The Annual Memorial Service

Since 1925, members of NYC's performing arts community have gathered together to honor and celebrate those colleagues we lost in the previous year. EAG is honored to announce that the 2025 Memorial Address will be given by acclaimed actor of stage and screen Mary Beth Peil. 

MARY BETH PEIL is an Obie Award-winning and two-time Tony Award-nominated actress who has made careers from the world of opera to stage and screen. Winning the Metropolitan Opera National Auditions launched two decades as a leading soprano during which she originated the role of Alma in Lee Hoiby’s Summer and Smoke, sang with NYCity Opera, Young Concert Artists, and many others. She began her second career on Broadway opposite Yul Brynner in The King and I. Other Broadway productions include Nine, Sunday in the Park with George, Women on the Verge, Follies, Liasons Dangereuse, and Anastasia. Off-Broadway she is an Ensemble member of The Atlantic Theater Company and will be in ATC production of Reservoir this March. She has also performed with CSC, NYTW, The Public, MTC, Playwrights Horizon and Lincoln Center and Summer Encores. Regional credits include Arena Stage, Long Wharf, Hartford Stage, LaJolla, The Globe, LAMusic Center. For TV she created the roles of Grams in the long-running Dawson’s Creek and Jackie in The Good Wife, and she was most recently seen as Martha Graham in Halston. On film she can be seen in The Reunion, Jimmy and Caroline, Song of Sway Lake, Mirrors, Flags of Our Fathers, Odd Couple 2, and Stepford Wives 2. AEA, SAG-AFTRA.

EAG’s 2025 Annual Memorial Service will take place at the Church of the Transfiguration (1 East 29th Street, NYC 10016) on Sunday, November 9 at 3:00 PM. The traditional Evensong service will be led by Rector of the Little Church and Warden of the Guild, Father John David van Dooren. It will include music by Little Church organist and EAG Council Member Claudia Dumschat and the Church of the Transfiguration Choir of Men and Boys and Girls, Mary Beth Peil’s memorial address, a reading of the names of those we have lost, and a call for one final standing ovation. This free, heartfelt event is open to those of all faiths, and none. 

This event is free and open to all.

Please arrive at The Church of the Transfiguration (also known as The Little Church Around the Corner, located at 1 E. 29th St., New York, NY 10016) by 3:00 PM ET. This year's service will not be livestreamed.

In lieu of a traditional collection during the service, please consider making a donation to EAG’s Children’s Holiday Fund, which provides a grant to EAG's performing artist clients with small children during the holiday season.

There will be a potluck reception following the service in the transept of the church.  We kindly ask that you bring a bottle of wine or a dish to share.

***

Directions: The Church of the Transfiguration (aka the Little Church Around the Corner) is located at 1 EAST 29th STREET, NYC 10016 (midblock between Madison and Fifth, between #3 and #9 East 29th Street) It is NOT the big church on the corner of Fifth Avenue; that's Marble Collegiate. When you arrive at the Little Church, you will be entering through the garden to the main double doors into the church and taking a right into the sanctuary.

Getting Here: The closest subways are the R/W or 6 at 28th Street or the B/D/F/M or N/Q/R/W at 34th Street/Herald Square. If you are arriving by bus, take the M1, M2, M3, M5, M6, or M7.

Parking: Due to ongoing construction to replace a city water main, there is currently no on-street parking available on East 29th Street between Madison and Fifth Avenues. The two closest parking garages are located across the street at 10 East 29th Street and around the block at 10 East 30th Street.

Lobby: The Little Church does NOT have a lobby or waiting area. You are welcome to enjoy the Little Church’s garden (weather permitting) if you arrive before doors open.

Accessibility: The Little Church and Garden are wheelchair accessible

Late seating: We cannot guarantee late seating.

EAG's Health & Safety Rules: Masks are strongly recommended but no longer required at EAG events. Please stay home if you are sick or if you have tested positive for covid, the flu, RSV, etc.. For more details, please visit www.actorsguild.org/covid-safety-protocols.

EAG's Code of Conduct: EAG strives for a safe and welcoming environment for all people engaging with EAG’s programs. To view our Code of Conduct in full, please visit www.actorsguild.org/coc.