Darren Criss, who plays gay student
Blaine on Glee, will present producers Craig Zadan and Neil
Meron with Oufest's Visionary Award.
Zadan and Meron, the producers of the
NBC musical drama Smash, will be honored at Outfest's 8th
annual Legacy Awards at the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles on October
13.
Other projects for the duo include the
big screen adaptations of Chicago and Hairspray and
Broadway's Promises, Promises and How to Succeed in
Businesses Without Really Trying. Zadan and Meron will also
produce the upcoming 85th annual Academy Awards.
Criss made his Broadway debut on
January 1, succeeding Daniel Radcliffe in the role of corporate
ladder-climbing J. Pierrepont Finch in the revival of How to
Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.
“Thanks to Craig and Neil's
all-encompassing work in movies, television and on stage, they have
given a loud and clear voice to LGBT characters and issues that
reaches the widest possible audience,” said Kirsten Schaffer,
executive director of Outfest, in a statement. “We are very proud
to honor two friends and longtime supporters of Outfest and are
grateful for their profound impact on the LGBT community.”
Zadan and Meron said they were “honored
and humbled to receive the Visionary Award from an organization as
important and crucial as Outfest. We hope we can help spread the
word that the community needs to embrace and support this outstanding
group, that does so much to enrich the art and the lives of LGBT
people everywhere.”