Helen Guditis on The Theatre Museum exhibition "Times Square Theatres: A New Century, A New Style" at the Municipal Art Society of New York
