The Eugene O'Neill Theater Center in Waterford has been chosen to receive a National Medal of Arts from President Barack Obama next week.

The National Medal of Arts is the highest award given to artists and arts patrons by the U.S. government.

Among the other recipients who will be given medals during the 11 a.m. Sept. 22 ceremony in the East Room are filmmaker-actor Mel Brooks, actor Morgan Freeman, record producer-songwriter Berry Gordy and singer-actress Audra McDonald.

Being bestowed with National Humanities Medals during the same ceremony, which first lady Michelle Obama will attend, will be composer-musician Wynton Marsalis, radio host-producer Terry Gross and author Rudolfo Anaya.

The O'Neill was selected "for its unwavering support of American theater," according to a White House news release. 

"For over 50 years, the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center has nurtured award-winning playwrights, directors and actors, enriched the craft of stage production, and delighted audiences with exceptional programs," the release said.

Preston Whiteway, the O'Neill's executive director, said he couldn't speak when he first heard that the center was receiving the National Medal of Arts.

"I was dumbfounded, speechless, gobsmacked, all of those words," he said. "I was just so incredibly moved by the recognition of the decades of work that our artists, our staff, our students, our team here, trustees, have all poured into this place."

He said he was moved, too, that "D.C. is paying attention to our impact on the American culture."

Whiteway noted that the National Medal of Arts is "the nation's highest honor for artistic achievement — I get chills saying that. Now, here we are, in Waterford, Connecticut, the only place in the nation that has two Tonys and the National Medal."

Indeed, the O'Neill won a special Tony Award for theatrical excellence in 1979 and a Tony for outstanding regional theater in 2010.

Since the National Medal of Arts was created by Congress in 1984, it has been given to only three other theaters before the O'Neill: BAM (The Brooklyn Academy of Music), the Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago and Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C.

Whiteway, O'Neill founders George C. and Betsy White and O'Neill board Chairman Tom Viertel will be at the White House to accept the medal.

George White said he and Betsy are "just proud as hell ... It's very, very special."

He was quick to say, "It really wasn't (just) me" and to give credit to all the people who built the O'Neill.

He mentioned, among others, the late Lloyd Richards, the first artistic director of the O'Neill's National Playwrights Conference, and Paulette Haupt, who has been the artistic director of the O'Neill's National Music Theater Conference since she co-founded it in 1978.

"It just goes on and on, the people who pitched in and did things that paid off. It's really amazing how many people were involved in this. Talk about Tom Sawyer painting the fence," he said with a laugh.

The National Medal of Art is presented by the president to people and organizations that "are deserving of special recognition by reason of their outstanding contributions to the excellence, growth, support and availability of the arts in the United States."

The National Endowment for the Arts selects the award winners.

Whiteway already has experienced an outpouring of congratulations and reactions from people who shared their own stories of how the O'Neill made an impact on their lives when they were early in their careers.

And Whiteway said, "I'm grateful to Connecticut and the towns of Waterford and New London for supporting us through our 52 years. We couldn't have done it without being where we are."

k.dorsey@theday.com