2015 Mainstreet Awards Winners Announced!

Mainstreet Musicals' 2015 guest artistic director, Tony Award-winning director Michael Mayer, recently announced the winners of the 2015 Mainstreet Awards: A GOOD MAN (Ray Leslee and Philip S. Goodman),THE GIG (Douglas J. Cohen), and HOW GREEN WAS MY VALLEY (Roger Ames and Elizabeth Bassine).

These three winning shows will be presented in concert readings in independent regional Mainstreet Festivals throughout the year. Mainstreet Festivals are organized and owned by local actors, directors, and writers. The goal of the Festivals program is to encourage the widespread exposure and development of new musical theatre works. Current Festival cities include St. Louis, Seattle, Philadelphia, Dallas, Denver, Cleveland, New Orleans, Atlanta, Nashville, and Montreal. The first Festival for the year will be in Philadelphia this weekend January 10 & 11.

Roger Ames is a "Pulitzer Prize nominated" composer for his REQUIEM FOR OUR TIME) andMARTIN GUERRE that was produced at Hartford Stage Company and directed by Mark Lamos. Douglas J. Cohen is the winner of the 2010 Fred Ebb Award, as well as two Richard Rodgers Development Grants forNO WAY TO TREAT A LADY and THE GIG (also won the prestigious Noël Coward Prize and five NYMF awards including Best Music and Best Lyrics)..

Ray Leslee is co-author of Richard Rodgers Award winner AVENUE X which debuted at Playwrights Horizons; and Philip S. Goodman's A GOOD MAN was presented at the O'Neill Music Theatre Conference in 2012.

According to Mainstreet's Founding President, Broadway actor Tim Jerome, "These works will also be available to colleges and universities participating in Mainstreet's Campus Musicals program, which affords students the opportunity to be involved in the "real-time" development of new works."

To learn more about MAINSTREET FESTIVALS and to hear musical selections from these winning shows, visit www.mainstreetfestivals.org.