(Broadway World) – The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts will present the 18th annual Mark Twain Prize for American Humor to Eddie Murphy on October 18, 2015 in the Kennedy Center Concert Hall. The Prize, which is named to honor one of the world’s greatest humorists, will be given at a gala performance featuring some of the biggest names in comedy, and will be taped for broadcast nationwide. Event tickets will go on sale through the Kennedy Center’s Special Events Office on Monday, May 11.

Capital One® is the presenting sponsor of this year’s Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, as part of the bank’s five-year, $5 million gift to fund Comedy at the Kennedy Center, a signature program at the Center focused on elevating comedy as an art form and uniting the local community together through laughter. The co-chairs for the event are Teena Hostovich of Los Angeles, California and Kim Lawrie of Ridgefield, Connecticut.

The Mark Twain Prize for American Humor recognizes people who have had an impact on American society in ways similar to the distinguished 19th century novelist and essayist Samuel Clemens, best known as Mark Twain. As a social commentator, satirist, and creator of characters, Clemens was a fearless observer of society, who startled many while delighting and informing many more with his uncompromising perspective on social injustice and personal folly. He revealed the great truth of humor when he said “against the assault of laughter nothing can stand.”

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