Photo Flash: Susan Stroman Receives the 2018 Oscar Hammerstein Award

The York Theatre Company honored Five-time Tony Award-winning musical theatre director/choreographer Susan Stroman with the 2018 Oscar Hammerstein Award for Lifetime Achievement in Musical Theatre and Betty Cooper Wallerstein with the York Theatre Company Founders' Award at the 27th Oscar Hammerstein Award Gala held on November 12, 2018 at The Edison Ballroom.

Hosted by Tony Award-winner Matthew Broderick, the line-up of artists scheduled to appear include Lynn Ahrens, Sierra Boggess, Nick Cordero, Stephen Flaherty, John Kander, William Ivey Long, Richard Maltby, Jr., Terrence Mann, Debra Monk, Brad Oscar, Laura Osnes, Bryonha Marie Parham, Tiler Peck, David Shire, David Thompson, Kaley Ann Voorhees, John Weidman, Tony Yazbeck, and Karen Ziemba, among a cast of 60 performers recreating some of Ms. Stroman's most memorable numbers from shows such as Crazy for You, Oklahoma!, Contact, And the World Goes 'Round, Show Boat, Bullets Over Broadway, Steel Pier, Scottsboro Boys, The Producers, and more.

York's Associate Artistic Director Michael Unger directed the concert and award ceremony with music direction by Andy Einhorn. Ms. Stroman's choreography was re-set by some of her closest associates, Tomé Cousin, James Gray, Angelique Ilo, Ginger Thatcher, and Jeff Whiting.

The Oscar Hammerstein Award is named in honor of the legendary lyricist and librettist who helped shape American musical theatre through his collaborations with a number of different composers and writers. His contributions to such landmark musicals as Show Boat, Oklahoma!, South Pacific, and Carousel are a legacy for all time. The award was created in 1988 by Janet Hayes Walker, Founding Artistic Director of The York Theatre Company, with the endorsement of the Hammerstein family and the Rodgers and Hammerstein Organization. Its purpose is to recognize significant lifetime achievement in musical theatre and is presented at a gala evening held for the benefit of The York Theatre Company.

The York Theatre Company Founders' Award recognizes individuals who have made a significant impact on the sustainability of the Company, and of the arts. Past recipients of the award include Janet Hayes Walker, the Founding Artistic Director of the York, W. David McCoy, Sarah Tod Smith, Molly Grose, Robert Goldberg, and Gerald F. Fisher.

Photo Credit: Russ Rowland