Christie Baugher, Paris Ray Dozier & Jaime Lozano Receive 2022 Jonathan Larson Grants

The American Theatre Wing has revealed the recipients of the 2022 Jonathan Larson Grant. This year’s honorees – Christie Baugher (Music, Lyrics & Book), Paris Ray Dozier (Music & Lyrics), and Jaime Lozano (Music) – will each receive an unrestricted grant of $15,000, as well as additional support in the form of residencies, concerts and recording grants. A special ceremony honoring the artists, and featuring performances of their recent work, will be announced at a later date.

“We are so delighted to celebrate the talents of these three incredible artists, who have been awarded this year’s Jonathan Larson Grants,” said Heather A. Hitchens, President & CEO of the American Theatre Wing. “This initiative is so vital to our mission as an arts organization, and our commitment to doing all we can to help remove the barriers talented young artists face when entering a career in the theatre. We’re ecstatic to see the continued development of the brilliant work being created by Christie, Paris and Jaime, through this most essential program.”

The Jonathan Larson Grants are an unconditional annual investment in individual talent. They are awarded to musical theatre composers, lyricists, and librettists, or writing teams, early in their career, to support artistic endeavors and safeguard long-term music writing careers. Recipients are given free rein to put the grant’s resources towards what they see as the best use for furthering their creative endeavors with the hope that the grant will provide the support necessary for artists to see their work from concept to cultural success. The grant is a clear indicator of what is new and next in musical theatre, and provides recipients with a platform to amplify stories and figures that can shape contemporary culture. Rather than financing a specific piece or project, the grant provides emerging artists with enhancement opportunities in addition to general funding in an effort to promote lifelong development as creatives.

Recipients were selected by an expert panel consisting of Producer Amanda Dubois (The Lehman Trilogy, Spring Awakening), General Manager and ShowTown Theatricals CEO Nathan Gehan (Parade, Into the Woods), Opera Composer Kamala Sankaram (Thumbprint, The Last Stand) and Composer/Lyricist Max Vernon (KPOP; 2015 Larson Grant Recipient).

Previous grant recipients include Grace McLean (In the Green), Matthew Sklar and Chad Beguelin (The Prom, Elf), Shaina Taub (Suffs), Benj Pasek & Justin Paul (Dear Evan Hansen, La La Land), Laurence O’Keefe (Legally Blonde: The Musical), Joe Iconis (Be More Chill), Dave Malloy (Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812), Amanda Green (Hands on a Hardbody), Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey (Next to Normal), Michael R. Jackson (A Strange Loop), and many more.

ABOUT THE 2022 RECIPIENTS  

Christie Baugher

(Music, Lyrics & Book) is a musical storyteller for stage and screen based in Los Angeles.  She wrote the book, music and lyrics for The Fitzgeralds of St. Paul, which was a selection of the 2020 Pacific Playwrights Festival at South Coast Repertory and will receive its world premiere production in Los Angeles in spring 2024 directed by Danny Mefford.  Her other musicals in development include Leni Riefenstahl Is Going To Tell You The Truth, The Near Tomorrow and Bobby (book/music/lyrics) and Blue Skies (music and lyrics, book by Maria Alexandria Beech).  Christie’s work as a playwright and songwriter has been featured on five continents, at venues ranging from Joe’s Pub to the Seoul Institute of the Arts to her grandparents’ basement. Christie is a proud member of the Dramatists Guild, ASCAP and Maestra.  She came in third on Jeopardy!, but she had fun anyway.  MFA: NYU/Tisch. www.christiebaugher.com  

Paris Ray Dozier

(Music & Lyrics) is a composer & lyricist from Los Angeles, California, whose Musical Theatre productions have opened across the United States. Dozier's career began when he was 15, after attending the Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute. He went on to write songs for artists on Disney Music Group's Hollywood Records, where he was also signed as a singer-songwriter and producer. After Hollywood Records, Dozier headed up the music department for B InTune TV, which broadcasted to 100 million households worldwide on NBC and Fox. Dozier also composed the music & lyrics for musicals and plays including Last Stop on Market Street, The Watsons Go to Birmingham, Mr. Chickee's Funny Money and X Marks the Spot. In 2018, he composed Lyric Opera of Chicago's Empower Youth Musical: We Got Next. In 2021, Dozier was brought on to write the music & lyrics for Emerald City, at Seattle Repertory Theatre. http://gurmanagency.com/selected-clients/paris-ray-dozier/  

Jaime Lozano

(Music) is a Mexican multi-hyphenate musical theatre storyteller considered by Lin-Manuel Miranda as the “next big thing” on Broadway. Joe’s Pub Working Group 2020-2022. The Civilians R&D Group 2020-2021. JACK Resident Artist 2021. Selected works: El Otro Oz -formerly The Yellow Brick Road- (Off-Broadway & National Tour), Carmen La Cubana (European Tour), Children of Salt (NYMF 2016 “Best of Fest” Production), A Never-Ending Line (Comédie Nation in Paris, France & Off-Broadway), Savage (UAB at Birmingham), Present Perfect (Live & In Color), Desaparecidas (JACK). Albums: “A Never-Ending Line,” “Jaime Lozano and the Familia: Songs by an Immigrant” released by Broadway Records. Film: “In The Heights” (orchestrations), “Tick, Tick… Boom!” (cameo in Broadway composers scene). His project “Jaime Lozano & The Familia” has performed sold out concerts at venues such as Joe’s Pub, 54 Below, The Green Room 42, Two River Theater, and more recently as part of the prestigious Lincoln Center’s American Songbook Series. Currently working on: “Songs by an Immigrant Vol. 2,” “Broadway en Spanglish,” and Frida, The Musical. BFA: Music & Composition, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León; MFA: NYU/Tisch, Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program (Full Tuition Scholarship); part of the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop. Proud member of the Dramatists Guild of America, AFM Local 802, BMI and GRAMMY and Latin GRAMMY member. https://www.jaimelozano.net/  

ABOUT THE AMERICAN THEATRE WING  

Through a powerful suite of programs that address all aspects of The National Theatre ecology, ATW encourages the discovery of theatre by people of all ages, nurtures talent on stage and off, creates pathways for success for students and young professionals, and encourages the development of the art form itself by recognizing and supporting innovative and excellent work with awards and grants. Building a just, equitable and inclusive American theatre is a guiding principle of all of ATW’s work and programs. Visit AmericanTheatreWing.org to learn more about the extensive programming and grant opportunities for students, theatre professionals, and audiences. For the latest updates and news, follow the Wing on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and Twitter.