At a press conference yesterday, September 17th 2008 Tony Kushner was officially named the first recipient of the ‘Steinberg Distinguished Playwright Award'. The award, which was established earlier this year by The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust, will be presented at a ceremony on Tuesday, October 21, at 620 Loft & Garden at Rockefeller Center. The honor comes with a cash prize of $200,000, making this by far the largest award ever created to honor and encourage artistic achievement in the American theater. Mr. Kushner will also be presented with ‘The Mimi,’ a statue designed by Tony Award-nominated scenic designer and architect David Rockwell.
Commencing this year (and to be awarded on a biennial basis thereafter), ‘The Steinberg Distinguished Playwright Award’ (‘The Mimi’) honors an American playwright whose body of work has made significant contributions to the American theater.
Announcing Mr. Kushner as the first recipient, William D. Zabel, on behalf of The Steinberg Trust, said, “‘The Mimi’ helps fulfill the Trust’s mission to promote the American theater as a vital part of our culture by nurturing American playwrights, and there could be no better first recipient than
Tony Kushner.”
Oskar Eustis, Artistic Director of The Public Theater, on behalf of the advisory committee that selected Mr. Kushner, commented, “The Steinberg Distinguished Playwright Award will make an outstanding contribution to the vitality and health of the American theater. A prize of this magnitude both honors the recipient and the field itself. I know I speak for the entire selection committee when I say it has been a privilege to choose the first playwright to be honored.
Tony Kushner stands at the very pinnacle of American playwriting by virtue of his talent, the scope of his ambition, and his commitment to making theater that speaks to the heart of our national discourse. He is a great writer, a great public intellectual, and a great human spirit.”
The members of the Board of Directors of The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust are Carole A. Krumland, James D. Steinberg, Michael A. Steinberg, Seth M. Weingarten and William D. Zabel.
The Board of the Harold & Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust: James Steinberg, William Zabel, Michael Steinberg, Dr. Seth Weingarten, Carole Krumland with The Mimi
The Mimi Award
James and Michael Steinberg, with the award named after their mother, Mimi.
Oskar Eustis, Artistic Director of The Public Theater, with The Mimi award
Eduardo Machado, Oscar Eustis, Marc Masterson, Martha Lavey and Andre Bishop
Photo credit is Bruce Glikas/Steinberg Charitable Trust
