Kelli O'Hara, Jeanine Tesori, Kristen Anderson-Lopez & More Win 2014 Lilly Awards; Ceremony Set for 6/2

The 2014 winners of the Lilly Awards, honoring women of distinction in American theater, were announced today by the Lilly Awards Foundation. The winners will be celebrated at the 5th Annual Lilly Awards Ceremony set for Monday, June 2, 2014 beginning at 5 p.m. at Playwrights Horizons (416 W 42nd Street, NYC).

Three female honorees are authors of the most profitable and remarkable works of theatrical entertainment in a decade. Winnie Holzman (book writer of the Tony Award-winning musical Wicked) will be honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award, a Lilly Award will be presented to Kristen Anderson-Lopez (co-composer of Disney's Oscar-winning film Frozen, currently being developed for the Broadway stage), and the cast of the current critically acclaimed production of Broadway's Raisin in the Sun will honor the life of the play's author Lorraine Hansberry.

Following the ceremony, surprise guests and honorees will perform in a cabaret, celebrating women of distinction in musical theater at the West Bank Cafe (407 W 42nd Street, NYC).

The Lilly Awards were started in the Spring of 2010 as a way to honor the work of women in the American Theater. The founders of The Lilly Awards, or The Lillys as they affectionately refer to them, are Julia Jordan, Marsha Norman and Theresa Rebeck. The awards are named for Lillian Hellman, a pioneering American playwright who famously said "You need to write like the devil and act like one when necessary." The awards continue in the tradition of her spirit and annually honor the work of women in the American Theater.

2014 Lilly Award Winners
Kristen Anderson-Lopez
Susan Bernfield
Johanna Day
Winnie Holzman
Joyce Ketay
Mary Mitchell Campbell
Rebecca Naomi Jones
Dominique Morrisseau
Kelli O'Hara
Jen Silverman
Jeanine Tesori
Liesl Tommy

2014 Lilly Award Presenters
Neena Beber
John Doyle
Branden Jacobs Jenkins
Julia Jordan
Anne Kaufman
Lisa Kron
Tony Kushner
Kwame Kwei-Armah
Justin Levine
Audra McDonald
Marsha Norman
Steven Pasquale
Stephen Schwartz

Stacey Mindich will present a special award of $25,000 to fund a new work by a female playwright.

The Lilly Award winners were chosen by the Lilly Awards Foundation Board of Directors.

Previous winners who have won the Lilly Award at include Mary Rodgers, Pam MacKinnon, Leigh Silverman, Anne Kauffman, Sarah Ruhl, Kristin Chenoweth, Annie Baker, Susan Stroman, Lynn Ahrens, Tina Fallon, Amy Herzog, Lisa Kron, Nina Arianda, Diane Paulus, Katori Hall, Tina Howe, Estella Parsons, Lynne Meadow, Ntozake Shange, Jessica Hecht and Lois Smith.

For additional information about the Lilly Awards (including a list of all past recipients), visit www.thelillyawards.org.