The American Theatre Wing and the Jonathan Larson Performing Arts Foundation (JLPAF) announced today that beginning immediately, the Wing will be the new home for The Jonathan Larson Grants.
The Larson family originally established JLPAF following the untimely death of
Jonathan Larson on the eve of the worldwide success of his musical Rent. Its mission was to commemorate Jonathan’s legacy by providing recognition and financial support to up-and-coming creators of musical theatre. A restricted endowment at the Wing will be initially funded through the resources of the JLPAF and the Larson family to insure that the grant program is sustained for successive generations of emerging musical theatre creators.
The American Theatre Wing is accepting applications for the 2009
Jonathan Larson Grants now until November 1. For complete guidelines and application materials, visit www.americantheatrewing.org/larsongrants.
“We are extremely proud that the American Theater Wing has agreed to take on—and hopefully to eventually extend—the work of the
Jonathan Larson Performing Arts Foundation,” said
Allan Larson, president of the
Jonathan Larson Performing Arts Foundation. “Because of the Wing's world-wide recognition as home of the Tony Awards, the establishment of the ATW
Jonathan Larson Grants Fund is a major step toward assuring that a much larger group of aspiring theatrical writers and lyricists will always have a place where they can seek recognition.”
“All of us at the American Theatre Wing feel very honored that the
Jonathan Larson Performing Arts Foundation and family have seen fit to entrust us with the future of the
Jonathan Larson Grants,” said
Ted Chapin, Chairman of the Board of the American Theatre Wing. “In addition to recognizing excellence in theater through the Tony Awards, the Wing has a long history of supporting theatre professionals at the beginning of their careers, and the
Jonathan Larson Grants will add to that mission.”
“As we have explored this opportunity over the past year, I have been moved by the Larson family’s absolute commitment to providing support and recognition for young musical theatre writers, in order to help them as Jonathan was helped by others during his own evolution as a theatre artist,” says
Howard Sherman, Executive Director of the Wing. “This is a great responsibility.”
Jonathan Larson’s dream was to infuse musical theatre with a contemporary, joyful, urban vitality. Although he did not live to see it happen, his dream was achieved through the phenomenal success of his musical Rent. The
Jonathan Larson Performing Arts Foundation was built with the understanding that without grants that supplemented Jonathan’s meager income, Jonathan himself might never had written Rent. The grants program was established 12 years ago as a place for individual creative theatre artists to turn to for help and to provide financial support and encouragement. JLPAF has recognized and supported more than seventy-five composers, lyricists, and bookwriters at the start of their careers. In 2008, the foundation awarded grants to Gaby Alter,
Susan DiLallo,
Jordan Mann &
Jeff Thomson, Joel New, and Jason Rhyne, as well as City Theatre in Pittsburgh. Other past recipients include
Nell Benjamin,
John Bucchino,
Kirsten Childs,
Ricky Ian Gordon,
Amanda Green, and
Michael Korie.
Jonathan Larson’s critically acclaimed musical Rent, received numerous awards and honors, including a Tony Award for Best Musical, an Obie Award and the Pulitzer Prize. While the original Broadway production of Rent closed on September 7, a new national tour will begin in January 2009, featuring several members of the original cast. In addition, a cinecast of "Rent,” filmed by Sony Pictures during the musical's last performances, will be shown in movie theaters across the US and Canada during the last week of September. A film version of the musical was released in 2005.
About The American Theatre Wing
The American Theatre Wing (
Theodore S. Chapin, Chairman of the Board of Directors;
Howard Sherman Executive Director) is best known as the creator of the Antoinette Perry “Tony” Awards®, which it presents annually with The Broadway League. The Wing’s other activities, dedicated to recognizing excellence and supporting education in theatre, include “Working in the Theatre,” now in its 30th year of telecasts on CUNY TV in New York and on other national cable outlets; "Downstage Center," an hour-long weekly interview program on XM Satellite Radio; “Guides to Careers in the Theatre,” a video series developed for schools and libraries; a grants and scholarship program to New York City schools and not-for-profit theatre companies, which has awarded nearly $3 million since its inception; the Theatre Intern Group, a career development program for young professionals; and SpringboardNYC, a two-week college-to-career boot camp for young performers moving to NYC. Visitors to www.americantheatrewing.org can view or download an archive of “Working in the Theatre” and the career guides and listen to “Downstage Center”, all as free, on-demand streaming audio and podcast..
